📖 Biblical Definition
Immortality in Scripture belongs inherently to God alone: "who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:16). Human beings are not naturally immortal — they were created with the possibility of death ("in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die," Genesis 2:17) and became subject to death through sin. Immortality for believers is a gift given through Christ's resurrection: "This mortal body must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53). Christ "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). Biblical immortality is bodily resurrection — not the Greek idea of a naturally immortal soul escaping a disposable body.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The quality of never ceasing to live or exist; exemption from death and annihilation.
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IMMORTALITY, n. [L. immortalitas.] 1. The quality of never ceasing to live or exist; exemption from death and annihilation; life destined to endure without end. 2. Exemption from oblivion. Webster applied it primarily to the soul's continued existence and the resurrection of the body in Christian doctrine.
📖 Key Scripture
• 1 Timothy 6:16 — "Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light."
• 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 — "This mortal body must put on immortality... Death is swallowed up in victory."
• 2 Timothy 1:10 — "Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
• Romans 2:7 — "To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Immortality is pursued through technology, legacy, or assumed as a natural right.
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The modern world pursues immortality through transhumanism, cryonics, digital consciousness uploading, and genetic engineering — attempting to conquer death through technology rather than through the resurrection Christ offers. Meanwhile, popular religion assumes the natural immortality of the soul — that every person automatically lives forever regardless of their relationship to God. Scripture teaches neither: immortality belongs to God alone, and He grants it to those who are in Christ. The rest face the "second death" (Revelation 20:14). Immortality is not a birthright — it is a gift purchased by the blood of Christ and bestowed at the resurrection.
Usage
• "Only God possesses immortality inherently — for human beings, it is a gift received through Christ, not a natural attribute of the soul."
• "Biblical immortality is not escape from the body — it is the resurrection of the body, transformed and glorified for eternity."