The Immutable Christ

The one true and living God is, as the theologians say, immutable. That simply means He is neither capable of nor susceptible to change.  The Psalmist declares of God that, although everything is in a state of change, “Thou art the same” (Psalm 102:26-27).  God remains the same throughout all eternity.  He has the same will, character, plan, knowledge and wisdom as He has always had and always will have.  He never remembers anything for there is nothing He has forgotten (except our sins).  He cannot be taught, for He knows all things.  He is forever constant and unchanging.  He wants nothing, loses nothing and has no new thoughts.  He is perfection and completion in all its unchangeable glory.  There is, says James, no variableness or shadow of turning with him (James 1:17).  We may change and say, “I am not what I used to be” but God says, “I am that I am’ (Exodus 3:14).

God, of a necessity, must be unchangeable otherwise He cannot be God.  For example, if he can gain in strength He is not omnipotent.  If He can gain knowledge and understanding, He is not omniscient.  In short, one of the essential features of God is His immutability and unchangeableness. This is an attribute that belongs to God alone. If it can be shown, therefore, that the Bible also attributes immutability to Christ Jesus then, once more, the Deity of Christ is proven.

So, let us ask, did the writers of the New Testament know what they were talking about?  Were they writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit or just making it up as they went along?  Take note on how the Bible says in Psalm 102:26-27 that God is unchanging and immutable?  How interesting to notice that the writer to Hebrews quotes the same passage but attributes it to Christ saying;

“And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as does a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail (Hebrews 1:10-12).

The same unchanging God who is unchanging in the Old Testament is declared, in the New Testament, to be none other than our blessed Lord, Jesus the Christ.  The only way, therefore, to avoid believing that Jesus is God is to hold that the Bible is not the Word of God.

“But surely God did change when He became human?” No He didn’t! Remember this; Jesus has two natures, one human and one divine.  His divine nature could not change.  His deity did not become human nor did his humanity become divine. Both His natures preserved their peculiar properties. He became a servant, but did not cease to be God. He made Himself of no reputation veiling His deity with humanity: but at no time did He ever cease to be God.  As R.C. Sproul says with his usual clarity;

Jesus Himself declared His immutability when He said; “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away (Luke 21:33). In order for His words to not pass away they must be unchanging.  Likewise, Christ Jesus will never change His mind about their truth.  He will not amend, revise or update His words.  They are unchangeable and full. Only an immutable person can speak words which will not develop, change or be abandoned throughout eternity. We worship the One who never changes: He is Jesus Christ—the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

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