What Is the Doctrine of Impassibility?

Summary

Doctrine Matters with Kevin DeYoung: Episode Summary

Title: What Is the Doctrine of Impassibility?
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Host: Kevin DeYoung
Produced by: Crossway

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Introduction to the Doctrine of Impassibility

In the February 25, 2025 episode of Doctrine Matters, host Kevin DeYoung delves into the intricate theological concept of God's impassibility. This episode is part of a series where DeYoung, a pastor, bestselling author, and associate professor of systematic theology, explores essential theological doctrines to provide listeners with a deeper understanding of Christian theology.

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Understanding Impassibility

Timestamp [01:04]

DeYoung begins by defining the doctrine of impassibility, describing it as the belief that God does not suffer and cannot be influenced by external forces. He explains:

"Impassibility, in short, means that God does not suffer, that he cannot be acted upon from without."
[01:04] Kevin DeYoung

He further clarifies that this attribute is closely linked to God's immutability, emphasizing that God's inner state remains constant and unchangeable.

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Historical Context and Controversies

Timestamp [03:01]

DeYoung traces the historical acceptance of impassibility, noting that it has been a longstanding belief from the early Church through theologians like Anselm, Aquinas, and Calvin. He highlights that the doctrine has only recently faced significant challenges:

"This has been the position from the early Church through Anselm, Aquinas, Calvin, pretty much until Maybe the last couple hundred years has this come under serious attack?"
[03:01] Kevin DeYoung

The controversy revolves around the idea that if God were passible—capable of suffering—it would render Him as the most miserable of creatures and blur the ontological distinction between Creator and creation.

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Implications of Divine Passibility

Timestamp [03:32]

DeYoung outlines the theological problems that arise if God is considered passible:

"Divine passibility would mean that God, if he's suffering with us, is the most miserable of creatures. It would put him on the same ontological level as his creation."
[03:32] Kevin DeYoung

He warns that passibility could lead to perceptions of God being in a constant state of becoming, seeking to alleviate His own suffering through His actions towards humanity.

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Distinguishing Impassibility from Anthropomorphism

Timestamp [04:06]

Addressing the common misunderstandings, DeYoung differentiates between anthropomorphisms and the doctrine of impassibility:

"The Bible talks all the time about God having, we might say, an emotional life, having affections... but we understand that he doesn't really have a body as we have a body."
[04:40] Kevin DeYoung

He explains that while Scriptures use human-like descriptions to convey God's nature, these should not be taken to mean that God experiences emotions in the human sense.

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Theological Heresies Related to Impassibility

Timestamp [06:06]

DeYoung discusses two early heresies that opposed impassibility:

1. Theopascatism: The belief that God Himself suffered on the cross, leading to a conflation of divine and human natures in Christ.

   "Theopascatism is the belief that God suffered as God on the cross."
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2. Patra Passionism: The notion that both the Father and the Son suffered simultaneously, arising from a modalistic view of the Trinity.

   "Patra Passionism... was a form of modalism that the Father and Son were not distinct persons."
   [06:49] Kevin DeYoung

Both heresies were rejected by the early Church to maintain the distinct and immutable nature of God's divinity.

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Communicable Attributes of God

Timestamp [07:51]

Transitioning from impassibility, DeYoung explores God's communicable attributes—qualities that humans can, to some extent, share or understand. He categorizes these attributes into three main areas:

1. Attributes of Intellect:

   • Knowledge: God’s knowledge is comprehensive and differs from human understanding.

     "God knows things as they truly are... God's knowledge is comprehensive."
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   • Wisdom: The ability to apply knowledge effectively towards His divine purposes.

     "God's wisdom is his ability to use that knowledge... to glorify him most."
     [08:54] Kevin DeYoung

   • Truthfulness: God is the epitome of truth, unlike other deities that may be deceitful.

     "He is the true God in that he is truth and he always does."
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2. Attributes of Will:

   • Holiness: Repeated thrice in Scripture, signifying God's perfect ethical nature and His radical otherness.

     "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts."
     [09:39] Kevin DeYoung

   • Goodness, Love, Grace, Mercy, Patience (Long Suffering), Righteousness: These attributes highlight God’s benevolence, unmerited favor, and moral excellence.

     "God is gracious, that unmerited favor towards sinners... He is righteous. He is completely just."
     [10:12] - [12:12] Kevin DeYoung

3. Attributes of Power:

   • Omnipotence: God’s all-encompassing power, ensuring that nothing is beyond His ability.

