Knowing God
J I Packer
Class notes - #2,
- Evening Prayer
- Review from last week – Questions, comments and general discussion.
Chapter Seven – God Unchanging - What do we mean when we describe God as “unchanging” or “immutable”?
- Immutable: “not capable of or susceptible to change” (Also referred to as ‘constancy’, “divine reliability” or “trustworthiness”)
- God is timeless
i. And yet, there is order to God’s will and the implementation of His decisions. He is aware of the constraints time places upon His creation.
- God is not bound to one place; He is ever present. He is not localized.
i. We truly can worship God any place – we gather together with other Christians in worship for our benefit – not His.
- God has all knowledge, all information.
- Biblical Passages
- Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created…”
- Psalm 102:12 “But thou, O LORD, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations” and 26-27 “They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end”.
- Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations”.
- Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not”
- Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to day, and forever”.
- James “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”.
- Thomas Aquinas – Summa Theologica
Question 9. The immutability of God
1. Is God altogether immutable?
Article 1. Whether God is altogether immutable?
Objection 1. It seems that God is not altogether immutable. For whatever moves itself is in some way mutable. But, as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit viii, 20), "The Creator Spirit moves Himself neither by time, nor by place." Therefore God is in some way mutable.
Objection 2. Further, it is said of Wisdom, that "it is more mobile than all things active [Vulgate 'mobilior']" (Wisdom 7:24). But God is wisdom itself; therefore God is movable.
Objection 3. Further, to approach and to recede signify movement. But these are said of God in Scripture, "Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8). Therefore God is mutable.
On the contrary, It is written, "I am the Lord, and I change not" (Malachi 3:6).
I answer that, From what precedes, it is shown that God is altogether immutable.
First, because it was shown above that there is some first being, whom we call God; and that this first being must be pure act, without the admixture of any potentiality, for the reason that, absolutely, potentiality is posterior to act. Now everything which is in any way changed, is in some way in potentiality. Hence it is evident that it is impossible for God to be in any way changeable.
Secondly, because everything which is moved, remains as it was in part, and passes away in part; as what is moved from whiteness to blackness, remains the same as to substance; thus in everything which is moved, there is some kind of composition to be found. But it has been shown above (3, 7) that in God there is no composition, for He is altogether simple. Hence it is manifest that God cannot be moved.
Thirdly, because everything which is moved acquires something by its movement, and attains to what it had not attained previously. But since God is infinite, comprehending in Himself all the plenitude of perfection of all being, He cannot acquire anything new, nor extend Himself to anything whereto He was not extended previously. Hence movement in no way belongs to Him. So, some of the ancients, constrained, as it were, by the truth, decided that the first principle was immovable.
Reply to Objection 1. Augustine there speaks in a similar way to Plato, who said that the first mover moves Himself; calling every operation a movement, even as the acts of understanding, and willing, and loving, are called movements. Therefore because God understands and loves Himself, in that respect they said that God moves Himself, not, however, as movement and change belong to a thing existing in potentiality, as we now speak of change and movement.
Reply to Objection 2. Wisdom is called mobile by way of similitude, according as it diffuses its likeness even to the outermost of things; for nothing can exist which does not proceed from the divine wisdom by way of some kind of imitation, as from the first effective and formal principle; as also works of art proceed from the wisdom of the artist. And so in the same way, inasmuch as the similitude of the divine wisdom proceeds in degrees from the highest things, which participate more fully of its likeness, to the lowest things which participate of it in a lesser degree, there is said to be a kind of procession and movement of the divine wisdom to things; as when we say that the sun proceeds to the earth, inasmuch as the ray of light touches the earth. In this way Dionysius (Coel. Hier. i) expounds the matter, that every procession of the divine manifestation comes to us from the movement of the Father of light.
Reply to Objection 3. These things are said of God in Scripture metaphorically. For as the sun is said to enter a house, or to go out, according as its rays reach the house, so God is said to approach to us, or to recede from us, when we receive the influx of His goodness, or decline from Him.
- Why is Immutability important to us?
- What would God be like if he did not have this attribute?
- Page 77 – “He cannot change for the better for he is already perfect; and being perfect, he cannot change for the worse” (A W Pink).
- Immutability across cultural settings – within biblical periods (which spanned hundreds and even thousands of years) and between biblical periods and current day)
i. Biblical teaching is valid and consistent across cultural boundaries.
1. Sacrificial system – throughout the Old Testament there is a sacrificial system which demonstrates a rejection of any form of works-righteousness.
The final proof of this truth about God comes in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross.
- (Page 80) In several places (Packer lists Genesis 6:6-7, 1 Sam , 2 Sam 24:16, Jon , Joel -14) God is spoken of as ‘repenting’. How can we understand these passages?
- There is no implied change in God’s plan; He is not surprised or forced to react to something new, rather, from a human perspective, God begins a new way of interacting with people.
- Augustine – “God changes works without changing plans, for God is “unchangeable, yet changing all things, never new, never old, making all things new, yet bringing old age upon the proud, and they know it not, always working, ever at rest, gathering, yet needing nothing (Conf 1.4, LCC VII p 33
- “It is precisely because God is unchanging in the eternal purpose of self-giving love that God is so attentively answerable, so free in personal response.” (Oden, pp 112)
- The unchanging love of God requires responsiveness to changing circumstances.
Something may appear to be a change in God’s mind when, upon closer reflection, what we see is a new phase in His divine plan.
- Next week – Chapter 8
Big Question: After reading Chapter 8, what have you learned about the majesty of God? How should this affect your worship? Your moral decisions? Your prayer life?
