What Does 1 Timothy 6:15 Mean?

which he will show in his own seasons, the flourishing and only Mighty One, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

1 Timothy 6:15 · SDV

Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.

Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.

This verse in the King James

King James wording

King James Version

Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

THE KEY

The ruler above every ruler also holds the moment when his rule is made visible.

THE MEANING

The revealing belongs to God’s own appointed time, and the one revealed is the sole sovereign above every king and lord. Even while that authority is not yet fully visible, it is already complete.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

A delay in visible disclosure does not mean that God’s rule is absent or that earthly rulers have the final claim.

THE ROOT

δυνάστης

dynastēs

GROWS FROM

⁨δυν-⁩ (dyn-, the stem of ⁨δύναμαι⁩)

To be able; to have power or capacity.

“Mighty One” in this verse is dynastēs. The word translated “Potentate” belongs to the family of being able and having power. Its related words name power itself and what is able, so the verse presents sovereignty as active capacity, not merely a title.

ALSO GROWS

dýnamis: Power, ability, or capacity.

δύναμις

This branch names the power that the ruler possesses.

dynatos: Able, powerful, or possible.

δυνατός

This branch shows the same root describing what has the capacity to act.

THE PATTERN

The one who rules over kings also governs the times when that rule is revealed.

And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding.

Daniel 2:21 · SDVGod’s authority reaches both the changing of times and the rising and falling of kings.

For the LORD Most High is awe, a great King over all the earth.

Psalm 47:2 · SDVThe LORD’s kingship extends over the whole earth, beyond any single throne.

And on his garment and on his thigh he has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:16 · SDVThe title names the same sovereignty above every other king and lord.

THE THREAD

He said to them, "It is not yours to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has set in his own power."

Acts 1:7 · SDV

The Greek word ⁨καιρός⁩ (kairos, appointed time or season) appears in both verses: “times” in 1 Timothy and “seasons” in Acts. Together they place the revealing within the Father’s own authority over its appointed moment.

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