Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
(John 1:13.) The believer's regeneration is the highest example of every good proceeding from God.
Of his own will, х Bouleetheis (G1014)] - Of His good pleasure (proving it is God's essential nature to do good, not evil), not induced by any external cause.
Begat he us, х apekueesen (G616)] - spiritually: a once-for-all accomplished act (1 Peter 1:3; 1 Peter 1:23). In contrast to "sin bringeth ... forth х apokuei (G616)] death" (James 1:15). Life follows naturally light (James 1:17).
Word of truth - the Gospel. The objective mean, as faith is the appropriating mean, of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the efficient agent.
A kind of first-fruits - Christ is, as to the resurrection, "the first-fruits" (1 Corinthians 15:20; 1 Corinthians 15:23): believers, as to regeneration, are a kind of first-fruits (as the first-born of man, cattle, and fruits were consecrated in Israel to God) - i:e., the first of God's regenerated creatures, the pledge of the ultimate regeneration of the creation. Romans 8:19; Romans 8:23, where the Spirit, the Agent of the believer's regeneration, is termed "the first-fruits" - i:e., the earnest that the regeneration begun in the soul shall at last extend to the body, and to the lower creation. Of all God's visible creatures, believers are the noblest, and, like the legal "first-fruits," sanctify the rest; therefore they are much 'tried' now.