The Bible teaches that God does not change.  He remains the same eternally.  Theologians often use term “immutable” to describe God’ unchanging nature.  It is a divine perfection that is not often acknowledged in the church with more than a brief statement from time to time.  However, God’ immutability is one of the most significant features of God that differentiates Him from his creatures.

 

God is perpetually the same.  The Bible often compares God to a rock (possibly because a rock is the thing that changes least in our world).  For example, Deuteronomy 32:4 described God like this:

“The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice.  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.”

 

God remains a rock even when the rest of the world seems to be like the ocean, in a constant state of flux.  All creatures are subject to change, but God is not.

James 1:17 says, “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.”

 

He has always been perfect from eternity past into eternity future.  His character and perfection are constant and completely reliable.  All that He is today, He has even been and will ever be. (1)

 

Malachi 3:6a says, “…I, the Lord, do not change…”

  • He cannot change for the better because God is already perfect
  • Being perfect, he cannot change for the worse (He would no longer be perfect)

God is altogether unaffected by the forces that surround Him because He made them in the first place.  He is infinitely more powerful than the forces of His creation.

 

Even when things look like they are at their worst, we still have tremendous hope.  Our God’s power never diminishes.  The same God who made the heavens continues to reign in power today.  The God who is the architect of the stars and controls their movement within galaxies can easily overthrow nations, militias, rebel forces, and proponents of immorality.

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(1) Pink, AW “The Attributes of God” page 47

 

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Pastor Mark