The Attributes of God: Immutability

Closely associated with God’s attribute of eternity is His immutability, which can be defined as: God is unchanging in His essence and character.

Mutability is a quality belonging to creatures like us, while immutability to God only. “For I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6).

1. God is immutable in His nature and essence, being simple and free from all alteration. As modern sciences have proved, the simpler and purer a substance is, the less it is subject to change. Gold and silver, two of the purest and freest of all metals from composition, are not as alterable as others; spirits, being uncompounded, not being made up of parts, are not as subject to change as bodies. God, an infinite and uncreated Spirit, free from composition in every way, is wholly and perfectly immutable; and because He is “eternal“, time does not apply to Him. In contrast, time is applicable to a creature, and is used to measure its duration, beginning when it began to be and not before; but God is the maker of all things including time and therefore before time. He was the same before time began as now, and now as he was before time began.
   • He is “even the same today, yesterday, and forever.“ (Hebrews 13:8)
   • Though He is called “the ancient of days“ (Daniel 7:9), He does not grow older, He is no older today than He was eons ago, nor will be for eternity to come; His eternity is an everlasting and unchangeable “now.“ “They (all creation) will perish, but You (God) will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but You are the same, and Your years have no end.“ (Psalm 102:26-27)
2. God is immutable in His perfections or attributes. Considering these separately from His nature and essence as proven above would help in a better understanding of the immutability of God. For instance, He is the same as ever in His power, which He has manifested in numerous occasions, in creation, providence, man’s redemption, etc., yet it is not exhausted, nor in the least diminished. His strength is everlasting, His power eternal, perpetually the same. His knowledge all-embracing, His understanding infinite, they neither increased nor decreased. The knowledge of men increases gradually, but not so with God, He knows no more today than He did from all eternity. He knew as much then as He does in the present, for He knows and sees all things at once in His vast eternal mind, not as things in succession. His grace, love and mercy are also unchangeable, though there has been such an abundance of His goodness bestowed on His creatures, they are eternally the same in Him with no decline whatsoever. (See article “The attributes of God: Eternity“)
3. God is immutable in His purposes and decrees. There is a purpose for everything, and a time for that purpose; God has ordained all that ever was, is, or shall be; all things come to pass according to the counsel of His will, and all His decrees are similarly unchangeable.
   1. His purposes are eternal.
      • “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.“ (Psalm 33:11)
      • “This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:11)
   2. The purposes are always carried into execution.
      1. “The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.” … For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:24, 27)
      2. “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”" (Isaiah 46:9-10) No new thoughts arise in His mind; no new resolutions or decrees are created in His heart. His counsels or purposes are “of old, faithful and sure” (Isaiah 25:1); they are made with His unfathomable wisdom, so are unchangeagle. Being “all-knowing” and ”all-powerful”, he sees and declares the end from the beginning, and nothing unforeseen will ever surprise Him as to hinder the fulfillment of His plans and determinations.
      3. Whatever devices men or the devils have framed or formed will be no avail for it is not within their power to disannul or frustrate the plans of God.
         • “But He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? What he desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me, and many such things are in His mind.” (Job 23:14)
         • Peter, in addressing the crowd in Acts 2:22-23, said “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know–this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
4. Though God is immutable in His being, nature, perfections, purposes and decrees, yet:
   1. He acts and feels differently to different circumstances. God’s change in attitude and relationship towards His creatures in fact proves his immutability because He responds consistently and appropriately to a changed situation.
      • “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown”" And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. … When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it.” (Jonah 3:4-5, 10) God threatened the Ninevites with their city’s ruin within forty days, that is, unless they repent from their evil ways; they did repent, and were delivered from destruction. God repenting of what He had threatened; which, though was a change of His external conduct, was not a change of His will; because their repentance and their subsequent deliverance were both in accordance with His immutable will. (Jonah 3:4,10)
      • “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life” (Isaiah 38:5). The express declaration that Hezekiah should “die and not recover” (Isaiah 38:1) from his illness and his subsequent recovery are not in any way a contradiction to the immutability of God, for it is in the secret will of God that he should live “fifteen years” longer–the declaration was made to humble Hezekiah and to set him praying, as means whereby the immutable will of God was achieved.
   2. He acts and feels emotions.
      • God rejoices. “For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:5)
      • God grieves. “How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!” (Psalm 78:40)
      • God loves. “In overflowing anger for a moment I hid My face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.” (Isaiah 54:8)
      • God shows compassions. “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:13)
      • God provoked to wrath. “Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 9:7)

God is infinite and perfect, but if God is mutable in His perfections, then any change on His part would be for the worse. It would truly be fearsome indeed. But because He is immutable, He cannot change for the worse; and since he already possesses all perfection, He does not have to undergo any further development. God is also immutable in His purposes and promises, but if God could alter His purposes and promises, then He could not be depended on. He could be just as fickle-minded as we are. He would not be trustworthy with His word; He won’t be faithful to His promises; and we would have no peace and security in Him.

Praise God for He is eternally immutable in all His perfections and yet He chooses to relate to us in a personal way. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:16-17)