b The King, immortal, UNSEEN.

On either side of the passage which declares that God was manifested in the flesh, are two sets of statements that

reveal both the nature of God and the necessity for a medium of manifestation. The first passage reads:

`Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.

Amen' (1 Tim. 1:17 A.V.).

`Now unto the King eternal (margin Gr. of the ages), incorruptible, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory

for ever and ever. Amen' (Gr. unto the ages of the ages.) (1 Tim. 1:17 R.V.).

The second passage reads:

`Keep ... until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in His times He shall shew, Who is the blessed and

only Potentate the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no

man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to Whom be honour and power everlasting.

Amen' (1 Tim. 6:14-16 A.V.).

`Keep ... until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in its (margin His) own times He shall shew, Who

is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings (Gr. them that reign as kings), and Lord of lords (Gr. them

that rule as lords); Who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; Whom no man hath seen, nor

can see: to Whom be honour and power eternal' (1 Tim. 6:14-16, R.V.).

In both passages, God is referred to as a King, showing that we are dealing with God relatively and not

unconditionally; in the first passage He is spoken of as being `incorruptible' (R.V.) and `invisible', whereas, in the

second He is spoken of as being `immortal' and One `Whom no man hath seen, nor can see'. Four different words

are used here in the original, and their differing meanings must be understood.

Aphthartos occurs seven times in the Greek New Testament and is translated `uncorruptible God' (Rom. 1:23);

`incorruptible crown' (1 Cor. 9:25); `dead raised incorruptible' (1 Cor. 15:52); `The King, incorruptible' (1 Tim.

1:17); `Inheritance incorruptible' (1 Pet 1:4); `incorruptible seed' (1 Pet. 1:23); and `the hidden man of the heart, in

that which is not corruptible' (1 Pet. 3:4). Aphtharsia is translated `immortality', `incorruption' and `sincerity'.

While death is sometimes in view, it is not necessarily so, for it is evident by the above references that corruption

can be moral as well as physical.

In contrast, we find in 1 Timothy 6:16 the Greek word athanasia which occurs nowhere else except in

1 Corinthians 15:53,54 where it is translated `immortality'. Here the word has reference to death and to death only.

It envisages resurrection; it supposes the possibility of coming under the dominion of death.

In 1 Timothy 1:17 Christ, as the Image of the invisible God, is the manifestation that fulfils every condition, but

in 1 Timothy 6:15,16, it is Christ in resurrection, the One over Whom death can have no dominion; the One Who is

living and was dead and is alive for evermore; Who at His second coming will be acclaimed as `The King of kings

and Lord of lords', the One Who still retains the title held in the beginning, namely, `The Word of God' (Rev.

In 1 Timothy 1:17 the word translated `invisible' is aoratos. The Greek word horao, `to see', is used in John

1:18; 6:46; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 11:27, and refers primarily to a boundary, something defined and marked out.

In 1 Timothy 6:15,16, however, the word `to see' is eidon, which implies, `not the mere act of seeing, but the actual

perception of the object ... referring to the mind and thought of him who sees' (Dr. E. W. Bullinger). The second

coming of Christ will not make the invisible God visible to the eyes of the flesh, but men will `see', as they have

never seen before, what God is, and they will see it in the glorious Person Who shall come as King of kings and

Lord of lords, the mighty victor over death. If the words `dwelling in unapproachable light, Whom no man hath

seen, nor can see' refer also to the Lord Jesus Christ, then we must understand that such glory is His present

habitation, and that, consequently, He must have a future apocalypse (unveiling, revelation, appearing), when it will

again be possible for every eye to see Him.

`In His Own times' His ransom was attested by the apostle Paul (1 Tim. 2:6), and `in His Own time' He Himself

will reveal His Own sovereign Lordship (1 Tim. 6:14-16). Midway, therefore, between the manifestation that took

place before creation, and the manifestation that will usher in the new creation, this glorious and blessed One