Sermon

God is... Unchangeable

October 11, 2026 IPC Ealing Sermon Podcast

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If you have a church Bible, it's on page 1011.
Every gift, 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.
Church.
We've been looking at, during this term, really what the Bible teaches about God.
We're using a summary from the Westminster Chorter Catechism in the 17th century.
What is God?
God is spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
We're taking one word each time and trying to see what the scriptures teach about it.
And that is because the great design of your life and my life, the great design of this church, is to know God.
One of the great problems of the church in the UK, the Christian church, is that we do not know God.
The book of Daniel says those who know God do great exploits.
And so that's our desire.
We've learnt from the word of God that God is spirit.
God is a spirit who is infinite and eternal and unchangeable.
We saw that his infinity means that he is not bounded by space.
He is everywhere present.
There is nowhere that you can go to escape God.
Last week we saw that he is eternal.
That means that he has no boundaries with time.
He's not bounded in by time.
And as we go through, we see that some of these attributes of God, his infinity, his eternality, his unchangeableness, they overlap.
And so some of the things that we're looking at this morning, we hinted at last week.
Some things that we're looking at this week, we'll hint at in a couple of weeks.
We live in a city, don't we, of constant change.
There's change and there's transformation everywhere.
Places, even like West Ealing, are unrecognisable to what they were five years ago.
There are changes.
Some of them are great changes.
Some of them are not.
You go to pubs.
Somebody was bemoaning to me this week how pubs are changing.
So many of them become coffee shops, haven't they?
But the old-fashioned English pub is disappearing.
Places are changing.
Greasy spoon cafes are disappearing to their shame.
They've all become kind of coffee shops and are taking over the city.
There's change.
Things don't change that stay the same, do they?
You don't stay the same.
People don't stay the same.
We are changeable creatures.
Well, today we look at God is unchangeable.
God doesn't change.
Theological word for that is immutability.
God is immutable.
That's what we're looking at.
The immutability of the God.
The fact that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, he is immutable.
He does not change.
It's a bit of a fancy word, isn't it?
But it's a good word.
Immutable.
So, children, when I was probably about 10 or 11, there was a cartoon.
People had it on their lunch boxes.
They had T-shirts and tracksuits with these cartoons over.
And it hints at this word immutability.
Mute.
Mutant.
Mutating.
So, do you remember?
And those of you who are my age, I don't know if it's still going, but there were teenage mutant ninja turtles, weren't they?
And the whole point of it was the turtles mutated.
They changed into superheroes.
And the word mutate means something like that, that something has changed.
So, when you put the two letters, I am, in front of that, in front of mute, it speaks of something that does not change.
Something that cannot change.
And so, you and I, we are mutable.
And we change all the time.
But God is immutable.
In an ever-changing world, particularly so at present, what we want to do is we want to understand something of the nature of God.
So, that we would rest in Him, that we would cast ourselves on this glorious truth that God is unalterable and unchangeable.
He is immutable and He is immovable.
And so, I'm not going to speak about everything.
This time would be too long.
There are some of the questions that you might have about God being immutable.
I'm not going to address.
I've got no problems with that.
Come and talk to me afterwards.
Maybe we'll return to them another time.
But there are two points this morning.
And we're going to spend most of our time in the first.
The first point is this.
God does not change.
That's the first point.
And the second point is we must change.
God does not change.
We must change.
God does not.
And God cannot change.
He does not and He cannot change.
And the Bible highlights that frequently.
It highlights this characteristic of God.
That He doesn't change.
That God does not evolve.
God does not grow.
God does not increase.
And God does not decrease.
God doesn't strengthen.
And God doesn't weaken.
And while everything around us might ebb and flow.
And come and go.
God stands unchanging and immutable.
And that's why so often the Bible and the Psalms particularly so often speak and describe God as the rock of our salvation.
He is the God who is, who was, and is, and is to come.
And so what I want to do for most of our time is to look at this.
How is it that God does not change?
What are the ways in which God does not change?
Let's try and break it down.
First of all, God does not change in His character.
He is unchangeable.
He is unchangeable.
Unchanging in His character.
