James noted in his epistle that “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). Conversely, he declares in that same passage “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). It is from this background that James (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) declares “of his own will begat he us with the word of truth…” (James 1:18). In short, the new birth is God’s gift to us and comes about through his goodness.
To beget is to cause to be born. This passage teaches us that God “begat…us with the word of truth”. That is, he caused us to be born again by his word. Just as we had nothing to do with our physical birth, so it is with our spiritual birth. To be born again is to receive spiritual life. This life is from above and enables us to worship, love, and fellowship with God. One must have spiritual life if one is to worship and commune with God, who is a Spirit. John tells us “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
Why do we need spiritual life in the first place? The Scriptures answer that for us. We come into this world “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). That is, our sin nature (inherited from Adam) has cut us off from the life of God and the new birth is now the only means of restoration. Just as a dog barks because he is a dog, we sin because we are sinners. And, our sins alienate us from the very life of God. This is why Jesus himself told Nicodemus, a man well trained in the law of Moses, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). We need a new nature – one not corrupted by sin – to enable us to enjoy God as He intended us to do.
The new birth really is then the zenith of God’s great goodness to mankind. Man is separated from God by virtue of his sin and his sins are an affront to the holy character of God making him worthy of death, i.e. eternal separation from God. But God sent his Son, Jesus, to suffer death on the cross in our place. It is as we receive the testimony of God’s word concerning his Son and put our trust in him to save us from our sins that God causes us to be born again. This is how we are begotten by his word and why James speaks of this begetting it in the context of God’s good and perfect gifts. God gives life to spiritually dead men and women making them his children through faith in Christ. How great a love is that! Are you born again?
From the Chaplain 