Our Immutable God

by Louis Cook
Know God Series

Immutable: "unchanging in His being, purpose, perfection, and promises."

"For I, the LORD, do not change" (Malachi 3:6).  If He changed even in the slightest, He would not be self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal and He would not be God. He does not grow old, or tired, get weaker or grow stronger. God is not composed of parts that wear out and must be replaced, nothing about God can or will be modified, upgraded, or renewed.

God Is Perfectly Holy

He can’t be less holy or more holy because He is unchanging. The immutable of God can easily be seen when compared to mankind. The ability to change is of great value, it is a gift from God who is permanent, without change.

For mankind, the only hope of redemption is in the ability to change from a sinner to an obedient child of God. The “old man” was like the man Adam, the “new man “is like God, in His image. The “new man” has spiritual thoughts, desires, and affections. (Colossians 3:10).

"Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end" (Psalms 102:25-27).

God's Character Does Not Change

He was quick to remove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after they sinned against Him. They eat the forbidden fruit; the basis of their sin was challenging God's authority.

"Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments" (Deuteronomy 7:9).

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17).

God's Truth Does Not Change

"You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth. Of old I have known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever" (Psalms 119:151-152).

"Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands" (Psalms 119:89-90).

"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).

"'But the word of the Lord endures forever.' And this is the word which was preached to you" (I Peter 1:25).

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (John 17:17).

God's Purpose Does Not Change

"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19).

"Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind" (I Samuel 15:29).

"The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation" (Psalms 33:11).

"Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure'; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it" (Isaiah 46:10-11).

"The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it" (Jeremiah 23:20).

"Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will" (Ephesians 1:11).

"In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:17-18).

God's Son Does Not Change

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus Christ is God, always has been and always will be throughout eternity" (John 1:1).

"For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

"Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5).

"For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24).

"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 2:1).

The son does not change!

God's Promises Do Not Change

Noah believed that God was going to destroy all living things which He had created. Noah trusted in God, Noah believed that God was reliable and trustworthy, and that trust governed his actions. He preached to the people and built the ark for the salvation of the believers.

"The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations'" (Exodus 34:5-7).

Faith that doesn’t move us into action is like the demons that believed but only shuddered (James 2:19).

It should be of great comfort to every believer that the immutable promise of God cannot change. We should draw great confidence from this fact, His purpose, planning, and promise are unfailing, and we can be assured that the promise of eternal life for the faithful cannot be taken from us.

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39).

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” While this is not a phrase drawn directly from Scripture, the wisdom behind it surely is.

The Bible tells us with great clarity that man was created to bring glory to God. Thus the chief end of Christians and the church is to bring glory to God”.

"His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power. The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfection" (Habakkuk 3:4).

The radiant beauty and glory of God emanate from all of His attributes which are inseparable, totally integrated, and completely function to complete His purpose.

The One has revealed His glory in the scripture (Luke 2:9; Matthew 17:2; Revelation 21:23). The Holy One is unchangeable, He acts like Himself always, but mankind is very changeable.