February 20, 2021

HE IS Immutable | Joy Bice

Speaker: Joy Bice Series: SGC Dayton Women's Gatherings Topic: Knowing God, Hope, Encouragement, God's Attributes

Key Points, Scriptures, and Quotes

“They are values that flow from the beauty and grace of God. The living God is so glorious and kind, he cannot be known without being adored. Those who truly know him will love him, and without that heartfelt delight in God, we are nothing but hollow hypocrites. That adoration of God necessarily works itself out in a desire to grow in Christlikeness. It also fuels a love for Christ’s precious bride, the church, and a desire to humbly serve – rather than use – her. And, lastly, loving God brings us to share his concerns, especially to see his life-giving glory fill the earth.” Michael Reeves, Rejoice & Tremble

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16 ESV)

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” (Psalm 11:53 ESV)

We cannot be like God in this area, since he is always right and never wrong. But theologically speaking, assuming that we are wrong is a function of biblical anthropology…. As creatures, we are limited beings who do not know everything. There’s a difference between being made in the image of God and being God. God is omniscient; he never has to be taught anything, because he already knows everything. Man is ignorant; he can know and remember only whatever God chooses to reveal to him and store up in him. Combine our creatureliness with our sinfulness, and we have every reason to doubt our own understanding. We know very little, and what we do know is clouded and distorted by our sinful selves. (Tim Shorey, Respect the Image)

““For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6 ESV)

“He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:2–3 ESV)

““For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?” (2 Samuel 22:32 ESV)

“Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:4 ESV)

He is Immutable in His Being.

“Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Exodus 3:13–15 ESV)

“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” (John 8:58 ESV)

In the fullness of time God, the Father sent his eternal Son,[1] the second person of the Trinity,[2] into the world as Jesus the Christ.[3] He was conceived by the Holy Spirit [4] and born of the virgin Mary,[5] taking on himself a fully human nature with all its attributes and frailties, yet without sin.[6] In this union, two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in the one person of the divine Son without confusion, mixture, or change. (Sovereign Grace Churches Statement of Faith)

God is Unchanging, or Immutable, in His Attributes

“unchangeableness is a thread that runs through the whole web [that is every one of God’s attributes] it is the enamel of all the rest; none of them without it could look with a triumphant aspect.” (Stephen Charnock The Existence and Attributes of God)

“The LORD will reign forever and ever.”” (Exodus 15:18 ESV)

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2 ESV)

“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.]” (Psalm 145:13 ESV)

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28 ESV)

“The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” (Exodus 34:6 ESV)

“For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.” (Psalm 33:4 ESV)

“As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!” (Psalm 40:11 ESV)

“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.” (James 1:17 ESV)

God is Also Unchanging in His Purposes.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:3–10 ESV)

God is Unchanging in His Promises.

“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?” (Numbers 23:19 ESV)

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 ESV)

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV)

“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.” (Psalm 102:25–27 ESV)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 ESV)

“In the working out of His redemptive processes the unchanging God makes full use of change and through a succession of changes arrives at permanence at last.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)

Why is this important?

  1. It fuels our trust in God
  2. It invites us to pray
  3. It strengthens our grasp of the gospel

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 to love and faith. …His mood never changes, affections never lose enthusiasm. His attitude toward sin is the same as when he drove Adam and Eve from the garden and his attitude toward the sinner is the same as when he said, “Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)

“When God forgives, he forgives forever. Until God can change or lie, he will never bring to mind again the sin of that man who he has pardoned.”…“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.” We have but to meet his clearly stated terms, bring our lives into accord with his revealed will, and his infinite power will become instantly operative toward us in the manner set forth through the gospel in the Scriptures of truth.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)

Herein is solid comfort. Human nature cannot be relied upon; but God can! However unstable I may be, however fickle my friends may prove, God changes not. If he varied as we do, if he willed one thing today and another tomorrow, if he were controlled by caprice, who could confide in him? But all praise to his glorious name, he is ever the same. His purpose is fixed, his will is stable, his word is sure. Here then is a rock on which we may fix our feet, while the mighty torrent is sweeping away everything around us. The permanence of God’s character guarantees the fulfillment of his promises: “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” -Isaiah 54:10 ESV (Arthur Pink, The Attributes of God)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9 ESV)

other sermons in this series

Jul 17

2021

HE IS Good | Joy Bice

Speaker: Joy Bice Scripture: Psalm 119:68, Psalm 145:9, Psalm 37:3–4, Psalm 34:8 Series: SGC Dayton Women's Gatherings