Our Unchanging God Series

Our Unchanging God

Now that my 40th birthday is in my rear-view mirror, I can laugh about all the cards and balloons I received. 90% of the cards I got made some kind of crack about how old 40 is ­ but a few people were kind to me ­ very few.

The staff gave me a little party on Tuesday complete with a black balloon that says, “Happy Birthday, you old buzzard!” We also celebrated with 40 candles on a chocolate covered donut. As a gift they gave me an oversized magnifying glass with the caption, “Midlife Crisis Magnifier” on the package.

One card I received said this on the outside: “Happy Birthday. I wouldn’t exactly say you’re old…but in some third world countries, you’d qualify as a tribal elder.”

One of my sisters sent me a card and then wrote on the inside, “You’re as old as dirt.”

Another one said, “Turning 40? Your face and body still look twenty-five. But there’s something in your eyes that says, ‘forty’ -- tears, I think they’re called.

I don’t think I’ve changed a bit from when I was young. Here’s the evidence…(show pictures in PowerPoint).

The elders were giving me a hard time Tuesday night about my memory going. Apparently that happens when you hit 40. That reminds me of two elderly gentlemen who were playing cards. Max, the older gentleman, was having a hard time remembering what cards were what, and usually needed help from his wife.

At the end of the game Ed said to Max, “You did very good tonight and didn’t need any help. What happened?”

Max replied, “Ever since my wife sent me to memory school, I haven’t had any problems at all.”

“Memory school? What memory school?”

Max furrowed his brow for a minute and then asked Ed, “Oh, what’s that flower that’s red with thorns? It’s a really pretty flower…”

“A rose?”

Max then said, “Yeah, that’s it!” He turned to his wife and mumbled, “Hey, Rose! What’s the name of that memory school you sent me to?”

Immutability

As humans, we are always changing. Ever since the fall of Adam, when sin was introduced, change has been part of life. The moment we are born, we begin to age. We grow, develop, and then deteriorate ­ and our memory is one of the first things to go.

Our only hope in life is this: God never changes. He is the one constant we can count on while everything around us radically changes.

Our topic today, in theological terms, is referred to as the immutability of God. Something is mutable if it is subject to change in any degree. To be immutable means to be unchanging and unchangeable.

Here’s a working definition: “God does not, and cannot, change in His basic character.” Nothing that God has ever said about Himself will be modified; nothing the inspired prophets and apostles have said about Him will be rescinded. His immutability guarantees this.

Here’s another definition that captures the depth and the beauty of God’s unchanging character: “All that God is, He has always been; and all that He has been, and is, He will ever be.”

You can also use the word “always” to express this truth about God. God is always wise, always sovereign, always faithful, always just, always holy and always loving. Whatever God is, He always is. There are no “sometimes” attributes of God. All of His attributes are “always” attributes. He always is what He is.

Biblical Survey

There are many verses in the Bible that teach this truth. Here’s just a sampling:

1 Samuel 15:29: “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”

Malachi 3:6: “I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”

Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?”

Psalm 102:25-27: “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you will remain the same, and your years will never end.”

James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Another Old Buzzard

The truth of God’s immutability is seen very clearly in the life of another person who was probably given some black balloons on his birthday. Abraham was as “old as dirt” and had passed the time in life when it was possible to have children. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Hebrews 6:13-20.