1 Timothy 6:16 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Who only hath immortality.’ Only God possesses imperishability, indestructibility, only Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the triune God. What about angels? Are they not immortal? Not by nature, only by bestowal, as we say. They only live forever because God gives them the capacity to live forever. But only he has this power and quality of indestructibility and deathlessness in himself. What about human souls? Are they not indestructible? Only when saved. Only saved souls gain immortality, indestructibility in the full sense, and it's conferred upon us. It is derived from God, who alone has it as his possession intrinsically. He is the everlasting God and he bestows immortality on saved souls. When you go to heaven leaving your body behind mouldering in the grave, your soul will be indestructible, and one day when Christ returns you will receive a glorified resurrection body, infinitely more wonderful than the present one, and that will indeed be imperishable, indestructible. What about the lost? They don't get the same quality of indestructibility, because they go into everlasting destruction, everlasting perishing, everlasting punishments. Only saved souls and angels have imperishability bestowed upon them. But it is God, ‘the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality’, and he gives to whom he pleases.‘Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.’ Is that true? Yes, it is true, for no man or woman in sin can approach God or see him, not even Moses; no man can see God. But when you are regenerate, and when you are made his child, can you see him then? No, even then you can only see him by the eye of faith. You can feel a lot; you can see a lot, but you can't see him, because you still have indwelling sin. And although your record is clean, and viewed legally you are washed, saved, renewed, you still have residual indwelling sin, which you must fight by his help lifelong. Only when you die and all traces of residual sin are finally removed will you be able to see God, because the inability to see him is not so much because he is invisible; it's because of our sin and pollution and guilt. We don't see him in any greater sense until the last vestiges of sin are removed. But even then, there is still a sense in which you won't see all of him. You will reach heaven, and you will never want to leave, and the glory will be so overpowering, so astonishing, so overwhelming, and so deeply attractive. You will know it goes on forever, and there's far more than you could ever see or know, and you'll see your Saviour, and the sight will be beyond all expectations. ‘To whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.’ We could think of those words of the Apostle Paul. Three things remain: faith, hope, love, and the greatest of these is love. Why will you need faith in heaven? Well, it won't be faith like you have it now, because you will see. But it will be trust, because you will have absolute unshakable faith. So God goes on eternally and infinitely and you are completely secure, and you are there forever. You can have faith, real faith. Hope, anticipation of eternal blessing, and love that's the greatest enduring virtue. Love God, Father, Son and Spirit; love him beyond everything, because that's the greatest of the Christian virtues.