Attributes of God: God's Immutability

Attributes of God God’s Immutability-God Never Changes

In our study of the attributes of God, we do not want to overlook the Immutability of God.

Look up the word Immutable and write a definition in the box below:

Definition of Immutable:

Review of the Immutability of God:

What it does NOT mean-

It does NOT mean that God won’t change (as in refusing to change)
It does NOT mean that God’s PURPOSE doesn’t change (see Hebrews 6:17-18)

When I am sinning, God's purpose will be to bring me to repentance. When I am obeying,
God's purpose will direct me in in the path He wants me to take.
His purpose changes, but His nature and will do not change.

What Immutability DOES mean is:

God’s Nature cannot change
God’s Will cannot change.

HE NEVER CHANGES

“Praise the LORD, He never changes,

He’s never any ‘other’ way

And He’ll be the same tomorrow as He was and is today.” -Wyrtzen

Biblical Basis for God’s Immutability

Copy the phrase in the following verses that refers to the immutability of God.

Numbers 23: 19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? New International Version (NIV)

1 Samuel 15 :29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."

Psalm 102: 25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. 27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end. New International Version (NIV)
Romans 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. New International Version (NIV)

Malachi 3: 6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. New International Version (NIV)

Hebrews 6: 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.

Titus 1:2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, New International Version (NIV)

James 1: 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows

Based on these Scriptures, summarize in your own words what God’s Word has to say about the immutability of God.

Why it is important that God cannot change:

What are some reasons that it is important that God cannot change?

What would be our concerns regarding the following attributes of God if God could change? His Omniscience: (all knowing) His Goodness: His Mercy: His Grace: His Loving kindness: His Purity: His Omnipresence: (all present) His Omnipotence: (all powerful)

Implications of God’s Immutability

Explain the statement: God’s will is identical with His nature.

Human nature changes, however God’s nature cannot change.
God's will must agree with His nature. For instance, God is holy.
It is impossible for God to do something that is not in agreement with His holy nature.
Since God's nature does not change, His will also does not change.
The consequences of God's will changing means that He is not all knowing,
He did not know what was best in the first place.
We could not trust in a God whose nature and will can change.

Why is it important to you that God cannot change His mind?

What is the difference between God's purpose and God's will?

God's nature and will cannot change. However His purpose can change.
Today His purpose may be to draw you to repentance regarding a sin in your life.
If you repent, His purpose will be to show you "this is the way walk in it."
God's purpose moves because we have a human nature that is capable of changing.
His purpose at work in us changes as we change.

However God's will is firm it does not change on the basis of our behavior.
It is always God's will for us to follow Him in obedience.
His purpose in our lives will change according to whether or not we are obeying His will.

Note: An omniscient all knowing God cannot change His mind.
An omni benevolent (all good) God won’t change His will to a better good.
If so, then he was not omni benevolent.

Nothing a creature can do can change God's nature or will in any way, does this mean we should not pray?

This is a common concern with the immutability of God.
Why should we pray if God's will and nature do not change?
We will look more closely at this in "Objections to God's Immutability."

Objections to God’s Immutability

The Bible says God changed His will-
List the phrase that indicates God changed His will
in each of the following verses: Gen 6:6; I Sam 15:11; Jonah 3:10

Genesis 6:6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. New International Version (NIV)

1 Samuel 15:11 "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night. New International Version (NIV)

Jonah 3:10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.

Do these verses mean that God changes?

Answer: These are called anthropomorphisms or speaking in human terms, as if God has eyes, legs, and arms.
God only appears to change when WE change.
An example of this- God has unchanging anger toward our sin and unchanging pleasure in our repentance.
When we repent we simply move from under one unchanging attribute to another.
(Think of a person moving in relation to an unmoving pillar.
The person moves to one side or the other, but the pillar does not move)

If God cannot change should we stop praying?

If God can’t change then why pray?

Answer: We should pray because-

God uses prayer to accomplish His ends just as God uses preaching to accomplish them
Prayer is not a means by which we change God, it is a means by which He changes us

c. It is a privilege to be used by God in any way He desires.

What is the purpose of prayer in the following verses?

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. New International Version (NIV)

1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. New International Version (NIV)

Objection: An unchangeable God is impersonal and unapproachable

Why does the fact that God does not change make Him personal rather than impersonal?

An unchangingly loving God is eminently approachable versus one
who can change how he feels about us
An infinitely loving Person is the most personal of all!
If we could change God He would not be God. A god you can manipulate is an idol.

Our response to God’s Immutability

1. We can trust God’s Word

Numbers 23 :19-20

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

New International Version (NIV)

2. We can trust God’s promises What portion of the following verses implies we can trust God's promises?

Psalm 102:27-28 But you remain the same, and your years will never end. The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you."

3. We can be sure of our salvation. What portion of the following verse implies
we can be sure of our salvation?

2 Timothy 2:13if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

4. We have an anchor for our souls. Which portion of the
following verses implies we have an anchor for our souls?

Hebrews 6:17-19 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

. We have a stable foundation for service. Which portion of the following verse implies
we have a stable foundation for service?

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

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