And so by this we're referring to His attributes.
What He's like as a whole.
His essence.
His perfection.
His being.
He's unchanging in His person.
He is who He is forever.
How unlike you and me.
Remember, this is one of those attributes that describes God and God alone.
Some of God's attributes are true both of us and of Him.
And so goodness can be true of us and of God.
Love.
God is a God of love and we are to love one another.
God is a God of wisdom and we are to show wisdom.
But there are other attributes which are only true of God.
And so He is eternal.
That isn't true of you.
He is infinite.
That isn't true of you.
He is unchangeable.
The posh word for that is there are communicable attributes.
Which are communicated to us.
And there are incommunicable attributes.
That are only true of God.
And the fact that God is eternal means that that is an incommunicable attribute.
It is true only of God.
Because you and I change all the time.
We change all the time.
Every birthday that comes around.
It is a reminder, isn't it, of the change that takes place within us.
Day by day.
Week by week.
Month by month.
Year by year.
We change.
Trends of fashion change, don't they?
Hairstyles change.
Political opinions and fashions change.
Personal finances change.
Personal finances change.
We live in a culture of change.
We're all changing.
Some changes are for the better.
Some changes are for the worse.
Some of us change, don't we, after a significant event in our lives.
Becoming a parent changes people.
Depression changes a person.
A stroke changes a person.
Some of us, I'm sitting here this morning, we long for change.
Maybe some of us are waiting for a report of a relative or a loved one.
For the result of tests.
And people ask us, is there any change?
Is there any change?
Let's understand this.
There is no change with God.
He is forever and eternally the same.
God cannot improve or get better.
He doesn't need to improve because he is perfect in his being.
Nor does he deteriorate.
Or else he would remain perfect.
He cannot change for the better.
He cannot change for the worse.
Let me give you a few verses.
You may want to write them down.
Malachi chapter 3 and verse 6.

Malachi 3 chapter mention
For I, the Lord, do not change.
Psalm 102 verse 27.

Psalms 102:27
You are the same.
And your years have no end.
James 1 verse 17.

James 1:17
We've just read it, hasn't it?
He is the father of lights.
With whom there is no variation.
Or shadow.
There's no dimmer switch.
No change.
So do you see from the Old Testament to the new.
From eternity past.
To eternity future.
He's the same.
This is true for all his attributes.
Every single one of them.
They are unchanging.
These attributes describe God who is spirit.
He's infinite.
And he's eternal.
And he's unchanging.
In his being.
He's unchangeable in his being.
He's unchangeable in his wisdom.
He's unchangeable in his power.
He's unchangeable in his holiness.
He's unchangeable in his goodness.
He's unchangeable in his justice.
Unchangeable in his truth.
His unchangeability says something about everything else about him.
It says something about his holiness.
And his power.
And his sovereignty.
And his wisdom.
Every attribute of God is unchanging.
Unchanging.
J.I. Packer says this.
He never becomes less truthful.
Less merciful.
Less just.
Or less good than he used to be.
What encouragement that is to us.
Because you know full well, don't you, that your life is full of change.
And your friends might change.
Your relationship status might change.
Your address might change.
Your health might change.
But he changes not.
Your children will change.
And they'll move from being darling little babies.
We can hear them, can't we?
To slightly difficult teens.
To independent adults.
And then they go off to university.
Or they go off.
They leave home.
They change.
Are your jobs changed, don't they?
They come and they go.
Your money changes.
Doesn't remain constant.
But he remains the same.
It's in him that we live and move and have our being.
And so when we approach the throne of grace today.
When we come to God and call on his name today in worship.
We don't need to worry what kind of mood God is in.
Because God is forever the same.
He has no mood swings.
He's a rock and he is a fortress.
And he is a refuge.
Stephen Charnock, an old writer on the subject, said this.
What comfort would there be in praying to a God that like a chameleon changes color every moment?
Children, you know what a chameleon is?
You put it on a checked shirt and the chameleon changes into a checked shirt, that color.
You put him on a pair of blue jeans and the chameleon changes to that color.
But God is not like that.
God does not change.
