Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jude 1:24
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling ] Better, able to keep you from stumbling. See note on the difference between “stumbling” and “falling,” on 2Pe 1:10. The form of the concluding doxology is determined naturally by the thoughts that have led up to it. The writer had been dwelling on the various ways in which men had stumbled and fallen. He now directs their thoughts to God as alone able to preserve them from a like disastrous issue.
to present you faultless before the presence of his glory ] The adjective is a favourite one with St Paul (Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; Php 2:15; Col 1:22) as describing the character of believers. In Heb 9:14 and 1Pe 1:19 it is used of the stainless purity of Christ. The “glory” spoken of is that which is to be manifested at the coming of Christ “in his own glory, and that of the Father, and of the Holy Angels” (Luk 9:26). Comp. also Tit 2:13.
with exceeding joy ] Both adjective and substantive are expressed in Greek by the one word for “exulting joy” in Luk 1:14; Luk 1:44; Act 2:46.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling – This ascription to one who was able to keep them from falling is made in view of the facts adverted to in the Epistle – the dangers of being led away by the arts and the example of these teachers of error. Compare Jud 1:3. On the ascription itself, compare the notes at Rom 16:25-27. The phrase to keep from falling means here to preserve from falling into sin, from yielding to temptation, and dishonoring their religion. The word used ( aptaistous) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means properly, not stumbling as of a horse; then without falling into sin, blameless. It is God only who, amidst the temptations of the world, can keep us from falling; but, blessed be his name, he can do it, and if we trust in him he will.
And to present you faultless – The word here rendered faultless is the same which is rendered unblamable in Col 1:22. See the sentiment here expressed explained in the notes at that passage.
Before the presence of his glory – In his own glorious presence; before himself encompassed with glory in heaven. The saints are to be presented there as redeemed and sanctified, and as made worthy by grace to dwell there forever.
With exceeding joy – With the abounding joy that they are redeemed; that they are rescued from sorrow, sin, and death, and that heaven is to be their eternal home. Who now can form an adequate idea of the happiness of that hour?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jud 1:24-25
Now unto Him that is able to keep you.
Judes doxology
It is well to be called full often to adoring praise, and the specific statement of the reason for praise is helpful to fervour of gratitude. Our great danger is falling and faultiness. Our great safety is Divine ability and faithfulness, by which we are kept from stumbling so as to dishonour our Lord.
I. Let us adore Him who can keep us from falling.
1. We need keeping from falling, in the sense of preservation from–
(1) Error of doctrine.
(2) Error of spirit: such as want of love, or want of discernment, or unbelief, or credulity, or fanaticism, or conceit.
(3) Outward sin. Alas, how low may the best fall!
(4) Neglect of duty: ignorance, idleness, want of thought.
(5) Backsliding.
2. None but the Lord can keep us from falling.
(1) No place guarantees security: the church, the closet, the communion-table–all are invaded by temptation.
(2) No rules and regulations will secure us from stumbling. Stereotyped habits may only conceal deadly sins.
(3) No experience can eradicate evil, or protect us from it.
3. The Lord can do it. He is able to keep, and He is the only wise God, our Saviour. His wisdom is part of His ability.
(1) By teaching us so that we fall not into sins by ignorance.
(2) By warning us: this may be done by our noting the falls of others, or by inward monitions, or by the Word.
(3) By providence, affliction, etc., which remove occasions of sinning.
(4) By a bitter sense of sin, which makes us dread it as a burnt child dreads the fire.
(5) By His Holy Spirit, renewing in us desires after holiness.
4. The Lord will do it. The only God our Saviour. From final falls, and even from stumblings, His Divine power can and will keep us.
II. Let us adore Him who will present us in His courts faultless.
1. None can stand in those courts who are covered with fault.
2. None can deliver us from former guilt, or keep us from daily faultiness in the future, but the Saviour Himself.
3. He can do it as our Saviour.
4. He will do it.
III. Let us adore Him with highest ascriptions of praise.
1. Presenting our praise through Jesus, who is Himself our Lord.
2. Wishing Him glory, majesty, dominion and power.
3. Ascribing these to Him as to the past, for He is before all time.
4. Ascribing them to Him now.
5. Ascribing them to Him for ever.
6. Adding to this adoration, and to the adoration of all His saints, our own fervent Amen. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Religious perseverance
That we may persevere, diligently and yet humbly, in the path of religious obedience, it is requisite that we look, with the feelings of dependence and trust, to Him from whose power and wisdom alone we can derive ability to persevere.
I. Then, religious perseverance may be set forth under a twofold view, as the continuing free from all sin, and advancing to the perfection of righteousness. to be kept from falling denotes the one, and to be presented faultless in the presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy intimates the other. Falling, when used with reference to the Christian course, expresses in the most alarming sense of which it is susceptible, the sin of apostasy. It then describes the rejection of all the evidences which have been provided, both in the history of the gospel and in the experience of its efficacy, to satisfy us of its Divine origin. Apart from this extreme instance, however, there are degrees to be marked on the general subject, all of which are exceedingly dangerous. There may not be the bold and unqualified rejection of Christianity. There may, on the other hand, be the retaining of its name, as the religion which we profess, and in which we believe. And yet we have fallen from its principles, if we indulge in any sinful affection, or persist in any vicious habit. Religion is abandoned whenever vice begins. Now to be preserved from these–from the sins of the unbeliever, of the insincere, of the worldly-minded, and of the careless or lukewarm–to be preserved from all these is implied in our being kept from falling. Separation from sin, however, is the prelude to advancement in the excellences of righteousness. Beginning at that point, the course of Christian perseverance is turned to the heavenly perfection. But it is not on earth that righteousness shall attain the destined height of its excellence. That world where no iniquity has entered, is in all these respects alone the scene of perfection. Not only is every corruption removed, but the inclination, yea, the remotest tendency to evil is taken away. This perfection of purity leads to the perfection of honour. The soul is introduced to the presence of the Divine glory. From these views, how naturally does there follow the conception of perfect happiness! The purity which the being presented faultless describes, and the honour which an admission to the presence of the Divine glory implies, must be the forerunners and the accompaniments of joy, yea, of an exceeding joy. This is the end of the Christian course. This is the perfection in righteousness to which the earliest separation from sin was pointing.
II. Let us ask the question, are we sufficient of ourselves to accomplish this high end? Have we the wisdom or the ability to keep ourselves from falling, and to attain to the blamelessness of celestial purity? Does our experience give us any ground to trust in the ampleness of our natural resources for accomplishing such duties? What opportunity of improvement have we ever employed, or what power have we ever exercised, in such a manner as may encourage self-confidence? On the contrary, how many and how flagrant the instances which show us, that in the course prescribed we are irresolute, ready to falter, and prone, under the direction of corrupted guides, to forsake it!
III. Hence, feeling that we have not ability sufficient to secure our own perseverance, we are prepared, humbly and gratefully to receive that aid which the gospel unfolds to us. God is able. He made us. He knows therefore our frame. Every principle of our constitution he is ultimately acquainted with. He has all channels laid open, for gaining access to the most secret spring of action that is within us. He see the motives that will best affect us, and how and when these ought to be touched. He is prepared to act in all circumstances, and to suit his dispensations to every variety of state, and peculiarity of want. God is able; yea, in the strict and full meaning of the word, He alone is able. But as power were unavailing for any good purpose without wisdom, the apostle reminds us that God is also wise. Those arrangements which Divine power carries into effect, are the results of perfect wisdom. The best means are turned to the production of the best end. When we reflect on our condition in this world of guilt and suffering, when we think how every day, every new incident, every connection we form, introduces us into untried circumstances, the full effects of which upon our welfare we have no means of anticipating; shall we not see how great the privilege, amid this state of darkness and imbecility, to be allowed to lean for direction and assistance on Him with whom is the foresight of every evil! There are circumstances of trial, however, from which it is not expedient to deliver us. A new privilege therefore is suited to this new situation. The hour of trial comes; and with it the superintendence and the aid corresponding to the emergency. Therefore the hour of trial improves, in place of injuring us;–forms us to the exercise of greater power, rather than enfeebles us;–prepares us for new conquests instead of overcoming us. We are kept from falling; and in being thus preserved, we receive the earnest pledge of being at last presented faultless in the presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy. Are we now kept from falling? Are we hereafter to be presented faultless? Unto Him who alone is able–unto Him who only is wise–belongs the praise of our present steadfastness, and shall belong the praise of our after perfection. (W. Muir, D. D.)
The stability and perfection of true religion
I. All the saints are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation.
II. the saints are, at death, presented before the Lord in never-ending glory.
II. All the saints shall be introduced to their God in heaven, in a glorious state, holy and without blemish. They shall be presented faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
1. The place, in which the saints find final repose, is heaven.
2. The character of the saints in heaven is faultless. We shall never fully understand the extent of the evil consequent upon the transgression of the first covenant, until we are completely delivered from its effects.
3. The enjoyment of the saints in heaven, is complete. They enter into the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. (A. McLeod, D. D.)
Christ able to keep and save
We are in danger of falling. By falling he means sinning. The original word signifies stumbling, and may be applied to any false step we make in our Christian course, whatever its nature and termination. We are prone of ourselves to fall. What God said of His people of old, they love to wander, He might say of us. And we are assailed continually from without. As though to make His old servants feel their danger, almost all the falls which God tells us of in His Word are those of long tried men. Noah falls after six hundred years experience. Lot falls when an old man. And David, who passed so safely through the snares of youth, falls in mature age.
II. The great God our Saviour is able to keep us. Conceive of a vessel with its planks loose, its sails rent, and its pilot ignorant and half blind; and then place it among shoals and rocks, with a storm raging–there is a picture of the Christians condition in the world. That wretched vessel, you would say, is a doomed one; it will inevitably be lost. But suppose you are told that there is an invisible Being watching over it and determined to preserve it; one who can turn it about just as He will, and do what He will with those stormy winds and foaming billows, make those waves roll as He pleases, or, if He pleases, not roll at all–what should you say then? That vessel is safe. And what would you do? You would delight in looking at it amidst its perils, for you would delight in contemplating the power which is so wonderfully preserving it. So with the believer. He shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. God is magnifying His power through that mans weakness, and that mans dangers and temptations. Again let me say, we need high thoughts of God; high thoughts of His mercy to lead us at first into His ways–our sinfulness makes that necessary; and then high thoughts of His power to lead us cheerfully on in His ways–our many dangers render this needful.
III. The Lord Jesus has high designs concerning us, which He is able to accomplish. We should have thought it a great thing to have been presented to Christ in the day of His humiliation; to have sat by His side with John, or at His feet with Mary; but He says here, I will present you to Myself in the day of My glory. To do you honour, I will welcome you in all My splendour. And we are to be faultless before His glorious presence. A thing sometimes appears pure and white, but bring it into the daylight or put it down on the new-fallen snow, it appears so no longer. Not so here. We shall bear the daylight; our whiteness shall bear the snow. Think of that, when sin is tormenting you. How complete in the end will be your deliverance from it! Every fragment and trace of it will be gone. And yet further–Christ will do this with exceeding joy. He will give us joy, you will say, as He does it. We shall shout for joy as He calls us to Himself. But this, I conceive, is not the apostles meaning. He is not thinking of our joy, but of Christs. Ours will be nothing to His.
