Monday Meditation: 12.15.2025

Monday Meditation: Begotten by Will, Saved by the Son

Date: December 15, 2025 

Scripture: James 1:18

“In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” (James 1:18, NASB)

It is the third week of Advent. Our eyes are fixed on the manger, waiting for the birth of a Child. But James 1:18 turns our gaze from the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem to a different kind of birth—our own.

And deeper still, it points us to the eternal nature of God the Father.

Two Kinds of Birth

Theology matters. When James says the Father "brought us forth" or "gave us birth" (apekuēsen), he is using language that sounds dangerously close to how we describe Jesus. We confess in the Creed that Jesus is "begotten, not made." Here, James says we are "begotten" by God.

Are we, then, little gods?

The ancient commentator Oecumenius (6th century) anticipates this confusion. He warns us that James adds the phrase "by the Word of Truth" specifically:

“...lest we might be tempted to think that his Son was also born in the same way as we are. But according to John [1:1–3], all things were made by the Son, which means that he was not born along with us who have been made by him.”

Here is the Advent wonder: The Father eternally begets the Son. There was never a time when the Father was not Father, nor the Son not Son. This flows from His nature—it is necessary, eternal, and perfect. Light from Light.

But for us? James says, "In the exercise of His will, He gave us birth."

We are not begotten by nature; we are begotten by will. We are begotten by grace. The Father, who has poured out His life eternally into the Son, chose—deliberately and freely—to pour out His life into us, His creatures, to make us His children.

The Firstborn and the First Fruits

This is where the Advent connection explodes with meaning. Why do we wait for the birth of Jesus?

We wait for the Firstborn of all Creation (Colossians 1:15) to arrive in human history so that we might become the first fruits of His new creation (James 1:18).

We become by grace what Jesus is by nature. He is the Son; we are adopted as sons and daughters. He is the Heir; we become co-heirs. He is the "Word of Truth" in the flesh; we are born "by the word of truth" in the Gospel.

Advent is the collision of these two births. The Eternal Son takes on human birth in the muck of a stable, so that we—who were dead in our "nonbeing"—could receive a spiritual birth in the heavenly realms.

The Security of the Father's Love

If our salvation relied on our ability to "find God," we would be lost. But James anchors our hope in the Father's character. The same Father who eternally loves and begets the Son has, "of His own will," decided to love and beget you.

As you look toward Christmas, remember: You are not an accident. You are a deliberate "first fruit," a harvest planted by the Father to reflect the glory of His Only Begotten Son.

Prayer:

Have mercy on us and redeem us, O Lord,

for our merits are your mercies

and in your judgement is our salvation;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.