A. God's life does not change - He is from all eternity. God is essentially infinite and perfect and has no need of change. Change has to be for the better or for the worse. God cannot be better nor can He get worse. He is God. His nature and being are infinite and subject to no change. There was never a time when God did not exist, and there will never be a time when God will cease to exist. He has always existed as the same God. He is altogether unaffected by anything outside of Himself. Therefore, improvement or regression in God is impossible. Earth and heaven, says the Psalmist, "will perish, ... But [God] remain(s) the same, [God's] years will never end" (Psalm 102:26-27).

God can only say "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14)--a phrase of which "Yahweh" (Jehovah, "the Lord") is in effect a shortened form. This name is not a description of God. It is simply a declaration of His self-existence and His eternal changelessness. It is reminder to us that God has life in Himself, and that what He is now, He is eternally. He is the eternal, everlasting, unchangeable Sovereign. Some translate this "I will be what I will be." Again, this shows the immutability of God.

B. God's nature, essence, and character do not change - God exists eternally, and He is always the same. He does not grow older. He does not gain new powers nor lose the ones He has. He does not get stronger, or weaker, or wiser as time goes by. His power can never diminish; His glory can never fade. God's knowledge is the same, and His understanding is infinite. He knows no more now than He did from all eternity, because He knows all things together at one time in His vast, eternal mind. His holiness, justice, grace, and faithfulness are forever the same.

When God acts it does admit of change in God. The creation of the world and all things in it admit of no change in God's nature. When He created things in time, it was all according to His unchangeable will in eternity. It produced no change in Him. Some claim the incarnation of Christ admits of change in God. But God the Son being one with the Father and the Holy Spirit is in His nature immutable. The incarnation admits of no change in the Divine nature of God the Son. When He took into union with His Divine nature that sinless human nature, body and soul, the Divine nature was not changed. He is God the Son incarnate, Divine and human. The humanity He assumed added nothing nor subtracted nothing from His Divine nature.

C. God's purposes and decrees are immutable - God's "counsel shall stand" (Isaiah 46:10). All things come to pass according to the counsel of His will. All His decrees are unchangeable. They are never frustrated (Ephesians 1:11). The purposes of God are always carried into execution. It is not in the power of men or devils to prevent them. The purposes of God are within Himself (Ephesians 1:9). "What God does in time, He planned from eternity. And all that He planned in eternity He carries out in time. And all that HE has in His Word committed Himself to do will be done (Proverbs 19:21; Ecclesiastes 3:14). Thus, we read of the 'immutability of His counsel' (Hebrews 6:17)." Before and since the creation many things have changed, but these things admit of no change in God.

(1) The fall of angels and man does not admit of changes in God's purposes and decrees. When Lucifer fell, and when Adam fell, it was perfectly within the context of God's unchangeable, sovereign purposes and decrees. God decreed these falls, yet God is not the author of sin. We cannot explain this, but of a truth, it is so. Lucifer was created by God. He was fully responsible to obey God, but he sinned against God. This did not take God by surprise. If it did, God is not omniscient nor omnipotent. Adam was created by God. He was fully responsible to obey God, but he sinned against God. This did not take God by surprise either.

We know by God's testimony He decreed this for His glory in redemption. But God is not the author of sin. He did not infuse evil into Lucifer or Adam to cause them to sin. Perhaps it is the very nature of mutable creatures to have the potential and even the liability to sin. Mutability must include the potential to both good and evil. But we know that even though God sovereignly predestined and decreed the fall of angels and man, He is not the author of sin (James 1:13-17). We cannot explain this.

We have other examples in the Bible. It was predetermined that Joseph was going to rule in Egypt. His brothers sold him into slavery. They meant it for evil, but it was already decreed by God. Yet, God did not infuse any inclination to sin into them. Joseph told them, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). The greatest example of this is the crucifixion of Christ. It was predetermined from the beginning that the world would despise Him and crucify Him. He came into the world for this purpose, and He had to go to the cross to establish a righteousness that would enable God to justify sinners. Read Acts 2:22-23; 4:26-28.

The Arminian argues that this makes God the author of sin and evil. It does not, because God is holy and good. They maintain that the origin of evil is with Satan, but Satan was an angel created by God. Some maintain that the origin of evil is with man and owing to his free will, but man was created by God. And where did the principle that influenced Adam to choose evil come from? The Arminian in order to maintain the free will of man as an explanation the origin of evil portrays a god who is neither omnipotent, omniscient, sovereign, nor immutable. They believe that one of their greatest arguments against a sovereign, predestinating, immutable God is the origin of evil. But they have no explanation for it. Their explanation says that God was taken by surprise and had to come up with a contingency plan to redeem mankind from evil, a plan that may or may not work.

(2) Salvation does not admit of change in God's purposes and decrees. As stated, the fall did not take God by surprise so that He had to come up with a contingency plan. And to say that God simply looked down through time, foresaw the future, and reacted to what He saw presents Him as mutable and impotent. Redemption by Christ is the product of God's sovereign, immutable purpose and decree in the everlasting covenant of grace.

Although we cannot explain the origin of evil, that is no reason for us to deny the positive evidences of the existence of God, His goodness, and the redemption He has provided by Christ. The secret things belong to God, but the revealed things belong to us (Deuteronomy 29:29). God's purpose is to glorify Himself in the full, free salvation of sin conditioned on Christ. And nowhere does God's immutability shine forth in its full glory than in His purpose to save sinners conditioned on the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the everlasting covenant of grace.

