18 By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures.
By His own choice is a reminder that God could have done things very differently. We are studying this verse on the day after Easter, where we celebrated Jesus’s resurrection. This was God’s choice for redemption of mankind.
John 1:13 describes the new birth:
13 who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
Our new birth is a spiritual birth after an acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives which is the message of truth.
What are firstfruits? Firstfruits were the first and best part of a harvest, animals and firstborn sons. Christ was the firstfruit, then Christians figuratively.
Our desire is to give our best as God gave us his very best in his Son’s death and resurrection. We can daily surrender to our own wishes and give God our firstfruits.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Jas 1:18). (Jn 1:13). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
