“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you 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 102:25-27
“For I the Lord do not change.” Malachi 3:6
Immutable is not a word we use in our everyday vocabulary, but in simple terms it means something or someone is unchangeable. It is helpful to think of it as referring to something that cannot be mutated. Therefore it is immutable.
When we declare that God is immutable, we are declaring the stunning reality that our God never changes. This is good news for us sinful humans, who are constantly changing from day to day, and even minute to minute. Our moods change. Our bodies change. Our personalities change. We change our minds. We change our behavior. We change our words.
It is a beautiful truth that our God, who loves us and has saved us from our bondage to sin, never changes. In him, James says, “there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). There are at least two implications from this truth that should lead us into a deeper love and awe of God.
1. God’s character never changes. When the Lord says that he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (Ex. 34:6), it means this is always his character, no matter how we continually change. God’s love and affection toward you does fluctuate based on your performance. He does not love you more on the days when you barely sin than he does on the days when you feel like you cannot stop sinning. His love is infinite toward us. For those in Christ, he loves us just as much as he loves his own son, Jesus. And this love toward us never fluctuates.
A.W. Tozer wrote in his book The Knowledge of the Holy, “Today, this moment, he feels toward his creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as he did when he sent his only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind. God never changes moods or cools off in His affections or loses enthusiasm.”
2. God’s word never changes. Isaiah wrote, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Is. 40:8). While men can change their mind, break their promises, or deceive you with their words, this is not true of the Almighty. Every promise of God given to his people is ours because we are his children through Christ Jesus. “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Cor. 1:20).
When God makes a promise in his word, you can bank your life on it because it is impossible for God to lie (Heb. 6:18). This means, for example, that when Jesus says he is with us always, even to the end age, he means it (Matt. 28:20). This means that when Paul writes “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” he means it (Romans 8:28).
Rest in the promise today that God never changes. Rest in promises of God’s Word, which Jesus purchased for you on the cross. Rest in the promise that the same Jesus who was bled and died to forgive you of your sin, is the same Jesus who came to dwell inside you when you first believed, and he is the same Jesus who will be walking with you in eternity 10 billion years from now.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).