2 minutes
Does God Change His Mind?
This is the first post of a series called Does God Change His Mind.
So does He?
The short answer is: No.
The longer answer is: There is no reason for God to ever change His mind. God is Omniscient and He knows everything that will happen. To know what will happen in the future is called foreknowledge. To know everything that will happen is called perfect foreknowledge.
God has perfect foreknowledge. For God to change His mind would mean there was something He did not know that caused Him to make a wrong decision in the first place.
People make promises. But they don’t foresee that situation popping up, causing them to break their promise. So we call that person a liar for not keeping their promise. Now that person must apologize. Luckily, God is not a man that he should repent or lie (Numbers 23:19).
Other than lack of knowledge, the only other reason God would change His mind is if He were not powerful enough to do it. Though I might want to do something, if I am unable to make it happen, then I must change my mind and do something else. God does not have this problem. God is Omnipotent. There is nothing too difficult for Him (Luke 18:27).
So what about all the things that God has done that seems like He has changed His mind?
- He created the Garden of Eden and desired that sin never enter into the universe, but it did and He had to change His plans.
- What about when men became so evil that God had to destroy the world by a flood? Was that a change of plans?
- Did God change His mind when He created the Law and gave it to Moses? Did He create a new law that had not existed before because He didn’t know how people would act?
- What about when He sent His Son to die on the cross because no one was able to keep the Law and sin overran the world?
In all these things, and others, God did not change His mind. God knew these things would occur before they ever happened.
- God did not expect nor intend that Adam would never sin. In perfect foreknowledge, He knew Adam would fall but God already had a plan.
- God was not surprised by the evil in the hearts of men that He submerged the Earth in water. The Flood was foreseen by Him before Noah was ever born.
- When God gave the Law to Moses, it was not a surprise to Him. He also knew that men would not be able to keep the Law and would need a Savior.
- When He sent His Son to die on the cross, He was not surprised, He knew That Day was coming before Adam ever sinned in the Garden.
God has never changed His mind. Not for these or for any other thing. He knew they were coming and had a plan for each of them. His will did not change. He performed His will in every instance.
Stay-tuned for tomorrow’s continuation of this series when we discuss whether God changed when He created the universe and what happened when He “changed His mind” about destroying the Ninevites after Jonah preached to them.
Your Turn
Do you think God has changed His mind? Do you know of any scriptures that indicate He does? Let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments below.
To read part two of the series, click here. Part three can be found here.
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