Ministry of Grace Church

Having desired it, He brought us forth by the word of truth, for us to be a certain first fruit of His creatures.

Truth to Learn

Our salvation is the greatest example of the goodness of God and His desire to give us good things.

Behind the Words

The words translated “having desired” is a form of the Greek word boulomai. This word refers to “a passive desire, or desirous will” as opposed to the Greek word thelō which expresses “active volition and purpose, or determined will.”

Back in verse 15 we were introduced to the Greek word apokueō, translated in this verse as “brought forth.” It is a medical term for a woman giving birth. It is never used of a man, only of women, inanimate objects (metaphorically speaking), and God.

“First fruit” is translated from aparchē, which is a compound word made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from,” and archomai, meaning “to begin.” This is a reference to the special firstfruits offering that God required of the Israelites.

The expression “for us to be” is composed of the purpose clause eis to along with the infinitive einai, meaning “to be.” So, this could be translated as, “for the purpose of us to be.” James is not saying that it is possible that we will be a kind of first fruits but that it is God’s purpose for us to be a kind of first fruit.

Meaning Explained

James tells us that it was simply because He desired to do it that God gave us birth, and He did so by the word of truth. The birth referred to here is not our physical birth but our new birth (our spiritual birth). This is the birth of which Jesus spoke when he told Nicodemus:

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)

Our new birth is not the result of us performing some sacred act, nor is it the result of us completing a series of religious classes and partaking of the sacraments. This spiritual birth comes only from believing God’s promise to us that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sins.

James is here giving an example (perhaps the best possible example) of a good act of giving that is completely a gift from God. It was by His will (desirous preference) that he gave us the new birth by the word of truth. It was not by obligation, because we did something, rather it was His choice. He chose us so that we would be a kind of ‘first fruit’ of His creatures.

The “first fruit” is a reference to the Jewish sacrifice that consisted of the first born of all animals and the first part of the harvest of the crops. James’ reference to first fruit here is not meant to emphasize the timing (first) but first in importance, the fact that God considers us as consecrated, or set-apart from the rest of creation.

Application

God is the source of all good and perfect gifts, and an example of that is the gift of our salvation, given to us because He wanted to, not because we earned it in any way.