“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
(James 1:17)
God never changes. This attribute of God is called His immutability. Louis Berkhof defined this attribute in the following way, “Immutability is that perfection of God by which He is devoid of all change, not only in His Being, but also in His perfections, and in His purposes and promises.”
When a being is perfect in every aspect, every consideration, then to change from perfection would result in imperfection. Scripture instructs us that change is not possible in God, since a change is either for better or for worse, and God is perfect. Can God become better? Can God degrade and become worse? This would destroy the very idea of God. In God, who is absolute perfection, both improvement and degeneration are equally impossible. This immutability of God is clearly taught in such passages as Exod. 3:14; Ps. 102:26-28; Isa. 41:4; 48:12; Mal. 3:6; Rom. 1:23; Heb. 1:11,12; James 1:17.
That God does not change is intimately connected with Him being the First and the Last. When Scripture says, “He is the First and the Last,” or “Alpha and Omega,” or “the same yesterday, today and forever,” or “They shall be changed, but You are the same,” these phrases are describing God’s immutable nature. In truth, God is exalted above even the possibility of change. “I the Lord do not change,” (Mal. 3:6). To do so would be against His very nature.
As a result, His knowledge and power can never be more or less than they are right now. He can never be more wise, holy, righteous or merciful than He ever has been and ever will be. James 1:17 says He is “the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Numbers 23:19 states, “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?” A favorite passage of many Christians is Isaiah 56:9-10, “I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”
In the world we experience change constantly. Everything in nature and life has its time and season. One season comes, and another goes. One generation passes away, and another is born. In this hectic, ever-changing world, where can we find the comfort of stability? Where can we find security and the ability to trust in something or someone that will be the same tomorrow as today?
We find all this and more in our immutable God. The more we are disturbed by the changes all around us, the more we need the Rock that is sure. Look to the Rock, which is to look to the Christ. Trust in the ever stable, unchanging God of heaven – the One in whom there is not even a shadow… or hint… of change.
- Since You are always the same, Lord, all those wonderful promises I find in Your Word regarding my happiness and salvation, I can trust them all! You have shown me that Your love to me in Christ is an unchangeable love, which comes down as a gift from heaven, and does not have the possibility of being taken away. It is an unfathomable love, whose height, depth, width, and length are unimaginable and immeasurable. Help me rest in that truth which will never change.
- When I think about Your unchangeable nature, I wonder how that works with prayer. If You are unchangeable, why should I pray? Why should any of Your people pray? Does prayer somehow change Your mind? Can my prayers cause You to reconsider Your plan? The Scripture says “no,” because You do not change. But as I think about it, prayer does not change You; it changes me. It does not make You more merciful and bountiful but puts me in a place to receive Your mercy and grace. Prayer was never designed to make any alteration in You, but to make an alteration in me, so that I may be made fit for those blessings which You have promised to give.
- As You are unchangeable, Lord, so is Christ. As a matter of fact, all things that relate to You and Your being are unchangeable. The things we see all around us are constantly changing (2 Cor. 4:17-18), but the things which we cannot see – Christ, grace, holiness, Your favor, heaven, etc. – are all eternal. God’s love is an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). Jesus Christ is the “same yesterday, and today, and forever,” (Heb. 13:8). Divine truths and promises endure forever (Isa. 40:8). The life to come is an everlasting life (John 3:16, 36). Heaven is “an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that does not fades away,” (1 Peter 1:4). The glory to come is not only a weight of glory, but an eternal and unchangeable weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17). Spiritual joy is an everlasting joy (Isa. 35:10). Salvation is an everlasting salvation (Isa. 45:17). Can I really fathom any of this to any great degree?
Further References for James 1:17
Mal. 3:6; 1 John 1:5; Num. 23:19; Ps. 84:11, 102:27; 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 33:11
