Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Timothy 6:16

"who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honor and power eternal. Amen." — 1 Timothy 6:16 (ASV)

Now.—It is better understood as And, connecting the prayer closely with the exhortation, just as in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “Again,” says St. Chrysostom, “prayer after advice: this is to help in earnest.” The word “Himself,” as in the passage cited, contrasts the Almighty power of our Lord with the partial instructions and feeble help that even Apostles could give, and with the impotence of the Thessalonian Christians to stand firm in their own strength.

Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father.—The order of mention is unusual. (See, however, 2 Corinthians 13:3.) It is not intentionally meant to show the equality of the Blessed Persons, which is done only incidentally by the fact that the same aspiration is directed to both. Probably, in fact, the names are arranged to form a climax: St. Paul having spoken first of the Person whose work on the heart is the more immediate, and then jealously watching lest the Eternal Father seem in any way less deeply interested in our welfare than the Son is. All primitive devotion and doctrine are markedly opposed to the tendency to rest in the Mediator without a real, lively faith in the Father who sent Him.

Who has loved us.—Love to us is specially (so fearfully wrong is much of the popular language about the Atonement) the characteristic of the Father. (See, for instance, John 3:16; John 17:23; 2 Corinthians 13:3; Ephesians 2:4; 1 John 4:10.) It is in the thought of this tender love of God to us that the writer immediately adds the endearing title “Our Father.” This love seems to be mentioned here as the ground on which the writer rests his hope for the fulfilment of his prayer. It should literally be translated, who loved us, and gave—the moment being apparently the moment of providing the Atonement for our sins.

Everlasting consolation.—This means “an ever-present source of comfort,” of which no persecution can rob us. This giving of comfort is the proof or explanation of the statement that He “loved us,” and refers to the same act. Our unfailing comfort lies in the thought of God’s love exemplified in the Incarnation of His Son.

Good hope through grace.—These words must be closely joined. God gave us not only a consolation under present trials, but also a sweet prospect in the future; but this sweet prospect belongs to us only “in grace” (the literal version). All our hope is based on the continuance of the spiritual strength imparted by the Father through the Son and the Spirit. The qualifying words “in grace” are added to “hope” in just the same way as the words “in sanctification” are added to “salvation” in 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

Who only has immortality.—The holy angels—the souls of men—are immortal. “But one alone, ‘God,’ can be said to have immortality,” because He, unlike other immortal beings who enjoy their immortality through the will of another, derives it from His own essence.

Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.—This should be rendered, dwelling in light unapproachable. The Eternal is here pictured as dwelling in an atmosphere of light too glorious for any created beings (not only humans) to approach. (See Psalm 104:2, where the Eternal is addressed as covering Himself with light as with a garment; see also Daniel 2:22, where light is spoken of as dwelling with God.)

The symbolism of the Old Covenant teaches the same truth: the unapproachable glories in which God dwells. For instance, consider the guarding of the boundaries of Sinai during the giving of the Law; the covering of the faces of the Seraphim in the year that King Uzziah died, when Isaiah saw the divine vision; and the veiled darkness of the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple, where from time to time the visible glory dwelt.

Whom no man hath seen, nor can see.—The Old Testament teaches the same mysterious truth: “For there shall no man see me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). John 1:18 repeats this in very plain words: “No man hath seen God at any time.” The Greek word used here includes all created beings. The English translation, “no man,” utterly fails to reproduce the meaning of the original. (See also 1 John 4:12.)

These last words seem to preclude the interpretation that applies the preceding description to the Son. We have referred this glorious doxology above to the Father, as the One who, in His own times, will reveal the Lord Jesus returning for judgment.

It is, however, very noteworthy that the loftiest and sublimest epithets the inspired pen of Paul could frame to dignify his description of the First Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, God the Father, are used again of the Son: “The Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16; and see also Revelation 1:5).

Now.—Rather, And, or But. The prayer is joined to the exhortations, as in 2 Thessalonians 2:16 and elsewhere, and of course bears upon their subject.

The Lord of peace.—We had the God of peace at the close of the last Epistle (1 Thessalonians 5:23, where see the Note). The peace prayed for here perhaps has a more immediate reference to external matters than in the parallel passage. St. Chrysostom suggests the danger of quarrels breaking out owing to the administration of the prescribed discipline.

And the conduct of these restless busybodies was in itself destructive of peace, both for their own souls and for the community.

But the words by all means, or, more literally, in every shape and form, show that the Apostle is extending his glance over all the subjects mentioned in the Epistle now finished: “Peace all throughout in every form,” through all persecutions and from all persecutions; through the terrors of the reign of Antichrist and through the Judgment Day; peace among themselves, in their own hearts, and with God.

The Lord be with you all.—Another way of expressing the prayer for peace; for where He enters He says, Peace be unto you. The word “all” is strongly emphasized, echoing the earlier references to “always” and “in all forms.” St. Paul has spoken with strong censure of some; but he wishes to show that he bears no ill-will to any and to conclude by blessing all, as he began by giving thanks for all (2 Thessalonians 1:3).