Verse 10
but hath now been manifested by the appearance of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
As Gealy accurately stated:
The assumption is that before he was born Christ existed with God. Birth in his case did not mean the beginning; it rather signified the appearance in history of the divine Saviour previously existing but until now concealed.[17]
The appearing ... is not merely a reference to the birth of Christ, but to the whole thesis of the incarnation, together with the life, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord.
Abolished death ... This is too strong a translation here. Wuest stated the true meaning to be, "He made death ... of none effect."[18] The Christian gospel indeed robbed death of its terrors and enabled the Christian to face it with sanity, composure and hope.
Life and immortality ... Due to the erroneous and hurtful notions of the Greeks regarding immortality, Paul did not here use the usual Greek term, but instead chose a word which actually means "incorruption" (American Standard Version margin (1901)). This inherently demands the conception that the body itself shall be raised to eternal life. As Lenski commented, "This assures also our blessed bodily resurrection." The word Paul used thus means more than a mere immortality, after the Greek notion, but eternal life for both soul and body of the redeemed.
[17] Fred D. Gealy, op. cit., p. 469.
[18] Kenneth S. Wuest, op. cit., p. 123.
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