James 1:18

He of his own wish begot us by the Word of truth, for us to be a kind of firstfruits of his creation. (James 1:18)

Adamson says the beginning phrase, Of his own wish, is rather emphatic. He includes Hort’s¹ suggestion that in the previous verse, James 1:17, the word ‘shadow’ was followed by ‘he’ in the Greek text. Hort thought it was a false reading and left it out. However, Adamson thought it was correct and he disagreed with Hort’s decision to leave it out of 1:18.

Consider the resulting translation we have given: He of his own wish….He (God) is the author of our Christian being and purpose, a being which is endowed with truth, and a purpose which is to be holy as firstfruits. In contrast to man’s “desire,” which begets spiritual death (1:13ff), God’s deliberate purposive will is gracious, choosing to initiate and to beget new spiritual life. (Adamson, p. 75-6)

James Emphasized the Omnipotence and Benevolence of God

Adamson argues that the emphatic he emphasizes the omnipotence as well as the benevolence of the great Father. Furthermore, this emphatic use of he is common in Greek and in Greek grammars. As he often remind us, no New Testament writer is more Greek than James.

The Idea of a God Who Can Beget Would Have Been Familiar to the Rabbis

The idea of a God who can beget would have also been familiar to the rabbis: “I made thee (Israel) a new creation as a woman conceives and brings forth.”

In Jewish tradition God is sexless. Divine birth-giving can be figuratively applied to God as easily as the concepts “Father” (Ps. 68:5; 103:13; Matt. 6:9), or “Mother” (Isa. 66:13; cf. “breasts of Son and Father,” Odes Sol. 8:16; 19:3). Even “birth-pangs” could be applied to God the Father (Deut. 32:8).

James is Preaching Christianity, Not Just Humanity

Several scholars hold the view that the quote above that begins, “I made thee (Israel)…” refers to the creation of man. Adamson considers their arguments on page 76. However, he disagrees with this interpretation.

If God is said to have begotten everyone by the word of truth, it would mean that he gave man priority over the ‘brute creation’ in his capacity and appetite for truth. In that case, James would be saying in effect, “Therefore, having this potential for truth bestowed on you in the creation of (human beings), use it, be swift to hear, slow to speak, and open your hearts and minds, not to strife and other vile passions, but to the innate Word of God-given reason.”

There is a problem with this hypothesis in Adamson’s view. He argues that James is telling Christians to behave like Christians, like he did in verses 3:13 and 4:10. The alternate interpretation as stated above would merely be telling people not behave like the beasts. Here Adamson quotes Ropes²:

The objection which seems decisive…is that the figure of begetting was not used for creation…whereas it came early into use with reference to the Christians, who deemed themselves ‘sons of God.'(p. 166)

Adamson adds: “In fact, human knowledge of good and evil, which is tantamount to the gift of truth, came through another channel (Gen. 3:22).”

The Idea of Begetting and the Idea of the New Birth

According to Adamson, the idea of divine begetting and of the entrance into Christian life as a new birth has its roots in Greek not Jewish thought. It came to Judaism via Hellenism.

In James’ time, the Rabbinic notion of the new creation was different from the Greek notion. It did not include the New Testament concept of moral renewal as a part of Christian rebirth. He cites Elliott-Binns³, who said, “James knows nothing of any ‘new’ creation (in Christian theology).” That understanding came later.

…but it is known in Eph 2:10 and the Fourth Gospel, which (John 3:3 and John 3:7 like James 1:17) has the word for “from above”: this remarkable coincidence suggests that in both these sources we have evidence of yet another verbum Christi (word of Christ). (Adamson p. 77)

First Fruits

The firstfruits of body or field were sacred and were often offered to God. The Greek particle often indicates a figurative use of the term (kind of or “as it were”). The figure is used of Israel in Jeremiah 2:3, but it’s not as common in Jewish thought as it is in Greek thought. “Firstfruits” was used not merely of that which was first in order but of that which was first in honor.⁴

The Noun Creation

The biblical use of the noun creation (1 Tim. 4:4; Rev. 5:13; 8:9) follows from the Jewish use of the verb and its derivatives in this sense, a sense in which “creation” is not found in secular Greek. (Adamson, p. 77)

1. F. J. A. Hort, The Epistle of St. James, i. 1-iv. 7 (1909) ↩︎
2. J. H. Ropes, The Epistle of St. James. ICC (1916). ↩︎
3. “James i. 18; Creation or Redemption?” NTS 3 (1956-570, pp 148-161. ↩︎