James, the brother of Jesus, was raised in Nazareth along with Jesus Christ as his eldest half-brother. Growing up, James personally witnessed Jesus increasing in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man. He saw how his older half-brother obediently and respectfully submitted Himself to Mary and Joseph on a daily basis. James had seen the unchangeable perfections of our Lord on public display in Galilee.
As an adult and as revealed throughout the Book of Acts, James held a prominent place as a recognized leader of the early believers in Jerusalem. He was mentioned by Peter after Peter was released by the angel from prison (Acts 12:17). James spoke with authority and clarity at the council of Jerusalem in solving the controversial question regarding how to handle the new influx of Gentile believers (Acts 15:12–19). Also, the Apostle Paul called James a “pillar” of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9).
Thus, it is no surprise that James, in the epistle that bears his name, had much to say about the character of our Lord. James opened his epistle with the testimony that he was the “servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1). He was the half-brother of Jesus, yet he called himself the “servant” of Jesus as well.
In verse 17 of this opening chapter, James gave testimony to the immutability of the God that we serve. While encouraging his readers with the assurance that temptation to sin never comes from God but rather from the selfish lusts of man, James wrote, “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).
James used two important terms in verse 17 to describe the immutability of God:
With God there is no variableness
The Greek term here is παραλλαγή (parallagé). It is an intensified word that means “chaotic, vacillating, and changeable.” The word is used once in all the New Testament—here in this verse. However, it is also used in the Greek Septuagint in II Kings 9:20, where Jehu’s chariot-driving is described as “he driveth furiously”! The Greek version uses this same word παραλλαγή (parallagé). Jehu drove his chariot erratically, unpredictably, furiously, and chaotically.
In the Bible, God is often referred to in connection to chariots. According to Psalm 68:17, “the chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels.” The psalmist notes in Psalm 104:3 that the Lord makes “the clouds his chariot.” Unlike Jehu, Jehovah drives His chariot onward and forward—with purpose, surety, and a steady hand.
With God there is no shadow of turning
James also used a term in verse 17 that is unique in the New Testament. He referenced the shadows that the sun casts upon a sundial, the shadows that move as the sun moves across the sky. During the course of the year, as the position of the sun changes, the sundial must accommodate these variations. This same term was used in antiquity to describe the “shadow of turning” upon the moon, as the lunar phases shifted throughout the lunar month: from a new moon (completely obscured by a shadow) through the waxing crescent to a waxing gibbous to a full moon (fully visible), and then progressively back to a new moon.
Unlike the phases of the moon, the face of God is without “shadow of turning.” He is consistent, faithful, and constant. He is immutable!
On the basis of God’s steadfast nature, James encouraged his brethren in the Lord likewise to be steady in their walk with God. As with all the attributes of God, we should always look for practical applications in the Word of God. Of course, we can never be “immutable” as God is immutable. But we can and should be changed into His image; we should be growing steadier, more faithful, and less variable in our daily lives.
By way of application of this truth, James wrote that we should be “a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:18). We should be “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (verse 19). We are to “receive with meekness the engrafted word” (verse 21). Furthermore, we are to be “doers of the word” (verse 22).
May God help us, as we daily serve an immutable God in Whom there is no variableness and no shadow of turning, to become steadier, more faithful, and more consistent followers of Christ.
