16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
Verse 16 speaks of God’s essence, expressed in immortality, absoluteness, and self-existence. He alone possesses these attributes.
16 who alone has immortality,
“Immortality” means not subject to death (2 Tim 1:10); God is deathless in His essence. Death had no mastery over Jesus (Jn 10:18; Ro 6:9-10). Believers share in Christ’s immortality (1 Co 15:22, 53, 54), but their immortality is derived. God alone has intrinsic immortality unique to Him and not derived from anything or anyone (Ps 36:9; 90:2; Jn 5:16).
PRINCIPLE:
Christians’ bodies will possess immortality derived from Jesus Christ.
APPLICATION:
When they enter the eternal state, Christians will be immortal in their physical bodies. Their gloried bodies will fully experience life in eternity (1 Co 15:53, 54). Immortality is more than deathlessness; it is the quality of eternal life (2 Co 5:4). God alone has immortality in His essence, but believers derive their immortality from God and, in the process, receive a new quality of life, fellowship with God. That is why the Son became the man Jesus. He came to die in His body (He 10:5-10).
