“Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail” (Hebrews 1:12).
The heart of this passage involves the Biblical doctrine of God’s immutability. The word “immutable” can be defined as something that does not change. Psalm 102:27 (quoted here in Hebrews 1:12) ascribes that quality to God. This passage credits that same attribute to Jesus. The inference is that Christ maintains the same eternal, unchanging nature of the sovereign Lord who appears in Psalm 102:27.
This point from the first chapter of Hebrews is one that our author will reinforce once again in the last chapter of Hebrews: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). This is important for several reasons.
Since Jesus is unchanging, we can first say that He is utterly dependable. To use a colloquial expression, Christ is as steady as a rock in an ever-changing world. For instance, we never have to worry that Jesus will change and become something other than who He is. Unlike others, we do not need to be concerned that Jesus might change His mind. Instead, He is unchangingly reliable and trustworthy.
Next, the fact that Jesus “…is the same yesterday and today and forever” demonstrates that He is God. You see, some religious organizations teach that Jesus is a man who became a god. Others teach that He was an angel, or a created being. But if either of those beliefs were true, then Jesus could not have been “...the same yesterday and today and for all time” (Mounce).
For example, the idea that a person “becomes” something else implies that he or she has changed. Therefore, if Jesus became a god, an angel, or a being, then He could not have been the same yesterday, today, and forever. Instead, the Biblical Scriptures tell us that Jesus was, is, and will always be God. One Biblical scholar builds upon this idea with an important insight…
“Angels change, heaven and earth change, Jesus does not change, herein is mankind’s hope (cf. Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17) …As the previous phrase addresses the stability of Jesus’ character, this one addresses the permanence of His person.” (1)
Because of this, we can find encouragement in the words of the following commentary…
“…Christ is our only security in a changing world. Whatever may happen in this world, Christ remains forever changeless. If we trust him, we are absolutely secure, because we stand on the firmest foundation in the universe—Jesus Christ.” (2)
(1) Dr. Bob Utley, www.freebiblecommentary.org [Hebrews 1:12] Copyright © 2014 Bible Lessons International http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/new_testament_studies/VOL10/VOL10_01.html
(2) Life Application Study Bible [Hebrews 1:11-12] Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers Inc., all rights reserved.