IV. In keeping His people and accomplishing His glorious designs concerning them, God manifests His wisdom. The only wise God. Some of us rarely think of Gods wisdom as doing anything now to keep or save us. It planned the glorious scheme of our salvation, we think, and then retired, leaving mercy and grace to execute it. Or if we do carry our thoughts farther than Gods mercy and grace, we take in perhaps only His faithfulness. But all the perfections of Jehovah are at work for us. Not one of them does He suffer to be unemployed. Our hope therefore ought to rest on all His attributes. It would be a stronger hope if it did so. Mercy must ever be its mainstay, but here are two supports placed under it quite unconnected with mercy–power and wisdom. And observe how beautifully they are coupled together. Power to keep us would be nothing without wisdom to direct it–it would not know how to help us; and wisdom would be nothing without power–it might see what was needed for us, but there it must stop, it could not accomplish it. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding Joy.
The saints preserved and presented
I. Preservation implies danger. We have no need to be reminded that God is able to keep us from falling, if we are surrounded by no peril. Although we have been called from on high, although we have received spiritual gifts, a new heart and a new motive to action, we must not expect that the work is accomplished, and that we may resign ourselves to the indolent and selfish enjoyment of privilege. We are in a state of probation, and are, therefore, of necessity, exposed to adverse influences, and to numberless enemies which war against the soul. Watchfulness must be exercised, and strength must be imparted, in order to keep us in the right way. Danger to the believer may arise from three sources: from the unfriendly interposition of evil spirits; from the traitorous suggestions of his own heart; and from the allurement, or the intimidation of the outside world. To whom, then, in our peril shall we look for help? Where dwells the mind which will succour us, and the generosity which will wield the weapons of our defence? Shall we ask among the ministering hosts who watch and adore before the throne, if haply some strong angel, kind in his heavenly strength, might undertake our cause? Nay, for he never fell; he knows nothing of the plague of a nature shrunken foully from its fair original; he knows nothing of the bitterness of sin. Our deliverer must have sympathy of condition, and, in some sort, of experience. Then shall we look among our fellows for a companion? Shall we go seeking among the ages for a hero who shall combine all qualifications of fitness–strength mightier than of Hercules, beauty more winsome than of Apollo, all the eloquence of the golden mouthed, all the honeyed philosophy of the Bee of Attica, all the research that is most scholarly, and all the piety that is devoutest, and shall we bid him do battle for us, and guard us through our every life-path with his tutelary ministry? Ah! the champion comes not at our call. The ages have not found him. Our champion must have power as well as sympathy, invisible and exhaustless resources of power. We have a triple enemy–the world, and the flesh, and the devil; and Christ is able to keep us from falling, because, in the mystery of His incarnate life, He met and overcame the fiercest opposition of them all. Then comes another question, a question which it is important for us to ask ourselves, because, perhaps, some of our hearts may be doubting. He is able to keep us from falling; but will He take the trouble? Well, a comforting expectation of this willingness to keep us from falling may be gathered from His general character, and from the dealings with which He has heretofore dealt with the hapless sons of clay. That kind Master who was very tender to all His disciples, but who sent a special messenger to Peter about His resurrection, lest the poor bruised heart should be broken by the very semblance of unkindness–He is not likely to withhold His help or to give it upbraidingly. Thou mayest trust Him, timid one; He will not always chide! He knows thy flame, and remembers that thou art dust.
II. But the text gives us yet a stronger reason of encouragement, because it presents a reason: it satisfies our intellect as well as warms our heart. It presents a reason why Christ will thus keep us from falling. Think of it in your moments of bitterness; Christs glory is involved in your preservation from destruction. Cleave to Him; He will not let you perish; He wants you; you are necessary to Him to swell His retinue in the great court-day of the universe, when He shall lay down the sceptre. He would like to have a grand pageant then. What! do you think the Captain of our salvation will be content with a drawn battle? Do you think that the numbers on either side shall be so nearly equal, that it will be a matter of doubt which has really gotten the victory? Not so: He shall conquer, and the universe shall see that He has conquered; for, at His side there shall be a multitude which no man can number. Nor do I imagine that this victory is to be gained by doubtful means. Some people tell us that as nearly half the human race die in infancy, the scale will be turned by these. Not so; not by stratagem, but by valour; in fair and open fight shall He save, and conquer His enemies. Christ has died, and He shall not die in vain, and an innumerable company risen to mans estate, tainted not only with hereditary but with personal transgression, and snatched in their manliness from the spoiler, shall stand with robes of purity and palms of triumph, and by Christ be presented spotless unto God, Unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory. I want you to anticipate this for yourselves. But even then many faults may cleave to you, the clouded brain, the erroneous judgment, the mourned infirmity, the faith overcast, the thousand ways in which the dull material cramps the nobler soul. But you are to be faultless then; not sinless only, but faultless; nay, get the great thought out in all its length, and breadth, and depth, and height–Faultless before the presence of His glory. The light shines upon the holiest upon earth only as a revelation of impurity; the light shines upon the meanest in heaven only to enhance his perfection of beauty. (W. M. Punshon, D. D.)
Presented faultless
When Christ presenteth the elect He will present them faultless, that is, both in respect of justification and sanctification. This was intended before the world was (Eph 1:4), but is not accomplished till then. Now we are humbled with many infirmities and sins (Col 1:22). The work is undertaken by Christ, and He will carry it on till it be complete.
1. The work must be begun here; the foundation is laid as soon as we are converted unto God (1Co 6:11).
2. This work increaseth daily more and more (1Th 5:23-24). We are not faultless; but Christ will not rest till we be faultless, He is sanctifying further and further; He will pursue the work close till it be done.
3. It is so carried on for the present that our justification and sanctification may help one another; the benefit of justification would be much lessened if our sanctification were complete, and our sanctification is carried on the more kindly because the benefit of justification needeth so often to be renewed and applied to us; if our inherent righteousness were more perfect, imputed righteousness would be less set by.
4. At the last day all is fully accomplished (Col 1:22). Well, then, let us wait upon God with encouragement, and press on to perfection upon these hopes. (T. Manton.)
Gods greatest power and praise
I. The strong grasp that is able to hold us up. The only God. There is one in whom is strength, to whom is to be the praise, and on whom ought to be fastened all our confidence. And here is the blessing of a true religious trust, that it does not need to go wandering and seeking for many supports and stays, but can concentrate all confidence on the single arm which is able to sustain. Then, further, note that in this doxology the designation Saviour is applied to God Himself, teaching us that, though Christ be indeed eminently the Saviour, He is so in full harmony with the Fathers will, and that in all the process of our redemption we are not to think of Him as more gracious, or tender, or full of saving love and power than the Father, whose will He executes, whose image He is. Then note, still further, that the words from falling might be more accurately rendered from stumbling. It is much to keep us from falling; it is more to keep us from stumbling. Mark the emphasis of the language of my text. He is able to keep you from falling. There is no absolute promise or assurance that He will, but there is the broad declaration of the ability. That is to say, something else is needed than the Divine power if I am to be kept from falling. And what is that else except my grasp of the power, my opening of my heart to its entrance, my clutching His hand with my hand? God is able, but that the possibility shall become an actuality with us, there is needed our faith.
II. The great end to which this upholding leads. Faultless–before His presence–with exceeding joy. As to the first, it indicates moral purity. Here the nature may be one field of black, broken only by narrow and short streaks of contradictory light; but yonder all the foulness may be discharged from it, and sin lie behind us, an alien power that has nothing in us. And then, as the purity makes the enjoyment of His presence possible, so the purity and the presence make the third thing possible. With exceeding joy. The joy comes from cleansing, from communion, from the leaving behind of weariness and struggles. Change and monotony, danger and fear, sin and fightings, partings and death, are all done with.
III. The eternity of the praise that comes from such an issue. All His work is the making visible and the enshrining in act of that four-sided glory of His character. Glory and majesty, dominion and power, are shown in all that He has done. But this ascription of these to God in the present connection teaches us that, upon all the rest of the manifestations of these perfections, God sets the shining summit and topstone in this–that He takes men, being such as we are, and by slow education and patient inspiration, and wise providences and merciful forbearance, moulds and cleanses and quickens, and lifts at last to perfect purity, communion, and gladness. That is the greatest thing that God has ever done. And, says my text, if in the process of redemption God has especially magnified His own majestic nature, and done a mightier thing than when He flung flaming worlds like sparks off an anvil to revolve with music in the heavens, then the first duty of all Christian men is to offer to Him in the depths of their grateful hearts, and in words and deeds of self-surrendered and God-blessed lives, the praise which such a manifestation demands. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The grand final presentation
I. That nothing lower than the infinite and exhaustless power of the Redeemer, is equal to our preservation in this world of temptation and sin.
II. That there is a certain attitude and exercise of mind which may be said to be indispensable to our insuring this sustaining and persevering power.
III. That the Saviour having preserved us here by the exercise of His Divine power, will with peculiar joy present us hereafter to His Father in the possession of a spotless and perfect nature.
IV. That our preservation here, and our presentation hereafter, bringing into view the highest manifestations of the Divine perfections and conduct, will thus lay the basis for the most sublime and seraphic ascriptions of praise. (R. Ferguson, LL. D.)
A sublime doxology
I. The danger implied. When we consider the number, power, malice, and subtlety of his foes, it is wonderful that a Christian can expect a complete victory.
1. He has to wrestle.
2. He often has to walk in slippery places.
3. He is the subject of great weakness.
4. There are many obstacles in his path.
II. The preservation of which the believer is the subject.
1. The power of God is engaged to keep His saints.
2. The promises of God abound with sacred engagements to this end.
3. The merit of the Redeemers work and the virtue of His intercession avail on this behalf.
4. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is an earnest of the inheritance.
5. Means of grace and dealings of Providence are subservient.
III. The final presentation.
1. The solemnity and grandeur of the occasion.
2. The glorious condition of each of its objects.
3. The sublime felicity of which they shall be the subjects.
4. The individual interest they shall have in these grand proceedings. (Preachers Portfolio.)
God the keeper
I can only counsel you, it is God must keep you. (J. Trapp.)
Gods help goes along with our own effort
Learn a parable of the draught-horse on a broken road; it is a parable my father taught me when I was little more than the height of his knee, and one that has served me in good stead since, as I warrant it will serve you. As the horse draws its load along the broken path, the driver walks by its side. When there is an ugly deep rut in the path, he gently turns the horse aside from it. When a large stone has fallen on the road, he removes it out of the way of the wheels. When there is a stiff bit of ascent to meet, he pats the horse and puts it to its mettle, but when the way is level and clear, he leaves the horse pretty much to its own devices. All that is useful–all that is kind–all that is helpful; but please to remember, it is the horse itself that has always got to draw the load! And it will never be any otherwise with you, as you go through this world. Parents, teachers, friends, wise counsellers may do much to guide you, may do much to help you over difficulties, or remove them out of your way, but you yourself will always have to draw the load; and if you do not qualify yourself to do that aright, then there is nothing outside yourself can help you. (J. Reid Howett.)
Gods power in salvation
Out of a sinful man to make a saint is more than to make a world out of nothing; and to keep sinful men from stumbling is more than to keep the stars in their courses. There is a free and rebellious will to be won and retained in the one case, whereas there is nothing but absolute and unresisting obedience in the other. (A. Plummer, D. D.)
Presented faultless
A criminal, condemned by our law to die, can only be spared by the Queen empowering the Home Secretary to reprieve or pardon. Even then to remove the stain that must always rest upon that persons character is utterly beyond the power of them both. How different with Jesus. His power is unlimited. He not only is able to forgive sins, but He can cleanse away every trace of guilt, and present us faultless unto God. (Hy. Thompson.)
