“He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen” (1 Timothy 6:16).
Today’s message will incorporate some important observations from the late Biblical scholar Norman Geisler. Dr. Geisler was a prolific author who wrote on a variety of topics related to Christian life and practice. In his examination of the various challenges related to this passage, Dr. Geisler provided several insights that are worth our time and attention…
1 TIMOTHY 6:16—Does only God have immortality or do humans also have it?
PROBLEM: According to Paul in this passage, God ‘alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light. However, in other places, Paul speaks of Christians being raised in ‘immortal’ physical bodies (1 Cor. 15:53) and partaking of ‘immortality’ through the Gospel (2 Tim. 1:10). But if God alone has immortality, then how can anyone else have it?
SOLUTION: God is the only one who has immortality intrinsically, by virtue of His very nature. All believers get it as a gift from God, but it is not inherent to their very nature as creatures. Or, to put it another way, only God is immortal—human beings simply have immortality. Likewise, God alone is existence (cf. Ex. 3:14)—creatures only have existence (cf. Acts 17:28). Further, God’s immortality is without beginning or end. Our immortality has a beginning with no end. In summary:
| GOD’S IMMORTALITY | HUMAN IMMORTALITY |
| Intrinsic to His nature | Not intrinsic to our nature |
| Something God is | Something humans have |
| Possesses by His essence | Possess by participation |
| Inherent | Derived |
| No beginning or end | A beginning but no end |
1 TIMOTHY 6:16—Does God dwell in darkness or in light?
PROBLEM: According to Paul, God ‘dwells in unapproachable light.’ However, the Bible repeatedly says things like ‘the Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud’ (1 Kings 8:12) because ‘He made darkness His secret place’ (Ps. 18:11; cf. 97:2). Which is it—darkness or light?
SOLUTION: In considering this discrepancy, we must remember, first of all, that ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ may be figures of speech and need not be taken literally. Both describe God’s unsearchableness (cf. Rom. 11:33). Furthermore, even if taken literally, they are not necessarily contradictory, for what is light to God can be darkness to us. For example, the dawn brings light to the robin, but darkness to the bat. Indeed, the blinding light of His transcendent deity can create darkness for our finite attempt to comprehend God. So there is no necessary conflict, even if light and darkness are understood literally. (1)
(1) Geisler, N. L., & Howe, T. A. (1992). When critics ask : a popular handbook on Bible difficulties. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books [pg.74]