Immutability

Jordan was, in a way, talking about a person’s character being represented by their name. Jordan says, “ ‘Is this guy gonna do what he said he’s gonna do?’ God said unto Moses, ‘I am that I am.’ That’s not Popeye either. Most of the time you hear the preachers talk about that they say that means, ‘He’s eternal; [I’m always existing’].’ But there’s more to it than that. But the idea in that is, ‘If I said something now, it’s always gonna be true. I don’t change my mind.’

“In theology they call that immutability. ‘I don’t change.’ And what he was telling Moses was, ‘ Moses, you can have confidence in what I’m telling you because I made a covenant and I don’t change; if I covenanted it, if I promised it, I’ll do it.’

“Then He goes out and tells the people, ‘Tell them I Am.’ Now that’s the issue of, ‘You go tell them I will provide for them what I promised.’ So in Malachi 3:6 you get both of these issues. The symbol and the doctrine. ‘I am the Lord; I change not. Therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ ”

“ . . . By the way, He can speak when He reveals the knowledge. Rev. 2. Gal. 4:6. There’s that spirit of sonship, but He speaks. There in Romans 8, He makes intercession for the saints. Well, that’s something a person does. Verse 34, you see the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God making intercession.

“The same characteristics that are identified as true of Jesus are identified as true of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 15:30, notice there are some things that the Spirit loves. He has the capacity to love things. He’s a person.

“That’s why He can be grieved. That’s why He can have these things happen to Him. Because of His personality. He does the things that people do. He intercedes, He gives testimony: ‘Bears witness of me,’ Christ says. He speaks, He teaches, and He’s a person outside of the godhead; outside of the Father and the Son.

“There’s God the Father, there’s God the Son and then there’s also God the Holy Spirit. He’s a person but He’s also a distinct member of the godhead. Now, you know the verse back in Genesis 1 where He says, ‘Let US make man . . . ‘ And you know the verse in Deuteronomy 4, ‘Now therefore hearken, O Israel, the word of god is one god.’

"Well how can it be one if it’s in us? Well, that’s the doctrine of the trinity. There’s one God in three PERSONS. But understand the Holy Spirit is not the father in drag. That’s a doctrine called Modalism. Now if you tell them (Modalists) I said that they're going to cry, 'Oh, that’s not what modalism is!’ Yeah it is!

"Modalism is that there are not three people (three distinct persons in the godhead), 'It’s just that God functions in three different capacities. One person dressed up as the Father is then dressed up as the Son, then He’s dressed up as the Spirit.'

"Now that’s a 21st century shorthand description, but that’s what they teach. And it’s just that silly."