To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty.–
Praise
1. Praising God is a work very suitable to all saints.
2. After all exertions for obtaining any good, God must be acknowledged the Author of that good.
3. It is our duty to praise God for future blessings, for what we have in hope as well as for what we have in hand.
4. Spiritual blessings principally deserve our praises.
5. In our addresses to God we should have such apprehensions and use such expressions concerning Him as may most strengthen our faith.
6. Our speeches concerning Christ must be with highest honour and reverence.
7. Praise should conclude that work which prayer began.
8. The concluding thanksgivings which are affixed to writings are only to be given to God (Rom 16:27; 2Ti 4:18; Heb 13:21) (W. Jenkyn, M. A.)
The wisdom, glory, and sovereignty of God
I. In what sense God may be said to be the only wise God. For answer to this, we may take notice, that there are some perfections of God that are incommunicable to the creature, as His independency and eternity–these God only possesseth; but there are other perfections which are communicable–as knowledge, and wisdom, and goodness, and justice, and power, and the like; yet these the Scriptures do peculiarly attribute to God, that they belong to God in such a peculiar and Divine manner as doth shut out the creature from any claim to them, in that degree and perfection wherein God possesseth them. This being premised in general, God may be said to be only wise in two respects:
1. God only is originally and independently wise. He derives it from none, and all derive it from Him (Rom 11:33-34).
2. He is eminently and transcendently so: and this follows from the former, because God is the fountain of wisdom, therefore it is most eminently in Him (Psa 94:9-10).
II. I shall prove that this perfection belongs to God.
1. From the dictates of natural reason. The contrary is an imperfection; therefore wisdom belongs to God. And the denial of this perfection to God would argue many other imperfections; it would be a universal blemish to the Divine nature, and would darken all His other perfections.
2. From Scripture, He is wise in heart (Job 9:4); He is mighty in strength and wisdom (Job 36:5); Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are His (Dan 2:20). Hither we may refer those texts which attribute wisdom to God in a singular and peculiar manner (Rom 16:27); and those which speak of God as the fountain of it, who communicates and bestows it upon His creatures (Dan 2:21; Jam 1:5); and those texts which speak of the wisdom of God in the creation of the world (Psa 104:24; Jer 10:12); in the providence and government of the world (Dan 2:30); and in many other places in the redemption of mankind. Therefore Christ is called the wisdom of God (1Co 1:24), and the dispensation of the gospel, the hidden wisdom of God, and the manifold wisdom of God (Eph 3:10).
If then God be only wise, the original and only fountain of it, from thence we learn–
1. To go to Him for it (Jam 1:2).
2. If God be only wise in such an eminent and transcendent degree, then let us be humble. There is no cause of boasting, seeing we have nothing but what we have received. To pride ourselves in our own wisdom, is the way to have our folly made manifest.
3. We should labour to partake of the wisdom of God, so far as it is communicable. The greatest wisdom that we are capable of is to distinguish between good and evil; to be wise to that which is good, as the apostle speaks (Rom 16:19); that is, to provide for the future in time, to make provision for eternity, to think of our latter end, to fear God and obey Him, to be pure and peaceable, to receive instruction, and to win souls.
4. If God be only wise, then put your trust and confidence in Him.
5. Let us adore the wisdom of God, and say with St. Paul (1Ti 1:17), To the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen; and with Daniel, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. Having premised thus much for the clearing of these words, I shall briefly consider, first, Gods glory and majesty, and then His dominion and sovereignty. First, Gods glory and majesty. By majesty, we may understand the greatness, or eminent excellency of the Divine nature, which results from His perfections, and whereby the Divine nature is set and placed infinitely above all other beings; I say, the eminent excellency of the Divine nature, which results from His perfections, more especially from those great perfections, His goodness, and wisdom, and power, and holiness. And His glory is a manifestation of this excellency, and a just acknowledgment and due opinion of it. Hence it is, that in Scripture, God is said to be glorious in power, and glorious in holiness, and His goodness is called His glory; and here, in the text, glory and majesty are ascribed to Him upon the account of His wisdom and goodness.
That these belong to God, I shall prove–
1. From the acknowledgment of natural light. The heathens did constantly ascribe greatness to God, and that as resulting chiefly from His goodness, as appears by their frequent conjunction of these two attributes, goodness and greatness.
2. From Scripture. It were endless to produce all those texts wherein greatness and glory are ascribed to God. I shall mention two or three: The Lord is a great God (Deu 10:17); He is called the King of glory (Psa 24:10); He is said to be clothed with majesty and honour (Psa 104:1). The whole earth is full of His glory. Hither belong all those doxologies in the Old and New Testament wherein greatness, and glory, and majesty are ascribed to God.
From all which we may learn–
1. What it is that makes a person great and glorious, and what is the way to majesty, viz., real worth and excellency, and particularly that kind of excellency which creatures are capable of in a very eminent degree, and that is goodness; this is that which advanceth a person, and gives him a pre-eminence above all others; this casts a lustre upon him, and makes his face to shine.
2. Let us give God the glory which is due to His name: Ascribe ye greatness to our God (Deu 32:3). Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and power (Psa 29:1). The glory and majesty of God call for our esteem and honour, our fear and reverence of Him. Thus we should glorify God in our spirits, by an inward esteem and reverence of His majesty.
3. We should take heed of robbing God of His glory, by giving it to any creature, by ascribing those titles, or that worship, to any creature, which is due to God alone. I come now to speak of the sovereignty and dominion of God: in which I shall show what we are to understand by the sovereignty and dominion of God. By these we mean the full and absolute right, and title, and authority which God hath to and over all His creatures, as His creatures, and made by Him. And this right results from the effects of that goodness, and power, and wisdom, whereby all things are and were made; from whence there doth accrue to God a sovereign right and title to all His creatures, and a full and absolute authority over them; that is, such a right and authority which doth not depend upon any superior, nor is subject and accountable to any, for anything that He does to any of His creatures.
I. Wherein it doth not consist.
1. Not in a right to gratify and delight Himself in the extreme misery of innocent and undeserving creatures: I say, not in a right; for the right that God hath in His creatures is founded in the benefits He hath conferred upon them, and the obligations they have to Him upon that account.
2. The sovereignty of God doth not consist in imposing laws upon His creatures which are impossible either to be understood or observed by them. For this would not only be contrary to the dignity of the Divine nature, but contradict the nature of a reasonable creature, which, in reason, cannot be obliged by any power to impossibilities.
3. The sovereignty of God doth not consist in a liberty to tempt men to evil, or by any inevitable decree to necessitate them to sin, or effectually to procure the sins of men, and to punish them for them. For as this would be contrary to the holiness, and justice, and goodness of God, so to the nature of a reasonable creature, who cannot be guilty or deserve punishment for what it cannot help.
II. Wherein the sovereignty of God doth consist.
1. In a right to dispose of, and deal with, His creatures in any way that doth not contradict the essential perfections of God, and the natural conditions of the creature.
2. In a right to impose what laws He pleaseth upon His creatures, whether natural and reasonable; or positive, of trial of obedience, provided they contradict not the nature of God, or of the creature.
3. In a right to inflict due and deserved punishment in a case of provocation.
4. In a right to afflict any of His creatures, so the evil He inflicts be short of the benefits He hath conferred on them. This is universally acknowledged by the heathens, that God is the Lord and Sovereign of the world, and of all creatures, and this the Scripture doth everywhere attribute to Him, calling Him Lord of all, King of kings, and Lord of lords; to which we may refer all those doxologies in which power, and dominion, and authority are ascribed to God. I infer, first, negatively: We cannot, from the sovereignty of God, infer a right to do anything that is unsuitable to the perfection of His nature; and consequently, that we are to rest satisfied with such a notion of dominion and sovereignty in God as doth not plainly and directly contradict all the notions that we have of justice and goodness.
Secondly, positively: We may infer from the sovereignty and dominion of God–
1. That we ought to own and acknowledge God for our lord and sovereign, who, by creating us, and giving us all that we have, did create to Himself a right in us.
2. That we owe to Him the utmost possibility of our love, to love Him with all our heart, and soul, and strength; because the souls that we have He gave us; and when we render these to Him, we do but give Him of His own.
3. We owe to Him all imaginable subjection, and observance, and obedience; and are with all diligence, to the utmost of our endeavours, to conform ourselves to His will, and to those laws which He hath imposed upon us.
4. In case of offence and disobedience, we are, without murmuring, to submit to what He shall inflict upon us, to accept of the punishment of our iniquity, and patiently to bear the indignation of the Lord, because we have sinned against Him, who is our Lord and Sovereign. (Abp. Tillotson.)
The only wise God our Saviour
1. Wisdom is ascribed to God. Gods wisdom is a distinct notion from His knowledge. He doth not only know all things, but hath ordered and disposed them with much counsel.
(1) Much of His wisdom is seen in creation. There His wisdom is discovered in the excellent order of all His works (Psa 104:24; 1Co 1:21). Their mutual correspondence and fitness for the several ends and services for which they were appointed.
(2) Gods wisdom is much seen in the sustentation and governing of all things (Eph 1:11). There is nothing so confused but if you look upon it in its results and final tendency, there is beauty and order in it; the tumults of the world, the prosperity of the wicked, carnal men think them the disgrace and blemish of providence, whereas they are the ornament of it (Psa 92:5).
(3) In the methods of His grace; so I call all the transactions of God about the salvation of sinners from first to last; the rejection of the Jews, and calling of the Gentiles (Rom 11:33). The various dispensations used in the Church, before the law, under the law, and time of the gospel, these are called the manifold wisdom of God (Eph 3:10), the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, and without controversy a great mystery (1Ti 3:16). Again, the various acts of love whereby God subdueth sinners to Himself. Once more, the overruling of all events to further the eternal blessedness of the saints (Rom 8:28).
2. God is only wise (1Ti 1:17; Rom 16:27).
(1) Originally and independently wise, not by communication from another, but of Himself.
(2) God is essentially wise, and so only wise. The perfections of the creature are like the gilding which may be laid on upon vessels of wood or stone, the matter is one thing and the varnish or ornament is another; but the perfections of God are like a vessel made of pure beaten gold, where the matter and the splendour or adorning is the same.
(3) God is infinitely wise, and so only wise. As the candle giveth no light when the sun shineth, our wisdom is bounded within narrow limits, and extendeth but to a few things, but Gods to all things.
3. Christ Jesus our Saviour is worthy to be accounted the only wise God. Christ is wise as He is God, and as He is man.
(1) As He is God, so is He called the wisdom of the Father (1Co 1:24), and represented to the ancient Church under this title; as Pro 1:20. Wisdom is there spoken of as a person, and the descriptions there used are proper to Jesus Christ.
(2) As He is man, He received the habits of all created knowledge and wisdom, as all other graces, without measure (Joh 3:1-36.); and so it is said (Col 2:3), In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Well, then, since Christ hath brought down wisdom to us in our own nature, let us be more studious to get it into our hearts. As Mediator, He is fitted to make us wise to salvation, and appointed by God to be wisdom to us (1Co 1:30).
4. Once more note, from the other title that is here given to Christ, our Saviour. Those that have had any benefit by Christ will be very much affected with His praise. There is a double ground of exalting Christ–a sight of His excellency, and a sense of His benefits; and there is a double notion by which our honouring of Christ is set forth–praise and blessing. Praise hath respect to His excellency, and blessing to His benefits (Eph 1:3). (T. Manton.)
