The Immutability of God

(Article for publication week of 6-9-2010 AD)

"For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." (Malachi 3:6).

The God of the Bible (Who is the only true God) is unchangeable. He cannot change for the better, for He is perfect, and He cannot change for the worse, for He would cease to be God, which He will not and cannot do. The idea of a mutable God is foreign to the scriptures and all rational thinking.

God is unchangeable in all His attributes and all His Being. With Him "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17). He is eternal, without beginning or end, pure spirit, immortal, invisible, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, thrice holy, loving, merciful, and just. Unlike His creation, there is no change or decay in God. He is the same now as He was yesterday, the same in eternity past, and the same for ages to come. What a comfort it is to know that God is unchangeable.

God is unchanging in His purpose. We read in Hebrews 6:17 of the "immutability of His counsel." This means that God has one eternal purpose (Ephesians 3:11) and He will not in any way change His purpose. "He is in one mind, and who can turn Him?" (Job 23:13). God's sovereign will is determined, and nothing can alter it.

The immutability of God is the eternal foundation of the salvation of God's elect. "Ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Though we are changeable, God is not. Were it left up to us to save ourselves, or keep ourselves saved, we would be ruined for eternity. But praise be to God, salvation is not according to the changeable will of man, but according to the unchangeable will of God! All of those God purposed to save, shall be saved without the loss of one. No one who is truly saved (note well, I say truly saved) can be consumed and be lost, because our Sovereign Lord is unchangeable. He is unchangeable in His justice, and justice was satisfied for the believer by the active and passive obedience of Christ. He is unchangeable in His love, and nothing can separate the believer in Christ from God's immutable love (Romans 8:38-39).

And I want to use this opportunity to show the Deity of Christ once again. Hebrews 13:8 says "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today and forever." Only God is immutable. No creature can be immutable. Thus we see plainly that Christ is God for He is unchangeable. Though Christ joined His Deity to perfect humanity, His essence is unchanged by His hypostatic union with humanity. "The Word was made flesh (John 1:14), but the Word was God (John 1:1). No one can deny the Deity of Christ, for He is immutable, and this is true only of God. Let all heretics and blasphemers and infidels shut their mouths, for Christ is very God of very God and very man of very man.

Now dear children of God, let this encourage your heart today. The Lord is unchangeable and so you will not be consumed. Though you indeed go through many changes, thy great God shall never change! You shall persevere to the end for you are being kept by the power of the eternal Three in One Who is immutable.