Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Timothy 1:17

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, [be] honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." — 1 Timothy 1:17 (ASV)

Now to the King eternal. This ascription of praise is offered to God in view of the mercy which he had shown to so great a sinner. It is the outpouring of that grateful emotion which swelled his heart and demanded expression when Paul recalled his former life and the mercy of God to his soul.

It indeed somewhat interrupts the train of his remarks, but his heart was so full that it demanded expression. It is just an instance of the joy and gratitude that fill the soul of a Christian when he is led along in a series of reflections that lead him to the recollection of his former sin and danger, and to the fact that he has obtained mercy and now has the hope of heaven.

The apostle Paul often, in accordance with a style of writing that was common among the Hebrews, inserts an expression of praise in the middle of his arguments (2 Corinthians 11:31). God is called King here, as he often is in the Scriptures, to denote that he rules over the universe.

A literal translation of the passage would be, "To the King of ages, who is immortal," etc. The meaning of this expression—"the King of ages" (basilei twn aiwnwn)—is that he is a King who rules throughout all ages. This does not mean that he himself lives forever, but that his dominion extends over all ages or generations. The rule of earthly monarchs does not extend into successive ages; his does. Their reign is temporary; his is enduring and continues as one generation after another passes on, thus embracing them all.

Immortal. This refers to God himself, not to his reign. It means that he does not die, and it is attributed to him to distinguish him from other sovereigns. All other monarchs but God expire—and are just as liable to die at any moment as any other people.

Invisible (1 Timothy 6:16). See the notes on John 1:18.

The only wise God. See the notes on Romans 16:27.

The word "wise" is missing in many manuscripts and in some editions of the New Testament. It is omitted by Griesbach, marked as doubtful by Tittman, and rejected in the valuable edition of Hahn. Erasmus conjectures that it was added against the Arians, who maintained that the Father only was God, and that as he is mentioned here as such, the word wise was interpolated merely to denote that the attribute of perfect wisdom belonged only to him.

Wetstein regards the reading as genuine and suspects that in some of the early manuscripts where it is missing, it was omitted by the transcriber because it was regarded as inelegant for two adjectives to be combined in this manner. It is not easy to determine the genuineness of the reading.

The sense is not significantly affected, whichever view is adopted. It is true that Jehovah is the only God; it is also true that he is the only wise God. The gods of the heathen are "vanity and a lie," and they are entirely destitute of wisdom (Psalms 135:16–18; Isaiah 40:18–20; Isaiah 44:10–17).

Be honor. Let there be all the respect and veneration shown to him that is his due.

And glory. Praise. Let him be praised by all forever.

Amen. So be it—an expression of strong affirmation (John 3:3). Here it is used to denote the solemn assent of the heart to the sentiment conveyed by the words used (See the notes on Matthew 6:13; 1 Corinthians 14:16).