Our God IS Immutable

Hi Everyone,

I debated some in my head about the title of this post. I decided to use a word that is a little more uncommon-not something we say every day.

So what does "Immutable" mean? not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature; "the view of that time was that all species were immutable, created by God" I took this definition from
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn and hope it was acceptable to do so.


Okay, so the, "not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature;" is the part of the definition that I would like to focus on because it would pertain and does pertain to GOD HIMSELF-whether or not the people of the Princeton Educators or (and I say this with due respect) whoever else "came up with the definition meant it to or not. The second part of the definition, dealing with God's creation,"the view of that time was that all species were immutable, created by God" is ALSO TRUE, but for the purposes of this post right now, and what I want to communicate we are not going to touch on it! Maybe another day if the Lord leads me, I will do that. WE ARE FOCUSING ON THE FACT THAT GOD HIMSELF IS UNCHANGING HERE---AND NOT what he does.

First of all, we see that God is unchanging and a really clear place where we see that is in Exodus where He speaks to Moses. This is not the first place where God mentions the fact that He does not change--because He says over and over in Genesis when He speaks to others in various situations that He IS the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, which in essence shows His consistency and unchanging character, but for practical purposes we will go to Exodus first."

It is a reality that sometimes one can catch wind of a philosophy out there that the Old Testament is "irrelevant" for today, bu the truth is that, although there are several things that are no longer necessary for us to put into practice today, (For example making animal sacrifices to God and the whole sacrificial system that was in place for Israel, God's people then, BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST DIED AND WAS/IS THE PERFECT SACRIFICE WHO PAID THE PRICE FOR OUR SINS, there are many other things that we can learn that totally apply, regarding God's Character, His standard of Holiness because He IS holy, and many other things. There is a difference between what we still put into practice today and what applies to us. I hope this makes some sense. Anyway, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" ALL SCRIPTURE includes both the Old And New Testament.

Exodus 3:11-15 " But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation."

Think about God speaking to Moses all the way back and telling him that He was the same! I love this part "This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation." It just gives me goose bumps thinking that God said that to Moses and that Yes, in all of GOD'S AWESOMENESS, (not sure what word to use here), it all totally applies to TODAY--God is UNCHANGING FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION!!!!

We see another example, among many, of God expressing the fact that HE does not change to the people of Israel. (See the first words in bold)

Malachi 3:6-7 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?'"

And as HE called the people of Israel to return to Him, His call has not changed to us! He calls us to trust in what Jesus Christ did for us by dying on the cross, taking our sin upon Himself, paying the debt that we owed and could never pay back, and He arose from the grave giving absolute validation and proof to everything that He said about being God. BUT EVEN TODAY, HE STILL CALLS US ONE BY ONE INDIVIDUALLY AND PERSONALLY TO COME TO HIM WITH OUR TRUST!
Have you responded to His call, dear friend, or are you walking in rebellion and rejection of Him?

In the verses in Hebrews below, we see that God has confirmed to us that He is indeed unchanging. There has been no variation or violation of his character throughout all of eternity (Because even before God created this earth, He existed (See Genesis 1:1). This is all so incredible and so precious when you really think about it!

Hebrews 6:16-18 "Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 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."

The next pverses in James 1 was indeed written to believers in the first century (I think that is the right term) of the CHURCH (Believers that are truly a part of the body of Christ) And yet although it was a letter written to them, it applies to us and there is so much that we can leran from it! It points to God's immutability.

James 1:16- "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Why can we persevere under trial? Why can we have such a true peace and joy? BECAUSE GOD IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE UNCHANGING AND FAITHFUL TO ALL THAT HE HAS SAID!!! I guess this is like a continuation of my last post. Again, WHAT TRUE SECURITY NO MATTER WHAT WE ARE FACING IN LIFE---OUR SECURITY IS FOUND IN NONE OTHER THAN GOD HIMSELF!!!!

James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

The Believers and followers of Jesus (Yes, THAT is what a TRUE CHRISTIAN IS--a follower of Christ!) at the time that James wrote this were enduring heavy persecution for their faith. Hebrews chapter 11 seems to let us in on some of that insight, and by NO MEANS do I want to minimize that under any circumstances BUT THE POINT IS THAT WE TOO WILL FACE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS---but we can go through then resting in the security of the fact that our God is unchanging and everything else that He IS!!!! And as a result of doing that....WE WILL be blessed as James 1:12 says. So lets persevere, COME WHAT MAY!! JESUS CHRIST IS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!