Does divine impassibility make God distant from suffering, or does it tell us why his love can never be defeated by it? Christian theology has historically confessed that God does not undergo involuntary emotional change or suffer as creatures suffer. Yet this is not because God loves less. It is because nothing outside God can overcome, diminish, or destabilize the fullness of his life. This earlier essay returns to Scripture and the Christian theological tradition to argue that divine impassibility protects the constancy of God’s love, the freedom of his mercy, and the confidence with which suffering creatures may entrust themselves to him.

From the archives: Originally published by Donnie L. DeBord on July 10, 2026. Read the original article, “The God Who Cannot Be Overcome: A Scriptural, Dogmatic, and Historical Defense of Divine Impassibility,” on Donnie’s Dogmatics.