The Immutability of God’s Counsel¹

John Owen

Hebrews 6:17-18. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.

Wherein God, willing. The words direct us to the purpose of God’s oath, expressed in the following words. In this matter God swore by Himself, that thereby the heirs of promise might not only be settled in faith, but moreover receive strong consolation. God willed to do this; not only was it according to His inclination and disposition to do so, but it was a determinate act and purpose which He willed. The sovereign will of God is the sole cause and spring of all the mercy, grace and consolation of which believers are made partakers in this world. God wills the grace and the consolation, and it is so.

More abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel. The “counsel” of God is the eternal purpose of His will: in this particular place it was His holy, wise purpose to give His Son to be of the seed of Abraham, for the salvation of the heirs of promise. This is the counsel which contained all the mercy and the grace of the promise, and secures them to believers. Of this counsel it is affirmed that it is immutable – not subject to any change. God takes the whole absolutely on Himself, both as to ordering and disposing of all things and the means He uses to the end intended. Such was the counsel of God concerning sending His Son to be of the seed of Abraham, and the blessing that should follow.

He was willing to “show unto the heirs of promise” this “immutability of His counsel”. All the gracious actions of God toward us are the execution of His holy, immutable purpose; and all the promises are the declarations of those purposes. God’s essential truth is engaged in His promises, and this declares the nature of unbelief: “He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar”.

God was willing to give special evidence of the immutability of His counsel; He would do so “more abundantly”. The promise of God is sufficient to give us security; yet, because something further might be useful, He would add a further confirmation to His word; this He did from a superabounding love and care; He confirmed His promise by an oath. He showed this im-

¹Here are the exposition and observations of Hebrews 6:17-18, taken with editing from “An Abridgement”, by M J Tryon, of Owen’s Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

mutability of His counsel to the “heirs of promise”: to all believers under the Old and New Testaments. Believers are called heirs of promise with respect to the promise itself, and with respect to the thing promised. The “heirs of promise” are “heirs of God”; that is, of the whole inheritance that He has promised His children.

Confirmed it by an oath. He interposed Himself with an oath and thus gives security to faith. He mediated by an oath; He interposed Himself between the promise and the faith of believers; and swearing by Himself, He takes it on His life, holiness, being and truth to make the promise good.

Observations: 1. The purpose of God to save the elect by Jesus Christ is an act of infinite wisdom as well as of sovereign grace.

1. The life and assurance of our present comfort and future glory depend on the immutability of the counsel of God.

2. The purpose of God concerning the salvation of the elect by Jesus Christ became immutable from hence, that the determination of His will was accompanied with infinite wisdom.

3. Infinite goodness, acting in Christ, was not satisfied in providing and preparing good things for believers, but it would also show and declare itself unto them, for their present consolation.

4. It is not all mankind universally, but a certain number of persons, to whom God has a purpose to manifest the immutability of His counsel and to communicate its effects. It is only the “heirs of promise” to whom God intends to communicate these effects.

5. God alone knows the due measure of His condescension, or what is appropriate for the divine nature in this. Who could have once apprehended that the holy God should swear by Himself to confirm His word and truth to such worthless creatures as we are? Who dared to have done so?

6. So unspeakable is the weakness of our faith that we stand in need of inconceivable condescension for its confirmation. Who would not think that the declaration of the immutability of His counsel by way of promise was every way sufficient? But God knew that we stood in need of yet more; not that there was a lack of sufficient evidence in His promise, but such a lack of stability in us as stood in need of a superabundant confirmation, as we shall see in the next verse.

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie. The “two immutable things” are the promise and the oath of God. Both of these are equally immutable. The promise is not confirmed by the oath because it was weak and therefore needed the oath to strengthen it. We must carry along with us the infinite and inconceivable condescension of God in this matter. “In which it was impossible for God to lie” – that is, to deceive.

The highest security among men consists in a promise confirmed by an oath; God uses these in our case, and therefore it is impossible that He should lie. The special design in this was that:

We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Strong consolation is that which prevails against opposition. There are comforts to be taken, and often are taken, from earthly things, but they are weak, languid and such as fade and die upon the first appearance of a vigorous opposition, but this “strong consolation” will prevail against all creature oppositions whatever. The people for whom God has a purpose to give this strong consolation are those who “have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us”. In the judgement of many, there is an allusion here to the manslayer fleeing to the “city of refuge”. These words convey an apprehension of danger, but also speed and diligence in an endeavour to reach a place of safety.

In the case of people under the New Testament, they flee to “lay hold of the hope”. The promise being proposed to us is the cause and object of our faith, on account of the faithfulness of God therein; faith brings hope, whose object is the same promise, or the good things thereof. Hence it is called, “the hope”; without it we could have none, there being neither cause nor object for it. And this hope is “set before us”, or proposed to us, which it is in the declaration of the promise of the gospel. There it is proposed to us as the object of our faith and hope, and as the means of the strong consolation which God is so abundantly willing that we should receive. And we “lay hold” of this hope; that is, we hold fast what we lay hold on with all our might and power.

There will be many endeavours to strike off the hand of faith from laying hold on the promise; and many more to loosen its hold when it has taken hold; but it is in the nature of faith, and it is a part of our duty, strongly to lay hold upon, and firmly to retain, the promise when we have reached out to it.

Observations. 1. A sense of danger and ruin from sin is the first thing which occasions a soul to look out after Christ in the promise.

1. A full conviction of sin is a great and shaking surprise to a guilty soul.

2. The revelation or discovery of the promise – or of Christ in the promise – is that alone which directs convinced sinners to their proper course and way.

3. Where there is the least degree of saving faith, when Christ is first seen in the promise, the whole soul is stirred up to go towards Him. The nature, life and being of the duty, obedience and grace of that faith, which the heirs of promise have, consists in going to Christ, on the basis of His invitation and call – in laying hold upon Him in the promise.

4. It is the duty and wisdom of all those, to whom Christ in the promise

is once revealed, to allow no delay in closing with Him thoroughly, by any gospel means or ordinance set before them.

1. A spiritual strength and vigour is required to secure our interest in the promise – we are to lay firm hold on it.

2. The promise is an assured refuge to all sin-distressed souls who betake themselves to it.

3. Where any soul convinced of sin betakes himself to the promise for relief, God is abundantly willing that he should receive strong consolation.