The Unchangeableness Of God

Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God

forever and ever, for wisdom

and might are His.

And He changes the times

and the seasons; He removes

kings and raises up kings;

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who

have understanding.

He reveals deep and secret things;

He knows what is in the darkness,

and light dwells with Him.

Daniel 2:20–22

            The word “mystery” is to be defined as that which we do not know, nor cannot know and for us to understand a “mystery” we need the aid of one who can reveal the “mystery”, the truth, not some fabrication that seems truthful and the only one that can do this is God Himself. There are rules of faith that are derived from the authority of Scripture concerning God’s foreknowledge and foreordination and those rules a Christian must follow loyally. Those who would favor things that are contrary to Scripture must be attested and as this blog is attempting to do, refute such contrariness and heresy. It is faith that is our way to understand and to uphold God and it is faith that we read, study, His word so that our understanding will have a basis in truth a truth that is made assured by God not only revealing Himself, but, by Him keeping His promise. Furthermore the fact that His rules are not cumbersome and by keeping them we are blessed. It must then be strongly and faithfully attested that the Almighty God foreknew and foreordained nothing merely in relation to time. With God there is no time for He is eternal and unchangeable, without beginning or end, so also then is His foreknowledge and foreordination eternal and unchangeable. Those religions, esp. Mormonism, that hold to the soul being alive awaiting in heaven, a preexistence that awaits for something, or someone, possible God, who by them is anthropomorphized, has no warrant in Scripture for God has not reveals to us this “mystery” if it does exist. As for those who as the Traducianists believe that the soul is numerical and is passed from a parent to a child, and so on, is also not to be found in Scripture; God has not revealed to us this fact, this so–called “mystery.” In God there is no new will, some new plan, no new arrangement, no decision, as though from all eternity, that in this eternity that He did not exist, that He was not with Himself and that He has from all eternity, a time without time, a place whereby God created all things and placed upon His creation space, and time, and all creation from which time can exist. God is God and nothing is accidental to Him, His divinity cannot be divided, nor increased, nor diminished, or changed. It is doubtless then that God has foreordained all things, and He foreknew all things; He is the revealer of deep and secret things (vs.22). Just as Ezekiel has written: “…I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it” (Ezekiel 17:24b). God then has determined all things, and by His will has allowed all things, and by His Providence guides and controls all things; therefore all things are accomplished by this foreordination. Things in the future that we await: all is done unalterable by anyone for it is certain to be done. It is not that God caused things to be done, i.e., murder, adultery, homosexuality, no, for God has made certain that He is not the author of sin, rather God in His foreknowledge makes all things to come to pass and to fulfill His purpose for creation. God works through second causes in His mysterious way which is higher in knowledge and understanding than is that of man. God allows but controls, for in His foreordination He made man to be man, not a robot, but man and has given to each man his soul which has the attributes of God, which is molded to the nature of a man, and by man’s sin, that original corruption of sin in all of Adam’s progeny the soul is tainted and corrupted and only God Himself can take this corruption and put on incorruption. This He did in time, man’s time, by His Son Jesus Christ and the efficacious work on the cross that propitiation for sin and this Jesus makes intercession for all that believe in Him, and this belief is also a belief that He is God, the second Person of the Trinity. God reveals to us that He is in control over all second causes and works through second causes and this we can see from the history of Israel. We are free to choose, right or wrong, we have been give what is right and what is wrong, that which is authorized by God and that which God does not authorize. Israel failed God, to keep His commandments, to put Him as their priority in life: “According tot heir uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them and hidden My face from them” (Ezekiel 39:24). Israel had chosen a wrong path and allowed idolatry, sin, transgression of the law and God allowed the Babylonians to capture them and this only for a time, 70 years, and then by the Medes and Persians who destroyed the Babylonians would be used by God to bring release from capture and to return to their land which God had given to them; not by themselves they did this, rather it was by the will of god who controlled this time period, a time when the captors of Israel themselves would be captured and those captured would be released: “When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, ad left none of them captive any longer” (Ezekiel 39:27–28). Nothing is left to chance, therefore it is doubtless that God would leave to chance the soul of a man. God created the soul, individually, one for each man, and then in His foreknowledge, and foreordination allows that soul to live, to choose to do good or bad, and for God to preordain those that will be saved and those who will not be saved. How do you know if you are a child of God and will be brought back from a land of transgression and captivity to sin? Do you desire to know God? Do you desire to learn from Him and to follow His commands? Are you a “couch” Christian and waiting for God to move you? He won’t!! If you have the faith God gives to His children then you will act accordingly to what you are and to whom you belong. Don’t wait! Act now!

Jesus answered then, “ I told you,

            And you do not believe.

The works that I do in My Father’s name,

            Then bear witness of Me.

But you do not believe, because you    

            Are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,

            And they follow Me. And I give them

Eternal life, and they shall never perish:

            Neither shall anyone snatch them

Out of My Father’s hand.

                                    John 10: 25–29

Love God: Live Life

Richard L. Crumb