Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Timothy 6:15

"which in its own times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;" — 1 Timothy 6:15 (ASV)

God will “bring about” (lit., “display”; GK 1259) this Second Coming “in his own time.” The return of Christ will be God’s final display to the world that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior (cf. the use of this same verb in Jn 2:18). “Time” (GK 2789) means a fixed or definite time. In the NT it is often used in a prophetic sense for God’s appointed time, especially in relation to the Second Coming and the future judgment.

The rest of vv.15–16 form a doxology, such as we often find in Paul’s letters (cf. 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:18). Much of the language is derived from the OT. God is first described as “the blessed and only Ruler [GK 1541].” The last word indicates a sovereign person, one who possesses power.

The next two titles, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” are applied to Christ in Rev 17:14; 19:16. They are used for God in the OT (Daniel 4:34 in LXX; cf. Dt 10:17; Psalms 136:3). God alone is “immortal” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:53–54), i.e., not subject to death. The idea of immortality is not clearly expressed in the OT. But the NT teaches that God alone has inherent immortality; ours is derived from him. It is in the resurrection that the true believer receives an immortal body (1 Corinthians 15:53), so that the whole person, body and soul, becomes immortal.

We are next told that God lives in light “unapproachable” (a word that other Jewish writers also apply to God). Paul adds that no person has ever seen God or can see him (cf. Exodus 33:20). The doxology ends with the ascription: “To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” It is typical of Paul to inject a doxology in the midst of a discussion (cf. 1:17; Romans 1:25; Romans 11:36).