¹⁵… He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

Doxologies abound in the NT, this being a shorter yet no less majestic version. Whether this refers to the second person of the Trinity (as the regal descriptions seem to infer) or to the Godhead in His essence (as the unseeable nature would suggest), His transcendence is certainly the prominent idea here. He is the only, the greatest, the unique One.

The descriptions communicating in an earthly context locate their supreme application in the One who is above all. We are blessed, as Jesus taught in the Beatitudes, when we walk in His ways, but He is “the blessed” One by His very nature. We enter into perfect contentment and happiness precisely because of our organic connection to Him. He is the “only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” In the ancient world, such terms were not uncommonly used to describe an emperor. All through history, sovereigns have arisen who have taken on power and authority to rule over people groups, tribes, and nations. But there is one and only one Sovereign who rules over all nations, all kingdoms, and all creation. He who formed the universe out of nothing was the artist who fashioned things into beauty, not from previous materials, ideas, or designs, but from absolutely nothing. All things reflect Him. Therefore, He inherently has complete authority and power over all things.

God gives immortality to humans, who are creatures with a beginning, but now live without end. Those of faith continue in His presence, but those who reject Him continue for eternity apart from Him. Angels have been imbued with eternity as well. But God is immortal by His very nature; this was not conferred upon Him. He is without cause or beginning, and therefore, He cannot cease to exist. He engulfs all of time. The concepts of before and after hold meaning only in reference to what He has created. In Himself, He is timeless, immortal.

He “dwells in unapproachable light.” In the beginning, when God created all things, He first made light and then separated light from that which is not light (Gen. 1:3). In so doing, He defined the difference between that which was Him in His absolute essence and that which He created to reflect Him. He is so different in that He is unapproachable by His creation, but so alike in that He created light, that which was to reflect His glory.

Lord, help me see the light of who You really are.