1 Timothy 1:17

Contextual Overview

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. He gives me strength. ¹² I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, ¹² And I thanke Christ Iesus oure Lorde which hath made me stronge: for he counted me true and put me in office ¹² And I thank him who enabled me, Messiah Yeshua, our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service; ¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, ¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave me strength, because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. ¹² I thank him that enabled me, [even] Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to [his] service; ¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; ¹² I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, ¹² And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus, our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the King: 1 Timothy 6:15, 1 Timothy 6:16, Psalms 10:16, Psalms 45:1, Psalms 45:6, Psalms 47:6-8, Psalms 90:2, Psalms 145:13, Jeremiah 10:10, Daniel 2:44, Daniel 7:14, Micah 5:2, Malachi 1:14, Matthew 6:13, Matthew 25:34, Romans 1:23, Hebrews 1:8-13, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:16

invisible: John 1:18, Romans 1:20, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 11:27, 1 John 4:12

the only: Romans 16:27, Jude 1:25

be: 1 Chronicles 29:11, Nehemiah 9:5, Psalms 41:13, Psalms 57:11, Psalms 72:18, Psalms 72:19, Psalms 106:48, Daniel 4:34, Daniel 4:37, Ephesians 3:20, Ephesians 3:21, 1 Peter 5:11, 2 Peter 3:18, Revelation 4:8-11, Revelation 5:9-14, Revelation 7:12, Revelation 19:1, Revelation 19:6

Amen: Matthew 6:13, Matthew 28:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 21:33 - everlasting Genesis 24:27 - Blessed Deuteronomy 4:16 - the likeness Deuteronomy 33:27 - eternal 1 Chronicles 29:10 - Blessed be thou Psalms 29:10 - King Psalms 89:52 - Blessed Isaiah 40:28 - the everlasting Isaiah 43:13 - before Isaiah 57:15 - that inhabiteth Jeremiah 46:18 - saith Lamentations 5:19 - remainest Habakkuk 1:12 - thou not Luke 19:38 - glory John 4:24 - a Spirit John 5:26 - hath life John 5:37 - Ye have Acts 17:23 - To Romans 1:25 - more Romans 11:36 - to whom Romans 16:26 - everlasting 1 Corinthians 8:4 - there is 2 Corinthians 11:31 - which Galatians 1:5 - whom Ephesians 2:7 - in the Philippians 2:6 - in Philippians 4:20 - unto 2 Timothy 4:18 - to whom Hebrews 9:14 - eternal Hebrews 13:21 - to whom 1 Peter 4:11 - to whom Revelation 5:12 - to receive

Cross-References

Genesis 9:13
I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13
I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13
I am putting my rainbow in the clouds as the sign of the agreement between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13
I will place my rainbow in the clouds, and it will become a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13
I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13
I set My rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.

Genesis 9:13
Y schal sette my bowe in the cloudis, and it schal be a signe of boond of pees bitwixe me and erthe;

Genesis 9:13
My bow I have given in the cloud, and it hath been for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth;

Genesis 9:13
I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now unto the King eternal,.... This doxology, or ascription of glory to God, on account of the grace bestowed upon the apostle, may be considered, either as referring to all the three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, who are the one and only God; and to whom all the attributes of wisdom, power, eternity, immortality, or incorruptibleness, and invisibility, belong; and who are jointly concerned in the grace bestowed upon any of the sons of men. Or else to God the Father, in agreement with a parallel place in Romans 16:27 who is the only true God, in opposition to nominal and fictitious deities, though not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit; and to whom the several epithets here used may be unquestionably given: he has shown his wisdom in the works of creation, providence, and grace; he is the everlasting King, or the King of ages, or of worlds; he is Maker of the worlds, and the Governor of them throughout all ages and generations; he only has immortality, and is the incorruptible God, and who is invisible, whose shape has never been seen, nor his voice heard: or else this may be thought to belong to Jesus Christ, since it is to him the apostle gives thanks for putting him into the ministry; and from him he obtained mercy, and received abundant grace; and he it was who came into the world to save sinners, and who showed forth all longsuffering in him, see 1 Timothy 1:12, upon which the apostle breaks out into this attribution of glory and honour, and which agrees with Judges 1:25. And everything here said is applicable to him; he is the eternal King, whose is the kingdom of nature, providence, and grace; his throne is for ever and ever, and of his kingdom and government there is no end; he is the "King of ages", as the phrase may be rendered, and so his kingdom is called מלכות כל עולמים, "the kingdom of all ages", Psalms 145:13 and which endures throughout all generations; and this distinguishes him from all other kings. Scarce any king ever reigned an age, but Christ has reigned, and will reign throughout all ages. No regard is here had, as some have thought, to the Aeones of the Gnostics and Valentinians; but rather the apostle adopts a phrase into his doxology, frequently used by the Jews in their prayers, many of which begin after this manner;