The ascription of praise to God
1. Can we bestow anything upon God? or wish any real worth and excellency to be superadded to Him? I answer–No. The meaning is, that those which are in God already may be–
(1) More sensibly manifested (Isa 64:2). It is a great satisfaction to Gods people when anything of God is discovered; they value it above their own benefit and safety (Psa 115:1.). They prefer the glory of mercy and truth before their deliverance.
(2) More seriously and frequently acknowledged. It is a great pleasure to the saints to see others praise God (Psa 107:8).
(3) More deeply esteemed, that God may be more in request, more in the hearts of men and angels. Good men are loath to go to heaven alone, they would travel thither by troops and in company.
2. But let us more particularly take a view of this ascription; and so first what is ascribed, glory, majesty, dominion, and power. Glory is excellency discovered with praise and approbation, and noteth that high honour and esteem that is due to Christ. Majesty implieth such greatness and excellency as maketh one honoured and preferred above all, therefore a style usually given to kings; but to none so due as unto Christ, who is King of kings, and Lord of lords. Dominion implieth the sovereignty of Christ over all things, especially over the people whom He hath purchased with His blood. Power signifieth that all-sufficiency in God whereby He is able to do all things according to the good pleasure of His will.
(1) A gracious heart hath such a sense of Gods worth and perfection, that it would have all things that are honourable and glorious ascribed to Him; therefore are divers words here used. When we have done our utmost we come short; for Gods name is exalted above all blessing, and above all praise (Neh 9:5). Yet it is good to do as much as we can.
(2) When we think of God, it is a relief to the soul to consider of His glory, majesty, dominion, and power; for this is that which the apostle would have to be manifested, acknowledged, and esteemed in God, as the ground of our respect to Him. It encourageth us in our service. We need not think shame of His service, to whom glory, and power, and majesty, and dominion belongeth. It hearteneth us against dangers. Surely the great and glorious God will bear us out in His work. It increaseth our awe and reverence. Shall we serve God in such slight fashion as we would not serve the governor? (Mal 1:8). It inviteth our prayers. To whom should we go in our necessities but to Him that hath dominion over all things, and power to dispose of them for the glory of His majesty? It increaseth our dependence. God is glorious, and will maintain the honour of His name, and truth of His promises.
3. The next consideration in this ascription is the duration, now and ever. Thence note: The saints have such large desires for Gods glory, that they would have Him glorified everlastingly, and without ceasing. They desire the present age may not only glorify God, but the future. When they are dead and gone the Lord remaineth; and they would not have Him remain without honour. They do not take death so bitterly, if there be any hopes that God will have a people to praise Him. And their great comfort now is the expectation of a great congregation, gathered from the four winds, united to Christ, presented to God, that they may remain with Him, and glorify Him for evermore. They prize their own salvation upon this ground, that they shall live for ever to glorify God for ever (Eph 3:21; Psa 41:13; Psa 106:48). Now this they do, partly from their love to Gods glory, which they prize above their own salvation (Rom 9:3); partly in thankfulness to God for His everlasting love to them.
4. The last thing in this inscription is the particle, amen, which signifieth a hearty consent to Gods promise, and a steady belief that it will continue to all generations. This word is often put at the end of prayers and doxologies in Scripture (Rev 5:13-14; Rom 16:27; Php 4:20, etc.); and sometimes it is doubled for the greater vehemency (Psa 51:13; Psa 72:19; Psa 89:52); and anciently it was audibly pronounced by the people in public assemblies at the conclusion of prayers (1Co 14:16), and since that Jerome telleth us that the amen was so heartily sounded out by the church, that it seemed like a crack of thunder.
(1) Certainly it is good to conclude holy exercises with some vigour and warmth. Natural motion is swifter in the end and close; so should our spiritual affections be more vehement as we draw to a conclusion, and when the prayer is done, put out the efficacy of our faith and holy desires in a strong Amen, that it may be to you according to the requests of your hearts, and you may come away from the throne of grace as those that have had some feeling of Gods love in your consciences, and are persuaded that He will accept you, and do you good in Jesus Christ.
(2) There should be an amen to our praises as well as to our prayers, that we may express our zeal and affection to Gods glory as well as to our own profit. Our hallelujahs should sound as loud as our supplications, and we should as heartily consent to Gods praises as to our own requests.
(3) In desiring the glory of God to all ages, we should express both our faith and love–faith in determining that it shall be, and love in desiring that it may be so with all our hearts. Both are implied in the word amen; it will be so whatever changes happen in the world. God will be glorious. The scene is often shifted, and furnished with new actors, but still God hath those that praise Him, and will have to all eternity. Well, then, let your faith subscribe, and put to its seal, To the glory of God in Christ; and let earnest love interpose, Lord, let it be so; yea, Lord, let it be so. Heartily desire it, and with the whole strength of your souls; set to your seals without fear, it is a request that cannot miscarry, and follow it with your hearty acclamations. (T. Manton.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling] Who alone can preserve you from the contagion of sin, and preserve you from falling into any kind of error that might be prejudicial to the interests of your souls; and thus to present you faultless, or, as many others read, , without spot, alluding to the spotted garment mentioned above.
Before the presence of his glory] Where nothing can stand that does not resemble himself, with exceeding great joy, in finding yourselves eternally out of the reach of the possibility of falling, and for having now arrived at an eternity of happiness.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Able to keep you from falling; from stumbling in your spiritual course, and so able to make you persevere to the end.
Before the presence of his glory; or, his glorious presence, i.e. before himself, Eph 5:27. Having exhorted these saints to perseverance in the faith, he now tells them in whose strength they must stand, and to whom they are to give the glory of it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Concludingdoxology.
Now Greek,But.
you Alford, on inferior authority, reads, them. Youis in contradistinction to those ungodlymenmentioned above.
keep… from falling rather, guard … (so as to be) withoutfalling,or stumbling.
faultless Greek,blameless.
beforethe presence of his glory that is, beforeHimself,when He shall be revealed in glory.
withexceeding joy literally, with exultation as of those who leapfor joy.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling,…. The people of God are liable to falling into temptation, into sin, into errors and mistakes, from an exercise of grace, or from a degree of steadfastness in Gospel truths, and even into a final and total apostasy, were it not for divine power; and they are not able to keep themselves. Adam, in his state of innocence, could not keep himself from falling; nor could the angels, many of whom fell, and the rest are preserved by the grace of God; wherefore, much less can imperfect sinful men keep themselves, they want both skill and power to do it; nor can any, short of Christ, keep them, and it is his work and office to preserve them; they were given to him with this view, and he undertook to do it; and sensible sinners commit themselves to him, as being appointed for that purpose; and this is a work Christ has been, and is, employed in, and he is every way qualified for it: he is “able” to do it, for he is the mighty God, the Creator and upholder of all things; and as Mediator, he has all power in heaven and in earth; instances of persons kept by him prove it; and there is such evidence of it, that believers may be, and are persuaded of it: and he is as willing as he is able; it is his Father’s will he should keep them, and in that he delights; and as he has undertook to keep them, he is accountable for them; besides, he has an interest in them, and the greatest love and affection for them; to which may be added, that the glory of the Father, Son, and Spirit, in man’s salvation, depends on the keeping of them: and what he keeps them from is, from falling by temptations, not from being tempted by Satan, but from sinking under his temptations, and from being devoured by him; and from falling by sin, not from the being or commission of sin, but from the dominion of it, and from the falling into it, so as to perish by it; and from falling into damnable heresies; and from the true grace of God, and into final impenitence, unbelief, and total apostasy. Instead of “you”, the Alexandrian copy reads “us”, and some copies “them”:
and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy; to himself, in this present state of things, as washed in his blood, and justified by his righteousness, and hereafter in the millennium state, and in the ultimate glory; and also to his Father, and this he died to do, and in some sense did it at his death, even in the body of his flesh, through death, and now as the representative of his people in heaven; and will at the last day, when he will deliver them up complete and perfect; all which is in consequence of his suretyship engagements: and this presentation is made “before the presence of his glory”; either before the glorious presence of Christ, or Christ himself, who is glorious, and will appear in glory, in his own, and in his Father’s, and in his holy angels; or else before the glorious presence of God the Father, and who is glory itself: and the condition in which the saints are, and will be presented, is “faultless”; though they have sinned in Adam, and were so wretchedly guilty and filthy in their nature state, so prone to backslidings, and guilty of so many after conversion, and though a body of sin and death is carried by them to the grave; yet they will at last be presented by Christ in perfect holiness, in complete righteousness, and in the shining robes of immortality and, glory. The manner in which they will be presented is “with exceeding joy”; in themselves, for what they shall be delivered from, from sin and sorrow, and every enemy, and for the glory and happiness they shall then enjoy; and also in the ministers of the Gospel, who will then bring their sheaves with joy, and then will their converts be their joy and crown of rejoicing; and likewise this presentation will be with the joy of angels, for if they rejoice at the conversion of men, much more at their glorification; and even with the joy of Father, Son, and Spirit.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
From stumbling (). Verbal from , to stumble (Jas 3:2; 2Pet 1:10), sure-footed as of a horse that does not stumble (Xenophon), and so of a good man (Epictetus, Marcus Antoninus).
Before the presence of his glory ( ). Late compound preposition (, , ), right down before the eye of his glory as in Eph 1:4. Cf. Matt 25:31-33; Col 1:22, where Paul has like here (first aorist active infinitive) and also as here, but in 2Pe 3:14.
In exceeding joy ( ). See Lu 1:14.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
To keep you from falling [ ] . Lit., ” to keep you without stumbling. Only here in New Testament. See the kindred word offend. Rev., stumble, Jas 2:10; Jas 3:2.
Exceeding joy [] . See on 1Pe 1:6.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Now unto him who is able”, Jude turns to the final salutation, not in his own name, but in the name of life’s central dynamo of life, light, and self-existing power to, (Greek to de dunameno), meaning, “the able one”, Heb 7:25. He is the one who is able to guard, defend, and save to the uttermost, who ever Iives, never sleeps at the throne, as advocate, attorney, defender, intercessor for the redeemed, till Satan and his horde of demon accusers are cast out 1Jn 2:1-2; Rev 12:9-10.
2) “To keep you from failing”, (Greek phulaphasi) to guard – (autous) them, the weak among the sanctified, (aptaistous) away from stumbling, pitfalls – He guards by His word, His Spirit, and His shepherds Psa 119:105; Psa 119:111; Psa 119:130, Psa 23:4. Follow these and stumble not as he guards.
3) “And to Present you faultless, before the presence of his glory.” (Greek stasai) to set forth or present them, even the weaker among the sanctified, (Greek katenopion) “face to face” with his glory, as (Greek amomous) meaning without blame, blemish, or spotless. This he can do because he has his own atoning blood which he offers before the throne as he makes daily intercession for all his children. Heb 4:14-16; Heb 9:22-24; Heb 7:25.
