Every attribute of God is true of all the Persons of God. The Trinity is coeternal and coequal. They are fully God, yet distinct. And God in His divine community perfectly portrays His attributes in harmony. The immutability of God is no different—who He is will never change.
Remember that what you think about God reveals your own heart. Increase your view of God, deepen your understanding of Him, and you will greater reflect His glory. By studying God, you can marvel at His greatness, how much He transcends our comprehension.
The Unchangeableness (Immutability) of God
James 1:17 tells us there is “no variation or shifting shadow” with God. As Tozer puts it, “He never differs from Himself. The concept of a growing or developing God is not found in the Scriptures.” This truth is contrary to what modern culture would like to teach us. Culture, after all, is constantly changing, and it wants a god that changes with it.
For this reason, some theologians have come up with process theology, which is popular among non-evangelical seminaries today. This type of theology makes the claim that God is changeable. He is not omnipotent, and He must respond to whatever humanity does.
But the real God is immutable. He cannot change for better or for worse, because He is perfect. His character will not change, and so we can rely on Him. We can put our hope in the unchangeable God, and that hope will never be shaken. Only He can sustain our longing, and only He can fulfill His every promise.
Six Truths of God’s Immutability
J. I. Packer draws out six truths of God’s immutability in his book, Knowing God, that can give us hope:
- God’s life does not change.
- God’s character does not change.
- God’s truth does not change.
- God’s ways does not change.
- God’s purposes does not change.
- God’s Son does not change.
Because Christ lives in us, we have hope. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so we can trust Him. His plans are always good, and He will always bring them to pass. He is constant, and we can always be secure in Him.
This study is based on J. I. Packer’s Knowing God and A. W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy.
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