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James 1:16–17
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Several of the divine attributes feature the prefix omni-, which means “all” or “completely.” We can call these the “omni” attributes, and we have thus far considered three of them: omnipresence, that God is everywhere present in creation in His complete fullness; omniscience, that God knows all things possible and actual, as well as everything past, present, and future; omnipotence, that God is all-powerful and can do all His holy will. Today we are looking at the final “omni” attribute that theologians commonly identify: omnibenevolence.
In essence, omnibenevolence refers to the goodness of God, that He is completely and fully good in Himself and entirely benevolent toward His creation. James 1:16–17 presents this attribute of divine goodness most clearly. As the “Father of lights,” God is the source of “every good gift and every perfect gift.” James echoes the Old Testament here in using the reality of the Lord’s creation of the heavenly lights as special proof of divine goodness (Ps. 136:7–9). Indeed, God’s provision of these lights does show forth His benevolence. After all, without the sun, there can be no food for man or beast, and the moon and the stars give essential illumination at night for navigation and other purposes. In today’s passage, we also read that in God “there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). This statement offers us great comfort, for it tells us that the Lord cannot be anything other than fully and completely good. Creatures can go from being benevolent to malevolent, but for the Lord such a change is absolutely impossible.
Expounding on divine omnibenevolence, the seventeenth-century Reformed theologian Francis Turretin writes: “The goodness of God extends itself to all creatures, yet not equally, but exhibits the greater diversity in the communication of good.” In other words, the Lord is good to all that He has made, but He is not good in the same way. He has a benevolent disposition that leads Him to provide for His creation regardless of a creature’s moral character. He is not inherently opposed to creatures; He does not make things to hate them. Thus, He sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:43–48). Yet He has a special goodness reserved for His own children, for the elect, for those who have been reconciled to Him through the blood of Christ. By His grace, He shows His people His favor and saving love (Rom. 8:31–39).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God’s goodness is one attribute that our Creator communicates to us, producing in us a goodness that is appropriate to us as creatures. To be truly good, we need the help of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, and when we receive these, we slowly but surely grow in goodness. Dr. R.C. Sproul writes: “Believers are called to a life of good works, so with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can grow in goodness and reflect this aspect of God’s nature.”
For further study
- 1 Chronicles 16:34
- Psalm 34:8
- Mark 10:18
- 1 Peter 2:1–3
The bible in a year
- 1 Samuel 20–22
- Luke 15:11–32