The Blessed Impassibility of God
Mar. 4, 2022
"Passibility" means the capacity or ability for feeling. It would include things that have to do with emotion or affection. In the Christian doctrine, what is connected to passibility is the idea of suffering. Human beings live in a fallen world and we suffer. Life is uncertain here and we are reactionary in our emotions. For example, if you buy a brand new car, you are happy in that moment and experience a certain emotion. But if you crash that car as you drive it off of the car lot, you now have a different emotion because your circumstances have changed. This is passibility.
Theologians have talked about the impassibility of God connected with His immutability: God does not change. We creatures always change, but our Creator does not. However, there is a conundrum. Even though God is immutable, scripture also reveals things to us about the emotional or affectionate side of God. God is love and has joy. How do you consider both?
The best way for us to understand this is to see the difference between creatures and the One who has created all creatures. God is not moved by circumstances like we are. Nothing takes Him by surprised. The comfort is that although God has revealed Himself as an emotional being, His emotions are not subject to circumstances, but are always in their perfection. What a comforting thought!