He doesn't change color every moment.
He is forever the same.
And so that means we can rely on him.
He's unchanging in his character.
God always is what he was.
And always will be what he is.
God always is what he was.
And always will be what he is.
He's unchanging in his being.
Secondly, he's unchanging in his word.
He's unchanging in his word.
We've seen over the last number of years, aren't we, that laws can actually be changed at great speed.
And much of them, I'm sure, necessary.
Much of them, not necessary.
And our ruling authorities have the power to change the law very, very quickly.
Some laws are changed and they bring us sadness, don't they?
They bring us disappointment.
And they bring us frustration.
Laws regarding marriage.
Or life in the womb.
Earthly laws change all the time.
Some for the better and some for the worse.
But God's law, his standards remain perfect and immovable.
And so you have before us in your lap today the never-changing word of the never-changing God.
Let me give you a few verses that remind us of this truth.
Psalm 119 and verse 89.
Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Forever fixed in the heavens.
Or Psalm 119 again.
Verse 160.
Every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Or remember this one, Isaiah 40.
The grass withers and the flowers fade.
Said as mumbly as you possibly could, isn't it?
What that says to you every time we read God's word is this.
You can bank your life on it.
You can bank your life on the word of God.
What he says in God's word will remain forever true.
He is more reliable.
He is more up-to-date than tomorrow's newspaper.
What the Bible says is right and will always be right.
And what the Bible says is wrong will always be wrong.
God does not have a changing set of moral values.
His standards remain forever the same.
And this is true for his promises, isn't it?
We don't need to worry about a promise that's been made by God in Scripture,
whether it's expired or not.
So 2 Corinthians 1 verse 20,

2 Corinthians 1:20
all the promises of God find their yes or they find their amen in Jesus Christ.
All that God has promised to do will and must come to pass.
That is a great comfort, isn't it, to us as Christians?
We find tremendous security and help and blessing
when we turn from our changeable words and the changeable words of others
to the unchanging promises of God.
I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Jesus says,
come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
The theme tune of the Bible,
that I will be your God,
and you will be my people,
and I will be the God of your children.
And so James, as we read it, says,
if any of you lacks wisdom,
anyone lacks wisdom,
let him ask God who gives generously,
and it will be given to him.
He's unchanging in his word.
God is not going to go back on anything he said,
anything he has promised.
He's not going to turn around in eternity and say,
I didn't really mean that.
I was kind of overstating it a little bit.
It was hyperbole.
He's unchanging in his word.
The third way God is unchanging
is he's unchanging in his plans.
He's unchanging in his plans.
He's unchanging in his purpose,
in his counsel, in his will.
I don't know about you,
but I'm forever changing plans.
I'm forever changing plans.
I'm sure many of you have had
really well-laid plans,
and they've been turned upside down
at the last minute.
We know what that's like.
House plans.
Holiday plans.
Plans to sit exams.
Plans to do this.
Plans to do that.
Our plans and our purposes,
they change all the time, don't they?
But God's plans do not change.
God has planned from all eternity
to save and elect a people for himself.
And no one has ever changed that plan.
God did not make that plan
in response to the fall.
It was an eternal plan
long before the fall,
before time began.
God didn't create the world.
Genesis 1 and 2,
it's all very good.
He sat there happily.
And then Genesis 3,
what has gone wrong?
God didn't put his head in his hands
and think,
oh, good grief,
what have I done?
My whole plan has changed.
No.
No.
His plan of salvation,
he never has had to amend his plan.
He doesn't change his plans or purposes
in response to a new situation.
Nothing ever surprises him.
He never rubs out his plan.
He never has to amend his plan.
He never has to add to his plan.
So Psalm 33, verse 11,

Psalms 33:11
the counsel of the Lord stands forever.
The plans of his heart
to all generations.
Aren't you glad?
Aren't you glad that the counsel of the Lord
stands forever?
Isaiah 14 and verse 26,
this is the purpose
that is purposed
concerning the whole earth.
And this is the hand
that is stretched out
over all the nations
for the Lord of hosts has purposed
and who will annul it.
His hand is stretched out
and who will turn it back?
