Immutability Of God Essay, Research Paper
What Difference Does It Make That God Is Immutable?
Doug Friesen
TH211: Systematic Theology
Shane Keating
What difference does it do to us that God is changeless? Immutability is a cardinal property of God and without that He wouldn? t even be God. It would be difficult to hold a personal relation ship with Him. Equally good as our relationship enduring our cognition of God would be severed besides, and who is to state if our redemption would be as secure today? But first to understand wholly what is in inquiry we must specify immutableness and come to a decision as per its mention to God.
Immutability defined in Webster? s Dictionary is quoted as, ? unchangeable ; inalterable? . The same word defined in Unger? s Bible Dictionary provinces, ? The Godhead property of changelessness? . Again defined in Nave? s Topical Bible, ? the flawlessness of God by which He is barren of all alteration in kernel, attributes, consciousness, will, and promises? . In all three cases, secular and spiritual, the word is clarified as unchangeable, but merely one gave it as an property of God. Now as a dorsum up point to clear up, immutableness declares that God is unchanging, but it is non to be confused with stationariness. God acts, and His actions vary with mention to different terminals. His fondness alterations harmonizing to how that individual? s attitude alterations toward Him. So collected from that we can province God is invariably the same in His kernel, in the manner of His being, in His flawlessnesss, and in the rules of His disposal. Now that we have come to a decision on what the immutableness of God is we can inquire ourselves what it would be like if He weren? T immutable?
If God were non changeless He wouldn? t even be God. Just like all the other properties of God topographic point Him high above all else so does immutableness. To province the fact that God is unchanging aids to make a foundation on which we can establish other claims to our belief, such as the truth of God and imperfectness. God with out this unchanging property is now given in to human similitude and that includes wickedness. He could alter His ways to appeal to Him what of all time He desired without any attentions about adult male because when you remove immutableness you remove the possibility of Him possessing benevolence or righteousness. If you remove the truth and benevolence of God you are left with imperfectness. It is a large rhythm with properties, one time one is removed they all may fall in without definite cogent evidence or backup. So lets expression and see what a God without immutableness would look like.
Well the property of immutableness is indispensable the divinity of God. ? To believe of God otherwise than as unchangeable is to believe of Him otherwise than hone? . With that said we must so inquire how does that consequence my relationship with God? Well if God were non changeless our relationship would decidedly endure. We wouldn? T know foremost of all how to speak to Him because His attitude would be like ours and half the clip I don? t even cognize how to speak to others because of their attitudes. Imagine a God with emphasis. I mean how could we as puny worlds be able to cover with a God who has drastic temper swings. We would wholly be busy concealing from God unknowing if this is the twenty-four hours He enjoys our company or non. Basically our relationship would be brought down from the degree it is now with a loving Godhead who saved His creative activity, to a High Commanding officer and His miniscule microscopic existences, who better non do Him mad. But now to reply the inquiry from the quotation mark above, what if God International Relations and Security Network? T perfect, how do we cognize our God International Relations and Security Network? T altering? If you look in Psalms 102:26-27 He tells us, ? They will die but You will digest ; Yes, all of them will turn old like a garment ; Like a cloak You will alter them, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your old ages have no end. ? This transition shows us that our God is unchanging, but besides that He has control over all things altering and that He changes them. Besides James 1:17 provinces, ? Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of visible radiations, with whom there is no fluctuation or shadow of turning? . That is pretty self-explanatory I think, all good and perfect things come from our Father who has no fluctuation. These two Bible poetries help explicate how God? s immutableness would consequence our relationship with Him, but how would it consequence our cognition of God?
Our cognition of God would decidedly be at hazard if He were non changeless because His Godhead stability involves many facets. Our finit
vitamin E heads can merely hold on so small in the kingdom of God and his properties but we do cognize God can non increase in anything because He is flawlessness, nor can he be decreased because that would take His divinity. Our footing of our cognition of God is found in His word, but if God were mutable so His word would be useless and out of day of the month. Because with a altering God we would necessitate up to day of the month information on His will and what He wants from us, non what He required from our ascendants 1000s of old ages ago. Besides the Ten Commandments may every bit good be labeled as? nice regulations to hold? , but otherwise non-profitable and meant merely for the early Hebrew church. All of our cognition of God that we have today would be found as futile in footings of cognizing our God who has changed. Another point of difference could be the cognition of God? s will on our lives. If God has changed since His inspiration of writers so possibly the Great Commission was merely for those in the twenty-four hours of Jesus. Well thank you that God is changeless, because Numbers 23:19 provinces, ? God is non a adult male, that He should lie, Nor a boy of adult male, that He should atone. Has He said, and will He non make it? Or has He spoken, and will He non do it good? ? This Bible plain out provinces that our God is a God of flawlessness and He will non lie. Therefore all He has promised in His word we can presume is now knowledge we can posses to larn more about Him. Now there is merely one other major thing left about the immutableness of God in contemplation to us, our redemption through God.
Now in maintaining in context with which I stated antecedently about God? s immutableness corroborating the Bible, I can suggest the inquiry, what about our redemption if God can alter? The reply is rather merely, who knows. I mean God could ever turn back and utilize the redemption as a tool to black male us into executing undertakings that He asks. Like your parents reward you for a occupation good done. Here you go son, here is your redemption now play nice or I? ll take it off. We would hold no conclusive statement that would vouch ageless life in Eden. We wouldn? T know if Jesus died for us, for the people at that clip, for all adult male, or for no ground at all. If God could alter His will, so He could merely take redemption off at any given point. Now to counter this statement I will utilize Psalms 33:11 which provinces, ? The advocate of the Lord stands everlastingly, The programs of His bosom to all coevalss? . So there we see that Bible noted once more that God is unchanging. Not merely that, but the programs of His bosom art for all coevalss. Therefore Jesus? crucifixion is non merely for the people in the yesteryear or in the present, but for all coevalss.
Now these cases have shown why God must be changeless and how His purposes every bit good as His programs are ever changeless. But besides if we look in the Bible there are many illustrations given of God? s unchanging and parenting will on our lives. For illustration, God? s fulfilment in His compact with Abraham, whose offspring would be the chosen people of God and make all states ( Gen. 12:2,3 ) . Besides God? s utilizing Moses to accomplish freedom for His people ( Exodus ) . His faithful compact to David that his house would be known as the house of the Lord and the line of descent in which a Messiah would be born ( Sam. 7:4-17 ) . And of class His gift of redemption to us all in Christ Jesus ( Luke 24: 1-9 ) .
With all of these things advancing God as an changeless God I am so glad He is. Because when you think of how life could be if He were as flimsy our iniquitous as us it is about impossible to grok. And if God could alter His head we wouldn? Ts have a steady relationship with our God because of His fickle human-like behaviour. We wouldn? T be able to find His will on our lives and what He wants us to carry through. But most significantly we wouldn? T know if redemption were truly for us or non.
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