4) “With exceeding joy ‘. (Greek en hagalasei) meaning jubilant, victorious joy! This means to cause to leap up and down. What a day! What a day! When Jesus presents us to the Father in all His Glory presence with life’s journey ended and sin’s scars all gone. What a graduation day, all because of Him -until then let each sanctified one, each saint seek to give Him honor, and glory, and service in the Church. Eph 3:21.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you. He closes the Epistle with praise to God; by which he shews that our exhortations and labors can do nothing except through the power of God accompanying them. (204)
Some copies have “them” instead of “you.” If we receive this reading, the sense will be, “It is, indeed, your duty to endeavor to save them; but it is God alone who can do this” However, the other reading is what I prefer; in which there is an allusion to the preceding verse; for after having exhorted the faithful to save what was perishing, that they might understand that all their efforts would be vain except God worked with them, he testifies that they could not be otherwise saved than through the power of God. In the latter clause there is indeed a different verb, φυλάξαι, which means to guard; so the allusion is to a remoter clause, when he said, Keep yourselves
END OF THE EPISTLE OF JUDE
(204) The doxology is as follows, —
“
To the only wise God (or, to the wise God alone) our Savior, be glory and greatness, might and dominion, both now and through all ages.”
“
Dominion” ( ἐξουσία) is the right to govern, imperial authority or power; “might” ( κράτος) is strength to effect his purpose, omnipotence; “greatness” ( μεγαλωσύνη) comprises knowledge, wisdom, holiness, and everything that constitutes what is really great and magnificent; and ( δόξα) is the result of all these things which belong to God; all terminate in his glory. The ultimate issue is first mentioned, then the things which lead to it. It is by acknowledging his sovereign power, his capacity to exercise that power — his omnipotence, and his greatness in everything that constitutes greatness, that we give him the glory, the honor, and the praise due to his name. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Jud. 1:24. Able to keep you.Whatever may be said about your self-efforts, the supreme truth is that God can keep, and your supreme hope should rest on the assurance that He is keeping. Falling.Better stumbling, or the mistakes that may lead to a fall. Of His glory.That associated with His second coming.
Jud. 1:25. Only wise God.Better to the wise God alone. R.V. to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Both now and ever.R.V. before all time, and now, and for evermore Before all time is exactly before the whole on, for ever is literally unto all the ages or ons.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jud. 1:24-25
Gods Work in Souls.This beautiful doxology breathes of the apostolic spirit seen in others. See Rom. 16:27; Eph. 5:27; Col. 1:22; and 1Ti. 3:3. The additional words, , are not contained in many MSS., although most recent editors have included them in their text. We are inclined to omit them, but not on strong grounds, principally on the ground that their presence in the text does not well agree with the incisive style of this apostle. We have placed in brackets, because internal evidence is against it. We think that here, as at 1Ti. 2:3 and Tit. 1:3; Tit. 3:4, refers to God the Father, and not to Jesus Christ, whose name probably was not in the original, but inserted in the margin, and later incorporated with the text.
I. Supplication.Now unto Him who is able to guard you from stumbling, and to place you before His glorious presence with exceeding joy. The fervent desire contained in this word starts as if with the consciousness of the presence of the seductive teaching of the false teachers.
1. God is able to guide His people. He will give His angels charge over thee, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. It is the Spirit that guides into all truth, and prevents stumbling against error. Lead us not into temptation, is one of the petitions in the Lords Prayer, because the faithful are liable to commit sin under pressure. I will guide thee with Mine eye, is a promise to those who walk in the narrow path.
2. God is able to consummate the work of grace. The end will be glorious, because the saints will be perfect. The presentation at court will be made with greeting. The congratulations of heaven will be with exceeding joy. There are many sources of joy, but redemption will exceed all others in degree and duration. The words of the parable are identicalWell done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
II. The ascription.To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and through all the ages. That is, let the God of glory and majesty be revered and praised in time and in eternity.
1. Praise the being of God. He dwells in light, and in Him is no darkness. The effulgence of the Divine presence is light inaccessible. In creation and redemption there is a reflexion of that gloryThe heavens declare the glory of God, etc. His greatnessmajestyis unsearchable. He is incomprehensible. A sense of His greatness mingles reverence with praiseMy soul doth magnify the Lord.
2. Praise His government. His dominion is from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. The idea is that His kingdom is co-extensive with all creation. His power or authority is paramount. Rebellion is temporary; He must rule until all enemies are under His feet. Even the last enemydeathwill be vanquished. The Christian is never without joyous strains when he meditates upon the works of Jehovah. See the concluding paragraph of Psalms 103W. P.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Jud. 1:24. The Steadying Power of Christ.The work that Christ does in souls that are exposed to malign influences, and even to active temptations, is sometimes misconceived, and even misrepresented. It is thought that Christ is with us in the temptation, to guard us from it, to defend us from its evil influence. It is altogether truer, and it is certainly deeper and more searching to say, that Christ is in us, the inspiration and the help in our battling with and overcoming the temptation. A doctor may actually deal with a disease which afflicts us; but it is altogether a higher type of doctor who deals with us, and so nourishes our vitality that we can successfully throw off the disease. It is something on a slippery day to cling to a friends arm, and be kept from stumbling. But it is a much greater thing to be made so steady in limb, and so self-controlled in movement, that we can walk the slippery highways without fear. Christ keeps from falling by His grace in us steadying us.
The Aim and Hope of Christ.To present you faultless. R.V. To set you before the presence of His glory without blemish. St. Judes precise point is usually missed. It is when the continuous sanctifying work of Christ is thought of. It is true that when sanctified wholly we may be presented faultless. But St. Jude means that Christ wants to present His people as those who have not fallen, under the enticements of the world, the flesh, the devil. Christ makes us clean when we come to Him, and He is willing to give such grace that we may step into heaven clad in unstained garments. His grace is sufficient for that; and that is what He wants. Should not that be what we wantthat Christ should present us as virgin souls, kept pure, always pure, through His abounding grace?
Moral Purity: what it is, and what it gains.Notice how we have here the great end to which this upholding leadsAble to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To Jude, then, that future had three salient points. The great range of mountains, as it were, towered up into three peaks, each of them smitten by the sunlight, and so made visible across the waste. And these three are, after all speculation and revelation, the sum of what we really know about that blessed heaven to which we aspirefaultless before His presencewith exceeding joy. As to the first, it indicates moral purity. The word is the same as is used to describe the physical perfection of the sacrificial lamb, which was to be without blemish, and is thence transferred to describe the immaculate holiness of Christs manhood and of His servants, who are one day to be holy and without blame before Him in love. The unspotted and unblemished lamb was the typeChrist Himself. So not only may we be kept without stumbling here; but the foulest and the darkest of us, in whose nature sin may seem to be most deeply engrained, may humbly expect to stand in His presence without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Here the nature may be one field of black, broken only by narrow and short streaks of contradictory light; but yonder all the foulness may be discharged from it, and sin lie behind us, an alien power that has nothing in us. That is the first of the mountain summits, up to which the good hand of the Lord our God may lead us, devious and tottering though our steps be there. And the second of them lies by the side of the first, equal in altitude, equal in radiancebefore His presence. If we are to connect that clause directly with the one which precedes it, it is intended to heighten the conception of the purity. If it is without blemish when it is submitted to the searching of that fierce light, it must be unblemished indeed. But if we take the words not to be thus connected, but to present a separate though cognate thought, they present the hope of a complete immersion in, and illumination by, the glorious presence in which we shall walk. Purity is the condition of that. We must be blameless in order to stand in the presence of God. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.A. Maclaren, D.D.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CONCLUSION: A BELIEVER GUARDED SECURELY IN THE STATE OF HIS CHOICE
Jud. 1:24-25
Text
24.
Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy,
25.
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.
Queries
98.
Since God is able to keep us from falling, does this imply that God will keep us from rejecting Him and from choosing to wallow in sin again?
99.
In what sense will God keep us from falling? (see question 91)
100.
What does it mean to be presented before God faultless?
101.
Analyze all the equalities of God that are mentioned in Jud. 1:25. (Do not neglect the very last phrase).
Paraphrases
A. 24.
Now we conclude by pointing to the one who is able to keep you from stumbling in sin, if you so wish to be kept. He will honor your choice of grace by receiving you in His holy presence without any spot of sin. Oh, what joy!
25.
To Him who is the only God and Savior, through no other way except through our Lord Jesus, who is the Christ; belongs His excelling regal dignity, His mighty strength and rule, throughout all eternity beyond time itself.
B.*24.
And nowglory to Him Who alone is God, Who saves us
25.
through Jesus Christ our Lord; yes, splendor and majesty, all power and authority are His from the beginning; His they are and His they evermore will be. And He is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, into His glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy. AMEN.
Summary
In conclusion let us look to our only God who saves us through Jesus, and give Him His proper place in our life and praise. Amen.
Comment
How fitting that the conclusion would take the reader back to facts concerning God and His salvation through Christ, for these are the very facts attacked by the loose-living libertines. These libertines are evidently the forerunners of the Gnostic element within the church, for by their loose example the Gnostics were enabled to infilter the church with their particular brand of apostasy during the second century.
There is only one God, contrary to the brand of apostasy developed by the Gnostics. Jesus is the Christ, again contrary to the Gnostic heresy. All perfection, rule, power, and majesty belong to Him, and not to any so-called superior god, nor to any sect or privileged group.
This God has ordained to redeem us through Jesus Christ, and no other. He will present us faultless, without any spot or wrinkle of sin, because we are washed in the blood of Jesus and only for this reason. The saints will be put in the full view of His glory and will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1Pe. 1:8).
He not only legally absolves us from blame, but He presents us faultless. We are made internally pure and eternally unblemished. To such a one we can only marvel in His wisdom, and glorify His majesty, and submit to His dominion, and be eternally thankful for His keeping power.
What a conclusion to an exhortation to contend earnestly for the faith! In an age as today, when atheism is the byword in public education, where the fear and worship of God are prohibited, when philosophers and men of science openly ridicule the idea of God, when sensuousness has become a way of life so common it is seldom noticed; here and now, our God is able and willing to keep us spotless and pure in Him through Jesus Christ our Lord. God help us also to be willing!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(24, 25) Concluding Doxology.
(24) Now unto him that is able.Comp. the conclusion Rom. 16:25. It would be rash to infer from the similarity that St. Jude must have known the Epistle to the Romans; although there is nothing incredible in the supposition that he was acquainted with it. The Epistle had been in circulation probably for some ten years before St. Jude wrote. Doxologies no doubt became elastic formulas almost from the first.
To keep you from falling.Better, to keep you unfallen. From his own warnings, denunciations, and exhortations, which have been severe and sombre throughout, St. Jude turns in joyous, exulting confidence to Him who alone can make them effectual. Keep you, or, guard you: not the more general word translated preserved in Jud. 1:1, but another more in harmony with the present context, as indicating protection against the great perils just pointed out. A reading of much authority has them for youto keep them unfallen. If it be correct, it may be explained as being in thought, though not in form, addressed to God, so that those to whom he is writing are spoken of in the third person.
Before the presence of his glory.The glory that shall be revealed at the day of judgment. The meaning is, Who can bring it to pass that you stand blameless before the judgment-seat (Col. 1:22; 1Th. 3:13).
(25) To the only wise God our Saviour.The coupling of Saviour with God is common in the Pastoral Epistles (1Ti. 1:1; 1Ti. 2:3; Tit. 1:3; Tit. 2:10; Tit. 3:4). Wise must be omitted as wanting in authority. (See Note on Rom. 16:27.) Doxologies became well-known forms with many variations: changes to something more familiar to the copyist might easily be made in transcribing.
After Saviour must be inserted, on the highest MS. authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Wiclif and the Rhemish have the missing clause.
