1 Timothy 6:16

Contextual Overview

¹³In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹³I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹³I'm calling you out in front of everyone, and even before Jesus Christ, who offered Pontius Pilate the grace he didn't deserve, ¹³ I give you orders before God, the giver of life, and Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate gave witness to the faith, ¹³ I enjoin thee before God who preserves all things in life, and Christ Jesus who witnessed before Pontius Pilate the good confession, ¹³ In the presence of God, who gives life to all, and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you ¹³ I charge you in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession, ¹³ I charge thee, before God, who quickneth all things, and Jesus Christ, who witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

only: 1 Timothy 1:17, Exodus 3:14, Deuteronomy 32:40, Psalms 90:2, Isaiah 57:15, John 8:58, Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 1:17, Revelation 1:18

dwelling: Psalms 104:2, Habakkuk 3:4, 1 John 1:5, Revelation 1:16, Revelation 1:17, Revelation 21:3, Revelation 22:5

whom: Exodus 33:20, John 1:18, John 6:46, John 14:9, Colossians 1:15

to whom: 1 Timothy 1:17, Romans 16:25-27, Ephesians 3:21, Philippians 4:20, Jude 1:25, Revelation 1:6, Revelation 4:11, Revelation 7:12

Reciprocal: Genesis 1:3 - Let Genesis 16:10 - the angel Exodus 20:21 - thick Exodus 24:10 - saw Exodus 33:18 - General Exodus 33:23 - thou shalt Numbers 12:8 - mouth Joshua 22:22 - Lord God 1 Chronicles 29:11 - is the greatness 2 Chronicles 5:14 - the priests Job 9:11 - he goeth Job 23:8 - General Job 26:9 - General Job 37:23 - we Psalms 10:16 - The Lord Psalms 33:14 - General Ecclesiastes 7:24 - General Isaiah 6:1 - I saw also Lamentations 5:19 - remainest Daniel 2:22 - and the Daniel 4:34 - him Daniel 7:9 - whose Daniel 7:13 - and they Habakkuk 1:12 - thou not Matthew 6:9 - Hallowed John 5:26 - hath life John 5:37 - Ye have John 17:3 - the only Acts 9:3 - a light Romans 1:20 - For the Romans 11:36 - to whom Romans 16:27 - God 2 Corinthians 11:31 - which 1 Timothy 3:15 - the living 2 Timothy 4:18 - to whom Hebrews 11:27 - seeing Hebrews 13:21 - to whom 1 Peter 4:11 - to whom 1 John 1:7 - as 1 John 4:12 - seen

Cross-References

Genesis 7:16
The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

Genesis 7:16
The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.

Genesis 7:16
And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and Yahweh closed it behind him.

Genesis 7:16
Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him.

Genesis 7:16
And they entryng in, came male and female of all fleshe, as God had commaunded him: and God shut hym in rounde about.

Genesis 7:16
All these animals went into the boat in groups of two, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind Noah.

Genesis 7:16
And they that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.

Genesis 7:16
And tho that entriden, entriden male and female of ech fleisch, as God comaundide to hym. And the Lord encloside hym fro with out-forth.

Genesis 7:16
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commaunded him: and the LORD shut him in.

Genesis 7:16
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Who only hath immortality,.... Angels are immortal, and so are the souls of men, and so will be the bodies of men after the resurrection; but then neither of these have immortality of themselves, they have it from God; who only has it, of himself, originally, essentially, and inderivatively.

Dwelling in that light which no man can approach unto; in this present, frail, and mortal state; yea, angels themselves cannot bear the lustre of it, but cover their faces with their wings; for God is light itself, as well as clothes himself with light, as with a garment; and is the Father and fountain of lights to all his creatures.

