THE UNCHANGEABLE GOD

I remember when I was in graduate school trying to finish and I got sick with a virus in my glands. At first they were not sure what I had, but all I knew was that it drained me of strength continually. Honestly, I would wake up in the morning tired and caught myself saying, “This is unlike me!” What I meant was my emotional stamina could not bear up under the pressure of my school workload due to my illness. God will never have this problem.

When the Bible speaks of God being unchangeable (or immutable), it means that God is unchanging in His character and, not like me who felt I was unlike myself, God never differs from Himself. He never changes moods, cools off in His affections, or loses enthusiasm. This does not imply that God is some kind of motionless or inactive force in the universe. That was at one time a concept in Greek philosophy, that God was an immovable mover. Listen to how the Bible describes God:

Malachi 3:6 “For I the Lord do not change…” Psalm 102: 25 “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.” James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is not variation of shifting and shadow.”

To say that God immutable is to say that He never differs from Himself. He will not compromise His character nor does He need an outside source to convince Him to change His mind. He cannot be persuaded to alter His Word (Matt. 5:18,19). Nor will He be talked into answering selfish prayer (James 4:1‑3). Why? Because if God needed something other than Himself to bring about change, then He would be vulnerable to change. He would not be an Unchangeable God.

PROBLEM This brings us to a question: Does God allow His mind to be changed through our prayers? I think He does, but the way it changes is entirely different from the way our minds are changed. We change our mind when we gain additional information that we did not previously have. God is all knowing, so when He hears our prayers, they are not a surprise to Him, for He knows what we will ask before we pray (Matthew 6:8). What is so wonderful is that God has chosen to use our prayers, and petitions, to carry out His plans and purpose. Prayer is not something that changes God, but rather changes us as we pray.

There is another problem for us as humans. We live in such a changing world, one that is wearing down and wearing out (Romans 8:20-22). We are also told that our bodies are perishing or decaying (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Natural science has even defined a law that describes this; it is called the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Things of this world tend to randomly decay. Now, this being true, how then can we be stable people in the midst of change? Let’s be even more personal about this. The airline industry is unstable and going through some of the greatest changes in its history. How can we be stable people when facing cutbacks, pay cuts, layoffs and job loss? How should we respond to these changes?

The worldview that God gives us in the Bible is both real and livable. Real, because it gives us the real picture of the condition of the world and why it got that way (Romans 8:18-34). We are told that we humans have been subject to the twin disease of mutation and mortality. Solutions apart from God’s cannot be lived consistently in God’s world. People can believe such views, and they can even try to live out their view in God’s world. However, their godless views will not make sense of the real problems. Allow me to illustrate. Image a fish making a philosophy about how fish should live out of water. Well, it can either live in water with its philosophy and not live consistent with what it believes or it will try to live consistent with its worldview and jump out of water, only to find out in a short time that it will die. When we reject God, we cannot make sense of this world nor understand why it is changing.

APPLICATION We must come back to our need for experiencing God’s stability in our lives in this changing world. If everything is in a state of change, we would do well to ask ourselves which way are we changing, toward the better or toward the worst? Also, what do we need in order to change for the better?

The biblical worldview clearly tells us that the material things of this world cannot ultimately change us for the better. They can give our life temporary comfort or relief, but the fact that they wear out or change themselves means they cannot make us better. There are too many real life stories where people got what they wanted materially but found in a matter of time that the joy of it did not last. Some people have even received in abundance the things of this world, and later actually found that possessing such riches destroyed relationships and corrupted them personally.

The Bible actually gives us a picture of how God’s people face trials and loss, only to gain something they cannot lose (Hebrews 10:32-35). Jesus said, “Life does not consist of the abundance of possessions” because these things do not give us love, faithfulness, endurance, hope, peace and contentment. We are told that if we have a good job in a sound company, then we will have stability. This may bring us a regular paycheck but not necessarily a stable life. Neither can our company nor our paycheck provide us with the real things that give stability. James tell us that trials and testing in life can actually produce a faith that is pure and enduring. That is why he said, “Count it all joy when you face such trials and testing…” (James 1:3-4). The apostle Paul clearly understood that God supplies us with all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). He understood that enjoyment of things themselves comes from God Himself, not from things themselves.

We are also told that God’s purpose for our life is unchangeable. We may set temporary goals that are achieved or changed, but God’s purpose is constant. Here is how he describes it in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Also, chapter 2:12 reads, “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” In 2 Corinthians 3:18, we are told that whenever a person turns to the Lord and focuses on Him throughout life, God will transform them for the better. You see, when the bible addresses our being changed, it tells us that it is solely done by the work of God who lives in us.

God has also given us His revealed truth in the Bible. We are told that it is forever settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89), and that it will be fulfilled (Matthew 5:18). That being true, then our becoming stable people in this changing world will require us to learn and hinge our life on the unchanging truth of God. Only this can give us a worldview that can lead us to a total life experience.

God’s unchanging character and His unchanging work are like an anchor to our soul that gives our lives stability in this shifting world (Hebrews 6:18-19). Do you see this changing world changing you for the worst or the Unchanging God changing you for the better?

And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure. Isaiah 33:6

NEXT Click on Part 4 The Nearness of God