“So, to the Eternal King, imperishable, invisible, God alone, honor and glory forever unto the ages, Amen!”

(1 Timothy 1:17)

Doxologies like this are not only common in Paul’s writings, but in the Bible as a whole. How can we even begin to put into words the glorious character of our God? Statements like this make a great start. And we must be very clear that we understand that declarations like this are not a matter of mere fancy or flights of spirituality, but they are clear statements as to the character of the God we serve, and as such, they should instill within us a holy fear for who He is.

One of the trends of the last generation has been to try and emphasize the personal and the relational nature of our God. Indeed, He is personal and he does condescend to us. Yet, the Bible also presents Him as being gloriously transcendent and our theology needs to capture both. Today, talk about the “Fear of the Lord” is frowned on in many circles, yet if we are going to take this passage seriously, these words should engender just that fear in our lives, for they speak of God’s profound transcendence over all He has made.

He is Eternal King. In other words, he is the ultimate ruler over all that exists. He has always been its ruler and always will be its ruler. He is God. Kings also protect what is theirs and they enforce the Law. Since God is also Lawgiver, now we see the language of Him being Law Enforcer, which reminds us that he is the final judge over all things. We may be tempted to think that if we write human laws in such a way that they excuse our sins that we are okay when it comes to judgment. Nevertheless, human laws do not supersede divine ones. He sets the standard. We often abuse it, twist it, warp it, and malign it for our own ends. And we will be judged accordingly for having done so.

God is imperishable. In some senses, this goes along with God being eternal, but it is a reminder that were we to stand up against God, we will never prevail. God is invisible, for He is spirit. And, God is alone. He is not one God amongst many nor is he even the superlative example of a class of beings. No, God exists alone. He is in a class that is entirely His own and there is none to rival Him; all others are pretenders at best.

And thus, all honor, glory, and praise belongs to our God forever. And the only right statement to add to these words is, “Amen!” It is our testimony that these words are both true and that they are engrained in the very innermost part of our being. Indeed, He is the one to be praised! Amen and Amen!