Read Job 34:1-15

“Surely God will never do wickedly, Nor will the Almighty pervert justice… If He should set His heart on it, If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.”
—Job 34:12–15

A young man named Elihu finally gets his opportunity to speak into Job’s situation. Just as strength is perfected out of the mouth of the young (see Psalm 8:2), so we see it here. Elihu speaks with wisdom beyond his years — certainly beyond the wisdom of the older three men who spoke harshly and unwisely to Job.

At the center of Elihu’s proclamation he says something about the nature of God that has stood as a logical and theological pillar of truth for all time. What was Elihu's proclamation? God cannot change.

We may rephrase Elihu’s words as follows: God cannot possibly do evil, for if He should He would cease being Himself and therefore everything else would also cease to exist.

As the Scriptures abundantly declare:

“… it is impossible for God to lie, [that] we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…”
(Hebrews 6:18–19)

You see, God in His essence has always been and will always be who He is. He cannot change, nor can He become altogether someone He is not. This is known as “The Immutability of God,” and it is one of the most necessary doctrines of the Christian faith. Because God cannot change His nature, nor could He ever want to, we have the assurance that God will always act in accordance with His nature.

“[In the Father] there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
(James 1:17)

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

To put to another way, God has no potential.

This may sound like an odd and even negative statement at first, but this is actually a remarkable truth to understand. God has no potential to become less or more than who He is. He cannot ever become less good and less righteous than He is right now, nor can He become more good and more righteous than He is right now, because He is the essence of goodness and righteousness!

Just as a dog has no potential to ever become more or less of a dog, or a bird more or less of a bird — so too God has no potential to become less or more than who He is, for —

“…He cannot deny Himself.”
(2 Timothy 2:13)

This means with certitude that God, who is loving, good, righteous and holy could never become unloving, evil, unrighteous and unholy.

“… Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!”
(Romans 9:14)

This also means by necessity that God who is life eternal and immortal, could never become temporary or mortal.

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
(1 Timothy 1:17)

Does this mean that God has no freedom? Does He have no choice? Quite the opposite. For while God cannot change, He is free in His nature to do His will. God freely created us and the universe. God freely became incarnate and took on the qualities of man. God freely loves the world, is freely benevolent to all and is freely gracious and merciful to sinners.

It is actually those things outside of God that restrict freedom, such as sin, death, and time. But God has none of these limits and liabilities. God is the most free being in existence, and He always will be, for He relies on no one to give Him existence. Because He is pure existence, He is absolutely free!

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
(2 Corinthians 3:17)

What news this is for us! We serve an awesome and mighty God. The Everlasting King has promised us Everlasting Life, and we can be sure He will keep that promise because of who He is. Let this be the foundation of all your thinking and meditating in Scripture.

When God says He loves you (see Psalm 36:7; 1 John 4:9-10) — He does, because of who He is and that will never change. When Christ says He has redeemed (see Ephesians 1:7) — He has, because of who He is and that will never change. When the Holy Spirit says He has empowered you (see Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 15:13) — He has, because of who He is and that will never change. The Godhead has given His Word and it stands true forever and ever because of who He is! That, church, will never change.

Today, find your rest and your hope in the unchanging, immutable nature of God.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
(Isaiah 40:28–31)

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