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EVERY GOOD THING GIVEN AND
EVERY PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE, COMING DOWN FROM THE FATHER OF
LIGHTS, WITH WHOM THERE IS NO VARIATION OR SHIFTING SHADOW: pasa dosis
agathe kai pan dorema teleion anothen estin, (3SPAI) katabainon (PAPNSN)
apo tou patros ton photon, par' o ouk eni (3SPAI) parallage e tropes
aposkiasma:
Literally this reads "every gift good and every give perfect from
above is continually coming down".
In James 1:5 the author
characterizes God as a giving God and here reiterates that attribute
as he refutes the claim that God (a good gift giving God) could tempt
men to sin. (James 1:13-15)
Vincent adds that James'
declaration in this passage writing that...
The statement that these gifts
are from God is in pursuance of the idea that God does not tempt men
to evil. The gifts of God are contrasted with the evil
springing from man’s lust.
Every (3956)
(pas) means all without exception. Every good thing from the
all good God (see His attribute
Good)
Good gift - This
identifies the giving as useful, profitable and beneficial in effect.
Good (18)
(agathos)
means intrinsically good,
inherently good in quality but with the idea of good which is also
profitable, useful, benefiting others, benevolent (marked by or
disposed to doing good).
Good and doing good is the idea.
Agathos describes that which is beneficial in addition to being good.
Agathos is that which is good in its character, beneficial in its
effects and/or useful in its action.
Agathos
is used in the New Testament primarily of spiritual and moral
excellence. Paul uses agathos to describe the gospel as the “glad
tidings of good things” (see note
Romans 10:15).
The writer of Hebrews uses it in the same way, of “the good
things to come” of which “Christ appeared as a high priest” (see
note
Hebrews 9:11)
and of which the law was “only a shadow” (see note
Hebrews 10:1).
The precise
meaning of agathos can be difficult to appreciate and
distinguish from kalos (2570)
an adjective that is also translated good. An attempt is made in the
following discussion to bring out the difference, but in some verses
where both are used, this distinction can be difficult to appreciate.
Given (1394)
(dosis from didomi = to give) is a word which means
giving and stresses the act of giving, either a human or a divine
gift. Dosis is very common in financial transactions. Dosis
adds the suffix of action to the verb root, means the act of giving,
while dorema adds the suffix -ma, denoting the result of giving
and hence the thing given or the gift itself.
Here is the only other NT uses
of dosis...
And you yourselves also know,
Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I
departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of
giving and receiving but you alone (see note
Philippians 4:15)
There are four uses of dosis
in the Lxx (Gen. 47:22; Prov. 21:14; 25:14)
Perfect (5046)
(teleios
from telos = an end, a
purpose, an aim, a goal) means complete, mature, fully developed,
full grown, brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to
completeness, in good working order. Teleios signifies
consummate soundness, and includes the idea of being whole.
Vincent notes that James
uses perfect to enlarge...
upon good, bringing out more
distinctly the moral quality of the gift.
Teleios
has at least three shades of meaning:
(1) Teleios speaks
of totality, as opposed to partial or limited and when used of things
means in full measure, undivided, complete or entire (as in
Romans 12:2 [note]
referring to "the will of God" which is "good and acceptable and
perfect"). (2) Teleios also speaks of that which is fully
development as opposed to that which is immature. (3) Teleios
can refer to that which is in a state of full preparation or
readiness.
MacDonald applies this truth writing that
God's...
gifts are as perfect as
Himself. Therefore it is unthinkable that He would ever entice man to
sin. Temptation comes from man’s own evil nature. Let us test our
faith on the subject of unholy
temptations. Do we encourage evil thoughts to linger in our minds, or
do we expel them quickly? When we sin, do we say that we couldn’t help
it? Do we blame God when we are tempted to sin?
(MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or
Logos)
Every perfect gift -
Perfect identifies the gift as lacking nothing for completeness and
thus lacking nothing to meet the needs of the recipients.
Hiebert explains that...
Although all good gifts that men
enjoy come from God, the context suggests that James is thinking
specifically of His gifts "with special reference to their action on
the soul of man; for he is exhibiting the truth which stands opposed
to the error that God is the author of sin."
Gift
(1434)
(dorema
from
dorea
= free gift with emphasis on
gratuitous nature + --ma = the result of giving [dosis]) is the
thing given or that which is granted. Dorema is used in only one other
NT passage (see note
Romans 5:16).
