Introduction
In today’s article, entitled “ To Whom Does the Immortality of 1 Timothy 6:16 Belong? “, we will explore a topic that generates much debate: the interpretation of the verse that states that “he alone has immortality.” Many people associate this immortality with Jesus, but is that really what Paul was conveying? By analyzing the context and other biblical passages, we will investigate whether the immortality mentioned in this text belongs to Jesus or to the Father. We will also examine the differences in the descriptions of God and Jesus and what this may reveal about the true meaning of this passage.
To Whom Does the Immortality of 1 Timothy 6:16 Belong?
1 Timothy 6:16 – “He who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and power forever and ever. Amen.“
I have seen in many literature, articles and even sermons, people applying the text cited above to justify the immortality of Jesus. Some even use this text with the purpose of showing that Jesus is the God of the Bible, since only God can be immortal. Is this text really referring to the person of Jesus? Let us check the preceding verses and also consider other texts related to the subject.
1 Timothy 6:13-16 – “I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who testified a good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his times will show the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and power forevermore. Amen.“
The text begins with Paul recommending to Timothy to keep the words he had spoken until Jesus appeared. However, the verse goes on to say that when Jesus appeared, it will be revealed who He is, “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,” who has “He alone, immortality, and who “dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see”. “For this person that Paul refers to, he ends the text by saying that such a person should be given the “honor and eternal power”.
In His appearance, will Jesus show everyone that He is the one who possesses all these characteristics, or will He show that they all come from another being?
Comparing with Another Text by Paul
At the beginning of the same epistle to Timothy, Paul also mentions the same titles and attributes, but he mentions who he is referring to. Let’s see:
1 Timothy 1:17 – “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.“
Although he used slightly different words, notice that the same attributes are present in both texts, only this time he included the words “to the only wise God.“
1 Timothy 1:17
- “King of the centuries“
- “immortal“
- “invisible“
- “only wise God“
- “be honor and glory forever and ever“
1 Timothy 6:13-16
- “King of kings and Lord of lords“
- “He who has only immortality“
- “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see“
- —
- “be honor and power everlasting“
To Whom Does Immortality Belong? Based on the comparison above, we are beginning to understand who the immortality mentioned by Paul belongs to! When we notice such a difference, we need to try to find out who is the only God mentioned by Paul in this passage. To do this, we look for other quotes from the same author in his other epistles, and a very clear quote that we find is the one in 1 Corinthians 8:6 where it says:
1 Corinthians 8:6 – “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we exist through him.“
In the text above written by Paul, it is very clear that for him there was only one God, that being the person of the Father. In this text we also find a clear distinction that Paul made between the person of God the Father and Jesus Christ. If he mentions that “there is one God, the Father” in 1 Corinthians 8:6, therefore, in the text of 1 Timothy 1:17, the “only God” mentioned by him can only be referring to the person of the Father.
So, Who Was Paul Referring To?
We are understanding to whom immortality belongs that is mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:16. Now that we know who Paul was talking about in 1 Timothy 1:17 when he said all those words, including the attribution of “immortal“, we have no doubt that the text of 1 Timothy 6:16 must also be dealing with the person of the Father and not Jesus. In addition to all the characteristics mentioned in both texts being the same, there is the factor that, in the text of 1 Timothy 6:16, he uses the following words: “He who alone has immortality“. I could not be talking about Jesus here, since that would create a contradiction in both texts. If only Jesus possesses immortality, why then would he also attribute immortality to the Father in the text of 1 Timothy 1:17? That is why both texts are dealing with the same person.
Another factor that shows that Paul is referring to the Father and not to Christ is the fact that he describes this person as being the One who is “invisible“, or as the words used in chapter 6, to Him who “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see“Only one single being in the entire Bible can receive such a description, and that is the person of the Father, for as the apostle John mentioned in his writings:
John 1:18 – “God has never been seen by anyone. …“1 John 4:12 – “No one has ever seen God…“
The Son became flesh and was seen by thousands in His time. But there are also other texts in Scripture where the Son was also seen even before His incarnation. The Father, however, has never been seen in full by anyone. Moses could see Him pass through a crack, but could not see His face (Exodus 33:20). Isaiah saw Him seated on His throne, but could only see His glory (Isaiah 6). This is why Paul calls Him “the Son of Man” (Isaiah 6:12).invisible” in 1 Timothy 1:17, and this word links us to other verses written by himself to the Colossians, where he says:
Colossians 1:13,15 – “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son: … Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.“
Here Paul again makes a distinction between Jesus and God. He says that Jesus is the “image” of this “invisible God“. It is evident that Jesus is not the “invisible God” himself.Invisible God”, but is the image of His Father. With this clear differentiation, we again find evidence that Paul was speaking of the Father in 1 Timothy 6:16.
Final Considerations: To Whom Does Immortality Belong??
To conclude, we need to understand why many people get confused when they attribute the immortality of this text to the person of Jesus. This happens because the context is talking about Jesus, and a quick reading might give the impression that this passage is actually talking about Christ. However, in reality, Paul concludes his thought by attributing glory to the Father of Jesus. In his conclusion, he changes the focus of the main person he is talking about. It is because of this change in thought that many people fall into this misinterpretation. However, when we learn about the other biblical passages, we can see that this was not Paul’s intention when he mentioned these words.
May God bless the reader.
