1 Timothy 1:17 – The incorruptible and invisible God

Now to the King of the eons, the incorruptible, invisible, only, and wise God, be honor and glory for the eons of the eons! Amen!

Paul attributes three (and in some manuscripts four) attributes to God as “the King of the eons,” each of which underlines His “honor and glory.” He is the “incorruptible, invisible, only God.” That God is incorruptible places Him above and in opposition to this old creation that is subject to “the slavery of corruption” (Rom.8:20,21). Everything in this creation is transient, but the Creator is not subject to that: His glory is that He endures.

The second mentioned attribute of God is that He is invisible. Very often this is said of God in Scripture. “No one has ever seen God…” (John 1:18). To the extent that He is seen on occasion, it is indirectly and through a representative of Him. Like Moses met God in the burning bush (Ex.3:4), but it was through an angel (Acts 7:30). We read of the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the “Image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). Christ’s glory is not that He is the “invisible God”, but that He makes visible and represents the unseen God. So that whoever sees Him has seen God (John 14:9). That is indeed a figure of speech.

Delen: