Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Beelieve- Know God Intimately: God Is Immutable Part 2

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“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end” Psalm 102:25-27


For Tuesday's lesson, Part 1 of God Is Immutable, please click here.
For previous Know God Intimately lessons, Please click here.



II. What It Means

Let’s look at several implications of immutability.

1. God’s promises do not change. "Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.” I Kings 8:56

2. God’s purposes do not change. “The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11). “The LORD Almighty has sworn, ’Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand’ (Isaiah 14:24).

3. God’s character does not change. “I the Lord do not change“ (Malachi 3:6). “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end” (Psalm 102:25-27).


He is neither indecisive in his feelings nor changeable in his moods. He never has bad days or good days. God does not treat us according to the whims of the moment. He is always completely unwavering with himself.

J. I. Packer has a wonderful paragraph about God’s unchanging character:

“Strain, or shock, or lobotomy, can alter the character of a person, but nothing can alter the character of God. In the course of a human life, tastes and outlook and temper my change radically; a kind, equable person may turn bitter or crotchety; a person of good will may grow cynical and callous. But nothing of this sort happens to the Creator. He never becomes less truthful, or merciful, or just, or good than he used to be. The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times.” (Knowing God, pp. 77-78)

The above is an extremely vital thought; God’s character is the same today as it was in Bible times. That’s why the Bible calls him the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Acts 3:13). Even though men come and go, God remains the same. He’s the same God today that He was then, which means he is absolutely trustworthy and completely steadfast in the way He deals with His children.

All of God’s attributes are included in His immutability. There can be neither increase nor decrease in their number, capacity, or power. God could not be more or less holy, righteous, omnipotent, etc. It would be totally meaninglessness to suppose He could.

Immutability, however, is not immobility. It does not mean that God cannot change His actions, or His way of dealing with man in different situations and times. It simply means His character and attributes do not change. It means that His unending purposes do not change, for He has even purposed all things that come to pass.

Even reason teaches immutability. God must be immutable; there can be no change in Him, either for better or worse, since God is infinite and absolute perfection. If God could change for the better or the worse, it would indicate a weakness in His Being. There can be no cause for change in God who is perfect.

To be continued Thursday.....

Thursday: Part 3 - What It Does NOT Mean and Conclusion/ Application

12 comments:

Denise said...

Amen, very beautiful.

luvmy4sons said...

Such a very important concept to grasp. And it still can totally blow my mind...yet how could GOD ever change? It makes so much sense too! Thanks again for another great post!

Angela said...

He is neither indecisive in his feelings nor changeable in his moods. He never has bad days or good days. God does not treat us according to the whims of the moment. He is always completely unwavering with himself
amen amen amen..great and awesome and powerful devotional. Thanks for feeding us His Word.

Beth in NC said...

That is wonderful Michele! He is never changing yet we will spend eternity seeing all of His attributes.

Bless you today!
Beth

Sharon said...

Yep he is never changing, he continues to Love us~~~yesterday~today~tomorrow always. He forgives always, he loves us unconditionally.
Wonderful post~~~always thought provoking
Have a beautiful day
Blessings

He & Me + 3 said...

In this ever changing world...I am so glad to know that nothing about God changes...He is the same and that His promises never change.

Joan said...

Pretty picture.
Thanks for sharing. Great Post!
Happy WFW, Blessings

Laurie Ann said...

Great job, Michele. Beautiful picture and verse, too. I've enjoyed reading this study. Praise God that He is unchanging and that He does not wear out. Happy WFW!

Anonymous said...

Wow this is awesome you really widen the message thanks for sharing. Nicely done. Mine is also up.

Susan said...

Wow, this was GREAT. I really enjoyed reading this.

Beautiful picture too.

Did you take it?

Hope you had a blessed day today♥

Sai Hijara - Ferraris said...

AMEN!

Happy WFW...

~♥~ Mariposa's Tales ~♥~

Toia said...

I am so glad and vless to serve a God who is the same today, tomorrow, and beyond. God is not like a box of chocolate. With Him, you know what you are getting.

All you have to do is ask. If you need a healer, you got it. If you need a provider, you got it. If you need a trustworthy friend, you got it.

God bless you for this post!! Happy WFW!!