We can define the unchangeableness of God as follows: God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations. This attribute of God is also called God’s immutability.
Evidence in Scripture: In Psalm 102 we find a contrast between things that we may think to be permanent such as the earth or the heavens, on the one hand, and God, on the other hand. The psalmist says:
“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like raiment, and they pass away; but you are the same, and your years have no end.” (Ps. 102:25–27)
God existed before the heavens and earth were made, and he will exist long after they have been destroyed. God causes the universe to change, but in contrast to this change he is “the same.” Referring to his own qualities of patience, long-suffering, and mercy, God says, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6). Here God uses a general statement of his unchangeableness to refer to some specific ways in which he does not change. James reminds his readers that all good gifts come ultimately from God “with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). His argument is that since good gifts have always come from God, we can be confident that only good gifts will come from him in the future, because his character never changes in the slightest degree. The definition given above specifies that God is unchanging—not in every way that we might imagine, but only in ways that Scripture itself affirms. The Scripture passages already cited refer either to God’s own being or to some attribute of his character. From these we can conclude that God is unchanging, at least with respect to his “being,” and with respect to his “perfections” (that is, his attributes or the various aspects of his character).
The great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck notes that the fact that God is unchanging in his being is of the utmost importance for maintaining the Creator/creature distinction, and for our worship of God:
The doctrine of God’s immutability is of the highest significance for religion. The contrast between being and becoming marks the difference between the Creator and the creature. Every creature is continually becoming. It is changeable, constantly striving, seeks rest and satisfaction, and finds this rest in God, in him alone, for only he is pure being and no becoming. Hence, in Scripture God is often called the Rock....
The definition given above also affirms God’s unchangeableness or immutability with respect to his purposes. “The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations” (Ps. 33:11). This general statement about God’s counsel is supported by several specific verses that talk about individual plans or purposes of God that he has had for all eternity (Matt. 13:35; 25:34; Eph. 1:4, 11; 3:9, 11; 2Tim. 2:19; 1Peter 1:20; Rev. 13:8). Once God has determined that he will assuredly bring something about, his purpose is unchanging, and it will be achieved. In fact, God claims through Isaiah that no one else is like him in this regard:
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” ... I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isa. 46:9–11)
Furthermore, God is unchanging in his promises. Once he has promised something, he will not be unfaithful to that promise: “God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?” (Num. 23:19; cf. 1Sam. 15:29).
Explain how the doctrine of God’s immutability or unchangeableness helps to answer the following questions:
Is it possible to have the same close fellowship with God that people had during biblical times?
Do you think that God is less willing to answer prayer today than he was in Bible times?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
God's feelings toward us are unchanging. He loves us no matter what and when he promises something you can count on him keeping it. I believe it is possible for our culture now to fellowship God just as well as the people in biblical times did. Granted things are much different than back then but temptation has always been around and many people have turned to God back then so there shouldnt be any differance now. God hears our cries to him and loves us just as much as he loved others before us. Just as it has said above that God has an unchanging love for his children. I think people today are to worried about what might happen if they jump into a religion, as if its completly shutting off their options, however God wants us to feel compelled to be with him and no matter what God is there for us just as he has always been.
ReplyDeleteFor my personal answer to the first question, yes i think that we as humans can have the same close fellowship with god as people did back during the Bilical times. I say that because although we change our thoughts, promises, and personal views, God never changes. Even though the human race has changed drasically since the Biibleical times, if a person wants a personal and close relationship with God, I think that they would deffinatly put the effort foward to achieve that. that goes to say for the continuing existence of this world. If any human being wants any kind of relationship with God, a leap of faith has to be made. continuing on to the second question, my personal answer to that question would be no. I say that because god promise dto care and take after us, right? so if we pray in order to speak to God, being the chchangeable and sturdy God that He is, He would automatically listen.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to have the same close fellowship with God that people had during biblical times?
