💫 Immutability of God💡🤍

“I, the Lord, never change,” God declares in Malachi 3:6. So that’s where we start. Change means a move in another direction. For God to change would mean that He either becomes better or worse, and God is ultimate perfection. He cannot change because He cannot be better than He already is; and He cannot fail or become less than perfect, so He cannot become worse than He is. God’s quality of never changing is called immutability.

God never changes, and nothing about Him changes: His character traits such as love, mercy, kindness, justice, and wisdom always exist in perfection. The methods He uses to deal with human beings have changed through the centuries, but the values and purposes behind those methods did not. For example, under the Mosaic Covenant, God declared that animals sacrificed in the manner He prescribed would atone for the sins of the people (Leviticus 4:23; 9:2–13; Numbers 29:11). Under the terms of the New Covenant, the Son of God Himself became the sacrifice, and the old system, having served its purpose, became obsolete (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:11–14). God’s holiness, His wrath against sin, and His extension of mercy did not change, but He did provide a better sacrifice for us: the perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29; Hebrews 10:10). This change from the Old Covenant to the New was needed, and it is wonderful, securing eternal life for those who trust in Christ (John 3:16–18).

God never changes, but people do: our bodies, brains, ideas, and values all change. In fact, God built into us the ability to change. Part of being created in God’s image is that human beings can think, reason, and come to conclusions distinct from physical or material realities (Genesis 1:27).

Once we are “in Christ,” everything changes. We are born again (John 3:3). Our ideas change. Our perspective changes. Our values and actions change to line up with God’s Word. As the Holy Spirit works within us, we find that “the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Christian life is an ongoing series of changes as we grow in knowledge, faith, and holiness (1 Peter 1:16; Hebrews 12:14). We grow in Christ (2 Peter 3:18), and growth requires change.

Some people believe that God’s Word must change or adapt to keep up with the times. However, Jesus strongly validated the Scriptures and called them “truth” (John 17:17). He also said, “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” If God’s character does not change, then His Word does not change. His truth, standards, and way of salvation will never change (John 14:6). Changeable humans do not have the power or authority to change God’s Word, and only the foolish will try.

Change for its own sake is neither good nor bad. It depends on the direction the change takes you. We should be willing to change our minds and our lifestyles when we are shown from God’s infallible Word that we are wrong. We should embrace change, no matter how hard it is, when it comes from God. But we must respect that some things never change and are not meant to: pretending we can change God or His Word to fit our preferences is a dangerous idea and only leads to destruction.