Glory and majesty, dominion and power. Omit the first and. Glory and dominion are frequent in the New Testament doxologies: the Greek words represented by majesty and power occur here only. After power we must supply, on overwhelming authority, before all time. Consequently is may be substituted for be before glory; but no verb is needed.
Both now and ever.Better, and now and to all the ages; so that the whole will run thus: To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, glory, majesty, dominion, and power, before all time, and now, and to all the ages. Thus we have a most comprehensive phrase for eternitybefore time, time, after timeand thus the three-fold arrangement runs through to the very end.
Amen.Common ending of a doxology. (Rom. 1:25; 1Pe. 4:11; 2Pe. 3:18.) These ungodly men may despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities, may utter great swelling words about their own knowledge and liberty, and scoff at those who walk not with them; but still, ages before they were born, and ages after they have ceased to be, glory, majesty, dominion, and power belong to Him who saves us, and would save even them, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24. Closing doxology.
Now Literally, but. The now impresses the reader as announcing the close of the train of thought and the starting of a liturgical conclusion, which is here applicable, but not the true thought of the word. The purpose is to contrast the perseverance and blamelessness of the beloved with the secession and impurity of the errorists. This doxology is in the spirit and style of Rom 16:25.
Keep you Assuming it to be your purpose to be kept. For you many copies have them; and then it is a sort of closing prayer of the writer, apart, for them, his readers, his beloved brethren. But Tischendorf has you, which is far more natural.
From falling Into the corruptions and apostasies of these separatists.
Faultless Unstained from the spots of Jud 1:23.
Before his glory Presence of, might here be omitted, and his glory is almost a name for the divine Being. But the antithesis between keep and present suggests that the keeping is to be during our probation, and the presenting faultless is to be before the judgment throne.
Exceeding joy Literally, a leaping for joy; an exultant jubilation over an accomplished work.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Final Assurance ( Jud 1:24-25 ).
Jude closes his letter with an assurance to all true believers that they need not fear what the future may hold, because in the face of all that they are dealing with, the one and only God their Saviour is able to bring them through safely into His presence free from all blemish. For salvation is of the Lord.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
‘Now to him who is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.’
In these magnificent words regularly cited throughout the world Jude assures his readers that their salvation is safe in the hands of God, the only Saviour. And this is because:
‘He is able’ – what can be more certain than that, the ability of an Almighty, Sovereign God? Here is a guarantee indeed, of the certainty of what will be, a certainty beyond all certainties, for it depends solely on the might and power of God (compare1Co 1:8-9).
‘To guard them from stumbling’ – For like a shepherd He can protect them in all their ways and ensure by the use of His rod and staff that nothing can cause them to stumble and fall.
‘And to set them before the presence of His glory’ – and they can be sure that once the journey is safely over He will set them before the presence of His glory. There they will see Him face to face, and will behold His fully manifested splendour and beauty in all its glory.
‘Without blemish’ – while they themselves will be presented as spotless and without blemish, holy, unblameable and unreproveable in His sight (Col 1:22; Eph 5:27).
In exceeding joy – and there they will know joy unspeakable and full of glory (1Pe 1:8).
And Who is this Who can do all this for us? It is the One and only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our one and only Lord.
No wonder then that Jude prays ‘And so may there be to Him glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.’
In other words God is everything, and does everything through His Son. He is thus the One to Whom all glory, all majesty, all dominion and all power have belonged, do now belong, and will for ever belong, from before all time, through the present, into the eternal future. It is God Who is all in all. And all this ‘through Jesus Christ our Lord’. For Father and Son work together with the Holy Spirit in bringing home to Himself the heirs of salvation.
Here is Jude’s final answer to the godless persons. There is only one God, and there is only one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. All that the only and eternal God was, and is, and will be, is His ‘through Jesus Christ our Lord’. So He also is all in all. In the words of John, ‘all that the Father has is Mine — for I and My Father are One (in every way)’ (Joh 16:15; Joh 10:30).
Concluding doxology:
v. 24. Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
v. 25. to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Here is both praise of God and wonderful comfort for the believers: But to Him that is able to preserve you from slipping and to set you before His glory blameless in exultation, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, be glory, majesty, strength, and authority before all ages and now and unto all ages. Amen. Where human strength and ability are insufficient, where all our power falls short of the goal, there the almighty, gracious power of our heavenly Father comes to our assistance. He is able to keep us so that our feet do not slip, that we do not stumble and fall. It is through His everlasting mercy that we shall be set before Him on the last day faultless, not in our own righteousness, but in that of our great Champion, and therefore filled with unspeakable joy and happiness. 1Th 5:23-24; Col 1:22; 1Pe 4:13. He it is to whom our praises rise now and in eternity, the one and only God, who is truly our Savior, both because He was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, and because He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for the sin and guilt of the whole world. To Him we therefore ascribe, in our prayer of praise and thanksgiving, all glory, majesty, strength, and authority, as it was in the beginning, before the beginning of time, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Rom 16:27; 1Ti 1:17. Amen, Amen, that is: Yea, yea, it shall be so.
Jud 1:24-25. Now unto him, &c. “Now, to conclude with a solemn doxology, which belongs, as to all the Persons in the adorable Godhead, so particularly to our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we have been speaking of under such characters as are peculiarly suitable to your encouragement and relief under all your present troubles (Jud 1:14-15; Jud 1:21); I would express it in the following lofty and endearing strain:To Him who has almighty power originally in himself as God, and all office authority and qualifications as Mediator; and, having graciously undertaken, is as willing as he is able,to preserve all that perseveringly trust in him from apostacy, from stumbling, and from falling into and by the errors of the wicked; and, after their state of warfare is accomplished, to present them to himself, and to his Father, a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish (Eph 5:27.), and should stand with complete acceptance in his immediate presence, when he shall appear in all his glory, and they shall appear with him in glory (Col 3:4.), and with triumphant and extatic joy; and all the glorified saints and holy angels shall exceedingly rejoice to all eternity.To this God our Saviour, who, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is infinitely, originally, essentially and communicatively the only wise God: to him, as well as to those other adorable Persons, be ascribed, as is equally due, all the glory of his divine nature and attributes as God, and of all his love and grace, designs, undertakings, and performances, as likewise all the grandeur of heavenly Majesty as God-man Mediator, together with universal rule and government, might and authority, over all persons and things, in the kingdom of providence and of grace, now, henceforth, and for evermore. In this ascription of glory, may we and all the saints and angels join, as with one heart and voice! Amen.” It seems to me, that the divine Person here most immediately intended, is our Lord Jesus Christ, who is principally spoken of all along in the preceding context, and is often styled, by way of eminence, The Saviour, and God our Saviour, as in Eph 5:23. Php 3:20. Tit 2:13. 2Pe 1:1; 2Pe 1:21 and is here called the only wise God (Jud 1:25.), not to the exclusion of the Father and the Holy Spirit, but only of all idols. And as his presenting his saints faultless before the presence of his glory, manifestly relates to the time of his glorious appearing to judgment, for executinga dreadful sentence on the ungodly, and shewing mercy to his faithful saints unto eternal life; so this exactly agrees with the work which is peculiarly ascribed to him, as the Saviour of the body and Head of the church (Eph 5:23-27.). But I do not find that the presentation of the church at the last day is ever ascribed to God the Father. Mr. Jones, in his “Catholic Doctrine of a Trinity,” chap. 1: art. 41 reasons on this text as follows: “That is, the only wise God who is able to present us before the presence of his glory; but Christ is to present us, as members of the church in glory, to himself (Eph 5:27.); therefore He is the only wise God, to whom also appertains the presence of glory; for that is no other than his own presence; himself. This is another express instance, that , the only God, is not ‘God in one person,’ but the Unity of the Trinity: for, if you confine this phrase (with the Arians) to the single person of the Father, then of course you exclude the person of Christ; and then, it is manifest, you contradict the scripture: for, though it be affirmed in this place, that the only wise God is to present us before his own presence, yet the same is elsewhere expressed by Christ’s presenting us to himself; which is no way to be accounted for, unless you believe Christ to be a partaker in the being, attributes, and offices of the one, undivided, only wise God, our Saviour:and then there is no further difficulty.”
Inferences.Let those, who have the honour of being numbered among the disciples of Christ, stand at the remotest distance from the evils with which the unhappy creatures described in this epistle are branded by the apostle. And may divine grace preserve all his churches from such spots in their feasts of charity! May our horizon be secured from those dark and gloomy clouds without water; the plantations of God among us be free from the incumbrance and disgrace of those withered and fruitless trees, twice dead, and plucked up by the roots! How illustrious was the prophesy, with which Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was inspired; and how precious is that fragment of antediluvian history, which is here preserved, and which shall surely be accomplished in its season! The day is now much nearer, when the Lord will come with ten thousands of his saints: may the ungodly remember it, and suppress in time the speeches which will then assuredly be reproved, and repent of the deeds, which, if unrepented of, however forgotten now, will be brought into open view, and draw down upon their heads the destruction which at present seems to linger. That we may have confidence before him at his coming, let us remember the words of the apostle, and implore the influences of the divine Spirit, which sensualists, who walk after their own lusts, quench and stifle, and which they mock and deride. Let us, however, be concerned to edify ourselves in our most holy faith, and to pray in the Holy Ghost, under his influence, direction, and assistance. The security of the heart amid so many temptations, and its richest cordial in all its afflictions, is the love of God: but how soon does the celestial flame languish and die, if it be not constantly fed with new fuel! Let it then be our care in humble dependance upon divine grace, to keep ourselves in the love of God; which will be cherished in proportion to that degree of faith and hope, with which we look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life: for what can so powerfully excite our love to God as such a consideration?
If we do expect it, let us express our regard to the salvation of others, as well as to our own; and apply ourselves to those who seem to be in danger, with such different addresses of awe or tenderness, as their different circumstances and tempers may require. But some way or another let us exert ourselves to pluck them out of the fire, who are in danger of falling into it, and perishing for ever. REFLECTIONS.1st, The apostle opens with,
1. An account of the sacred penman. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, whose highest honour is to minister in the gospel; and brother of James, the son of Alpheus.
2. The persons to whom it is addressed. To them that are sanctified by God the Father, entirely devoted to his service through the influence of his grace; and preserved in Jesus Christ, brought into the fellowship of his religion, and guarded by his grace in the midst of a thousand snares; and called to the participation of those gospel privileges which Jesus hath purchased, and God the Father promised to bestow on the faithful followers of his Son. Note; Hope towards God, without holiness, is but delusion.
3. The apostolical benediction. Mercy unto you from a pardoning God, and peace flowing from a sense of his reconciliation, and love both to him and towards each other, be multiplied.
4. He exhorts them to hold fast the truth which they had received both in doctrine and practice. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, which all believers enjoy through our adored Redeemer and Saviour; it was become needful for me to write unto you, because of the multitude of deceivers, and exhort you, that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints, firmly holding fast the unadulterated doctrines of truth, and zealously maintaining them against all heretical opposers. Note; (1.) The salvation of the gospel is a common salvation for Jews and Gentiles, and sinners of every kind without exception. (2.) They who have received the truth, in the light and love of it, need be exhorted still to stand fast against all the wiles of deceivers. (3.) That faith which God, by his inspired servants, once delivered to his saints, for the use of his church to the latest ages, we must contend for, not with anger, or carnal weapons, but with holy zeal, tempered with meekness, and arguments drawn from the sacred treasury of the scriptures.
