James 1:18

Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae - James 1:18

DISCOURSE: 2359REGENERATION—ITS AUTHOR, MEANS, AND ENDJames 1:18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.THERE is an evil in the world so monstrous and so horrible, that one can scarcely conceive how it should ever be committed; namely, the ascribing unto God our own iniquities, and tracing them to him as their proper author. Yet is this the common refuge of sinners; who, when led captive by their own lusts, excuse... read more

Chuck Smith

Chuck Smith Bible Commentary - James 1:1-27

Let's turn to James chapter one. James introduces himself as the bondslave of God and of Jesus Christ. It's a title that most of the apostles delighted to take. Renouncing any claim for any rights, turning their lives over totally to God and to the lordship of Jesus Christ, they did not consider their lives their own. They were bereft of ambitions in a personal way. They lived solely to serve the Lord and to please Him.A bondslave was just that, one who lived completely for his master. He had... read more

Joseph Sutcliffe

Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments - James 1:1-27

James 1:1 . James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not style himself an apostle, because he would not assume any superiority; yet the majesty of his address is the language of an ambassador of Christ, and apostle of the Lord. “A servant of God,” the Father of all, “and of Jesus,” by which we understand that James associates the Saviour as one with God, and arrays him in the robes of glory: James 2:1. Paul also calls him the Lord of glory, as he calls God, the... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - James 1:17-18

James 1:17-18Every good gift … is from aboveGifts front, aboveIt is not from the lowest but from the highest points that the best things in the world always come.We get from the sky, and not from the earth, all those gracious influences without which our world would be only a gigantic lifeless cinder roiling through space. Light and heat come down to us from above; and so do the sunshine that warms and quickens and beautifies everything, and the rain and the dew that refresh the face of nature.... read more

Joseph Exell

The Biblical Illustrator - James 1:18

James 1:18Of His own will begat He usSpiritual life: its cause and its grandeurLet us consider--I.THE AUTHOR: II. THE NATURE: III. THE INSTRUMENT: and IV. THE END OF THE GREAT CHANGE. I. WE HAVE GAINED THE SUMMIT OF THE MOUNTAIN OF TRUTH WHEN WE REACH GOD. What wonders, majesties, mysteries, lovelinesses centre in that name! He is the blessed and only Potentate on whom eternity and creation and redemption repose. How God as a sovereign works the salvation of a soul from the slavery and death of... read more

John Trapp

John Trapp Complete Commentary - James 1:18

18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Ver. 18. Of his own will begat he us ] Gr. απεκυησε , brought he us forth, as a special instance of his free grace and fatherly goodness, Ephesians 1:4-5 . The word properly signifies, He did the office of a mother to us, the bringing us into the light of life. The Hebrew word ילד also signifieth genuit, peperit, parturiit; et est proprium feminarum: quamvis eleganter de viro... read more

Samuel Bagster

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge - James 1:18

his own: John 1:13, John 3:3-Deuteronomy :, Romans 4:17, Romans 8:29-Obadiah :, Romans 9:15-Job :, Ephesians 2:4, Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 1:20, Colossians 1:21, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 1:23 with: James 1:21, 1 Corinthians 4:15, Ephesians 1:12, 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 3:9 kind: Leviticus 23:10, Jeremiah 2:3, Amos 6:1, *marg. Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 14:4 Reciprocal: Exodus 4:22 - Israel Exodus 22:29 - shalt not delay Exodus 34:26 - first Leviticus... read more

John Wesley

Wesley's Explanatory Notes - James 1:18

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.Of his own will — Most loving, most free, most pure, just opposite to our evil desire, James 1:15.Begat he us — Who believe.By the word of truth — The true word, emphatically so termed; the gospel.That we might be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures — Christians are the chief and most excellent of his visible creatures; and sanctify the rest. Yet he says, A kind of - For Christ... read more

Daniel Whedon

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - James 1:18

18. Of his own will That is, not by any changeful caprice or shadow of inconstancy. Begat he us By a regenerative begetting. With the word of truth The preached gospel was the external instrument by which he regenerated us. Firstfruits The first gatherings of the harvest were by the Hebrews gratefully consecrated to God. Hence the word firstfruits symbolically indicates pre-eminent excellence and divine consecration. We are regenerated by divine, unchanging will, through the... read more

Group of Brands