,
which time proper display the blessed and only sovereign the king
of kings
and Lord of
Summary:
It is interesting that vs15 doesn't seem to specifically refer to God from vs13 or Jesus from vs14. It therefore depends
on some other information or the translators interpretation. The information has to be drawn from the rest of the
context.
If you are a Greek scholar and have some other information regarding how this should be presented in English,
please let me know.
1 Ti 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,
These three translations are not specific as to who does the revealing, God or Jesus.
NIV84 1 Ti 6:15 which God will bring about in his own timeGod, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings
and Lord of lords,
NLT 1 Ti 6:15 For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty
God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
TNIV 1 Ti 6:15 which God will bring about in his own timeGod, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings
and Lord of lords,
Although the word "God" is not in the original text, these eight translators specifically say that it is God who will do
the revealing.
Summary:
Of these twenty one translations, three could mean that either God or Jesus do the revealing, eleven indicate that
"he," Jesus, does the revealing and eight say that God will do the revealing. It is fairly equally divided depending on
which translation we look at.
Part 3 RSV
For the sake of this argument I have presented the RSV which correctly translates verse 15, according to my
understanding of the original Greek text, without stating who will do the revealing. When read this way the revealer
is revealed by the remaining context.
1 Timothy 6:13-16 In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who in his
testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
14
I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our
Lord Jesus Christ;
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,
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.
Vs13 In the sight of God and before Christ Jesus.
Vs13 This verse clearly tells us that God is an additional being to Jesus Christ. There are no bible passages that say
"in the presence of God and of the Father" because we know that God is the Father and such a sentence would tell us
that God is not the Father. Here however we have God and we have Jesus, two of them.
Vs14 Until the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Vs15 The term "Sovereign" is in the NT three times, twice referring to human rulers and once here to God.
Vs15 The title "King of Kings" refers at different times to God, Jesus and Artaxerxes Ezra 7:12 and Nebuchadnezzar
Ezekiel 26:7. Jesus, in a similar way to Artaxerxes and Nebuchadnezzar, is given the title and the position next to
God in order that the people have a human King of Kings until all enemies are defeated. 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.
Vs15 The title "Lord of Lords" refers at different times to God and to Jesus only.
Vs16 "Immortality" is in the bible three times, here once and twice in 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 where humans are
predicted to receive new bodies with immortality at the Day of Judgment.
Vs16 The only other use of "immortality" applies here to the one who no one has ever seen who is God.
Vs16 Jesus died because he didn't have immortality.
Vs16 This verse says "whom no one has ever seen." Because many people saw Jesus for thirty years we know that the other
statements in this verse and also verse 15 cannot be referring to Jesus.
Because of the context, any of the translations that say or imply that Jesus is the one who does the revealing in verse 15 are
incorrect translations.
Summary:
Nothing in the original Greek signifies that Jesus is God.
The bible translators are divided and have widely differing viewpoints, which on its own makes this verse on its own
far to ambiguous to use as doctrine.
However it is because of the context that nothing in 1 Timothy 6:13-16 says that Jesus is God