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Season 2, Episode 31
For Monday, September 14, 2015
“God is Unchangeable”
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Episode Transcript:
Welcome to The New You, where we focus on maintaining and accentuating the new that Christ has created in you. I’m Robert Hatfield, and here is today’s scripture:
For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob (Mal. 3:6).
We have studied before about the nature and the attributes of God. As a quick reminder, you remember that God’s nature is the Divine Essence, which is possessed by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Basically, the nature of God is what makes God Who He is. There are non-moral attributes and moral attributes of God’s nature. Today, I want us to look at this non-moral attribute of the nature of God – His immutability.
To say that God is “immutable” is to say that He is unchangeable. “I am the LORD, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6). There is no variation in the nature of God. We constantly change our minds, don’t we? Often, those changes are inconsistent with decisions we have made in the past. Sometimes that is good, like in repentance. Other times that is not so good, like when a Christian falls away. God, however, does not change in His nature. He doesn’t make decisions that are inconsistent with those that He made in the past (Num. 23:19). Any change in God’s nature would invalidate the rest of His nature.
Notice five ways that God has demonstrated His immutability.
First, God is unchangeable in His power.
Abraham was confident in God’s power. In fact, he was so confident in God that, when God told him that he would have a son through whom all nations would be blessed, Romans says that he was “fully convinced that what [God] had promised He was also able to perform” (Rom. 4:21). God is just as powerful today as He has ever been.
Second, God is unchangeable in His plans and purposes.
What God wills to be done will be done! Isaiah says that God knows the end from the beginning, and He says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” (Isa. 46:10).
Third, God is unchangeable in His promises.
God did not fail to keep His promises to the Israelites (cf. 1 Kings 8:56), and He will not fail us in the promises which He has made (2 Cor. 1:20).
Fourth, God is unchangeable in His justice.
When God tells Abraham about the wickedness of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities, Abraham asks God to spare any who are righteous people there. Then, Abraham asked this rhetorical question: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25). Of course He will! He did then, and He will in the future.
Fifth, God is unchangeable in His love and mercy.
The Psalmist declared, “The mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting” (Psa. 103:17). That’s powerful. The Psalms also declare that “His mercy endures forever” (Psa. 118:29).
Let’s wrap it up: Aren’t you thankful that God is immutable, or unchangeable? God’s immutability should comfort His people. God always hears and answers our prayers. God can and will do everything that He has promised. God is faithful, dependable, reliable, and trustworthy. We can count on God!
On the other hand, though, God’s immutability also serves as a warning to those who do not love and serve Him. We have been warned: “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7-8).
Memory Verse: This week’s verse reminds us of God’s immutability. He has promised eternal life to those who are faithful to Him, and we can know that He will keep that promise! Here’s Titus 1:2.
In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began (Titus 1:2).
Thanks for listening to The New You. This podcast is brought to you by The Light Network. Visit us online at thelightnetwork.tv. Please subscribe to The New You in iTunes or in your favorite podcast app to automatically receive each new episode.
Tomorrow, let’s shift our attention to one of the moral attributes of God: His holiness. I’ll meet you then for The New You.
