⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Eternally consistent, unified, steady, unchanging, dependable, constant, unfailing, stable, unswerving, transcendent. The list of synonyms could go on. Jesus existed before His birth, the second person of the trinity, co-equal with the Father, existed before time began. He is above time, and is ever present in the past as well as the future. Though His earthly existence occurred in the changing time sequence of the first decades of the first century (of the Christian era, so defined because of His birth), He was there with God the Father in the beginning (John 1:1-2). And because He is before time and creation, He is therefore ultimately beyond or outside of time and creation. It follows that in His divine essence, He is unchanging, not being subject to such notions as ‘before’ and ‘after.’ He simply exists, while the sequence of time reveals the changes in things that are created.

If Jesus were not co-equal with the creator God of the universe, then He would be a created being, and therefore subject to the sequence of change through time. So this verse speaks to His eternality, because only that which is eternal can be said to be unchanging. All created things change in some way or another, but Jesus doesn’t change. He is the “same yesterday, today and forever.”

Being a follower of Christ, and believing He provided the once-for-all-time sacrifice for our sin, means we believe in an eternal Savior and eternal sacrifice. Though His offering of Himself took place in time and space, this action was tethered to an unchanging God beyond time and creation. Thus His sacrifice is eternal. It cannot be repeated, because it need not be repeated. So when we believe and embrace that He is our sacrifice for our sin, we then are tethered to the eternal God by the eternally-satisfying sacrifice of the eternal Son—therefore our salvation is likewise eternal. And so, we affirm again that a genuine believer cannot lose his salvation and status as one who is accepted by God. This cannot change, because Jesus Christ does not change. We therefore are secure!

For those persecuted for their faith who are tempted to go back to life under the law, this is welcome news. Though the struggles of life may assail, and the resolve may weaken, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and we boldly enter the eternal throne room of grace where we find eternal mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. Praise God!

Lord, how beautifully Your truth all fits together and is centered on Your Son, the One who is the “radiance of Your glory!” (Heb 1:3).