OUR INFINITE, UNCHANGING GOD

God has some amazing attributes. People often think of His almighty power or of His total knowledge of everything and everyone. There are those who also contemplate God’s presence everywhere. But how about the fact that the Lord is both infinite and unchanging? Those are interesting to ponder upon as well. First, for the infinite aspect of God. We can comprehend in the forward direction of time, that eternity lies ahead. But do you ever stop to realize that God has existed from eternity past, that He has no beginning? We came into existence at a definite point in time, therefore we are finite beings in that sense and cannot truly understand how something or someone could possibly have no beginning. But you also have to consider that God is The Almighty. There is no one before Him, or else He would have had to be created. Whoever would have done that would have to be greater than God, which is impossible. Therefore God could not have had a beginning. He has always existed, from eternity past.

Isaiah 43:10:  “You are My witnesses,” says the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me…”

Consider this also:

Exodus 3:13-15:  Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’…”

This passage is from the account of Moses encountering God in the burning bush out in the desert, when He promises to set the children of Israel free from their cruel bondage in Egypt. God’s name here is rendered to us in English as “I AM WHO I AM” or, more simply, “I AM.” This comes from the Hebrew verb “to be, to exist.” In a simple statement God conveyed to Moses His unique nature. Think about it: If you could go back in time, no matter where you were to end up you would find God because He is. If you were able to travel into the future you would also find God because He is. No matter where you could go in time or space you would encounter the Lord because He is. Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, had something amazing to say to the Jewish religious leaders:

John 8:57-58:  Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

In response to the Lord’s words, the religious leaders took Him for a blasphemer and went to stone Him. Thankfully, He escaped. If they had realized Who was talking to them, their reaction would have been one of reverence and awe instead. We may not be able to fully grasp how it is that God is infinite, but the Holy Spirit bears witness in our hearts to this vital truth. Remember, also, that just as God has always existed, even from eternity past, He is also unchanging. Notice the Scriptural truths attesting to this fact:

Malachi 3:6:  “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob…”

Hebrews 13:8:  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

James 1:17:  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

God is perfect, so He has no need to change. There is also something very reassuring about this because it means that God can absolutely be trusted and depended upon. He is completely trustworthy. God does not change back and forth from day to day. He is never capricious and never acts on whims. God never does anything that is contrary to His nature. Day in and day out, for all of eternity, God is the same. Likewise His Word has the same totally dependable undergirding:

Psalm 119:89:  Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.

God has always been, He is, and He will always be. God is also unchanging. What He is now He has always been, and He will be the same way forever. That is most comforting to know. Our God, The Lord God Almighty, is totally true and trustworthy. We can always depend on Him no matter where we are, and we can always be impressed and awed by His infinite, unchanging nature.