There's no such thing
as plan B with God.
There's no emergency measures.
There's no contingency plan.
There's no exit route.
No, his original plan and decree
moves on day by day
unhindered and unrivaled.
And so Kristen,
as you look at your life
and you look at the turbulent days
in which we live in
with so much change
and so much chaos
and so much uncertainty,
we need to take ourselves where?
To the immutability of God.
And we cast ourselves
on the immutability of God.
The one who is unchanging
in his plans.
And the fourth way,
he's unchanging in his son.
He's unchanging in his son.
Of course, it's the triune God
who's unchanging.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The attributes of God,
we've seen it again and again,
haven't we?
They are most clearly seen
in his son, the Lord Jesus.
Jesus is the image
of the invisible God.
And just listen
to what the scriptures say
about the unchangeableness
of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 13, verse 8,

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever.
Revelation 22, verse 13,

Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.
He's the same.
It's worth remembering, isn't it,
that there was both a human
and a divine nature
in the one person
in the incarnate Jesus Christ.
And while his human nature changed,
the Lord Jesus grew
in wisdom and favor with men.
As his human nature developed,
there wasn't the slightest change
in his divine nature.
And so you can say
from the cradle,
to the cross,
to the cave in which he's buried,
Christ was always
the immutable and changing God.
And you can say
that the Lord Jesus
that we find in the pages
of the New Testament
is the same Jesus today.
The very same.
The Lord Jesus still
makes all things new.
The Lord Jesus is still
calling men and women
and boys and girls to himself.
The Lord Jesus is still
building his church.
He is still the chief
among 10,000.
He is still
the altogether lovely one.
He is still the friend of sinners.
As the hymn writer
puts it,
it's that change and decay
in all around I see,
O thou who changest not.
Abide with me.
He's unchanging in his son
and then in the fifth sense
he's unchanging in his salvation.
That is to say this,
the immutability,
the unchangeableness of God
is a great anchor.
It's a tremendous anchor
for your soul and mine.
Our great hope
of salvation
lies in this truth
that God remains
exactly the same.
And God will do exactly
as he said he will do.
The Bible teaches
that those on whom
God has set his heart
upon in eternity
with electing love,
he will most certainly
bring about their salvation.
and he will keep them secure
in his love
and he will never
let them fall away.
We're going to Romans 8 tonight.
I hope you'll come back.
I'm doing a beginning
of series on Romans 8
but at the end of Romans 8
in verse 30
it tells us this,
that those whom God
predestined
he also called
and those whom
he also called
he justified
and those whom
he justified
he also glorified.
Do you see this
golden chain,
this chain of God's
saving
eternal purposes
that we're just
as certain for heaven
as if we'd been there
already 10,000 years?
Our
eternal salvation
is wrapped up
in the God
who does not change.
It's wrapped up
in the immutability
of God
and so what a truth
to let your heart
be filled with today
that no matter
what changes
there are in your life
or in the world
the affections of God
towards his children
will never
never change.
James Montgomery Boyce
put it this way
he said this
God's attitude
towards us now
is the same
as it was
in the farthest reaches
of eternity past
and it's the same
as it will be
in the farthest reaches
of eternity
to come.
He has never
loved us
less
and he will never
love us
more
than how much
he loves us now.
What a truth
that is
isn't it?
I've talked to you
about Geharis Vos
before.
Geharis Vos says
how do you know
that God will never
stop loving you
to the Christian?
how do you know
that God will never
stop loving you?
And Geharis Vos
says this
because he never
began loving you
because scripture
says that you have
been loved
with an everlasting
love.
It's beyond our
comprehension isn't it
but nothing can
separate us
from the unfailing
unchanging
love of God
in Christ Jesus.
He is the rock
of our salvation.
So can you see
how wonderful
this attribute is?
The immutability
of God
God does not
he cannot change
in his character
in his word
in his plans
in his son
in his salvation
God does not
and he cannot change.
But the second point
is this
we must change.
We must
and we can change.
And we've already
established
we are not immutable.
and we constantly
change.
That's so obvious
isn't it
to all of us.
