The Attributes of God for Kids: Immutable (God is Unchanging)
What is God? Who is God? How can I know God? What does God do? Do those questions sound familiar? Kids have a lot of questions about God (and quite honestly, grown-ups do too).
Theologians (people who study God and His Word) use the Attributes of God to help us understand more about God. The attributes are a theological category that teaches us about God’s very unique nature, the things that make Him and Him alone God.
Talking to Kids About the Attributes of God
As you begin to teach your kids about the attributes of God, you can describe attributes this way: We all have attributes! They are ways we can describe ourselves. You may be fast, or tall, or short, or a twin. You may be athletic, creative, or kind. But you may be able to describe other people that way too! When we talk about God, He has attributes that belong ONLY to Him. They are the things that make Him God.
God’s Communicable and Incommunicable Attributes
There are actually two types of attributes we talk about when it comes to God: communicable attributes and incommunicable attributes. God’s communicable attributes are the attributes that God has that we can also have as people! Some examples of this: God is kind, loving, and wise. Humans can also be kind, loving, and wise. Ephesians 5:1 tells us to imitate God; His communicable attributes show us how to imitate Him.
In this Minno blog series, we will be taking a look at God’s incommunicable attributes, the ones that are completely unique to God. These are attributes that only describe God, nothing, and no one else. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at six attributes of God and helping you frame these ideas for kids.
Why Learn the Attributes of God?
Why learn the attributes? God is beyond our understanding, and yet through His Word, He has given us the ability to learn about Him and to know Him. Kids are concrete thinkers, and so when we start talking about how God is “all-knowing” and “all-present” they may have trouble grasping those BIG concepts.
And yet, it’s important that kids understand who God is as they build a resilient faith. So we’ll be digging in using kid-friendly language and ideas for teaching your kids about our wonderful, incredible God! The beauty of teaching kids about God and faith is that we can learn right alongside them. So lean in and open your heart to what God wants to teach you about who He is!
Ready? Let’s go!
Attribute: Immutable (God is Unchanging)
Key Verse: Hebrews 13:18
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Define It:
Immutability (Em-mute-a-bill-eh-tee)
Immutability means not being able to change.
Know It:
God’s immutability means that He cannot and will not change. God is perfect, therefore He has no reason or ability to change. God is also eternal, which means He has always been the same (perfect) and will always be the same (perfect).
Talk About It:
Immutability is a big word, and the concept of never-changing is a wild one for kids (and grown-ups) to understand. Because what is our life characterized by if not change?
Start by asking your kids to think about some things that have changed for them recently. Maybe they made new friends, or got a new teacher, or tried a new sport. Maybe they got a haircut or a puppy. Ask them to think of some good changes and some hard changes.
Then talk about things that always stay the same (or at least seem to!). Hopefully, they’ll say things like “our family” or “how much mom and dad love me.” Answers like those are great jumping-off points to talk about how God’s unchangingness means that He will never fail us. God’s love will never change! Even when so many other things in life change, we can trust in the God who loves us with an unchanging and everlasting love.
Here are a few verses about God’s immutability that you can read together and talk about:
Numbers 23:19 (NIV)
God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
1 Samuel 15:29 (NIV)
He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NIV)
I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Malachi 3:6 (NIV)
I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
James 1:17 (NIV)
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Pray:
Spend some time praying together and thanking God that He never changes. Ask Him to help you remember that His love for you will never change.
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Read more posts in the Attributes of God for Kids Series
God is Omniscient (All-Knowing)