Vincent notes that
Dorema enlarges
slightly upon the other
word in emphasizing tile gift as free, large, full; an idea which is
further developed in verse 18, of his own will.
James Philip said
that...
The best defence against the
temptation to stray from God is the possession by experience of his
rich gifts that meet all desires.
Is (estin)
in the
present tense
emphasizes that it is continually from above which is reiterated by
the use of "coming down" also in the
present tense.
From above (509)
(anothen)
Coming down (2597)
(katabaino from
katá = down + baíno = go) means to come or go down or to
descend from a higher to a lower place.
Katabaino describes God descending to afford aid to the
oppressed in Acts...
I have certainly seen the
oppression of My people in Egypt, and have heard their groans, and I
have come down to deliver them; come now, and I will
send you to Egypt.' (Acts 7:34 from Ex. 3:8)
The
present tense
indicates that
these good things are continually coming down. God is the ultimate
Giver. We as saved sinners are the benefactors of amazing grace, for
He gives and gives and gives, independent of any merit on our part.
This is a humbling truth, that should generate within us a deep sense
of gratitude as recipients who are not worthy of such good and perfect
gifts. O, the deep, deep love of God! Let His unconditional, boundless
love, motivate us as His children to quickly, willingly obey His
Spirit's voice.
Father of lights (patros
ton
photon)
- Probably refers to God as the Creator of all light, both heavenly
and spiritual.
Hiebert writes that...
Lights in the original has
the definite article, "the lights," and the primary reference
is to the well-known celestial lights, the heavenly luminaries that
are the sources of light for our earth. As "the Father" of
these lights, God is their source of being, and they reflect the glory
of their Creator (Ps 19:1; 136:7). As their Creator and Sustainer, He
is not to be identified with them. These luminous celestial bodies
must not be worshiped as God, but they testify to the Creator's
luminous nature. Their glory and dignity declare the nature and
essence of God, that "God is light" (1 John 1:5). He is also the
Father of all our spiritual illumination (2 Cor. 4:6).
The Psalmist writes...
To Him who made the great lights,
for His lovingkindness is everlasting: (Ps 136:7)
Vincent feels that
lights in this phrase refers to...
the heavenly bodies. Compare Ps.
135:7 (Sept.); and Jer. 4:23 (Sept.). God is called “the Father of the
lights,” as being their creator and maintainer. Compare Job 38:28 = "Has
the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?";
Ps. 8:3; Amos 5:8.
Temptations come to lead us into
darkness, which is a stark contrast with the essence of the Father,
Who is perfect Light. As His children who seek to genuine
No (3756)
(ou) indicates absolute negation!
Variation (3883)
(parallage from para = beside, near + allasso =
to change) (English = “parallax,” the difference between the
directions of a body as seen from two different points) refers
to a transmission from one condition to another. Parallage
denotes a change or variation from an established course or pattern.
Vincent writes that
parallage...
is not used, as some suppose, in a
technical, astronomical sense, which James’ readers would not have
understood, but in the simple sense of change in the degree or
intensity of light, such as is manifested by the heavenly bodies.
Shifting (5157)
(trope)
Shadow (644)
(aposkiasma from apó = from + skiázo = to shade)
is a shadow that is cast. It is literally the shade cast by an
object blocking rays of light from the sun or other source.
Unlike the heavenly bodies, which
undergo continual changes, variableness is absolutely not part of the
character of God.
Hiebert ties this in with the previous section of James writing
that...
There is never any dimming of the
light of God's holiness that would make it possible for Him to become
the tempter of men.
Kistemaker remarks
As the earth, sun, moon, and stars
move in their ordained courses, we observe the interplay of light and
darkness, day and night, the longest and the shortest day of the year,
the waning and the waxing of the moon, eclipses, and the movement of
the planets. Nature is subject to variation and change. Not so with
God! (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary Exposition of the
Epistle of James and the Epistles of John)
Vincent writes that...
This is popularly understood to
mean that there is in God not the faintest hint or shade of change,
like the phrase, a shadow of suspicion. But the Greek has no such
idiom, and that is not James’ meaning. Rev., rightly, renders, shadow
tact is cast by turning; referring still to the heavenly orbs, which
cast shadows in their revolution, as when the moon turns her dark side
to us, or the sun is eclipsed by the body of the moon.
TDNT feels that
aposkiasma refers...
to the darkness caused on
earth by the movement of heavenly bodies. |
