"Crucible" index

THE FATHER OF LIGHTS. All genuine goodness is from God. James 1:13-17.

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The Father of Lights

James 1 [for Greek words use symbol font]

13 No one must say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God: for God is not tempted by evil (things), also he tempts no one:

16 Don't be misled, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift ^A and every perfect gift ^B is from above, and coming down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning.

17 pasa dosiV agaqh ^A (every good giving) kai pan dwrhma teleion ^B (every perfect benefit) anwqen estin katabainon apo tou patroV twn fwtwn par w ouk eni parallagh h trophV aposkiasma

The two words translated “gift” in the A.V. are from two different Greek words dosiV and dwrhma. Also, neither of these words are the usual word for gift - doron is the usual word for a gift. So if the Holy Spirit intended to say just simply “gift,” why did He not use doron?

It is because the two Greek words, dosiV and dwrhma have distinctive meanings. dosiV ^A is a gerund referring to the nature of donor's act of giving and dwrhma ^B is an ordinary noun referring to the benefit bestowed on the receiver by the act of giving. So a more accurate translation would be:

17 Every genuine act of giving and every perfect blessing is from above....

We are being told that God is not devious. He does not tempt us, because every genuine act of giving, given with no ulterior motive, is from God. Every perfect benefit we experience is from God.

So every time anyone, Christian or non-Christian, gives from a genuine heart and every time we receive a perfect blessing, it comes from the pure heart of the Father in heaven. He has no dark devious motives. We live in a dark world. Darkness caused by the deceiver, but here and there, there are twinkling lights, genuine acts of kindness, penetrating that darkness. All these come down from the Father of all that is light.

Cornelius is an outstanding example of this because even before he heard how to be saved (Acts 11:14) an angel told him "Your prayers and your kind gifts ascend for a memorial in the presence of God." Acts 10:4.