And yet it does
seem that
very often
we give in
to the myth
that somehow
we can't change.
That somehow
other people
can change
but it's really
impossible for me
to change.
I can't change.
This is who I am.
The myth that
goes around
and we feed
into that myth
don't we
by some of the
things we say.
So if you've ever
exchanged heated
words with someone
else
you might have
heard this
that person
says you
you never
listen
to what I say
or you
you always
do this
I woke up
my daughter
this morning
I won't tell you
her name
which one
the middle daughter
and I woke up
in her room
she wasn't
particularly pleased
to see me
this morning
and I gently
woke her up
and as I
walked out
the room
she called
to me
on the stairs
and she said
you never
shut the door
on your way
out.
Never.
Do you know that?
I didn't that
but I said
well I do
occasionally
shut the door.
We say that
don't we
you're never
ready on time.
We always
have pasta
for dinner.
You always
do that.
You never
do this
but that
isn't true
in the slightest.
We know that
don't we?
We're not
that consistent.
We might
often do
something
or regularly
do something
or we might
frequently
fail to do
something
but finite
creatures
mutable
creatures
the word
always
or the word
never
don't really
apply to us.
They can only
be truly
spoken of God.
The point
is we are
not immutable.
We do
change.
We can
change.
We must
change.
Far too
often when
I'm confronted
with my
weaknesses
and my
failings
and my
sins
and my
response
is often
to say
something like
this
listen that's
just who I
am.
That's my
temperament.
That's the
way I'm
wired.
That's the
way I was
brought up.
I can't
really change
that.
But that
is a
lie.
that is a
lie from
the pit
of hell.
Whether we
say it out
of hopelessness
or out of
defiance,
it is a
lie to say
that you
cannot
change.
Because
there's only
one person
who does
not change
and that
is God.
You can
change.
And if
you're listening
to me right
now and
you don't
know God,
you haven't
trusted in the
Lord Jesus,
you're not
born again,
you've not
been converted
and you're
not a
Christian,
you need
to know
this,
that you
should be
terrified of
the
immutability
of God.
It is a
wonderful thing
for believers
to think
about it,
but it
should terrify
unbelievers
because you
cannot expect,
you cannot
hope that the
justice of
God will
change on
the day
of judgment
or that the
holiness of
God will
change on
the day
of judgment.
Some people
say something
like this,
I'll take a
chance with
God.
In fact,
most people,
they don't
say it,
but that's
how they
act.
I'll be
all right.
God will
let me
in.
I don't
really care
what the
Bible says,
but I
will somehow
get into
heaven.
Maybe this
God of
yours who
you preach
about,
maybe he'll
go easy
on me and
he'll just
let me
in.
But this
is the
God who
never
changes.
He's
unchangeable
in his
holiness and
in his
justice.
You know
an ending
torment in
hell,
will be the
clearest proof
to the
unbeliever
that God
is truly
unchanging.
And if
you're not
saved here
this morning,
you need to
know that it
is a fearful
thing to fall
into the
hands of
almighty
God,
an unchanging
God.
And you
must change
today.
And so
drastic is the
change that the
Bible calls for.
The Bible
describes it as
being born
again.
How great a
change is that?
It describes
moving from
darkness to
light,
from death
to life,
from blindness
to sight,
from being
lost to
being found.
It's an
immense change.
You must
change.
You must be
changed.
And maybe
you're sitting
here and
there's someone
that you
love and
they need
this change.
And you've
been praying
for decades,
praying for
them for
years.
and you
need to
know this,
that there
is no
human heart
in the
world that
is immutable,
unchangeable.
No human
heart is
immutable.
No human
heart is so
hard that
God cannot
soften it.
The king's
heart,
prophet says,
the king's
heart is like
a stream of
water in
the hand of
the Lord and
he can turn
it whichever
way he
wills.
He can
change your
heart.
And maybe
for some of
you listening,
God has
begun recently
a work in
your heart.
when that
happens,
what they
find is they
find that
their whole
view of
the world
is changing.
Their
interests
change.
Their
desires
change.
Their
friendships
change.
And they're
nearly all
good changes.