Whom no man hath seen, nor can see: nowhere but in Christ, at least spiritually and savingly; and that but very imperfectly in the present state: the sin, frailty, and mortality of human nature must be taken away, in order to inherit the kingdom of God, and enjoy the beatific vision of him; which saints in heaven have, who see him as he is, and in such sort as no man now does, or can see him:

to whom [be] honour and power everlasting, Amen. Which may be considered either as a wish, that such honour, power, and glory might be ascribed unto him, as we supply it; or as an assertion that it is given to him, as it is by the angels, and by the saints in heaven and in earth.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who only hath immortality - The word here - ἀθανασία athanasia - properly means “exemption from death,” and seems to mean that God, in his own nature, enjoys a perfect and certain exemption from death. Creatures have immortality only as they derive it from him, and of course are dependent on him for it. He has it by his very nature, and it is in his case underived, and he cannot be deprived of it. It is one of the essential attributes of his being, that he will always exist, and that death cannot reach him; compare the expression in John 5:26, “The Father hath life in himself,” and the notes on that passage.

Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto - Greek, “Inhabiting inapproachable light.” The light where he dwells is so brilliant and dazzling that mortal eyes could not endure it. This is a very common representation of the dwelling place of God. See examples quoted in Pricaeus, in loc. Heaven is constantly represented as a place of the most pure and brilliant light, needing not the light of the sun, or the moon, or the stars Revelation 21:23-24; Revelation 22:5, and God is represented as dwelling in that light, surrounded by amazing and inapproachable glory compare Revelation 4:6; Ezekiel 1:4; Hebrews 1:3.

Whom no man hath seen nor can see - notes on John 1:18.

To whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen - see the notes on Romans 11:36.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 16. Who only hath immortality — All beings that are not eternal must be mutable; but there can be only one eternal Being, that is God; and he only can have immortality.

Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto — All this is said by the apostle in three words φως οικων απροσιτον, inhabiting unapproachable light. Such is the excessive glory of God, that neither angel nor man can approach it. It is indeed equally unapproachable to all created beings.

Whom no man hath seen, nor can see — Moses himself could only see the symbol of the Divine presence; but the face of God no man could ever see. Because he is infinite and eternal, therefore he is incomprehensible; and if incomprehensible to the mind, consequently invisible to the eye.

To whom — As the author of being, and the dispenser of all good, be ascribed honour and power-the sole authority of all-pervading, all-superintending, all-preserving, and everlasting might.

The words of St. Paul are inimitably sublime. It is a doubt whether human language can be carried much higher, even under the influence of inspiration, in a description of the supreme Being. It is well known that St. Paul had read the Greek poets. He quotes Aratus, Epimenides, and Menander; this is allowed on all hands. But does he not quote, or refer to, AEschylus and Sophocles too? Scarcely any person suspects this; and yet there is such a complete similarity between the following quotations from the above poets and the apostle's words, that we are almost persuaded he had them in his eye. But if so, he extends the thought infinitely higher, by language incomparably more exalted. I shall introduce and compare with the text the passages I refer to.

Ver. 16. Ὁ μονος εχων αθανασιαν, φως οικων απροσιτον.

In the Antigone of SOPHOCLES there is a sublime address to Jove, of which the following is an extract:

Αγηρως χρονῳ Δυναστας,

Κατεχεις Ολυμπου

Μαρμαροεσσαν αιγλαν.

Ver. 608. Edit. Brunk.

"But thou, an ever-during Potentate, dost inhabit the refulgent splendour of Olympus!"

This passage is grand and noble; but how insignificant does it appear when contrasted with the superior sublimity of the inspired writer! The deity of Sophocles dwells in the dazzling splendour of heaven; but the God of Paul inhabits light so dazzling and so resplendent that it is perfectly unapproachable!

Synesius, in his third hymn, has a fine idea on the mode of God's existence, which very probably he borrowed from St. Paul:-

Κεκαλυμμενε νου

Ιδιαις αυγαις.

"O intellectual Being! veiled in thine own effulgence!"

And a few lines after, he says,-

Συ το κρυπτομενον

Ιδιαις αυγαις.

"Thou art He who art concealed by thy splendours."

All these are excellent, but they are stars of the twelfth magnitude before the apostolic SUN.

See a quotation from Euripides, 2 Timothy 4:8.