Of His Will We Bear Fruit - James 1-3

 James 1:18 (ESV Strong's)

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Of His Will We Bear Fruit

The above verse is a key transition verse in James. James is about to start writing about his famous topic: Faith without works is dead, argument.  The fundamental aspect of the Gospel is faith that produces good works.   But, we often get locked in on the good works and attempt to use those for our justification.   We might hear many say, “Well, I think I deserve heaven because look what I have done.”  Or, “Why is this all happening to me (some bad thing) when I do so much for the church? Does God not see it?”   The above passage sets up, theologically, what follows about the faith-works argument.   The above passage tells us it was God’s “own will” that brought us forth.  Why? That we should be “first-fruits” of his creatures.   We re born again to bear fruit.   That fruit is produced by HIS will, not ours.   This truth is the bases of “faith without works is dead.”  It is too bad that in most Bibles today the publishers put a break between this verse and the verses that follow.  It makes it appears as though James is moving onto another argument.  He is not.  God is producing in us fruit, by HIS will.  That fruit is the “works” that will accompany our “faith.”   Faith without works is dead.  Works demonstrate our faith.  Yet, only works produced by God, by our faith in God, demonstrates our faith.  All works, not produced in us by God, based upon faith, are dead.   The writer to the Hebrews wrote it this way:

Hebrews 6:10 (ESV Strong's)

10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

Note that God is not “unjust so as to overlook your work” based upon the “love that you have shown for his name.”   The works done for and toward others are to be done because of our desire to love and glorify the name of God, through Jesus Christ.   All other works and not good fruit.  The fruit we produced are produced because God put His love in our hearts to love Him.  That is the basis for any and all good works that please God.