"blessed art thou, O Lord our God, מלך העולם "the king of the age, or world", c.''

and רבון כל העולמים, "Lord of all ages, or worlds", c. p. Other attributes and epithets follow, as

immortal or "incorruptible". Christ is the living God, and the living Redeemer and though he died as man, he will die no more, but ever lives to make intercession for his people, and to reign over them, and protect them: who also may be said to be "invisible", who was so in his divine nature, till manifest in the flesh and now in his human nature he is taken out of the sight of men, and is not to be beheld with bodily eyes by men on earth: and he is

the only wise God; he is "the only God", so the Alexandrian copy, the Syriac and Vulgate Latin versions, read; not to the exclusion of the Father or Spirit, but in opposition to all false deities, or those who are not by nature God: and he is the only wise God; who is wisdom itself, and of himself; and is the fountain of wisdom, both natural and spiritual, unto others; wherefore to him be

honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen. Christ is crowned with honour and glory, and he is worthy of it; and it becomes all men to honour the Son, as they do the Father: he is the brightness of his glory, and equal to him; and the glory of deity, of all the divine perfections, and works, and also worship, should be given him; as well as the glory of salvation, and of all the grace the sons of men partake of; and that not only now, but to all eternity.

p Seder Tephillot, fol. 2. 2. & 3. 2. & 37. 1, 2. Ed. Basil. fol. 2. 1, 2. & 3. 1. & 4. 1. & 5. 2. & passim, Ed. Amsterdam.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now unto 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 outbreak of that grateful emotion which swelled his bosom, and which would not be denied expression, when Paul recalled his former life and the mercy of God to his soul. It somewhat interrupts indeed the train of his remarks, but the heart was so full that it demanded utterance. It is just an instance of the joy and gratitude which fill the soul of a Christian when he is led along in a train of reflections which conduct him to the recollections of his former sin and danger, and to the fact that he has obtained mercy and has now the hope of heaven. The apostle Paul not unfrequently, in accordance with a mode of writing that was common among the Hebrews, interposes an expression of praise in the midst of his reasonings; compare Romans 1:25; 2 Corinthians 11:31. God is called King here, as he is often 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” - βασιλει τὼν αἰώνων basilei tōn aiōnōn - is, that he is a king who rules throughout all ages. This does not mean that he himself lives for ever, 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, and thus embraces them all.

Immortal - This refers to God himself, not to his reign. It means that he does not die, and it is given 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 - notes, Romans 16:27. The word “wise” is missing in many mss., 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 here mentioned as such, the word wise was interpolated to denote merely 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 united in this manner. It is not easy to determine as to the genuineness of the reading. The sense is not materially affected, whichever view be adopted. It is true that Yahweh is the only God; it is also true that he is the only wise God. The gods of the pagan are “vanity and a lie,” and they are wholly destitute of wisdom; see Psalms 115:3-8; Psalms 135:15-18; Isaiah 40:18-20; Isaiah 44:10-17.

Be honour - Let there be all the respect and veneration shown to him which is his due.

And glory - Praise. Let him be praised by all for ever.

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 Matthew 6:13 note; 1 Corinthians 14:16 note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 17. Now unto the King eternal — This burst of thanksgiving and gratitude to God, naturally arose from the subject then under his pen and eye. God has most wondrously manifested his mercy, in this beginning of the Gospel, by saving me, and making me a pattern to all them that shall hereafter believe on Christ. He is βασιλευς των αιωνων, the king of eternities; the eternity a parte ante, and the eternity a parte post; the eternity that was before time was, and the eternity that shall be when time is no more. Therefore, ever living to justify and save sinners, to the end of the world.

Immortal — αφθαρτω. Incorruptible-not liable to decay or corruption; a simple uncompounded essence, incapable, therefore, of decomposition, and consequently permanent and eternal. One MS., the later Syriac in the margin, the Vulgate, one copy of the Itala, and some of the Latin fathers, read αθανατω, immortal, which our translation follows; but it is not the original reading.

Invisible — αορατω. One who fills all things, works everywhere, and yet is invisible to angels and men; the perfect reverse of false gods and idols, who are confined to one spot, work nowhere, and, being stocks and stones, are seen by every body.

The only wise God — The word σοφω wise, is omitted by AD*FG, Syriac, Erpen's Arabic, Coptic, Sahidic, AEthiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, and Itala. Some of the Greek fathers quote it sometimes, and omit it at others; which shows that it was an unsettled reading, probably borrowed from Romans 16:27. See the note there. Griesbach leaves it out of the text. Without it the reading is very strong and appropriate: To the only God; nothing visible or invisible being worthy of adoration but himself.

Be honour — All the respect and reverence that can be paid by intelligent beings, ascribing to him at the same time all the glory-excellences, and perfections, which can be possessed by an intelligent, unoriginated, independent, and eternal Being; and this for ever and ever-through eternity.