A Sermon delivered on Thursday evening, March 2, 1882, by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
(The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 28)
Like as a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. (Psalm 103:13)
“In simplest terms, divine impassibility means that God does not suffer…. God cannot be acted upon from without, neither can His inner state change for better or for worse.” - Kevin DeYoung
“Some people suppose happiness is uniquely human, unrelated to God’s nature: as He gave us a body and hunger, which He doesn’t have, He gave us a capacity for happiness, which He also doesn’t have. I believe something radically different” - Randy Alcorn
“It is this tendency to adjustment among evangelicals that is responsible for the call to return to a classical theism defined in strongly Thomistic terms. Along with the onset of Enlightenment rationalism, it must be understood if the Trinity Wars are to be understood.” - Word by Word
The Hebrew verb רחם (rḥm) is used over 40 times in the Old Testament and is translated in the Authorized Version as “compassion,” “pity,” or “mercy.” In its basic sense, רחם may mean (1) to feel affectionate love based upon a relational bond, or (2) to show kindness to the inferior or needy. The English term “mercy” best translates the second meaning, whereas the term “compassion” brings out the affective element in the first meaning. The underlying relational bond is underscored by those passages which associate רחם with “covenant” [בְּרִית; bərît] and “covenant love” [חֶסֶד; ḥesed] (Isa. 54:8, 10; Lam. 3:32).
“So what exactly is meant by passions? What are affections, or emotions for that matter? And why have Christians throughout the ages been so adamant that God does not have passions? We’ll define some terms in a moment, but it’s good to say upfront that what’s being protected in the doctrine of Divine Impassibility is any creatureliness or finitude within the Godhead.” - Ref21
The classical doctrine of God has fallen on hard times in some evangelical circles. In this article, I’m specifically thinking of the doctrine of impassibility.1 The Westminster Confession of Faith says God is without “passions.”2 Robert Reymond explains that doesn’t mean God is an immobile stone; he surely empathizes with human grief and suffering.
