God's Incommunicable Attributes #4: Unchangeableness
Unchangeableness: God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations.
Psalm 102:25-27 “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.”
God created everything therefore existed before everything. He will also exist long after all has been destroyed! The universe and everything that is within changes, but God doesn’t change, He is not a part of the created order.
James 1:17
“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.”
It is important to note that God is unchanging in respect to His “being” and His “perfections” and “purposes” and “promises”!
Above we have seen “being and “perfections”, now let’s look at “purposes” and “promises”.
“The doctrine of God’s immutability is of the highest significance for religion. The contrast between being and becoming marks the difference between the Creator and the creature. Every creature is continually becoming. It is changeable, constantly striving, seeks rest and satisfaction, and finds this rest in God, in him alone, for only he is pure being and no becoming. Hence, in Scripture God is often called the Rock…” Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God.
Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”
Isaiah 46:9-11 “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”
Numbers 23:19
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
But does God sometimes change his mind?
In Exodus 32:9-14; Isaiah 38:1-6; and Jonah God says that He will punish a people. But, when they repent and turn away from their sins, God does not punish them. Did God change his mind?
Also, in Genesis 6:6 “And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”
Let’s take a look back at the definition that was set forth at the beginning: God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations.
God does act and feel emotions, and he ACTS and feels DIFFERENTLY in response to different situations.
Let’s focus on Jonah for a minute: If it was Gods desire to whip out Nineveh, why did he send Jonah to warn them? The purpose for sending Jonah, the purpose of proclaiming Gods word is repentance! The purpose for any type of warning is to bring about repentance! Did God want to destroy Nineveh? NO! Would he have destroyed Nineveh had the people not repented? YES! Gods ultimate purpose was fulfilled in that people were brought to repentance.
Also in Genesis 6:6, this is to be understood only as Gods displeasure. In the short term God was sorrowful about His creation, but in the long run, God was not willing to destroy every part of His creation.
Why is this so important?
At first glance this may not seem all that important, but let’s think about this for a moment.
If God changed:
What if God changed for the better?
1. He would not have been perfect
2. What if God changed for the worse?
How much more personal can you get?
If any part of God changed, we would stand the chance of loosing these relationships! Christ’s sacrifice might become nothing and we could loose our most presious position: Eternal Life with God through Christ Jesus!
Aren’t you glad that God does not change?
I am too!
In Christ,
David
Psalm 102:25-27 “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.”
God created everything therefore existed before everything. He will also exist long after all has been destroyed! The universe and everything that is within changes, but God doesn’t change, He is not a part of the created order.
James 1:17
“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.”
It is important to note that God is unchanging in respect to His “being” and His “perfections” and “purposes” and “promises”!
Above we have seen “being and “perfections”, now let’s look at “purposes” and “promises”.
“The doctrine of God’s immutability is of the highest significance for religion. The contrast between being and becoming marks the difference between the Creator and the creature. Every creature is continually becoming. It is changeable, constantly striving, seeks rest and satisfaction, and finds this rest in God, in him alone, for only he is pure being and no becoming. Hence, in Scripture God is often called the Rock…” Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God.
Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”
Isaiah 46:9-11 “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”
Numbers 23:19
“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
But does God sometimes change his mind?
In Exodus 32:9-14; Isaiah 38:1-6; and Jonah God says that He will punish a people. But, when they repent and turn away from their sins, God does not punish them. Did God change his mind?
Also, in Genesis 6:6 “And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”
Let’s take a look back at the definition that was set forth at the beginning: God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations.
God does act and feel emotions, and he ACTS and feels DIFFERENTLY in response to different situations.
Let’s focus on Jonah for a minute: If it was Gods desire to whip out Nineveh, why did he send Jonah to warn them? The purpose for sending Jonah, the purpose of proclaiming Gods word is repentance! The purpose for any type of warning is to bring about repentance! Did God want to destroy Nineveh? NO! Would he have destroyed Nineveh had the people not repented? YES! Gods ultimate purpose was fulfilled in that people were brought to repentance.
Also in Genesis 6:6, this is to be understood only as Gods displeasure. In the short term God was sorrowful about His creation, but in the long run, God was not willing to destroy every part of His creation.
Why is this so important?
At first glance this may not seem all that important, but let’s think about this for a moment.
If God changed:
What if God changed for the better?
1. He would not have been perfect
If God is not perfect, but like man, how can you trust Him?
YOU CAN’T!!!!
2. What if God changed for the worse?
Would you want that?
What is to prevent Him from becoming completely evil?
NOTHING!!!
What is to prevent Him from becoming completely evil?
NOTHING!!!
3. What if Gods purposes changed?
The promise of eternal life in Christ might become void!
His death may be for nothing.
We would be absolutely HOPELESS!!!
His death may be for nothing.
We would be absolutely HOPELESS!!!
Gods unchangeableness is of the utmost importance!
He is both infinite and personal! He is far above all of His creation yet completely intimate with us…
As we give our lives to God, we declare ourselves bondservants, this process takes place: Exodus 21:2-6 “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”
If we say to God: “I love my master”
Greek: “Ahavti et Adoun”
We become bonded with Christ and serve Him out of our love for Him.
But Christ not only calls us His bondservants, He also calls us something more personal: He calls us Friends!
He is both infinite and personal! He is far above all of His creation yet completely intimate with us…
As we give our lives to God, we declare ourselves bondservants, this process takes place: Exodus 21:2-6 “When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.”
If we say to God: “I love my master”
Greek: “Ahavti et Adoun”
We become bonded with Christ and serve Him out of our love for Him.
But Christ not only calls us His bondservants, He also calls us something more personal: He calls us Friends!
John 15:15
"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
And not only that, but we are also His Bride!!!
And not only that, but we are also His Bride!!!
Ephesians 5:25-33
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."
How much more personal can you get?
If any part of God changed, we would stand the chance of loosing these relationships! Christ’s sacrifice might become nothing and we could loose our most presious position: Eternal Life with God through Christ Jesus!
Aren’t you glad that God does not change?
I am too!
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 10:09 PM
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