Grant
Puritan Board Graduate
13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
Particularly verse 16 gave me some pause and pondering. Matthew Henry takes this collection of verses as being descriptive of God the Father and God the Son, 2 persons of the Godhead. Maybe this is an obvious answer, but I was thinking if these verses are more pointed towards showcasing the divinity of the God-Man. The disciples did see Jesus in his bodily form (v.16) and I think naturally this might raise questions for readers both young and old. My family also learned a new word this week...”Potentate”. I guess I have not read 1 Timothy 6 since changing from ESV to NKJV, I liked the word after doing some defining. I took the route of explaining to my family that these verses in 1 Timothy 6 support the divinity of Jesus. Any thoughts?
Here is Matthew Henry on the section:
1. Concerning Christ and God the Father the apostle here speaks great things. (1.) That God is the only Potentate; the powers of earthly princes are all derived from him, and depend upon him. The powers that exist are ordained of God, Rom. 13:1. He is the only Potentate that is absolute and sovereign, and perfectly independent. (2.) He is the blessed and the only Potentate, infinitely happy, and nothing can in the least impair his happiness. (3.) He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. All the kings of the earth derive their power from him; he gave them their crowns, they hold them under him, and he has a sovereign dominion over them. This is Christ's title (Rev. 19:16), upon his vesture and his thigh; for he has a name higher than the kings of the earth. (4.) He only has immortality. He only is immortal in himself, and has immortality as he is the fountain of it, for the immortality of angels and spirits derived from him. (5.) He dwells in inaccessible light, light which no man can approach unto: no man can get to heaven but those whom he is pleased to bring thither, and admit into his kingdom. (6.) He is invisible: Whom no man hath seen, nor can see. It is impossible that mortal eyes should bear the brightness of the divine glory. No man can see God and live.