5. He describes the false teachers against whom they need be on their guard. For there are certain men crept in unawares, by craft and subtilty into the church and the ministry, who were before of old ordained or registered to this condemnation, by God’s righteous sentence denounced against crimes like theirs, long before they appeared in the world; (see the Annotations;) ungodly men, whose spirit, temper, and conduct, are directly opposite to the divine will and word; turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, perverting the richest doctrines of grace to the vilest purposes of impurity, and abusing them to encourage men in all immorality with the hopes of impunity; denying the only Lord God, in works, if not in words; practical, if not speculative atheists; and rejecting also the gospel testimony concerning the person, character, and offices of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note; (1.) Deceivers were rife in every age; we need not wonder therefore if such ungodly men are found in our own, perverting the glorious grace of the gospel. (2.) They who are vile upon principle, and plead God’s word to countenance their impurities, are of all men most desperately wicked. (3.) When ungodly men meet their appointed condemnation, they receive but the just reward of their deeds.
2nd, The apostle, to enforce his warnings, reminds them of the judgment which God formerly executed on such ungodly men. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, the perpetual memory of which needs to be preserved; and it is good to be often reminded of these things, that they may be present before our minds, and the impression of them more deep and lively.
Three awful instances of divine vengeance are enumerated, to warn and deter others from the like crimes. Remember, 2. That the angels (though creatures of such superior excellence and dignity, according to original creation,) which kept not their first estate, who were not content with the station allotted them, but left their own habitation, affecting to be as the Most High, and were therefore hurled from those bright regions which were before their blest abode;these he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, like criminals fast bound in prison, and kept in custody, in spiritual darkness, misery, and black despair, unto the judgment of the great day, when sentence will finally be executed upon them, and their torment be as complete as eternal. And if God thus punished rebel angels, what severity shall not they meet with, who fight against the word of his truth, and the honour of his Son! Apostates in heaven or earth must perish together.
3. Another instance of God’s wrath is produced. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, Admah and Zeboim, in like manner abandoned to impurity, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, guilty of the most shocking acts of uncleanness, and the most unnatural crimes, are set forth for an example of God’s tremendous wrath, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire; the liveliest image of what the damned must endure in the lake which burneth with tire and brimstone for ever and ever. Woe to those who are partakers of their sins! the same fearful vengeance awaits them.
3rdly, The apostle describes these seducers as guilty of the same crimes which had brought down wrath both on sinning angels and ungodly men. 2. They cast off all respect for lawful authority. They despise dominion, treating the civil government with insolence and contempt; and speak evil of dignities, reviling the persons of magistrates, and those who are high in office. Yet even Michael the archangel, eminent as his rank and station is, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, wicked as he was, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. And therefore if the devil himself, wicked as he is, was not rebuked with railing, much less ought any magistrates or rulers whom God hath ordained, to be treated with insolence and indignity. But these seducers speak evil of those things which they know not, ignorant of the excellence and importance of religion and of the scriptures, and of the usefulness of that ministry and magistracy against which they rail: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, governed merely by their sensitive appetites,in those things they corrupt themselves, giving a loose to all their brutish passions, without fear or shame, till they bring upon themselves swift destruction. Note; When men live like beasts, they must expect to perish like devils.
3. They copied the vilest examples. Wo unto them! the most fearful vengeance hangs over them; for they have gone in the way of Cain, filled with his malignant spirit and envy, hatred, and murder toward the righteous, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, ambitious, proud, covetous, and, like that wicked prophet, insatiate after gain; and they have perished in the gainsaying of Core, like those rebels who rose up against Moses and Aaron, and ready with them to be swallowed up in the yawning pit of hell. Note; Companions with sinners must expect to share their plagues.
4. He describes these deluders under a variety of images. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear; whether in a way of civil intercourse, or religious communion, they let loose their luxurious appetites, without any fear of that judgment which awaits them: clouds they are without water, that seem to promise rain, but prove like noxious vapours, or noisome fogs, carried about with winds, variable, and tossed about with every blast of error; trees whose fruit withereth, deceiving our expectations and bringing nothing to maturity; without fruit, their specious appearances, like blasted fruit, drop off, and the hypocrite and apostate are detected; twice dead, by nature and grace, plucked up by the roots, and thus irrecoverably ruined; all hope respecting them is become desperate, and they are now only fit fuel for the flames; raging waves of the sea, turbulent, ungovernable, foaming out their own shame, belching forth their blasphemies against Christ, or their reproaches against his cause and people; wandering stars, resembling fiery meteors that kindle in the atmosphere, and, after a momentary blaze, are extinguished; or, like the comets, wandering wide from the system of truth and holiness; or, like opaque planets, being spiritually dark, possessing no real light in themselves; to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever, in that place where total despair completes the misery of the damned, whose worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched.
4thly, We have, 2. A farther description of these wicked men. These are murmurers, against God and his providences; complainers, discontented with their condition in life; finding fault with the doctrines and dispensations of the Lord; walking after their own lusts, gratifying every vile and sensual appetite without restraint: and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, making a pretended ostentation of their knowledge and piety, while they are in the very depth of error, and in the gall of bitterness; having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage; caressing and flattering those, however vile, who are rich, in order to make gain of them. Note; (1.) Discontent with our lot is, in God’s sight, rebellion against his providence. (2.) Men-pleasers, and smooth-tongued flatterers of the great, have the sure brand upon them of ministers of Satan.
5thly, The apostle concludes, 2. With warm exhortations. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, on the glorious foundation of it, Jesus Christ, continue steadfast in your holy profession, seeking to establish each other in the truth: and, praying in the Holy Ghost, under his gracious teaching and influences, who helpeth our infirmities, keep yourselves in the love of God; use all appointed means to preserve and increase the heavenly fire, and to approve yourselves in all holy obedience and humble resignation; looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, and that complete felicity, both in body and soul, for which, if you obtain it, you must own yourselves wholly indebted to the riches of his grace. And of some have compassion, making a difference between those who err wilfully, and those who are misled through weakness and the wiles of deceivers, whom with all kindness and tenderness labour to recover from the snare: and others save with fear; using that sharpness, severity, and terror with them, which their more dangerous case requires; pulling them, if possible, out of the fire, which is ready to consume them; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh; detesting all impure conversation, and testifying an unremitting displeasure against sin, and whatever would lead thereto; as the Jews were under the law obliged to shun every touch that communicated defilement, and to burn the garment that had the spot of leprosy, Note; (1.) Faith in lively exercise, is the great preservative from all delusion. (2.) Prayer must be our daily employment,spiritual prayer, not the mere task of the lip and the knee, but the warm effusions of the heart, where the Holy Ghost abides. (3.) They who would keep themselves in the love of God, must carefully shun whatever they know must offend him. (4.) We should shew a holy jealousy over our brethren, tenderly desirous to snatch them from the dangers to which they are exposed; kindly warning them; and, where sharpness is needful, faithfully declaring those terrors of the Lord, which may rouse the lethargic conscience.
3. He closes with a solemn doxology. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, that blessed Jesus who alone can preserve you from all evil and apostacy through faith in him; and to present you faultless, perfect and without blame before the presence of his glory, in the great day of his appearing, with exceeding joy, when every tear shall be wiped from the eyes of his faithful people, and eternal triumphs fill their happy souls; to the only wise God our Saviour, in whom dwell all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Note; The service of eternity will begin even here below; and every faithful soul will delight to proclaim the Saviour’s praise.
*.* The Reader is referred to the different Authors mentioned often already.
Jud 1:24-25 . CONCLUSION OF THE EPISTLE BY A DOXOLOGY.
] THE SAME COMMENCEMENT OF THE DOXOLOGY IN Rom 16:27 .
] WERE THE CORRECT READING, WE COULD HARDLY DO OTHERWISE THAN REFER IT TO THE LAST-MENTIONED , TO WHICH IT IS UNSUITABLE, AS THEY ARE NOT , WHO, AS SUCH, REQUIRE ONLY . THAT JUDE ACTUALLY WROTE : “IN THE FLIGHT OF DEVOTION MAY HAVE TURNED FROM HIS READERS, AND SPOKE OF THEM IN THE THIRD PERSON” (DE WETTE), IS HIGHLY IMPROBABLE.
] . ., LITERALLY, WHO STRIKES NOT AGAINST; THEN FIGURATIVELY, WHO STUMBLES NOT, DOES NOT OFFEND; HERE IN THE MORAL SENSE AS , Jas 2:10 ; Jas 3:2 ; VULGATE: SINE PECCATO.
] SCHOTT CORRECTLY REMARKS ON : THE SECOND EFFECT IS THE ULTIMATE RESULT OF THE FIRST, SO THAT MIGHT BE RENDERED BY AND SO, AND ACCORDINGLY . IS HERE THE GLORY OF GOD, AS IT WILL BE MANIFESTED AT THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. ON , COMP. 1Co 1:8 ; Col 1:22 ; 1Th 3:13 . THE MEANING IS: “WHO CAN EFFECT IT THAT YE MAY APPEAR AS BEFORE HIS JUDGMENT-SEAT.”
] MENTIONS THE CONDITION IN WHICH CHRISTIANS WILL THEN BE FOUND; COMP. 1Pe 4:13 .
Jud 1:25 . ] SEE Jud 1:4 ; Joh 5:44 ; Rom 16:27 ; 1Ti 1:17 .
] MARKS, IN CONNECTION WITH ., THE ESSENTIAL CHRISTIAN ELEMENT IN THE IDEA OF GOD; ON AS A DESIGNATION OF GOD, COMP. 1Ti 1:1 . SCHOTT INCORRECTLY JOINS WITH , AS IF IT MEANT: “TO HIM WHO ALONE IS GOD, IN SUCH A MANNER THAT HE IS OUR SAVIOUR;” AND THE REASON WHICH HE ASSIGNS: “BECAUSE IS NEVER USED BY ITSELF, BUT ALWAYS OCCURS AS A DESIGNATION OF GOD RELATIVE TO OTHER ATTRIBUTES,” IS CONTRADICTED BY Joh 5:44 ; ALSO BY 1Ti 1:17 AND JUDE Jud 1:4 .
. ] BELONGS TO (SCHOTT), NOT TO . . . (WIESINGER); IN THIS LATTER CASE IT WOULD BE PUT AFTER .
, . . .] AND OCCUR FREQUENTLY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT DOXOLOGIES (SEE 1Pe 4:11 ); AND ONLY HERE; CORRESPONDS TO THE HEBREW , COMP. Deu 32:3 , LXX.: .
] BY THESE WORDS, WANTING IN THE REC., THE IDEA OF ETERNITY IS EXPRESSED IN THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE MANNER. NOT , BUT (DE WETTE, SCHOTT), IS TO BE SUPPLIED; COMP. 1Pe 4:11 .
] THE USUAL CONCLUSION OF DOXOLOGIES, AS IN Rom 1:15 ; 1Pe 4:11 , ETC.; IT STANDS IN THE EPISTLES TO THE GALATIANS AND HEBREWS, PROBABLY ALSO IN 2 PETER, AS HERE, AT THE END OF THE EPISTLE.
Jud 1:24-25
Contents:Conclusion and Doxology
24Now64 unto him that is able to keep you65 from falling, and to present66 you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25To the only wise67 God our Saviour,68 be glory and69 majesty, dominion and power,70 both now and ever,71 Amen.72
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Jud 1:24. But to Him that is able, etc.The praise of God blends with the comfortable assurance that God can and will keep them even to His throne.
this conclusion greatly resembles that in Rom 16:25. Jud 1:21 might suggest the doubt Shall we succeed to keep ourselves in the love of God? This doubt Jude solves by his reference to the power of God.
