Is 1 Timothy 6:15-16 about God or about Jesus?

Question

YLT 1Ti 6:13  I charge thee, before God, who is making all things alive, and of Christ Jesus, who did testify before Pontius Pilate the right profession,  1Ti 6:14  that thou keep the command unspotted, unblameable, till the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,  1Ti 6:15  which in His own times He shall shew—the blessed and only potentate, the King of the kings and Lord of the lords,  1Ti 6:16  who only is having immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable, whom no one of men did see, nor is able to see, to whom is honour and might age-during! Amen.

Here is the Greek:

Westcott and Hort / [NA27 variants] 15 ἣν καιροῖς ἰδίοις δείξει ὁ μακάριος καὶ μόνος δυνάστης, ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων, 16 ὁ μόνος ἔχων ἀθανασίαν, φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον, ὃν εἶδεν οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν δύναται· ᾧ τιμὴ καὶ κράτος αἰώνιον· ἀμήν.

Primarily I am interested in whether Paul is speaking of God or of Jesus as "the only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of the lords".

Answer 1

An interesting question.

The Englishman's Greek New Testament has the following :

ην καιροις ιδιοις δειξει ο μακαριος και μονος δυναστης ο βασιλευς των βασιλευοντων και κυριος των κυριευοντων [Stephanus 1550]

and the literal, interlinear translation :

which in its own times shall shew the blessed and only Ruler the King of those being kings and Lord of those being lords

Notably, the translators of the EGNT have translated

καιροις ιδιοις

as

in its own times

thus relating the 'times' of the emphasising of the Kingship and Lordship of Jesus Christ over all other kings and lords as the time of his appearing. The appearing ... in its own times ... shall show.

Thus, in this text and translation, the appearing of Jesus Christ will be the assertion of his reign and his rule.

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To answer, specifically, the OP, it is (according to the EGNT text and translation) Jesus Christ who shall, by his appearing, be seen to be King of kings and Lord of lords.

Answer 2

JESUS THE ONLY IMMORTAL POTENTATE

1 Timothy 6:15-16 Applies to Jesus.

Paul wrote that the resurrected Jesus was blessed with the gift of immortality, death no longer is master over him.

Romans 6:9 (NASB)

9” Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, [a]is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him”

Jesus said to John after his resurrection to heaven – “ I am alive forever and ever.”

Revelation 1:17-18 (NRSV)

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

All humans who rule as kings and lords are mortal and die, whereas in contrast Jesus is the blessed Potentate who alone has immortality . Moreover, since his ascension to heavens humans can no longer see- “whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

I have found the following footnotes on NABRE interesting on the appointment of Jesus as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek and so I have added them below.

FOOTNOTES:

Hebrews 7:15-25 (NABRE)

a. 7:15–19 Jesus does not exercise a priesthood through family lineage but through his immortal existence (Hb 7:15–16), fulfilling Ps 110:4 (Hb 7:17; cf. Hb 7:3). Thus he abolishes forever both the levitical priesthood and the law it serves, because neither could effectively sanctify people (Hb 7:18) by leading them into direct communication with God (Hb 7:19).

b. 7:16 A life that cannot be destroyed: the life to which Jesus has attained by virtue of his resurrection; it is his exaltation rather than his divine nature that makes him priest. The Old Testament speaks of the Aaronic priesthood as eternal (see Ex 40:15); our author does not explicitly consider this possible objection to his argument but implicitly refutes it in Hb 7:23–24.