Immutability: The Attributes That Are Only True of God

Immutability

Immutability means God is unchanging and unchangeable. He is not capable or susceptible to change; this is true of His essence and character. This does not mean inactivity or immobility.

Scripture
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. (Ps. 102:25-27)

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Mal. 3:6)

And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. (Heb. 1:12)

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us... (Heb. 6:17-18)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)

Is this problematic? Perhaps it is, we may ask, “Why does Scripture speak of God ‘repenting’ if He is so immutable?”

Some Apparent Contradictions

God Does Not Repent
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Num. 23:19)

And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. (1Sam. 15:29)

The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. (Ps. 110:4)

For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Rom. 11:29)

God Does Repent
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Gen. 6:6)

And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. (Ex. 32:14)

11) It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 35) And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. (1Sam. 15:11, 35)

And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. (2Sam. 24:16)

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? (Joel 2:13-14)

3) The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD. 6) The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD. (Amos 7:3, 6)

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. (Jonah 3:10)

Principles For Reconciling This Difficulty

To reconcile these things we must remember that the Scriptures use *anthropomorphisms, and we also need to realize that the change is really in man and not in God. To put it more plainly, the change is in the way God’s plan is unfolded to man, not in the plan it’s self. Scriptures do indicate that God has an eternal plan. The plan is fixed, it does not change, the change is in the way the plan is unfolded to man (Jer. 18:8).

The Solution
From a human perspective God sometimes appears to change or to repent. From divine view point no change has ever taken place.

Here are Five Areas of Immutability

Power
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Rom. 4:20-21)

Plan and Purpose
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. (Is. 46:9-10)

For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Rom. 11:29)

Promises
Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. (1Kings 8:56)

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. (2Cor. 1:20)

Love and Mercy
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children... (Ps. 103:17)

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Mal.3:6)

Justice
(See Gen. 18:17-33).

Application
We can rely on God’s unchanging Word. God will not change His faithfulness. We can depend on God’s promises (Num. 23:19; 1Kings 8:56; 2Cor. 1:20; Titus 1:2; Heb. 10:23; 11:11). We can rely on God’s forgiveness (1John 1:9). We can rely on God keeping us (2Tim. 2:11- 13). God is imutable.

Stay salty,
Brother John

*God does express Himself by use of anthropomorphisms.

Anthropomorphism means the characteristics of God that are stated in terms of human elements.

Some examples of anthropomorphisms are:
Mouth... Isaiah 1:20
Nostrils... 2Sam. 22:9
Back... Exodus 33:23
Hands... Ex. 33:22; Isaiah 65:2
Arms... Deuteronomy 33:27
Ears... Isaiah 59:1
Eyes... 2Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 11:4, 34:15
Face... Exodus 33:11 and
Feet... Isaiah 66:1

Eternity: The Attributes That Are Only True of God

Eternity

Eternity means infinity in relationship to time. God is free from succession of time. God is free to act within time and outside of this limitation (see Gen. 18:14; Gal. 4:4). God is without beginning of years or end of days including eternity past, and eternity future. Only God is eternal in both, while we will be eternally future but are not eternally past. Time has objective reality to God, but He sees the past and future as vividly as the present. God is the cause of time (Heb. 1:2; 11:3).

Scripture
And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (Gen. 21:33)

For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. (Deut. 32:40)

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. (Deut. 33:27)

Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. (Job 36:26)

Click and read Psalm 90. This is great just to contemplate.

Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. (Ps. 102:25-27)

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Is. 57:15)

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Col. 1:17)

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1Tim. 1:17)

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2Pet. 3:8)

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen (Jude 24-25)

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Rev. 1:8)

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Rev. 21:6)

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Rev. 22: 13.)

Application
God gives eternal life (John 3:16-18; 1John 5:11-13), therefore we must redeem the time for eternity (Eph. 5:16).

In his time,
Brother John

Infinity:The Attributes That Are Only True of God

Infinity

Infinity means that there are no limitations which can be assigned to God’s essence or being. He transcends all limitations of time and space.

In Time, He is eternal.

In Space, He is immanent.

In His Being, He is absolute perfection.

Scripture
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? (1Kings 8:27)

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (Acts 17:28)

Application
We can and must rest in His greatness. He is awesome!

Stay salty,
brother John

Freedom: The Attributes that Are True of God Alone

Freedom
Freedom means that God is independent of His creation; He is at liberty to act or not to act in accordance with His good pleasure. He is free as to His volitions when they are determined by His own sense of what is wise, right, and desirable. In this sense His creatures including humans do not possess freedom, every one of us saved and unsaved are dependent on God our creator, whether we are conscience of it or not. Without Him our heart will not beat, we could not draw a breath, we could not be.

There are limitations or restrictions to God’s freedom (eg. of His own Perfections): God cannot do that which goes contrary to His nature, such as sin. Let the reader put it far from His mind that God is the father of sin. He is not the author and finisher of sin, this would contradict, yes and even violate His goodness and holiness. I say, “Shame on those who propagate such ideas, and shame on you and me when we consider such preposterous notions.”

Scripture
Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? (Is. 40: 13-14)

Application
God is not bound to us; He has no need for us, but we need Him. His relationship to us is that of His own freedom. Again I am struck with the awe of God. He is worthy of all our worship, and adoration, and life.