Galatians 6:7
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," Galatians 6:7. As we continue looking at who our God is, today we will look at the biblical fact that God is Immutable. God does not change. This should give us great comfort. Everything is constantly changing. Look at a picture from ten years ago, and then look in the mirror. Technology changes so rapidly that by the time you get your cell phone half way figured out it becomes obsolete. We could spend days talking about how everything changes. We don't know what to expect from day to day which can cause doubt, fear, anxiety, etc. Most of us have lived ling enough to know that we cannot trust people. If you think you can trust people, it will not be long and you will learn that you cannot. "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes," Psalm 118:8-9. In Romans 3:4 the Bible says, "Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar." Man is always changing, but God is not, and does not change. "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed," Malachi 3:6.
God is immutable, which means His personal perfections are also immutable. Since God has no beginning and no ending, He can know no change. He is everlastingly immutable. What God was before He spoke this world into existence, He has always been, and He will always be. God doesn't change over time and become something other than what He has always been. If God ever changed, He would cease to be God. It is in our nature to change, but not God. We change what we say on a regular basis. We may have to retract a statement, but not God. "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven," Psalm 118:89. God's Word does not change. For those of us who are saved, this should strengthen our faith. There will never be a time when God will not love His children. "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee," Jeremiah 31:3. We view love as a feeling, therefore we feel like we are on a roller coaster ride, but Gods love is everlasting and is an action, not a feeling. How can God continue to love me when I fail Him every day? His love towards His children will never change. What He has decreed will come to pass, and what He has purposed He will do. Nothing and no one can change Gods love to us. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," Romans 8:35-39. This does not give us a free pass to sin, but instead should cause us to live a holy life.
There are some things about God's immutability that are really beyond our understanding. God has always been, and He always will be. There has never been a time when God was not, and there will never be a time when He will cease to be. If we try to fully understand this truth we may become light headed. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen," Romans 11:33-36. "First, God is immutable in His essence. His nature and being are infinite, and so, subject to no mutations. There never was a time when he was not; there never will come a time when he shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that he is today, he has ever been, and ever will be. "I am the Lord, I change not" (Malichi 3:6) is his own unqualified affirmation. He cannot change for the better, for he is already perfect; and being perfect, he cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside of himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, "I am that I am" (Exodus 3:14). He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. Therefore his power can never diminish nor his glory fade." A.W. Pink.
As we have already mentioned, God does not change His Word. It is forever settled in heaven. He will do what He said He will do. This is great news for all whom the Lord has and will redeem. Turn to I Thessalonians 4:13-18. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time," I Peter 1:3-5. All whom the Lord has ordained to save He will surely save. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance," II Peter 3:9.
All who are saved have great consolation in the biblical fact that God doesn't change, but all who are not saved will have great calamity. This is also a biblical fact that will not change. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire," Revelation 20:15. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death," Revelation 21:8.
Again, the Christian has great comfort in knowing God is immutable. No matter what our situation is, God is the same. I do not think I could make it through life if God was subject to change. God doesn't change, therefore; He is our Rock; He is our Strong-tower; He is our everlasting God. No matter what comes our way in life, God doesn't change. This is a wonderful biblical truth that we can rest upon. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