ReplyDeleteAye, I feel as though it is entirely possible as far as having a close relationship goes. Since God is immutable and we are still people then the ability to have a relationship hasn't changed. Granted, the nature of the relationship may have changed in the regard that the people of Paul's time only had the word of the New Testament which was by then now even a century old which is why I am inclined to say the the modern Christian can learn more about God considerably faster, but that it just an opinion. We've had the benefit of many great speakers to help us along our Christian walk, but there is the fact that if Paul's work is directly God-inspired as I believe then their access to Biblical truths could have been greater than ours.
Do you think that God is less willing to answer prayer today than he was in Bible times? Abasolutely not! God doesn't change so why would he be less willing? I firmly believe that God listens to our prayers today just as much as he did Paul's and the Apostle's sine we all share the same trait of being human.
-Dylan Temple
Stumped by the following excerpt: "...God does not act and feel emotions...". Maybe I am wrong, or perhaps I am jumping to wrong conclusions upon reading this portion but is not God the source of our human concept of emotion? Did not God grow angry with Moses after he questioned his plan over and over? Is not loving his creatures to the extent that He would send His son to die for them an emotion? Insights anyone??
ReplyDeleteRegarding the actual questions--
I do beleive that Christians of the present day church are completely capable of possessing a form of fellowship with God that is similar or identical to that which was shared between the Lord and his children spoken of in the Bible. Our Lord will always care for and love us unsurpassingly, this amount has not changed over time. His love for the prophets and judges of the Old Testament was exactly identical to the love he had for the epistles and missionaries in the New Testament. The pattern has not changed, He shows us the same love and desire for interaction that He has always shown, it the Christians of today that fail ot capture this love and become captivated by it. Similarly, God's eagerness, or for the pessimist, His reluctance to answer prayers of his children has not altered course in the slightest. He has a plan for each one of us and He will answer prayers, open doors, and utilize His magnificence the same way He always has.
First off, to the other Caleb: the excerpt says "God DOES act and feel emotion." The "not" was not there.
ReplyDeleteWe are able to have the same intimacy with God that the people of the Bible had, and God is still just as willing to answer prayer as he was back then. The primary reason people think neither are true today is simply this: God hasn't changed, but people have changed.
People don't expect prayer to be answered because when they pray, they have a broad set of images in their minds of some dramatic miracles like the parting of the Red Sea or Paul being blinded and later healed. This is because in our modern culture, where regular Bible study is no longer around, people know nothing about the stories of the Bible except those which are so dramatic that they have become an inseparable part of our cultural conscience. But they forget that in order to truly know God, they must listen for Him not in the thunder, the earthquake, or the mighty wind, but in the whispers He puts forth which we must be attentive to hear. People have changed since then, with modern Americans in particular looking for more drama and action in favor of intimacy and beauty. This can be remedied if people change their perception of God back to what it was meant to be and listen for those whispers.
It is possible to have the same close fellowship with God that people had during biblical times because though humans have changed and will continue to change, the doctrine of immutability illustrates the fact that God does not change and isn’t going to change ever. How our culture changes or how we change the ways we relate with God has no affect on Him whatsoever. God is not less willing to answer prayer today than he was in Bible times because, as previously stated, He hasn’t changed since then. Similarly, even though humans have changed to a degree, the fact remains that we are all human; that hasn’t changed. Therefore, God's willingness to listen to our prayers is the same as it was then because He's still dealing with humans.
ReplyDelete,,sarah smith
It is possible to have the same close fellowship with God that people had during biblical times because thoroughout this article, it talks about how God never changes, he is stable. Although we, creatures change, the facts or scriptures of God do not change. And, God is willing to answer our prayers as much as He did in Bible times because He is unchanging and no becoming in His promises. I believe that answering to our prayers could be part of his promises and purposes.
ReplyDeleteKi Hyun Lee
I think that it is definitely possible to have the same type of relationship with God as the Christians in Bible times did because God never changes. However, people do change so the relationship might vary slightly in nature, but still God would never wish us to not have a close relationship with Him.
