Does God Change?
Immutability is one of the several known attributes of God, and one of the attributes that ONLY belongs to God, and thus one of the reasons we call Him HOLY.
Sometimes we perceive God as ‘changing’, but what happens in reality is that God is responding to us where we are, that is, as creatures we change, and situations change, etc, therefore God’s response is tailored to that particular moment, but in no way compromising his unchanging being, purpose nor faithfulness to his promises. He never does something that goes against his character.
Malachi chapter 3 Deuteronomy 30:11-20
His being never changes:
Psalm 102:25-27 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 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. The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you
James 1:13-17 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 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.
His purpose never changes:
Psalm 33:10-11 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.
Isaiah 46:9-11 I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
His promises are sure:
Numbers 23:19-23 - Balaam’s 2nd Oracle to Balak 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 fulfil it? Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel;
Romans 11:29 - Paul is describing the election of Israel as God’s nation as irrevocable. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
In verse 25 he calls us not to be too wise in our own eyes, and then continues in verse 33… Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things.
Punishment. It exists because of sin. We often perceive correction as punishment, but that is not the same thing. Correction builds character and disciplines, and it is GOOD. God has a MUCH bigger vision, and a much wider plan. We cannot see how all the pieces fit to accomplish God’s eternal and never-changing plan.
The actual punishment for sin is spiritual death, that is, exclusion from communion with God. God has through the ages been very consistent and thorough in applying that punishment, and even today he has just the same consistency. ALL are dead in their trespasses until they pass onto life through faith :) from the OT to our days, that has always been the case. Hebrews 12.