James 1:16

Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.

Be not deceived ... Inherent in this is the fact that it is just possible now for men to be deceived through the allurements of sin as it was when Eve was tempted in Eden. The great temptation in all sin is to be deceived into thinking that, after all, it will not prove to be as bad as God declared it to be. Eve found to the sorrow of herself and her posterity forever that it was altogether as evil and disastrous as God promised.

The Father of lights ... What are the lights here? It might be thought that the light of intelligence, the light of truth, the light of the world who is Christ, or the physical lights of the heavens, such as the sun, moon and stars, are meant. But there is no need to restrict the meaning here at all. "It is not amiss to take the whole of these interpretations,"[37] because God is the source of every kind of light. The almost scientific words of this verse, however, would seem to show that James was particularly thinking of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars. He used the words [@parallage] and [Greek: trope][38] "Both these words have to do with the variation which the heavenly bodies show."[39] Such things as the apparent movement of the sun around the earth, giving day and night, or its moving southward or northward, giving the seasons, and many other variations are suggested by these words. By contrast, "there is no variation with God." In him, "there is no shadow cast by turning." "I Jehovah change not" (Malachi 3:6).

In the current era, men have been concerned by what they are able to hurl into space, such as orbiting satellites and space stations; but it is not by anything that men may hurl upward that they may expect redemption, for "every good gift" comes down from God. This author has some sacred memories connected with these words from James in this verse. His father always addressed the heavenly Father in prayer, using the terminology written here.

[37] E. G. Punchard, op. cit., p. 359.

[38] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 54.

[39] Ibid.