     "There is nothing he cannot do."
     [12:29] Kevin DeYoung

   • Sovereignty: God's supreme authority and control over all creation, ensuring His purposes are fulfilled.

     "He rules over all the kingdoms of the nations... No one can withstand Him."
     [13:51] Kevin DeYoung

DeYoung underscores that these attributes are interrelated and must be understood in harmony, as none operates independently of the others.

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God’s Sovereignty and Its Impact

Timestamp [13:50]

Highlighting God's sovereignty, DeYoung emphasizes that God's omnipotence is exercised in perfect alignment with His other attributes:

"His absolute power does not exist independent of his goodness, his love, his mercy... He never exercises his power callously or capriciously."
[14:20] Kevin DeYoung

This sovereignty ensures that all of God's actions are inherently good, wise, and just, reinforcing the reliability and benevolence of His nature.

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Conclusion: Embracing God’s Immutability and Sovereignty

Timestamp [14:37]

Concluding the episode, DeYoung encourages listeners to embrace the doctrinal truths of God's impassibility and sovereignty:

"All of this we can place under the title of his attributes of will... The good news in God doing whatever he pleases, is that God always works for the good of his people and for the glory of his name."
[14:54] Kevin DeYoung

He reassures believers that understanding these attributes deepens their relationship with God, highlighting His eternal consistency and unwavering support.

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Final Thoughts

In What Is the Doctrine of Impassibility?, Kevin DeYoung provides a comprehensive exploration of a complex theological concept, tracing its historical roots, addressing contemporary debates, and elucidating its implications for understanding God's nature. By balancing doctrinal precision with accessible explanations, DeYoung offers listeners valuable insights into the immutable and sovereign character of God, reinforcing foundational Christian beliefs.

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Notable Quotes:

• Immutability Linked to Impassibility:

  "Neither can his inner state change, for better or worse."
  [01:38] Unknown Speaker 1

• Anthropopathism Clarification:

  "There are anthropopathisms... describing God in ways that we can understand with human emotions."
  [05:09] Unknown Speaker 2

• Attributes of Will Emphasized:

  "God is gracious... He is righteous."
  [12:06] Unknown Speaker 2

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Resources Mentioned:

• Book: Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung – A year-long mini systematic theology guide available in print and audio through Crossway.

For more theological insights and resources, listeners are encouraged to visit Crossway.org.

Transcript

[Kevin DeYoung]

Hello, I'm Kevin DeYoung, pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, and you are listening to Doctrine Matters. Each week on Doctrine Matters, we explore.

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The rich doctrine of the Christian faith.

[Kevin DeYoung]

We'll pull from the church's long history, complex debates, and over the course of.

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The year, the hope is that we'll.

[Kevin DeYoung]

Begin to frame out what is a clear, accessible, systematic theology, be looking at different Christian doctrines and their relationship to each other. And the hope, Lord willing, is we will grasp more and more the riches and the beauty of God's Word. Thanks for listening. Let's turn to this week's Doctrine Matters.

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We've been looking at the incommunicable attributes of God, and last week we talked about immutability, infinity, and a couple others, and I gave a little teaser to say something more about impassibility.

[Kevin DeYoung]

I want to just spend a few.

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Minutes here so we can talk about some communicable attributes, too. In wrapping up this section of Theology proper. Of all of the classic incommunicable attributes of God, this is no doubt the one that has become most controversial that you'll find good Christians, good theologians yet come to this one and question it. Impassibility, in short, means that God does not suffer, that he cannot be acted upon from without.

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Neither can his inner state change, for better or worse.

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So you can hear this is very much connected to immutability. There's a line in the Westminster Confession that says God is without body parts or passions, so a passion, meaning that God cannot be acted upon from without. He can never be rendered passive, and it will not do to say, well, right, he cannot be acted upon from without, but perhaps he allows himself or he wills himself to be able to suffer internally. And yet this passibility, that is to think that God suffers, leads to a number of problems. First of all, we can note that it has been the position of the.

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Christian church from the beginning, and not.

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Owing to Greek philosophy. Christians were perfectly capable of tweaking, nuancing.

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Disagreeing with Greek philosophy. They were influenced by it for sure.

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But the early Christians understood that God was unchangeable, eternal, incapable of being acted upon from without or within, and that.

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He could not suffer.

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And yet at the same time, that to be impassible did not mean he was inert or inactive. It meant that he was entirely active. He's so active, he's pure act, he is always active, active that he cannot be acted upon.

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And this has been the position from.

