Is it possible for God to change His mind? Some people read passages such as, “For I the LORD do not change…” (Mal. 3:6 ESV), or “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8 ESV) and conclude that it is impossible for God to change His mind. They reason that if God is immutable, His decisions must also be unchangeable.
It is also reckoned that if God is omniscient and knows all things, including the future, then it would be impossible for God to change His mind. Since He already knows what He is going to do in the future, what sense would it make that He would ever change His mind?
For people who have drawn this conclusion the idea that God can or does change His mind would undermine His divine nature. Does the Bible support these conclusions? Can God still be God if He were to change His mind?
In this post, we’ll examine the question of God changing His mind in light of His immutability and the context of the scriptures in question. I’ll examine the question concerning God’s omniscience in a follow up article.
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