"To say that God is immutable is to say that He never differs from Himself. The concept of a growing or developing God is not found in the Scriptures. It seems to be impossible to think of God as varying from Himself in any way. Here is why:
For a moral being to change it would be necessary that the change be in one of three directions. He must go from better to worse or worse to better; or...he must change within himself, as from immature to mature" (p. 49).
God never changes
"God cannot change for the better. Since He is perfectly holy, He has never been less holy that He is now and can never be holier that He is and has always been. Neither can God change from worse. Any deterioration within the unspeakably holy nature of God is impossible...All that God is He has always been, and all that He has been and is He will ever be. 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has ever said about Himself will be modified; nothing the inspired prophets and apostles have said about Him will be rescinded.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. The immutability of God appears in its most perfect beauty when viewed against the mutability of men. In God no change is possible; in men change is impossible to escape" (p. 50).
"God cannot change for the better. Since He is perfectly holy, He has never been less holy that He is now and can never be holier that He is and has always been. Neither can God change from worse. Any deterioration within the unspeakably holy nature of God is impossible...All that God is He has always been, and all that He has been and is He will ever be. 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has ever said about Himself will be modified; nothing the inspired prophets and apostles have said about Him will be rescinded.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. The immutability of God appears in its most perfect beauty when viewed against the mutability of men. In God no change is possible; in men change is impossible to escape" (p. 50).
Change actually works well for us
"Change works for the children of the kingdom, not against them. The changes that occur in them are wrought by the hand of the in-living Spirit. 'But we all with open face beholding as a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, evan as by the Spirit of the Lord'...As we may deplore the lack of stability in all earthly things, in a fallen world such as this the very ability to change is a golden treasure, a gift from God of such fabulous worth as to call for constant thanksgiving. For human beings the whole possibility of redemption lies in their ability to change. To move across from one sort of person to another is the essence of repentance: the liar becomes truthful, the thief honest, the lewd pure, the proud humble. The whole moral texture of the life is altered. The thoughts, the desires, the affections are transformed, and the man is no longer what he had been before. So radical is the change that the apostle calls the man that used to be 'the old man' and the man that now is 'the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him' (Col. 3:10)" (p. 51-52).
"Of what use to me is the knowledge that God is immutable?"
"In this world where men forget us, change their attitude toward us as their private interests dictate, and revise their opinion of us for the slightest cause, is it not a source of wondrous strength to know that God with whom we have to do changes not? That His attitude toward us is the same as it was in eternity past and will be in eternity to come?" (p. 53)
"What peace it brings to the Christian's heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything. Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind" (p. 53).
"Change works for the children of the kingdom, not against them. The changes that occur in them are wrought by the hand of the in-living Spirit. 'But we all with open face beholding as a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, evan as by the Spirit of the Lord'...As we may deplore the lack of stability in all earthly things, in a fallen world such as this the very ability to change is a golden treasure, a gift from God of such fabulous worth as to call for constant thanksgiving. For human beings the whole possibility of redemption lies in their ability to change. To move across from one sort of person to another is the essence of repentance: the liar becomes truthful, the thief honest, the lewd pure, the proud humble. The whole moral texture of the life is altered. The thoughts, the desires, the affections are transformed, and the man is no longer what he had been before. So radical is the change that the apostle calls the man that used to be 'the old man' and the man that now is 'the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him' (Col. 3:10)" (p. 51-52).
"Of what use to me is the knowledge that God is immutable?"
"In this world where men forget us, change their attitude toward us as their private interests dictate, and revise their opinion of us for the slightest cause, is it not a source of wondrous strength to know that God with whom we have to do changes not? That His attitude toward us is the same as it was in eternity past and will be in eternity to come?" (p. 53)
"What peace it brings to the Christian's heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything. Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind" (p. 53).
"God never changes moods or cools off in His affections or loses enthusiasm. His attitude toward sin is now the same as it was when He drove out the sinful man from the eastern garden (Gen. 3:24), and His attitude toward the sinner the same as when He stretched forth His hands and cried, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest'" (p. 53).
"God will not compromise and He need not be coaxed. He cannot be persuaded to alter His word nor talked into answering selfish prayers (Jms. 4:4). In all our efforts to find God, to please Him, to commune with Him, we should remember that all change must be on our part. 'I am the Lord, I change not' (Mal. 3:6)" (p. 54).
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