God is Unchanging
Notes
Transcript
Immutability of God
Immutability of God
How hav you changed over the last 10-15 years?
I hope as we continue through this series that have a high view of God—that is the goal of this study. The church has always been at its highest point when it has the highest view of God.
During the great Reformation of the 16th century the reformers were rallied behind and for the cause of the greatness of God. That really is what they were fighting against—the traditions, the man centeredness combatted with Christ alone through grace alone by faith alone for the glory of God alone
I am going through Calvin’s Institutes right now with a group of guys and it begins all about the knowledge of God. All of your understanding of theology (the study of God) rests on your understanding and appreciation for the character of God.
The puritans were trumpeters of the attributes of God
Jonathan Edwards—some of his most famous sermons “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, “God Glorified in Man’s Dependence”, etc… all his sermons were centered around God and who He is.
Today we are going to talk about the immutability of God—that is God is unchanging. I hope this brings great encouragement to you. God is unchanging in his character and in all of His ways. Fixed is who He is, unalterable, impossible to increase or decrease.
God is God who was and is and is to come
God is unchanging in His character
In His attributes, in His essence, in His perfections, in His being
We are ever changing—that is who we are, and yet God does not change
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
God does not change, through that constant state of being God sustains us
They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.
Man breaks down and falls apart, but God remains upright. There is no beginning or end to God being God
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,
All of God’s attributes are eternal; there is no time table to them. They have no end to them. There isn’t a time when he just stops loving you or being holy or being just or being patient or being sovereign.
God is unchanging in his Holiness; he is not less holy one day over the next
God is unchanging in his Omnipotence; he is not less powerful today over tomorrow
God is unchanging in his Wisdom; he is not smarter today then he was yesterday
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.
He is our rock, not even a hint of change in him
2. He is unchanging in His word
God’s word can never change
It will never fail to come to pass; the things he has promised will come. What God has spoken can be etched in stone, it will not change
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
God is not man—what does that say about man?
Man is known for lying. We are known for twisting, witholding, altering, covering up the truth
God is not like that, nothing is altering, twisted, withheld, covered up—what He says is the truth
The verse goes on, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. The King James version says that He should repent
It’s this idea of going back on what was said, apologizing for a wrong viewpoint or statement in the past.
We see this in our culture so much right now, the “cancel culture”. Anything you have said or done in the past gets you cancelled or stripped away from the public eye for the sake of being politically correct. One of the biggest realms we see this in is anyone who says anything negative about homosexuality or transgender and even those who refuse to not say positive things. There are groups and people under attack for they haven’t said. Chick-fil-a is under attack right now for their stance on gender and marriage. We spent a lot of time last block talking about this so I’m going to keep it brief, but you do not have to be ashamed, repent, or change your mind on these matters. God has spoken and nothing will alter that.
The stance does not change regardless of what the culture says.
Genesis chapter 1
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
This verse is important because it clearly defines that God created two genders, male and female. There is no third option, or fourth or fifth or whatever…two-male and female.
You move on to chapter 2
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
A man—a male shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife—a female. God clearly defines the parameters of marriage—1 man, 1 woman, thats it
This carries over to the new covenant.
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Wives—a women is the greek word, submit to your own husbands—greek word is a male
Husbands, a male, love your wives, a female
What God has spoken is true, and does not need to apologized for. We speak it in love, but we don’t hide from it. The cancel culture is all about adapting the winds of doctrine of the day. But God has already spoken on this matter and it is settled.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
It’s clear, if you practice these things, not just homosexuality, this is true for the man not being faithful to his wife, those who are worshipping temporal things, those who steal, those who are drunk constantly, those that take from the elderly or twist the truth to their advantage. They will not inherit the kingdom of God.
I think its important to read the next verse though. Because I think if you are spiritually mature, you may be amening and being fired up about all the people who will not be in the kingdom. Sometimes we get so fired with zeal about being right about this, we forget the next verse.
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Every one of us is an ex-sinner. An unrepentant sinner. And some of you may of even been in those particular sins; but all of you were in some sort of sin that entangled you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. Who took your heart of stone and replaced with a heart of flesh. You broke the bonds of your sin and freed you to be able to live a life worthy of the calling of which you have been called.