But it can
be a really
unsettling time,
isn't it,
when God is
at work in
your life.
And maybe
you're a new
Christian,
you've trusted
in Christ and
you're struggling
and you feel
unstable,
where can
stability be
found,
consistency,
reliability?
Will you
come and
throw yourselves
not on the
minister,
not on us,
but you
throw yourselves
on the
God who
changes not?
And some
of you here
are feeling
tossed about
to and fro
and you need
to cast
yourself on
the rock
and you
bring all
your change
to him.
And you
say,
on Christ
the solid
rock I
stand.
All other
ground is
sinking
sand.
So can
you see
then change
in your
life and
mine.
It's
always
possible.
It's
always
possible.
And so
maybe there's
something in
your life
this morning,
some trait,
some
characteristic,
some habitual
sin that
you hate and
you long to
be free of
it.
And I
need to say
to you,
change is
possible.
I think we
want to say
this really
clearly to our
culture,
don't we?
I was
chatting with
a friend
this week
who's
involved in
working with
people with
addictions.
He's coming
to speak in
January to
us and
he said to
me,
Levy,
how many
people struggle
with addictions
in your
congregation?
I said,
I won't
tell him what
I said,
but I
didn't say
very many.
He said,
Levy,
do you know
how many
people struggle
with addictions?
The lot
of them.
The lot
of them.
And we
keep it
hidden,
don't we?
But if
it's alcohol
or if
it's
drugs
or it's
pornography,
if you're
struggling
with sexual
sin,
if you're
struggling
with homosexual
temptations,
I need to
tell you on
the basis
of God's
word,
change is
possible.
What was
it that Paul
said in his
letter to the
Corinthians?
Do you remember?
He said it to
people who'd
been thieves,
they'd been
inside,
they'd been
drunkards,
they'd been
adulterers,
they'd been
homosexuals.
What was it
that was said?
1 Corinthians
6,
such were
some of
you,
but you
were washed,
you were
sanctified.
In other
words,
you were
changed.
You and
I can
change.
And I
wonder whether
we really
believe that.
I wonder
whether we
really believe
that by
trusting in
the Lord
Jesus,
by his
Holy Spirit,
he can
grow fruit
in you
that wasn't
there before.
And you
say,
Paul,
I'm not a
patient person.
But you
can change.
I'm an
angry person,
I fly off the
handle,
you can
change.
I struggle
constantly with
thoughts of
lust,
you can
change.
Children,
look up for
a moment.
Do you remember
we talked a bit
about it at
Sunday school?
We can often
think that the
things that I
struggle with,
I'm going to
struggle with for
the rest of my
life.
It may be that
you get really
angry and you
lose your temper.
It may be that
you worry,
you really
worry.
And every day
is a battle,
you go off to
school really,
really anxious,
as you come
home from
school upset,
you think
things which
you really
hate thinking
about others.
The lies that
you tell.
And the
Bible tells us
that as we
look to
Jesus and
as we rely
on his
spirit,
you can
change.
Your
marriage,
which is
painful and
difficult,
it'll never
change.
Don't listen
to that
voice.
You
parents,
and you
think this
child will
never get
it.
You can
change.
The
eternal God
is our
refuge.
And maybe
what's happening
to you now
is that God
by his
spirit is
chipping away
at you.
So painful,
he's chiseling,
shaping you to
be more like
him.
And Paul
writes to
the Corinthians
in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 3:18
3 verse 18,
we are all
with unveiled
faces,
behold the
glory of
God,
and are
being
transformed.
That's
what's
happening.
That's
what God
is doing.
He is
transforming
us,
shaping us
from one
degree of
glory to
another in
an ever
changing
world.
And so
we cast
ourselves,
we rely
on the
unchanging
grace of
the unchanging
God,
to change
us into
the men
and the
women,
the boys
and girls
that he
wants us
to be.
Or to
put it
another way,
in this
crazy world
of change,
the
immutable
God the
Father,
is changing
us by
his spirit
to be more
like his
immutable
son.
Though we
might change
and everything
else around us
might change,
one thing is
sure,
he will
not
change.
let's pray.