(3) Prayer does not admit of change in the Divine purpose, decree, and will. Prayer does not change God's mind. Prayer is the way and means by which God bestows the blessings He has already sovereignly decreed to give to His people.

What about scriptures that say God repented? Repentance is a change of mind. First, we must interpret scripture with other scripture. Some scriptures say God repented (Genesis 6:6; Exodus 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:11; Jonah 3:10). Others say God cannot repent (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17). The right interpretation of these scriptures must be consistent with the character of God who is sovereign and immutable. We must ask - "In what sense did God repent?" It is not in the sense that He changed His mind. That would be contrary to Deity.

Repentance when ascribed to God is an anthropomorphism. It is ascribing a human quality to God, not to describe the nature of His Deity, decrees, promises, or actions, but to describe in human terms something of God's relationship and view of sin. "There is change round about God, change in the relations of men to Him, but there is no change in His Being, His attributes, His purpose, His motives of action, or His promises" (Berkhof). The change is not in God, but in man and man's relations to God.

In the examples of King Saul and of Ninevah, whose character changed? Not God's. He created people to do good, but instead they changed and chose to do evil. For example, you cannot blame the sun for melting wax and hardening clay. The problem is in the substance of the objects, not in the sun. God never changes. He has always rewarded good and punished evil, and He will always do so. Rewarding good is the product of His sovereign goodness. Punishing evil is the product of His sovereign justice.

D. God's truth never changes - The Word of God stands forever. No circumstance prompts Him to recall His Word; no changes in His own thinking require Him to amend His Word. "All flesh is grass, ... The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah 40:6-8). God speaks, and it cannot be changed. He stands behind all His promises, threats, demands, statements of purpose, and words of warning. We see this most vividly in the Gospel which is the preaching of the terms of the everlasting covenant of grace. God first revealed this promise in Genesis 3:15, and it has never changed. Throughout history there have been various ways in which this promise was revealed and presented. For example, under the Old Covenant with Israel, the promise was presented in types and pictures as well as preached by the prophets. But it was the same truth. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and all the Old Testament saints believed God's promise of salvation conditioned on Christ. They were all justified based on His righteousness alone.

E. God's salvation never changes - "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6).

This is one of the main reasons we can trust God without reservation. Whatever He says or does is absolute truth. He never deviates from His will or His Word. There are no circumstances that could cause Him to change. God's immutability is essential to the salvation of His covenant people. It is a strong source of comfort for the people of God in that it assures us of the absolute certainty of our complete salvation based on God's promise of salvation conditioned on Christ.

Here we can see the connection between God's faithfulness and God's immutability. God promises to justify the ungodly, "sons of Jacob," guilty sinners who cannot save themselves, who are in need of a righteousness they cannot produce but which God requires in order to be just when He saves them. God cannot change, yet God is faithful to His promise. Now, how can God remain immutably holy and just and still be faithful to such a promise? The only way is to condition the salvation of all the "sons of Jacob" upon a suitable substitute, one who can fulfill all the conditions of their salvation by establishing a righteousness that answers the demands of God's immutable holiness and justice. That suitable substitute is the Lord Jesus Christ.

F. God's oath never changes (Hebrews 6:16-19) - God's counsel, the eternal purpose of His will guided by infinite wisdom, is said to be immutable. His counsel is the purpose of His will declared in the promise of salvation conditioned on Christ alone. God has made this promise and it is absolute and unconditional towards the sinner. It is immutable because it is not conditioned on the heirs of promise. "For there was in the promise itself all the springs of all that is good and of deliverance from all that is evil; so that on every side it brings along with it the conditions of its own accomplishment" (John Owen).

Yet, even with all the encouragement and assurance in the promise itself, God for the benefit of the heirs of promise "confirmed it with an oath." God's oath was not given to make His promise more secure, but to help us. God condescended to give us "strong consolation." What two things are unchangeable here? God's covenant promise and God's oath. God declared both to be immutable, even to the point of staking His own reputation on it. His will cannot be altered, because God cannot lie. He made this commitment to provide strong assurance and confidence for all who flee to Christ. Christ serves as an anchor of our soul, the one upon whose righteousness we are grounded, and the one who will forever keep us unto final glory.

In God's mind, our souls are secure in heaven with Christ. The absolute certainty that God provides is almost incomprehensible. Not only are our souls anchored within the holy sanctuary based on the righteousness of Christ, but Christ stands guard over us as well. Surely we can trust our souls to this supremely faithful God! The oath of God is engaged on behalf of all who come to Him pleading the merits of Christ. The oath of God is engaged against all who come to Him pleading anything else. God engages His faithfulness and immutability on behalf of sinners based on the righteousness of Christ.

To make the atonement universal, and, thus, to make salvation conditioned on the sinner is to deny the faithfulness and the immutability of God in salvation. How could the salvation of any sinner be sure and certain according to the immutability of God's counsel if it placed in the hands of wicked, ungodly, self-righteous sinners who by nature want no part of free grace? Any part of salvation suspended upon sinners sets the counsel and oath of God in jeopardy. This is unbelief. It is an attack upon God's faithfulness and immutability as well as all of His attributes. It is an attempt to diminish the value of Christ's atonement and a denial of His righteousness. It is an attempt to exalt man above that which he is. This unbelief is the sinful attempt to overthrow the grand design of God to glorify all of His attributes in the salvation of sinners based on the righteousness of Christ. In light of all this testimony, sinners have every warrant to believe God's promise and expect the fulfillment of that promise in Christ. Sinners have every reason to receive Christ and reject everything else. God's promise and God's oath are engaged on behalf of all who do.