God does not Change
Church of Almighty God
There is only one God
God is immutable but in the Age of Kingdom, God has incarnated in a new physical body;
and God has changed the way salvation in the last days
God is Always new, Never Old!
- In the Introduction section of the “The Word Appears in the Flesh,” an unidentified person, introduces the structure of CAG’s Holy scripture and explains why Almighty God speaks with different methods and from a third person perspective: “God employs multiple methods and perspectives…. He uses satire, and sometimes He uses the method of direct provision and teaching… He uses examples, and sometimes He uses harsh rebukes. Overall, there are all kinds of different methods, the goal of which is to cater to people’s various states and tastes. The perspective from which He speaks changes with the different methods and content of His utterances…. Sometimes He says “I” or “Me”; that is, He speaks to people from the perspective of God Himself. Sometimes He speaks from the third person, saying “God” is this or that, and there are other times when He speaks from the perspective of a human being. No matter what perspective He speaks from, His essence does not change, for no matter how He speaks, everything He expresses is the essence of God Himself —it is all the truth, and it is what mankind needs.”[1]
[1] The Church of Almighty God, The Word Appears in the Flesh, “Introduction,” accessed March 19, 2021. Google e-book, page 1133.
- To follow up the above statements, one might ask a couple of questions. (1) What does it mean by “the essence of God”? (2) How does one know that essence of God does not and has never changed? To answer question (1), one should go directly to CAG’s literatures as the best source to find an answer. From “The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God” in “The Word Appears in the Flesh“, it says, “Since God becomes flesh, His essence is a combination of humanity and divinity. This combination is called God Himself, God Himself on earth.”[2]
To answer question (2), it can be done by observation or doing an analysis on CAG’s history and its doctrinal stance over the years. In this case, we are to identify if the essence of God with respect to CAG’s beliefs has ever changed over the years. Promptly, most definitely it is the central doctrine of CAG that God became flesh in the second incarnation as a female. The humanity of God has definitely changed from male to female, i.e., from the first incarnation to the second incarnation. Therefore, the essence of God in His humanity has undoubtedly changed, then the true answer to question (2): the essence of God as defined by CAG has unequivocally changed. No wonder why CAG’s latest translations have changed the pronoun identifying the female Christ from “she” to “he” and from “her” to “him” so that the humanity of Christ in the second incarnation would appear the same as the first one.
How CAG defines the identity of Almighty God give a glimpse of meaning of the essence of God in His divinity. For all things and all that there is, God’s true identity is the “Creator and Ruler of all things.”[3] Given that God is the Ruler of all creation, “obedience” may be the key to know what the essence of God means. In the reality of the world of the CAG, the best practice is able to stand firm in the midst of following and knowing the Creator and Ruler. “When people understand and are able to obey the essence of God’s current words, they live on the path of being guided by the Holy Spirit.”[4] In another passage, “what is the essence of God?” is the first question being asked with no answers, but followed by a series of questions: “What is the essence of God? In which areas do you find it difficult to obey God, and in which are you able to? To what extent do you obey God? In which circumstances are you unable to obey God? How do you resolve your notions of God, and how do you gradually deepen your understanding of God?”[5]
The essence of God in the context of the above quotation seems to tie into Almighty God’s absolute authority over CAG’s members, i.e., the deity demands absolute obedience from its believers.
[2] The Church of Almighty God, The Word Appears in the Flesh, “The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God,” accessed March 20, 2021.
[3] The Church of Almighty God, The Word Appears in the Flesh, “None of the Created and Non-created Beings can Replace the Identity of the Creator,” accessed December 28, 2021, [3], Google e-book, 3328.
[4] The Church of Almighty God, The Word Appears in the Flesh, “People Whose Dispositions Have Changed are Those Who Have Entered into the Reality of God’s Words,” accessed August 4, 2021; Google e-book, 1441.
[5] The Church of Almighty God, “Chapter 16. The Three Kinds of Beliefs in the Practical God,” accessed March 20, 2021. (This link has been deleted, August 4, 2021) Here is another link to the same article.
Christianity
God is immutable
God is the Necessary Being, For God has no potentiality, only Pure Actuality.
God’s Essence cannot change since He has no potential for change.
God is Eternal and self-existent.
God is Perfect and does not lack anything.
God cannot be temporal since time involves a “before and after” change, and a necessary being is changeless, without beginning or end.
