The Assumption of Mary and 1 Timothy 6:16?

Question

I have a question about the Assumption of Mary and 1 Timothy 6:16, I understand that Mary both Body and Soul are in heaven, like Christ, meaning her flesh is immortal and cannot die anymore. But Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:16 that Jesus alone is immortal, So how can we answer this? How can the Assumption of Mary fit with what Paul wrote to Timothy here?

Main Question: How can Mary have immortal body in heaven when Paul said only Jesus alone hath immortality (Talking about the flesh).

"...until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting." 1 Timothy 6:15-16 K.J.V.

Answer 1

The Assumption of Mary and 1 Timothy 6:16?

He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has seen him or is able to do so. To him be honor and everlasting power. Amen. - 1 Timothy 6:16 (New Catholic Bible)

Will try to answer your question from a Catholic perspective, although other denominations such as Orthodoxy will be somewhat close to this same perspective.

To start off with, Catholics believe that every human being has an immortal soul and on the last day the Day of Judgement, our bodies and souls will be united. Those who are holy will be united in heaven and those who are evil will be united with their physical bodies in hell! I know this is simplifying the doctrine, but that is what the Church teaches.

As a Catholic, we believe that the soul of very holy individuals go straight to heaven waiting to be united to their physical bodies!

When if comes to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we believe the Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven as a divine privilege from Almighty God as Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin and and as such she was exempt from the curse levied against Adam and Eve, our first parents. This prerogative and the belief that the Church believes the Mary never sinned makes the Assumption of Mary a doctrine held by Catholics.

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful. - Pope BI. Pius IX Ineffabilis Deus 1854

Without the Immaculate Conception of Mary first the doctrine of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven would be harder to explain.

We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. — Pope Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus, 1950

Answer 2

Somehow God makes exceptions for His beloved children and we don't need to question. If you can apply the same logic to Baptism, where Jesus clearly instructed His disciples to Baptize, the Catechism 1257 says that

God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.

Which is to say, God is God and we are not.

See how God provided for Queen Esther (chapter 5), who ought to have died, but didn't - and this went unacknowledged:

Then Esther spoke to Hathach and instructed him to tell Mordecai, “All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.”

And she was spared:

As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

So there's a precedent for a King (Jesus being the King of the Universe) to be approached by a Queen (Mary, being Queen of Heaven and Earth) ritually uninvited - but wholly accepted.

And that is great! It's great news for us, because she can take our requests to God and we, like Mordecai, can intercede on behalf of those who don't necessarily find favor with God.

Answer 3

Here is the Orthodox church answer for you. The Theotokos has already experienced the resurrection of the dead that we all eagerly await in the life to come. Her body is not the earthly one, but is now already the body of the life after.

The Theotokos died a natural death, and her soul was received by Christ upon death. However her body was resurrected on the third day after her repose. At which time she was taken up, both in body and soul, into heaven when the apostles, miraculously transported from the ends of the earth, found her tomb to be empty.The specific belief of the Orthodox is expressed in their liturgical texts used at the feast of the Dormition.

Another thing that is fascinating about this event is that from the Orthodox perspective we can completely understand logically the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, He is God afterall. The fact that the Theotokos was also resurrected and taken into heaven is a sign that we should expect the resurrection of the dead (just as we say in our Creed). The Theotokos was just a regular human at the start, just like any of us. She is the first Christian. More info here from Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye.