God has revealed “the immutability of his counsel” (Hebrews 6:17). His promises will never expire, for His plan will never change. We can trust His Word. Over the whole Bible flies this banner: “These words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:5).

God’s Unchangeable Being

Change fills our lives. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously said that you cannot step into the same river twice.¹ The Roman poet Ovid said, “Time is the devourer of things.”² We grow up and grow old in years that, in hindsight, seem to have passed as swiftly as a flying bird.

Some theologians say that God changes. However, the Bible teaches that he never changes. This is the doctrine of God’s immutability. For us, the prospect of never changing would be horrible, for it would trap us in our limited, imperfect lives. But as Johannes Wollebius said, “The immutable life of God is absolutely perfect and absolutely blessed.”³

“In the beginning,” God already existed in all the power, wisdom, and goodness by which he created the universe (Gen. 1:1). There is no history of how God was born and grew up. In Psalm 90:2, Moses says, “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” What God was, he is now and always will be, for he is eternal.

Men’s lives are disappearing “like smoke,” passing “like a shadow,” and withering “like grass” (Ps. 102:3, 11). But the believer can say to God, “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” (Ps. 102:25–27). “We ought therefore,” John Calvin said, “to seek stability nowhere else but in God.”⁴

Immutability, then, marks a basic difference between the Creator and his creation, including humanity. God says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal. 3:6). This verse links God’s immutability to his name “the Lord” (YHWH), or “I Am” (Ex. 3:14). God is the One who is. His self-existence and faithfulness guarantee that he will not change but will keep his ancient promises.

God’s attributes do not change. His love and faithfulness cannot change (Psalm 136). God never loses any of the infinite power he used to create all things (Isa. 40:28). God’s wisdom is immutable, for no one has ever “instructed him . . . [or] taught him knowledge” (Isa. 40:14). Nothing can increase his insight, for that would imply that his knowledge was limited, but “there is no searching of his understanding” (Isa. 40:28).

God is immutable because of his infinite perfection and sufficiency. He already has an unlimited fullness of goodness and glory. He can neither decrease nor increase. All change comes from a cause, but God’s aseity teaches us that he receives nothing from causes outside of himself (Acts 17:24–25). However, though God is unchanging, he is the living, personal, and active God, “the fountain of living waters” (Jer. 2:13).

The Bible uses various pictures for God’s immutability. He is called the “Rock,” a massive cliff or mountain (Deut. 32:4). This image shows his strength and stability. Another picture of God’s immutability is light. James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). The sun, moon, and stars are always moving in the sky and changing in appearance. God, the Creator of these lights, is the eternal light that never changes.

God’s Unchangeable Will

God is immutable not just in the perfections of his nature but also in the purposes of his heart. God’s immutable purpose of grace flows out of his immutable nature. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6). The immutability of God’s will is reflected in the stability of his Word (Ps. 119:89). Heaven and earth will pass away before his words pass away (Matt. 5:18; 24:35).

Even wicked Balaam had to say, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Num. 23:19). Men are changing and unreliable. Sometimes they lie, promising one thing but doing another. Sometimes they commit to do something, but afterward change their minds. However, God is not human. He does not lie or change his mind or purposes. Thus, his blessing on his chosen people will not fail (Num. 23:20). Greg Nichols writes, “The church will never perish. Persecution will never destroy it. Temptation will never overwhelm it. Its enemies strive in vain. God has decreed its preservation and victory.”⁵

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