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The early Church through Anselm, Aquinas, Calvin, pretty much until Maybe the last couple hundred years has this come under serious attack? Divine passibility would mean that God, if he's suffering with us, is the most miserable of creatures. It would put him on the same.

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Ontological level as his creation.

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He would be in a state of becoming rather than a state of being.

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And it would mean that in some part he is acting to help us because he is in some need to be set free from his own suffering.

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And this leads is not, not saying that people who deny impassibility are guilty.

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Of process theology, but you can see the steps that lead toward it, that.

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God then is in process as we are. And in order to release himself from this experience of suffering, he must help us. We must understand that God's impassibility is.

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Not the same as saying he is lifeless.

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He does not have emotions in the.

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Way we have emotions.

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Even that language of emotion is 200 years old. And emotion in a human being cannot be separated from physical sensations, from brainwaves, and from the release of chemicals and endorphins. And of course, God doesn't have a body. He cannot have emotions like we have. We want to be absolutely clear. The Bible talks all the time about God having, we might say, an emotional life, having affections.

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So just as we understand intuitively that.

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There are anthropomorphisms, that is, God is.

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Described as having a body.

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He has, you know, in theophanies, he has a hair that's white, like wool. As someone with white hair, I do appreciate that. Or Scripture talks about his head, his right arm, making his enemies a footstool for his feet. And yet we understand that he doesn't really have a body as we have a body.

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These are ways of describing God.

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Well, similarly, there are anthropopathisms, that is, describing God in ways that we can understand with human emotions. And yet he does not have emotions like we have emotions.

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Impassibility maintains the full glory and mystery and condescension of the Incarnation.

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Think about that line from Charles Wesley's hymn, and can it be?

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Tis mystery all the immortal dies.

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There is nothing remarkable about the mortal dying, nothing amazing about the passable suffering. No, the wonder and the miracle of the Incarnation is that God did the.

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Most ungodlike thing possible.

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He suffered and he died. So let's not rip apart that mystery. He had to become man in order that he could suffer as a man.

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And therefore the God man felt human pain.

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And by that suffering and death he.

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Conquered sin, death, and the devil.

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For us, two related heresies from the.

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Early church to this doctrine of divine.

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Impassibility, one is theopascatism and the other is patra Passionism. Theopaschetism, Theos, meaning God. Pasco, meaning to suffer.

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Theopascatism is the belief that God suffered.

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As God on the cross. It was a Christological heresy, saying that when Christ died, the divine nature also suffered because there was no real distinction.

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Between the Divine and human nature. So it's a Christological heresy. And then there is patra Passionism.

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Patra meaning Father, Passion, there being the word for suffering that the Father suffered.

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Along with the Son on the cross.

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This was a trinitarian heresy. It was a form of modalism that the Father and Son were not distinct persons. So that when the Son suffered, the Father also suffered. There was one God, and He exists as the Father and as the Son, and they do not have distinction, subsistences or modes of being.

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Long before this official rejection of these two doctrines in the 6th century, though.

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These ideas were considered dangerous.

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The reason the Incarnation was necessary, and.

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It is so ineffably glorious, is that only by taking on human flesh could the Son of God suffer. The Council of rome back in 382 put it well, if anyone says that.

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In the Passion of the Cross God.

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Felt pain and not the body with.

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The soul which the Son of God.

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Christ had assumed the form of a.

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Servant which he had taken upon Himself.

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As the Scripture says, he does not think rightly. The doctrine of divine impassibility, that God does not suffer. But we haven't said much about these communicable attributes, those attributes that God shares with us, or we can have in some way as God has them. There are more than a dozen that we could mention. Let me just lump them into three categories. One, we can think of communicable attributes of intellect. That is God's thinking. So here we can talk about his knowledge. We can talk about his wisdom and his truthfulness. That God knows all things. The nature of his knowledge is comprehensive. He knows things as they truly are.

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Also differs from our knowledge in its extent.

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We know in part, God knows everything.

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And God's wisdom.

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God's wisdom is his ability to use.

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That knowledge and then to apply that to the attainment of his ends in a way that glorifies him most. That's a line from Louis Berkoff. And then God's truthfulness, his veracity.

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He's. He is different from other so called Gods.

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He is the true God in that he is truth and he always does.

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And speaks what is true. Those are the attributes of intellect or.

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The thinking attributes, and then a second.

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Category, his attributes of will. So if we have thinking, this is God's choosing. And here we rattle off a number of communicable attributes that God is holy. Famously, this is the only divine attribute.

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Mentioned in threefold repetition.

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Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts.

