God Does Not Change: His Life & Character

GOD’S LIFE DOES NOT CHANGE

Ponder on this thought: God has always been alive. Since God is always alive, He cannot cease to exist. Notice the following passages:

• Psalms 93:2 – Your throne was established long ago; You are from all eternity.
• Rom 1:22-23 – Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal human beings and birds and animals and reptiles.
• 1 Tim 6:16 – He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light.
• Psalms 102:26-27 – Even they (earth and heaven) will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing, You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end.
• Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
• Malachi 3:6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Created things have a beginning and an ending, but this is not how it is with their Creator.

Children normally ask, “Who made God?” The answer to this question is simply: “God did not need to be made, for He was always there.” God exists forever, and He is always the same. He does not grow older. He does not gain new powers nor lose those that He once had. He does not mature or develop. He does not get stronger, weaker, or wiser, as time goes by. The Bible describes His life as indestructible.  (Hebrews 7:16)

He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse.”  

[A. W. Pink]

GOD’S CHARACTER DOES NOT CHANGE

Every one of us changes. Characters of people can change. Strain, shock, or a lobotomy can alter the character of a person, but nothing can alter the character of God. Nothing of this sort happens to the Creator. He never becomes less truthful, or less merciful, or less just, or less good than He used to be. The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times.

In Exodus 3:13-15: God announced to Moses His name: “I AM WHO I AM”. His name is simply a declaration of God’s self-existence and His eternal changelessness. It is a reminder to mankind that He has life in Himself and that what He is now, He is eternally. The Septuagint or Greek translation of the Old Testament literally means “I AM THE BEING.”

In Exodus 34:5-7: God announced who He is, His character. So put together, we know that God’s moral character is forever. James 1:7 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

“Consider what you owe to His immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once.”

C.H. Spurgeon

The wonderful thing about this truth is that God Himself came to earth to save sinners without changing Himself. Herman Bavinck (Reformed Dogmatics, Abridged, 188) writes, “It is a mark of God’s greatness that he can condescend to the level of his creatures and that, though transcendent, he can dwell immanently in all created beings. Without losing himself, God can give himself, and, while absolutely maintaining his immutability, he can enter into an infinite number of relations to his creatures.”

His promise remains true even now that those who come to Him through His Son humbly will find mercy and grace.

Questions for meditation:

• How can you contrast the stability of God’s character with that of creatures?
• If God’s character is mutable (changeable) can we still trust His promises to us in the Old Testament?

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Note: This is from our Youth Bible Study. Most of the notes are from Packer, J. I. (1993). Knowing God. Intervarsity Press.

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