Questions and Answers

Does God change or not?

This a case of one assuming God is a sky god. Christianity has always believed that God is a God who relates and who is personal. And whenever there is a personal relationship, there is a dynamic. And dynamics can involve both immutability and change. Whenever you have a personal dynamic, when one person changes, the other reponds in a way which reflects this change. But all is not relative.

If God's essence is immutable, then He is the standard by which such change is understood. For example, a man and a wife are in a happy marriage. The man commits adultery, and the wife becomes unhappy. Has the wife changed in a significant manner? Not really. Her change is a function of what her husband did, and reflects the immutability of her belief that infidelity is wrong. We have a set of Scriptures which speak of God's essence - it is unchangeable. The other set deal with God's relationships with men (they don't abstractly speak of God's essence). Thus, as the above analogies show, there need be no contradiction.

    God is changeable
    • Genesis 6:6 - The LORD was grieved that he had made man
    • Jonah 3:10 - God did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened
    • 1 Samuel 2:30-31 - I promised ... would minister before me forever. But now...
    • 2 Kings 20:1-6 - You are going to die... I will add fifteen years to your life
    God is unchangable


    Search Bible
    Asking
    Asking questions is very important. It helps us learn, understand, and connect with others. We must continuously question ourselves and others to verify we are on the correct path.