James 1:18

‘Of his own will he begat us (‘brought us forth') by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.'

For while the sustaining of Creation was left to the glorious heavenly lights and the sustaining seasons, the begetting of His own people occurred directly through His own determined will and purpose, a begetting which took place through the word of truth. And He brought it about by His own divine action at the time of His own planning (Galatians 4:4). Behind this statement is the thought of the One Who has recently walked the earth and brought God's truth to men. Here was God's will very much in action, manifesting His glory (John 1:14), a glory greater far than that of sun or moon, and producing His new creation (Galatians 6:15; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Here is the essence of what James is telling us. The Almighty, the great Creator, has acted in the world of His own will and has given His sustaining and divine life (2 Peter 1:4) to all who have received the word of truth through His Son. That is why these people that he is writing to are as they are. It is because He has chosen to beget them by planting His word in them (James 1:21).

And this begetting was in order that they might be the firstfruits of His creatures. This may indicate that then the full harvest of His creatures will also be redeemed (Isaiah 11:6; Isaiah 65:25), so that full restoration has taken place, or simply that His people are seen as ‘the firstfruits' out of all creation, as those who are especially set aside for Him. Or it may indicate that His people stand out from all men (His creatures) as those who are separated to God and belong to Him, just as was true of the firstfruits. We thus have here an emphasis on His sovereign act of redemption and salvation resulting in the new birth for His own.

For ‘the word of truth' compare Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5. It is ‘the good news of their salvation'.

(Those who would see the begetting here as referring to the creation of man by a word overlook the fact that that is never called a begetting. Nor could man who came last in creation, be seen as a firstfruits of it).