ReplyDeleteAlso, He could not be any less willing to answer prayer than back then because God's character never changes. God loves us and enjoys for us to talk to Him through prayer. God has always listened to the prayers of His children, and since He is immutable, He will never stop listening or even stop enjoying listening to our prayers. If He didn't enjoy our prayers He wouldn't have taught us how to pray to Him in the first place.
After being presented with the following passage, the questions posed by our AWESOME teacher seem silly. Obviously God loves us the same and the relationship can be identical becaue of God's immutability, which is exhaustively described above.
ReplyDelete“The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations” (Ps. 33:11)testifys to God's ability to unwaiver. Also, isn't God infinite and timeless (not sure if this is the right word) then wouldn't time not particularly matter?
On more of a side note, regaurding the question posed about the closness of fellowship in biblical times. How do we know that everyone in biblical times had such a fervor for God. Even with my limited knowledge of "Biblical Times" I am fairly certain there were a plethora of people who didn't even know God. Thus who is to say, there is such a difference between the number of people back then who had a "close" relationship and the number of people in today's times that have a close relationship?
I believe it is possible to have the same 'close' relationship with God as we did during biblical times as long as we are willing to put forth some effort into the relationship and not leave it solely up to God. This doctrine's concept is rather difficult to grasp. The idea that God is completely unchanging but yet always there and has been there since before time even started/existed! wow! God definetly still answers prayers, and not any more or less than He has before. I believe God answers prayers in a less direct way though. Rather than speaking to us personally he may jus take His time to accomplish our goal or he may do it over night or answer a question through signs or dreams. God is still just as prevalent in our lives today as he was thousands of years ago.
ReplyDeleteSince it is very difficult for humans to grasp the concept that God is and always was, we half to take that leap of faith to believe it. Yes we can have the same relationship as they did during biblical times. God does not change and He never has. Since God is the same God as he was during biblical we can have the same relationship as they did. God is not less willing toanswer prayer, I think we are less willing to pray to Him. During biblical times prayer was a very Holy thing. Today we don't take it as serious.
ReplyDelete--Ryan Deal--
2nd question first: If God is unchanging, why would he be any less willing to answer prayer than he was in Biblical times? He wouldn't be. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
ReplyDelete1st question: Yes and no. God no longer interacts with humans directly like he did with Moses, but he does speak to us through scripture and nature. It may not be possible to have QUITE the same fellowship with God as Moses did, but we can be as close to God as we want to be. The ball is in our court.
I think we do have the same type of relationship with God as we did back in the biblical times. Even though we have changed over time, God does not. I agree with Ryan when he said that we don't take prayer as seriously as it use to be during the biblical times.
ReplyDeleteVaLeRiE StEtZeR
i think (first question) that it depends on which part of the bible your speaking of. i think that old testiment (i think God was not within the people through His spirit. so it was probably more difficult than it is now. but i think if was probably easyier to understand Him then than it is now. i mean, look around us, what do you see? No God in shcools, No God in holidays, No God in conversations, No God anywhere! that is the attitude in part of america. so God, being the gentleman He is, backed off. it is sad and i hate it, but thats just the way He is.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Yes, a Christian can have a close fellowship with Christ today just like during biblical times. However, it is very hard. Today, we are heavily surrounded by sin and very bad things. Sure, during the biblical times they had sin, but we have it more today than we ever had. It is very hard to maintain a strong relationship with God around all this sin.
ReplyDeleteWell, considering that God is unchangeable, I believe he is still just as willing to answer prayer as he was back in the biblical times!
I think it possible to have the same close fellowship with God that people had during biblical times.Of course , it is not that easy.
ReplyDeleteBecause nowadays ,so many heresy coming out and they are bothering people from christian to sinners. But God's eternal love receive us anytime and anywhere when we call Him and receive Him to our savior. However, I think today christian didnt more pray than before. And it is reason about willing less answer to pray. I think pray is strong foundation for any adversity. And then we have to know that. God always love us. And His power is stronger than anything.