God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.  I Timothy 6:15, 16

As Paul ends his first letter to Timothy he soars, once again, into a doxology that summarizes all he has been thinking and feeling.  It spells out what Paul focuses on and what he is encouraging young Timothy to do.

The center if all is God, of course. He is blessed above all others. In my prayers I find myself asking God for blessing, a good and legitimate prayer, but a more important prayer, as expressed here, is that God be blessed!  This is not easy to even think about because it is hardly imaginable, as far as I am concerned, that I, little me, can bless God Almighty!  Is he not already blessed beyond all measure?  Does he lack something if I do not bless him? Hardly.  Yet, if I hear the Holy Spirit in Paul’s writing, God desires my blessing.  If I can bless God with all my heart, I stand in a position of grace – grateful and full of joy.

He is the only Ruler. He is not a good Ruler among rulers, he is the only Ruler.  All earthly dominions will pass, along with their rulers, but the God of Jesus Christ is the only, the eternal Ruler.  Jesus Christ rules now and ever more.

King of kings.  Paul uses an earthly metaphor to describe God.  A king has a kingdom that he rules over, so God rules over his Kingdom that is now among us in Jesus Christ.   He is King above all kings.

Lord of lords.  A Lord is someone who owns his subjects and a good Lord covers his dependents with infinite care.  Many people rule over us.  That is normal. However, Jesus Christ is Lord of all lords.

He alone is immortal.  Earthly rulers come and go. God’s rule is eternal.  Why owe allegiance to rulers who will, like us, perish?

Who lives in unapproachable light.  This can be said of no earthly ruler.  Every human ruler has a dark side.  Not the Father of Jesus Christ who casts no shadow at all but is brilliant light, through and through and always.

Who no one has seen nor can see.  To him be honor and might forever. Amen.  No one has honor or might like God Almighty.

Paul thus reminds Timothy who he is serving and who loves him with unwavering love. Paul has all the flaws of humanity, as Timothy probably well knows, so Paul reminds Timothy and us who we serve.  It is God himself. That is what binds us together – the mighty power of the love of God.