The God We Worship Is... Immutable

This is sixth in a series called The God We Worship Is…

Following closely the previous attributes, we are led to confess as well that God is immutable. The immutability of God means that God is absolutely unchanging, in His being, His mind, His purposes and His will – God is unable to undergo any kind of change, any kind of mutation.

Immutability is a necessary consequence of aseity, infinity and simplicity. If God is a se, He cannot change, because that would make Him dependent on that which changed Him. As Bavinck tell us, all creatures are in a state of change, constantly striving to seek rest, finding it only in the One who is pure being with no change (Reformed Dogmatics, 2:156). Since changing creatures are dependent on something that is unchanging for their foundation, God cannot change for Him to be independent.

Furthermore, any change would compromise on God’s perfection. If God changes from State A to State B, it is either:

1. A change for the better (State B > State A), in which case He was not perfect in State A; or
2. A change for the worse (State A > State B), in which case He is now not perfect in State B.

In either scenario, God’s change necessitates a denial of His perfections. Yet, because God is infinite in His absolute perfections, God cannot change and is thus called immutable.

Change also compromises simplicity. If God changes, it will be an addition to or a subtraction from His being, to make it something that it was not before. However, if God is simple, He has no parts that can be added or subtracted. Rather, His simple being is the absolute plenitude of His existence, incomposite and unable to change or mutate.

Yet, as Bavinck reminds us, immutability seems to be unsupported in Scripture, since Scripture seems to indicate that God changes – He changes His mind (Gen 6:6; 1 Sam 15:11; Jon 3:9), His plans (Exo 32:10-14; Jon 3:10), becomes angry (Num 11:1, Psa 106:40), sets aside His anger (Deut 13:17; 2 Chro 12:12; Jer 18:8). However, we must remember that God is incomprehensible, and whatever He has revealed to us in Scripture is accommodated speech. Matthew Barrett: Rather than witnessing a change in God – and an emotional one at that – we are instead witnessing the effects of God’s will on His creatures.[1] Any time Scripture indicates a change in God, it is not Him who changes, but we who change in relation to Him. God does not move from a state of anger to a state of delight towards us when we are united with Christ – rather, we experience the one unchanging God differently, because we changed.

We must also be careful not to think of His immutability as immobility. Just because we confess that God does not change, we do not mean to say that He does not move. Rather, we mean that God is unchangingly dynamic. In the fullness of Himself, God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit moving towards one another in mutual love and communication. God is the Father begetting the Son and through the Son breathing the Spirit. In Him is divine activity and divine life, the plenitude of abundant movement. He is not static but is, as the old theologians used to say, pure act. Any movement He makes towards His creation flows from the movement that already exists in God.

So why does immutability matter? It matters because it reminds us that whatever God is, He was and will be for all eternity. And do we not see that unfold through the biblical narrative? The Father created the heavens and the earth through the Son and by the Spirit. So also is He recreating the heavens and the earth through the mediation of the Son and by the power of the Spirit. God delivered Israel out of Egypt and made them His people. So also did He deliver the Church out of sin and made them His people. The Father spoke to Israel through the prophets. So also does He now speak to the world through the Prophet, His Son.

It is precisely His immutability that grounds His covenant faithfulness towards us and our utter dependence on His promises. When God swore by Himself to Abraham that from him God’s covenant people would come (Gen 15:18; Heb 6:13), He staked His promises on His own unchanging nature. It is not simply enough to say that God does not want to change, but that He cannot. If God could change but chooses not to, we still have no guarantee that He will not suddenly choose to change His mind. Whatever He was to Abraham, He is to us now, the very children of Abraham. His promises cannot fail because He cannot fail. When James said that there is no variation or shadow due to change in God (James 1:17), he was using God’s immutability to ground the faithfulness of God in the blessing of His people with every good gift and every perfect gift (James 1:17).

Child of God, your salvation has been predestined before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). Before time began, God set His love upon you in His Son, electing you for glory not because of anything you ever will do, but because of His own unconditional and immutable love for you. However He was then in electing you, He is today and will be tomorrow. On this alone, do you have any hope that your salvation will never be lost. From election to glorification, the immutable God keeps you in the palm of His immutable hand. His promises to you in Christ are unchanging – as long as you are in Christ, you are His people and He is your God.

The Father shall always ever be your Father, the Son always ever your Brother, the Spirit always ever your Helper – from Father through Son by Spirit, God immutably makes you His own forevermore.

• James 1:17