God's Essence - Immutability
The next characteristic of God we need to look at is His immutability. Immutability means God cannot change. He cannot become better or worse than He is. Hebrews 13:8 states the immutability of Jesus Christ: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” God’s immutability ensures that His essence and divine nature do not change (Psalm 102:27; Malachi 3:6). The immutability of God's character means that God never loses His integrity or lets others down. James 1:17 says that with God there is no variableness or shadow of turning.
God's immutability ensures not only that His divine love is eternally consistent, but that the door of salvation is always open. God never wavers from the offer of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16, 18, 36). God’s immutability guarantees His faithfulness and our salvation. He cannot cancel the salvation of any believer, no matter how badly that believer may sin (Jude 24). There has never been a time when God has not been faithful. Even though we are faithless, He must remain faithful because He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). At the moment of salvation, we receive His righteousness and become members of His family (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:3-6; Galatians 3:26).
Immutability means that God's policies and actions are totally compatible with His sovereign plan and His purpose. Therefore, God's unchanging integrity and His Word provide the basis for the function of the plan of God. Psalm 33:11 says, "The plan of the Lord stands forever, and the plans of His heart from generation to generation.” The immutability of God is demonstrated by His person and His Word. Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
Not only is God immutable, but what He has done for us and what He has revealed to us in the Scripture are immutable. God always keeps His Word. When God gives a promise, the fact that He gives it means that promise carries its own immutability (Numbers 23:19). God’s promises are iron-clad, easy to understand statements from God to you personally. His power and immutability are behind His promises (Psalm 145:13; Romans 4:19-21). Trust them. Use them. Apply them.
Memory verse: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).