God’s word is final, and it will not change
Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Psalms 119 this massive chapter devoted entirely to the word of the Lord, its steadfastness, its truth, its eternality
Its longer than 30 books in the bible. And it is all about the unchangeable perfections of the Word, it is fixed, firm
The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
What God has said remains forever
Those who are studying to be a lawyer—think of this, you are studying thousands of laws, and while you are preparing for an exam, that very day the law could change. And the law that you studying months for, could be different on the day of your exam. The law, speaking of civil, earthly laws, are not the same law as God’s because they can change. Their statements. They guide what you can and cannot do, but they ebb and flow. But God’s law remains the same forever
Who knows what an executive order is? Its a degree from the President that you must follow, specifically when it comes to the operation of the government. Bill Clinton issued over 350 of them. George Bush then issued almost another 300, many of them reversing what Clinton put in place. Obama then issued 276 of them reversing much of what Bush did. Trump came along and gave 220 of them, in half as much time by the way, putting an end to almost all of what the Obama administration put in place. Biden now 6 months in as issued 50 of them, rolling back many of Trump’s policies.
My point is not political, all those men were flawed greatly. My point is that if that is what you are putting your hope in you are being tossed around like a rag doll. You have 4-8 years of what you want followed by 4-8 years of not and then start again. You will never have hope or satisfaction in those because they are changing, they are not firm, they are fixed.
God’s word is firm, for 2000 years it has remained true and it will be truth for 2,000,000 more.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
It is easier for the entire universe to just cease to exist than for a single dot of the the Word to not be true. Not even a letter, just a dot.
There is no new standard, what you read in the bible is and will always be the truth. What is right is right, wrong will never be right in God’s eyes.
The way of salvation remains the same.
The standard for the family, the standard for morality, the plan of redemption has forever been and forever will be the same
This should be easy to answer after 2020—have you ever had something fun or exciting planned that you were really looking forward to but it got changed?
What are some things you were looking forward to? What about something non-Covid related.
Oftentimes its not even a particular persons fault, things just happen, life happens.
I can think of many from the last year, I was supposed to go to California last year with 12 guys that didnt happen.
But something from years ago—we always did the exact same vacation—go to Southern Indiana, sit in my grandparents non-air conditioned trailer in the middle of August for 5 days and then spend 5 days at family friends in the woods. Every year. One year we decided to change it up and we were going to do one week in Tennessee and one week in Indiana. My grandma and my aunt and uncle were living in east Tennessee and we drove down there and had a fun filled week planned. Amusement park, baseball games, go-karts, hikes, it was all planned out. We arrived late Sunday night, spent Monday with everyone, Monday evening my Aunt drops dead on the floor in front of my grandma and my uncle. We were downstairs and I distinctly remember the sound it made when she hit the floor. My dad attempted CPR, paramedics came but it didn’t matter, she was gone.
Our plans were changed. We spend the rest of the week calling family and friends, planning a funeral, hosting family, the funeral itself, all of it. We were supposed to be at an amusement park and instead my parents are calling my uncles to tell them their sister dropped dead.
3. God’s plans are unchangeable
That which God has foretold in eternity past in his eternal decree can never be altered
Man makes his ways but God directs his steps.
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
All the plans of man, these great rulers who set out to do all these great things, God frustrates their plans. They are brought to nothing compared to the majesty and glory of God and his redemptive plan
God’s plans are immutable, fixed, established and will all serve as part of his eternal purpose and plan
This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?
His plan moves forward. No one, nothing, will get in the way, slow it down or stop it
4. God is unchangeable in salvation
Those in eternity past, whom God chose to be a bride for His son, whom God set His heart upon in eternity past with electing love, God will bring about their salvation through the death of His Son’s regenerating work, granting repentance in faith and they will be kept secure in His love, never falling away.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
God will bring it to pass, I promise you. Those who are predestined are called, and they will be justified, and one day they will be glorified.
The same group God began with in eternity past is exactly the same as who he finishes with. No one drops off
In John’s gospel he focuses so much on the eternal, the fixed firm statements
There on your outline but I’ll just highlight them
John 3:16- shall have eternal life
John 4:14- those who drink will never be thirsty again, the water is eternal life
John 5:25- does not come into judgement, has eternal life
John 6:35- He is the bread, come and never hunger
John 6:39- will be raised on that day
John 10:28- never perish
John 11:26- never die
John 14:16- a helper will be with you forever
But there is the other side of God’s unchanging plan of salvation
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There will be a day of judgement. God’s word promises it and I can promise you that it will come to pass.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as savior on that day, there will be an eternity in hell.
God has promised judgement and surely it will come
Let’s pray