BY GREG CRUM
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17
Here in James, we read that with our God there is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” That phrase is a bit antiquated but a couple of other Bible translations bring out its meaning for our modern minds. The ESV states, “with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” The NIV declares, “Who does not change like shifting shadows.” The meaning? God doesn’t change, no matter the influence from external sources.
One of the defining characteristics of the God we serve is His consistency, and that is such a good thing. There is stability in this for us, and great comfort as we attempt to know Him and develop a relationship with Him.
Pleasing God, living the way He desires, isn’t a moving target. He doesn’t “move the goalposts,” so to speak, as soon as we get comfortable with a certain range. No, God is the same, yesterday, today and forever, and He is this way because He is absolute!
So, our Father doesn’t change. Why? Because He is absolute. There’s no reason for change because He is already absolutely perfect. There’s no further growth or improvement that is needed on His part.
What’s more, in Hebrews 1:3 we read that Jesus is the “express image” of God’s person. In other words, Jesus perfectly embodies in the flesh all that the Father is, including His character.
So, we can logically conclude that because God is absolute, Jesus is absolute. In fact, when you think about it, there has never been a man walk this planet as absolute as Jesus.
He was absolute in his thoughts, in his faith, in his speech and in his deeds. There was never any wishy-washy, wavering with Jesus. No “maybes,” or “sometimes,” or perhaps” with Jesus. It was always very black-and-white with him, never any shades of grey.
Jesus wouldn’t have won many political races, would he? Nope, but that’s refreshing, that in an age of compromise and concessions we can know that our captain was and is rock solid in all his perspectives—absolutely absolute.
Jesus is absolute, I keep saying that, and it’s true, but what does that mean? What am I trying to convey about our Savior?
Look up the definitions of the word “absolute” and you’ll begin to see some important aspects about our Lord’s character. One such meaning of the word teaches that to be absolute is to be “loosed from any limitation or condition, to be uncontrolled, unrestricted, to be unconditional.”
Another entry relays that it means to be “complete in itself, perfect, faultless.”
A third conveys that to be absolute means to be “viewed apart from modifying influences or without comparison with other objects, to be actual; real, as opposed to relative or comparative.”
Yeah, that’s our Jesus! Rock solid, uncontrolled by evil influences, faultless, no need for modification, and genuine.
All these things are part of the definition of the character of Jesus, and this character was a secret to his success as a “son of man” when he walked this Earth.
If Jesus would have been anything but absolute, he would have succumbed to the temptation of the devil in the wilderness, or would have bailed out on the plan of the cross in the garden.
Friends, we are so blessed that we have a Savior that can’t be moved off of the will of the Father. His “no variableness” has brought stability to our relationship with God today, and a hope for a wonderful eternity for all those who would believe in Him!
Greg Crum is the pastor at Calvary Temple in Lovely.