Psalm 102:25-27; James 1:17
THe attributes of God can be divided into two groups: the communicable and the incommunicable. The former are those features of God that in some degree are seen in man as well. Among them are love, mercy, justice, and knowledge. The incommunicable, by way of contrast, are those perfect characters that belong to God alone; they cannot be ascribed unto man. A prime attribute of this group is God's immutability.
God is immutable in that He is unchangeable. He has never changed, nor will He ever change. This truth is a steadfast anchor for us especially in these days when things on this earth, such as geo-political, economic, and environmental conditions, are rapidly changing from bad to worse. Yes, in these turbulent times we can find solace in knowing that our unchanging God is working all things according to His eternal purpose, for His glory, and for the good of the Elect!
The Bible ascribes immutability to our God only. Contrasting created things with Him, the Creator, Psalm 102:25-27 declares:
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
Wherein is God immutable?
In His holiness. After God had led the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses sang a song of praise in which he made this rhetorical statement (Exo. 15:11):
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
There simply is no other gods that even come close to the Living God of the Bible. In Revelation 15, when God begins to pour His seven last plagues upon the earth, there is another version of the Song of Moses in verses 3 and 4:
Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
Yes, only God is holy, and so, only God is unchangeable. Being already perfect in every way, He cannot possibly change for the better. And if He were to change for the worse, He would no longer be perfect, and it would disqualify Him to remain God.
The immutable holiness of God includes His omnipotence, His omniscience and His omnipresence. Since both His power and His knowledge are infinite, He cannot gain or lose any of them. And we read in Psalm 139:7-10:
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
In His purpose. The immutable purpose of God involves every thing that comes to pass. He states in Isaiah 46:10,11
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
In a special covenant way, God's purpose has to do with the things of salvation, "According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. 3:11). This is the secret will of His that is known only as His predestinated plan is worked out in providence, and is brought to light through the Word of God.
All that He has purposed before the foundation of the world will be brought to pass with accuracy and in His appointed time. He does not make plans and change them afterwards because of unforeseen events. He is in charge of all events, and all circumstances are in His perfect control.
In His special love. God loves only those whom He had chosen to save and that special love for the Elect can never change.
This is a truth the freewill advocates cannot take. The problem with them is that they want a god that is subordinated to their own wills. They want to be the ones who somehow have earned, and therefore deserve, the love of God.
To the child of God, though, it is no problem to see that if God loves, it is an act of His sovereign will, and that He chooses the objects of this love. Understand, God's love is not emotional, nor is it governed by the nature of the creature. He set His love upon us when we were unlovable.
Since God hates sinners, does not God hate His elect before they are saved and then change that hatred into love when they are born again? No. Remember, it was His love that determined before the foundation of the earth to whom He would bring salvation in this life. His love motivated His election, and is therefore just as eternal.
But doesn't Ephesians 2:3 state that before we became saved, we were "the children of wrath, even as others"?
Yes, it does. But just before that quote is the phrase "by nature". You see, in that verse God is speaking of the spiritual condition of all men by nature. But by His eternal decree, the elect are already loved before time began.
That God loves us from eternity to eternity is well documented by Romans 8:29,30:
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Even when tribulations come into our lives, whether before or after we have become born again, they are part of God's loving plan for our lives. He says in Isaiah 54:7-10:
For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
As a word of caution, let me say that those of you who do not know Christ as your Redeemer, who have not embraced Him by faith, who have not fled to Him from the wrath to come can take no pleasure in the thoughts of God's eternal love!
That's because you cannot know that you are in this love until you are brought to the end of your sins and know Christ to be your Savior! The objects of His love are in His secret counsels until they are brought to a saving knowledge of Christ. All whom He loves He reveals Christ to their hearts. All who are the objects of His love are brought to the realization of His purpose, that is, holiness and conformity to the image of Christ.
In His covenant of grace. This covenant is the eternal agreement of the Godhead in the redemption of a people who were elected by the Father, given to Christ, for whom He was to be Mediator, Surety, and Substitute, and whose sins were to be laid upon Him, and a full payment for them made into the hands of justice. This covenant guaranteed that these for whom Christ died would be given life by the Holy Spirit, and brought into the full enjoyment of the benefits of salvation.
Christ Himself is given to the elect for a covenant, with the promise that He would not fail, but would fully accomplish salvation for those given to Him. Here are some verses from Isaiah 42 that speak of this truth:
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment (salvation) to the GentilesÉ He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his lawÉI the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images (vv. 1,4,6-8).
This covenant is not only eternal, but is immutable. It cannot be defeated, nor will God change that which He purposed therein. He has both the wisdom and the power to bring it to pass. All that were elected are redeemed by Jesus Christ; all that were redeemed will be effectually called by the Spirit. All the elected, redeemed, called-out ones, will persevere in grace and be brought to glorification. Referring to Christ, Isaiah 53:11 says:
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Unbelievers' objections
There are some objections that unbelievers have raised concerning the unchangeableness of God. For example:
The flood. What about the flood of Noah's day. The Bible gives the reason for it in Genesis 6:5-7:
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Didn't God change His plan for the world when He regretted having created man and decided to flood the earth?
No, that providential change only involves God's outward dealings with man, not the nature or purpose of God. Romans 2:15 tells us that God has written in the hearts of all humans the requirement of the law. So, that flood was just the outward ministration of His providence consistent with man's disobedience. There was no change in His eternal, secret purpose.
In fact, the Flood pointed to Judgment Day at the end of time, and Noah and his family represented those whom God had predestinated to save.
Israel. Didn't God declare that His love for Israel was infinite and eternal, but later became so angry with them that He told Jeremiah, "Pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee" (7:16)?
Again, there was no change in God's salvation plan. The Bible explains in Roman 9:6,7: "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called." Like Isaac, the Israel that God loves forever are the chosen of God, whereas the Israel with which God was angry was national Israel.
The Incarnation. If God is immutable, how can He become a human being? This objection is removed when we remember that in His incarnation Christ had two natures: deity, which is eternal; and humanity, which He assumed in time. When He became flesh, He did not cease to be God, nor was there any change that took place in His deity. He was the same omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God that He had been before.
Thus, Hebrews 13:8 declares, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever."
That's why our Lord told the Jewish people, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" and "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:56,58). He was from of old pre-determined to become man as our representative.
We could give other objections against the immutability of God, but this is unnecessary since they can all be answered as the above. And while there are things above our understanding, we can trust the Word to be true, and put full confidence in God that He is the same from eternity to eternity. Hence, the Bible assures us in James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."