Timtofly
Well-Known Member
That verse does not point out immortality as you see it. Because you are not even defining immortality the way Paul did. The clue is right there in the verse: "dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see."1 Tim 6:14 I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ;
1 Tim 6:15 and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
1 Tim 6:16 who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
I believe this cannot be ignored, and it presents a key clue to understanding several things. Jesus alone has immortality.
First I'll just state what my meditations and studies have led me to:
The believers who are truly in Christ come into eternal life and have immortality due to Jesus giving it to them. Humans do not have immortality apart from Christ.
So the lost do not have immortality, while the saved do.
Who do you know accepts immortality as unapproachable light?
What about this event? Exodus 34:30-35
"And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him."
Seems like Moses approached that light, and was changed. Moses was not on earth in the NT, so Jesus was the only one then who had. But more than that, Jesus was God, that unapproachable light. That was witnessed on the Mount of Transfiguration. BTW, guess who else appeared with Jesus when He demonstrated that light?
When people point out these "only God can do that" points, it does not rule out exceptions. It is to point out the normal ability of humanity.
Many keep wanting to say immortality is just about a body that never dies, when there are verses that show immortality is not about a body at all. It is about a light that is separate from a physical body. God is spirit and light. That is how Scripture defines the one sitting on the throne. It is possible no physical body at all, as Jesus Christ was God made flesh. Yet there will come a point when we put on immortality as a spirit of light over the physical body. Right now that spirit is in the presence of God, as Adam's disobedience removed the spirit from the physical body, and it did not die, but waits in the presence of God, or becomes a demon, when a soul becomes reprobate, beyond redemption.
Immortality is the final process at the Second Coming, the whole body of the church, both currently in Paradise and on earth wait for. But those in Paradise already have an incorruptible permanent physical body. That happened at the Cross. Up until the Cross those since Abel have just been souls waiting in the place Jesus defined using the term Abraham's bosom. It is immaterial how ancient Jews viewed the terminology. It is not relevant, because souls have bodily entered Paradise at the Cross. Another term God used on the Cross, that is unrelated to human culture on what they thought Paradise was or is.
Many claim that "in Christ we are like that". In Christ we are still individuals. Individuals still walk around in Paradise this very moment. The metaphor of being in Christ, points to the fact only Christ made that possible. It does not mean reality is stuck in a metaphor. A metaphor is not reality, it is only a way to relate to an idea.