Episode 2296 - Lesson 6 - Tuesday Feb. 04 - God's changeless character

Read Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17. What do these passages teach about God’s character? In Malachi 3:6, God declares, “ ‘I am the Lord, I do not change’ ” (NKJV). While some read this part of the verse and take it to mean that God does not change in any way whatsoever, the rest of the verse and its immediate context shows that the changelessness of God affirmed here is God’s moral changelessness. The rest of the verse indicates that God may change relationally, for God says: “ ‘Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.’ ” And in the very next verse, God proclaims to His people, “ ‘Return to Me, and I will return to you’ ” (Mal. 3:7, NKJV). So, God does enter into back-and-forth relationships with His creation, but through all such back-and-forth relationships, and through everything else, God’s character is constant. This is likewise affirmed in James 1:17, which proclaims that all good and perfect gifts come from God, with whom there is no variation. God is not the source of evil. Here and elsewhere, Scripture repeatedly teaches that God’s charac­ter is unchangeable. In other words, the Bible consistently teaches that God is morally changeless. Yet, God can and does enter into real relationship with creatures, to whom God responds, but always with love and justice. Read 2 Timothy 2:13; Titus 1:2; and Hebrews 6:17, 18. What do these texts teach about God? God cannot deny Himself; God never lies; and God’s promises are unbreakable. We can be confident that the God of the Bible is the same God who (in Christ) willingly gave Himself for us on the cross. He is a God who can be trusted, without reservation, and we can have confidence and hope for the future because, as Hebrews 13:8 puts it, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (NKJV). How can you learn to trust in the goodness of God even when things have gone really badly in your life? What does the image of God on the cross do to help you learn to trust in His goodness?