Does God Change His Mind?

Does God Change His Mind? — Jay Zinn

THE QUESTION OF GOD CHANGING HIS MIND has been an age-old debate among believers because several scriptures suggest that God might change His mind. Notable examples include Exodus 32:14, where God decides to relent) ease his stance from the disaster He planned for Israel after Moses intercedes, and in Jonah 3:10, God spares Nineveh after the people repent. Additionally, in 1 Samuel 15:35, it is stated that God was grieved and regretted making Saul king. These verses may suggest that God is changing His mind, but many theologians think they should be viewed in light of the relationship between God and humanity.

I am the Lord; I change not (Malachi 3:6) is the most explicit verse in the Bible to address this question. That God is immutable—i.e., he cannot develop, grow, or change into something different than he is. If he could, he would be less than perfect. Scriptures compare the nature of God to a rock (Deuteronomy 32:4). Picture a rock battered by the ferocity of waves or protruding above the currents of a raging river. That’s immutability (inability to change). Though everything else in God’s creation is subject to change, he stands firm—immovable, unchangeable above it all.

God cannot change the divine essence[2] of his being. No created being carries the essence of God (e.g., his self-sufficiency, self-existence, or limitlessness). Unlike God’s creation, he will never evolve, grow, or improve. In him, there are no variations, for he is perpetually the same.

God cannot change in his divine attributes. Before he called the universe into existence, his attributes were the same and will remain the same forever. Not one attribute of God can be changed or altered by the influence of another attribute. No attribute in God is more significant than another. They remain perfectly aligned to each other in perfect harmony. His love is eternal. His mercy is infinite. All that God is, he has always been and shall never be modified one bit. His immutability is our guarantee that God remains steadfast as a rock in all his attributes.

God cannot change his eternal decrees. His word is unchanging. “God is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should change his mind (Numbers 23:19). He will never stray from the eternal purposes he has decreed before the foundations of the world. From the beginning of time to the end, his plan remains forever unchanged. We make and change plans because we cannot foresee every obstacle or have the resources to accomplish the plans. God’s attributes (such as being all-wise) enable him never to make a mistake. He is perpetual glory. We, however, are transformed (change or evolve) from glory to glory.

God’s immutability doesn’t mean he cannot change his actions when dealing with humanity in different situations. His immutability means his divine essence (character), attributes, and eternal purposes cannot change. He is the unalterable “I AM.” He does not mutate from being one kind of God to another.

Psalm 33:11; Psalm 102:25-27; Hebrews 6:17; 13:8

[1] Immutable—unchanging over time or unable to be changed.

[2] Essence—the intrinsic, invariable nature or indispensable quality of something and its significant individual feature.