God Never Changes

On Wednesdays we celebrate “walking in the Word” through study & application of Biblical doctrine. Rightly understanding Biblical doctrine fuels doxology, delight in Jesus, &  gospel centered discipleship. This week we dive into theology proper: Knowing God (3 of 5).

When change and decay is all you see as true, may God’s unchanging nature comfort you.
 
Seasons change- God is unchanging.
Weather varies- God remains the same.
Technology innovates- God is immutable.
People mature- God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Landscapes alter- Nothing erodes or enhances our Creator's character,  who Himself proclaims:
 
“For I the Lord do not change…” Malachi 3:6
 
Key Verse: “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.” James 1:17
 
A.W. Pink described God’s unchanging nature saying, “This is one of the divine perfections which is not sufficiently pondered. It is one of the excellencies of the Creator which distinguishes Him from all His creatures. God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations.” (Gleanings in the Godhead- PDF here) Because God is eternally Himself, God can know no change. God “gives to all, and is enriched by none” because God is the unchangeable Rock, our stable sanctuary in the stormy seas of an ever-changing world.  
 
“An infinite and eternal fountain of love”
In his classic work Charity and it’s Fruits (PDF here), Jonathan Edwards anchors Christian security in God’s steadfast love, a reality ensured through God’s unchanging nature.  Edward’s logic is simple to follow: Because God is infinite and eternal, He must also be all-sufficient, “an infinite and eternal fountain of love.” God loves Himself eternally (as we saw last week in John 17) and by implication of His forever nature of love, God’s people can be sure that “God’s steadfast love endures forever!” (By the way, this refrain is repeated 41 times in the OT, twenty-six of which are in Psalm 136) God never changes. God is love. God’s steadfast love is forever!

God never changes because God is perfect in His being- eternally. God does not need to increase or grow, nor diminish or decrease. More than God’s love, “every good and perfect give is from above…” because God is perfectly Himself- The great “I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) God is forever the fullness of His attributes: Goodness, love, wisdom, justice, mercy, truth, faithfulness, holiness… because “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Not only can God not change, “there is no variation or shadow of change” in Him. (James 1:17) God is love. God never changes. God’s steadfast love is forever!
 
“God is good- All the time. All the time- God is good.”
To know God is to know the fullness of love manifest from above through the person and work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. What is true of love is also true for each of God’s communicable attributes. God is forever faithful because God is faithful- And this will never change. God is forever good, because God is good- forever. In a world where everything fluctuations, our security is in a faithful, unchanging, Savior.
 
God relates to us personally, yet God does not change eternally. Scripture discloses the divine in anthropomorphic ways, revealing to us what is true about God. These divine accommodations are never negations of core of divine revelation: “For I the Lord do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) This truth gives us safety. The heavens and earth will pass away, but God will not change- so believers live assured of God’s steadfast love and goodness! (Psalm 102:25-28) 
 
Take a moment to imagine a god that changes, leaving  people wondering if he is fully good when life is horrible. Or fully wise when there are more questions than answers. Or fully love when life in this fallen world leaves us with more fear than faith. What kind of god is inconsistent, unreliable, and undependable? A god that changes. It turns out, a changing god is no god at all!
 
From the darkest pits of life, the person who knows God must call to mind the unchanging nature of God: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases (it is forever!) and His mercy never comes to an end (because God never changes!) …Great is Your faithfulness, oh God!” (Lamentations 3:21-24). 
 
God, and God alone, is what we need. God is our portion. God is sufficient. God is forever His being, never becoming, so those who know Him through Jesus can become more like Him in our being as our hearts rest securely in His unchanging nature.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you live as if this revelation is true, that God is forever unchanging? This is to ask, do you believe God is good, loving… all the time? Is this how you relate to Him?
 
-People rob God of His immutability by defining God through his anthropomorphisms. The truth is, God desires to engage us personally so we can know Him as He is eternally. Take a moment to meditate on the forever reality of God’s love, goodness, wisdom, truth… and His desire to reveal Himself in these ways, to you.
 
-Jesus is the fullness of God, the “I AM” of God’s forever faithfulness. How can you, specifically, take steps to know Jesus more fully in who He reveals Himself to be eternally?
 
Key Verses
“For I the Lord do not change…” Malachi 3:6
“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.” James 1:17

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