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This refers to the perfection of his ethical character. It also refers to his otherness.

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So God is holy, God is good. That is, he's the opposite of whatever is harsh, cruel, severe, exacting, demeaning, gruff. God is love. Just because our culture misunderstands this doesn't mean we want to be in any way embarrass. No, we want to trumpet from the mountaintops that the Bible says God is love.

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And we see this displayed in the sending and the sacrifice of His Son.

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That's where we see it most plainly, in texts like John 3:16 and Romans 5:8 and 1 John 4:10.

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We think of God's love often as one thing.

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But earlier theologians helpfully distinguished among different kinds of divine love. So they spoke of the love of benevolence. That's God's goodwill toward human beings, and then his love of beneficence, God's kind actions toward his creatures.

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And then the love of complacency.

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Which sounds strange. That would sound like. Well, that's kind of the worst love, because complacent in our language seems like lazy or sluggish or lackadaisical. But here it means God's satisfactory delight in Himself. That's what is meant by complacency in this older language.

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He so delights in Himself, in the.

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Son, and in all those who are united to the Son. So if we talk about God as.

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Love, we don't mean just one thing.

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We mean various layers of things. He has love towards all his creatures.

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He has love in one sense toward all human beings.

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But in the deepest sense, this love.

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Of complacency, he takes delight in us as we are united to His Son.

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In whom he finds complete satisfaction. God is holy, God is good. God is love. God is gracious, that unmerited favor towards sinners. He is merciful. He is kind to the weak, the weary, the mournful.

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He is long suffering.

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Now, we just said there's a metaphysical sense in which we don't want to.

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Attribute any kind of suffering to God.

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But here, long suffering means he's patient, he is slow to anger, he's eager to forgive, and he's righteous. The quality of righteousness can be predicated of God himself in reference to his.

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Uprightness, his moral excellence, that he always does what is right. He is completely just.

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So all of this we can place under the title of his attributes of will. So we have God's thinking, God's choosing.

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And then we have in this final.

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Category, his attribute of power, that is God's doing.

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Here we think about the famous Omnis.

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He's omniscient. There is nothing he does not know. He's omnipresent.

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There nowhere he cannot be.

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And now in this last category, he is omnipotent. There is nothing he cannot do.

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That's what we're thinking of here.

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With the attribute of power, he has unrivaled power. But of course, it's not just raw, unbridled power and some kind of capricious exercise of it. But he is for us.

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God wills what he wills, and the.

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Fact that he wills it because he has power to exercise it. We know that whatsoever he wills will come to pass. There is nothing too hard for God.

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Our God is in the heavens.

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He does whatever he pleases. Compared to God, all the inhabitants of.

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The earth, there is nothing. No one can stay his hand. Daniel 4:35 his purposes, his promises never.

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Fail, because God's power never falters. We could think of this as his divine sovereignty in relationship also to his divine omnipotence. So he has unrivaled power omnipotence, and.

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Exercises that power in control over all things.

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That is his sovereignty.

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He works all things after the counsel of his will. He determines the number of the stars. He gives to them all their names.

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He rules over all the kingdoms of the nations.

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Power and might are in his hands. No one can withstand Him. That is our sovereign.

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God's sovereignty can be hard for some Christians, and we'll have an opportunity to revisit the topic later when we look.

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At the decrees of God.

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But it is worth remembering here that.

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No attribute of God should be divorced.

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From any other attribute. God's absolute power does not exist independent.

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Of his goodness, his love, his mercy.

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His knowledge, his truth, his immutability, his wisdom. He never exercises his power callously or capriciously.

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This means with everything we know and have seen about God.

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Of course it is good news that he is sovereign.

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How could we not want this God.

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To accomplish whatever he purposes?

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Because all that he purposes is wise.

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And true and good and righteous and just.

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The good news in God doing whatever he pleases, is that God always works.

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For the good of his people and for the glory of his name.

[Kevin DeYoung]

Thanks again for joining us on Doctrine Matters. I'm your host, Kevin DeYoung. Our hope and prayer is that this has been helpful to you as you look at Scripture and try to understand the best of our theological tradition as Christians. Please consider subscribing to Doctrine Matters, and if this has been encouraging, consider passing it on to others. If you'd like to learn more about this week's doctrine, you can ask your pastor for good resources or check out my year long mini systematic theology book called Daily Doctrine. It's available in print or audio from crossway.

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Org.

[Kevin DeYoung]

The Doctrine Matters podcast is produced by Crossway. To learn more, visit crossway.

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Org.