God is immaterial or Incorporeal
God cannot be material since matter has the potential to change, and a changeless being cannot change.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8, ESV)
“For I the Lord do not change; ……” (Malachi 3:6, ESV)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17, ESV)
“ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29, ESV)
“The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.” (Psalm 33:11, ESV)
“declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’” (Isaiah 46:10, ESV)
“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath.” (Hebrews 6:17, ESV)
“25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.” (Psalm 102: 25-27, ESV)
“Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2, ESV)
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:28, ESV)
- “God is omniscient, meaning He knows everything (Job 21:22; Isaiah 40:13-14; Romans 11:33; Hebrews 4:13). There is no new knowledge that would prompt God to change. However, there are Scriptures stating that God relents or “changes” His mind. Such Scriptures do not imply that God Himself changes or even that God alters His mind. God will sometimes work in one direction and then seemingly change directions based on our actions. He knows that the change is coming, but our action is still required to make the change. God’s relenting or changing His mind can therefore be seen as a change in situation, or His outward dealings with man, in that moment. Because of our limited view of time, we understand Him to have relented or changed His mind, but He knew the final outcome all along.”
Source: https://www.compellingtruth.org/immutability-of-God.html.
"The true identity of Almighty God" of the Church of Almighty God
- For those who follow Almighty God, there are five requirements that followers must meet and adhere. They are “true belief, loyal following, absolute submission, genuine knowledge, and heartfelt reverence.”[1] When Almighty God requires of you of anything, as a believer, “you should submit to Him absolutely. You should not ask the cause or make conditions, much less should you speak of reasons. Your obedience must be absolute.”[2] True followers of CAG must absolutely obey the words of the Almighty God, “The Word Appears in the Flesh.” No questions asked!
Changes in principles?
- CAG claims that Almighty God is immutable. Does the God of CAG change? Has the God of CAG changed in the past 30 years? Besides the change in Christ’ human body from male to female as noted above, has Almighty God changed in divinity? The essence of a being, divine or otherwise, points to the true identity of an alleged deity.
- As mentioned above, Church of Almighty God followers believe Almighty God’s essence is a combination of humanity and divinity. A change in God’s essence means a change in God’s divinity; and a change in God’s divinity is a change in God’s identity. Let’s look at a basic level of analogy: a change in methods is not necessarily a change in principles in doing things, but any change in principles implies a real change of heart or even a change of the identity of a being. Did the God of CAG change any principles of God of the Bible?
- There are three major changes in God’s principles as well documented in CAG’s literature: (1) CAG has a new Holy scripture, “The Word Appears in the Flesh”, which replaces the Bible. (2) CAG has a new Christ, a created being as a female, who replaces the Son of God, Jesus, the true “I AM.” (3) CAG has a new path to true salvation in the current age. By works through Almighty God’s judgment, chastisement, and perfecting of Almighty God’s words “replaces” by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, the only way of salvation. These three items are changes in principles of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind. These changes confirm either God’s has changed or the identity of God has changed. Since the God of the Bible does not change, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, the identity of God must have changed!
- In addition, CAG’s Holy book has been growing as a living document. The “The Word Appears in the Flesh” was first written in 1991 and published in 1993. Since then, it has been updated and expanded several times with more utterances of Almighty God over the past 30 years. The current version was last updated on February 14, 2014 and first published in November 2017 in e-book format.[3]
- Furthermore, there are subtle but conspicuous changes that most scholar either missed, ignored, or neglected to mention in their research and publications. It is the Doctrine of Reincarnation. CAG has added this doctrine which is a change in method of God’s plan of salvation. Reincarnation comes from eastern religions and is based on human performance. It goes against God’s principles of salvation, which is by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and CAG replaces it with Almighty God’s new plan of salvation, which is by works and through obedience, i.e., through Almighty God’s words in judgment, chastisement, perfecting, refinement, and then, reincarnation.
- CAG often asserts that “God is always new and never old.” This statement proves that CAG is practicing, yet without admitting its God (the Almighty God of the Last Days) is a changing God. “The Word Appears in the Flesh” says: “…. God does not repeat the same work; He is the God that is always new and never old, and so all that you see today is the words and work of the practical God.” [4]
[1] The Church of Almighty God, The Word Appears in the Flesh, “God Himself, The Unique X, God is the Source of Life for All Things (IV),” Google e-book, accessed August 12, 2021, 3805; pdf version, 3789-3790.
[3] The Church of Almighty God, The Word Appears in the Flesh, (Taoyuan City: Taiwan Taoyuan Christian New Song Church Foundation, Google e-book, 2017), accessed December 29, 2021, page 3828, pdf: 3828-3829.
[4] The Church of Almighty God, The Word Appears in the Flesh, “Knowing God’s Work Today”, accessed March 19, 2021, 1342-1343; “Knowing God’s Work Today,” The Word Appears in the Flesh, accessed March 19, 2021.