Slideshow image

Stephen Charnock is on to something in his work on the Immutability of God. The “unchangeableness” of God is a perfection. Why? Because He lacks nothing. He doesn’t need to adapt. He doesn’t need to grow. He’s always strong, always holy, always otherworldly.

He simply is.

Charnock speaks about how God’s eternality measures the duration of His unchanging existence: He’s the same, always and forever. But God’s immutability is the only brand of immutability worth having. Fallen angels, for example, are immutable only in their stubborn recalcitrance against God’s authority. They cannot stop their rebellion; they wouldn’t if they could.

As a pastor, I often hear people talk about being “stuck in their ways.” This isn’t the flex people think it is. Being stuck isn’t just a biological matter of losing neurological elasticity; it’s a matter of wanting to be “like God” without actually sharing in His divine nature (Genesis 3:5; 2 Peter 1:4). It’s a sign of spiritual decay. Human unwillingness to change is a mock perfection, an absolute masterclass  of arrogance that creation rarely matches elsewhere.

This points us to the secret of real human change. If we are incomplete and unfinished, we must be made soft and pliable. Not just in our neural pathways, but in our hearts (Ezekiel 36:26). The only agent capable of bringing about true maturity and a renewed mind must be eternal in scope and complete in nature (Romans 12:1-2). It must be God and His endless perfections. Once we acknowledge that, radical, life-altering fruit begins to grow.

Have you ever caught yourself mistaking personal stubbornness for spiritual strength? How does resting in an unchanging God help you stay pliable?

For more blog posts from Pastor Tim, check out The Bitz Blitz