To keep you; . Protect you from the perils of seduction, and preserve you in love, Jud 1:21; cf. 2Th 3:3. [Alford: The occurrence of (which is almost beyond doubt the true reading instead of of Rec. or of A), can only be accounted for by the supposition that St. Jude writes here, as of all to whom he has been addressing himself, in the third person, as if he was praying to God for them. His reason for not using may have been his desire to include also in the term those who might be convicted, rescued from the fire, and compassionated, as well as his more immediate reader. But it is hardly likely, in the solemn close of his Epistle, that he should mean by those only.M.]
From falling; , found only here, from , to stumble or strike against, cf. 2Pe 1:10; Jam 3:2; Jam 2:10. Stier: Who does not make or has not made a false step in his walk.
In the presence of His glory; cf. 2Pe 1:17. A special manifestation of it will take place at Christs coming to judgment.
Set; in that decisive day He will set them on His right hand and own them as His own, 2Th 1:7; 2Th 1:10; Mat 25:33; 1Co 6:2-3; Rev 1:5-6; Rev 3:21; Rev 5:10.
Faultless; , Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Heb 9:14; 1Pe 1:19; Rev 14:5. Without the stains of sin, so that even the devil, the arch-blamer, cannot reproach them with any thing, after they have been cleansed and washed, cf. 2Pe 3:14; Php 2:15.
With exceeding joy., cf. 1Pe 4:13; 1Pe 1:6-9; 2Ti 2:10; Rev 19:7.
Jud 1:25. To the only (wise) God, etc.Amen.
, cf. 1Ti 1:17; Rom 16:27; applies to God the Father, cf. Joh 17:3; Rev. 15:14.
Our Saviour.A predicate of God the Father, as the above-mentioned clause is probably genuine, as in 1Ti 2:3, and as the Father is called in the Old Testament Saviour and Redeemer, 1Sa 14:39; Psa 106:21; 2Sa 22:3; 1 Chron. 17:35. He is our Saviour through the mediation of the Son, for belongs to , not to the sequel, cf. Tit 1:3; Tit 2:10; Tit 3:4. [See Appar. Crit., Jud 1:25, note 5.M.]
Glory (and) majesty.[See Appar. Crit., Jud 1:25; Jud 1:6.M.], cf. 2Pe 3:18; Rom 11:36; Rom 16:27; Rev 1:6; , cf. Deu 32:3, 70 =, Heb 1:3; Heb 8:1. His wonderful greatness, as He is called in Scripture the Highest and Most High.
(German: power), strength. According to Roos, the essential, immovable strength of the Divine Being, which fainteth not, neither grows weary (Isa 40:28).
[German: might), authority. His sovereignty, lordship and rule of all things. and are also found close together, 1Pe 4:11; 1Pe 5:11; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:13. Each of these attributes occurs in connection with one related to it. Stier defines the sense as follows: The glorious majesty and the greatness of the love of God is praised for the good out of His fulness given, restored and preserved to His own; His mighty power is praised for the conquest of evil unto the victory of salvation attending the former. We have probably to supply , as 1Pe 4:11.
Amen, similar to the conclusion of other doxologies, Rom 1:25; 2Pe 3:18; so it is; it is assuredly true.
[The clauses and have an important bearing, the first being directed against heretics who separated Jesus from Christ, and did not acknowledge Him as the Giver of all grace from God; the second as asserting the eternal pre-existence of Christ against the false teachers. (Wordsworth); from the latter, says Lillie, may be derived the liturgical formula: As it was in the beginning.M.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Rieger:That which is impossible with men, is possible with God, who gladly uses His Divine power both in the first wakening of faith, Eph 1:19, and in keeping us to the end, Joh 10:28. For the good wrought in and by the accomplishment of His purpose of grace, honour and majesty are due to Him; for the evil conquered in and by the same power and might be ascribed to Him. Faith ascribes this doxology now, and hope is assured that there will be abundant cause for it throughout eternity.
Starke:God can do all things by His grace; this is the consolation of His elect and servants, Php 4:13.O, eagerly-desired sight of the glory of Christ! Moses desired to see it in this life, and I cherish the same desire; but a sinful, guilty, mortal man may not see it, but in eternity I shall see it and not another, 1Jn 3:2; Psa 42:3, [cf. Job 19:27.M.].All the doings of men are evil, if they aim not at the spread of the honour and glory of God, 1Co 10:31.
Footnotes:
[64]Jud 1:24. [, but, better than now; here introduces an important thought, and is tantamount to: False teachers may seek for glory elsewhere, but you will ascribe it all to God through Christ. Wordsworth.M.]
[65]Jud 1:24. Tischendorf reads applying to the deceived. De Wette says that this difficult reading ought to be preferred. He thinks that the author, soaring in devotion, turns, as it were, away from the readers, and yet means them. Untenable. If is genuine, it would confirm the view that Jud 1:22-23 refer to deceived believers. [ is the reading of C. G., Rec., Elz., Lachm., Vulg., Syr., Arab., thiop., al.M.]
[66]Jud 1:24. [, German: stellen, to set. The only instance, out of 19, in which a transitive form of is translated present in E. V. Lillie.M.]
[67]Jud 1:25. , omitted in A. B. C. Sin., and rejected by Griesb., Scholz., Lachm., Tischend., al.; it has probably crept in from 1Ti 1:17; Rom 16:27. [German retains it.M.].
[68]Jud 1:25. Griesbach and other reliable authorities add: . So Tischendorf. [It is found in A. B. C., Sin., G., al., and is therefore the authentic reading.M.]
[69]Jud 1:25. [ after cancelled by Lachm., Tischend., Meyer, Peyle, Wordsworth, al. It is wanting in Cod. Sin.M.]
[70]Jud 1:25. Griesbach and others add after , . Comprehensive description of eternity. Tischendorf pronounces the reading well-authenticated. [It is found in A. B. C., Cod. Sin., G., received by Scholz, Lachm., Tischend., Alford, Wordsworth, al., but not adopted by Fronmller; it is the most authentic readingM.]
[71] Jud 1:25. [ , literally, unto all the ages, Germ.: unto all eternities. The Italian, tutti i secoli, and the French, tous les sicles, are the most literal versions.
[German of both verses:But to Him that is able to keep you inoffensively, and to set you before the face of His glorious majesty unblamable with exceeding joy, to the only wise God be glory and highness, strength and power both now and in all eternities. Amen. [72]Jud 1:25. [The Subscription: .. C. al.: . L. al.: . , , , . K.: . A.: B., Sin. Omitted by many Cursives.M.]
24, 25 .] CONCLUDING DOXOLOGY, conceived in terms referring to their state of danger and necessity of divine upholding. But (the , as in Rom 16:25 , closes off all other considerations and sums up all in this one. It is not at all given by the “now” of the E. V., which conveys a strictly temporal idea to the hearer) to Him that is able (exactly thus, Rom 16:25 ) to keep them (the occurrence of (which is almost beyond doubt the true reading instead of or ) can only be accounted for by the supposition that St. Jude writes here, as of all to whom he has been addressing himself, in the third person, as if he was praying to God for them. His reason for not using may have been his desire to include also in the term those who might be convicted, rescued from the fire, and compassionated, as well as his more immediate reader. But it is hardly likely, in the solemn close of his Epistle, that he should mean by , those only ) without falling (see reff.: and for , Jas 2:10 ; Jam 3:2 ), and to set ( them ) before-the-presence-of His glory (which will be revealed when the Son of man shall come, , Luk 9:26 , in the , Tit 2:13 ) blameless (see reff. and 1Th 3:13 ) in (element, in which they will be found) great-rejoicing (tripudiatio, the exuberance of triumphant joy: see reff.: and the verb in 1Pe 1:6 reff.), to the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord (on the union of with , see Prolegg. to Vol. III., ch. 7 1, 34. Observe the qualification here), be (on account of below, De Wette insists as necessary that , as 1Pe 4:11 , not , is here to be supplied. But might be in the Writer’s mind, while the precise periods embraced by it might rather be left to the fulness of his devout spirit than marked by strict precision) glory, majesty, might, and power, before all time (before the whole age, scil. of the world. Thus we have eternity “a parte ante”), and now (thus, time present), and to all the ages (thus, eternity “a parte post”). Amen (the ordinary conclusion of a doxology: cf. Rom 1:25 , 1Pe 4:11 (and 2Pe 3:18 , where as here it stands at the end of the Epistle)).
Jud 1:24-25 . Final Benediction and Ascription . I have bidden you to keep yourselves in the love of God; I have warned you against all impiety and impurity. But do not think that you can attain to the one, or guard yourselves from the other, in your own strength. You must receive power from above; and that it may be so, I offer up my prayer to Him, who alone is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you before the throne of His glory, pure and spotless in exceeding joy. To Him, the only God and Saviour, belong glory, greatness, might, and authority throughout all ages.
Jud 1:24 . . Apparently a reminiscence [801] of Rom 16:25 f., , , . Similarly the noble doxology in Eph 3:20 , commences . The reading is confirmed by the evidence of [802] and [803] , which was unknown to Alford when he endeavoured to defend the reading , found in KP and some inferior MSS.
[801] For the position and genuineness of this doxology see the Introduction and notes in Sanday and Headlam’s commentary, and the dissertations by Lightfoot and Hort in the former’s Biblical Essays , pp. 287 374.
[802] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
[803] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
. Occurs in 3Ma 6:39 , : used here only in the N.T. The verb has the same figurative sense in Jas 2:10 ; Jas 3:2 , , , 2Pe 1:10 , .
. Cf. Mat 25:31-33 , , Act 6:6 , , Col 1:22 , (which Lightfoot refers to present approbation rather than to the future judgment of God, comparing Rom 14:22 , 1Co 1:29 , 2Co 2:17 ; 2Co 4:2 ; 2Co 7:12 ; 2Co 12:19 ). In the present passage the addition of the words shows that the final judgment, the goal of , is spoken of. Hort, in his interesting note on 1Pe 1:19 , , traces the way in which the words “blame,” and “blameless,” come to be used (in “the Apocrypha, the N.T., and other books which presuppose the LXX”) in the entirely unclassical sense of “blemish” and “unblemished” cf. Eph 1:4 ; Eph 5:27 , Heb 9:14 . In 2Pe 3:14 , seems to be used in the same sense. The word is apparently confined to the Bible, where it occurs in Jos 1:5 ; Jos 21:42 , Lev 4:17 , Eph 1:4 , , is found in Hom. Il. 15:320. For see Hort’s note on 1Pe 1:6 , , “in whom ye exult”. The verb with its cognate substantives “is unknown except in the LXX and the N.T. and the literature derived from them, and in the N.T. it is confined to books much influenced by O.T. diction (Matt., Luke, Acts, 1 Pet., Jude, John, including Apoc.), being absent from the more Greek writers, St. Paul, and (except in quot.) Heb. It apparently denotes a proud exulting joy, being probably connected closely with , properly ‘to be proud of,’ but often combined with and such words.”
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jud 1:24-25
24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jud 1:24-25 This is one of the most beautiful prayers in the entire NT. What a stark contrast between these words of secure and confident faith and the arrogance and immorality of the false teachers.
Jud 1:24 “to Him who is able” This is a present middle (deponent) participle. God the Father continues to be able to perform His will in an evil world. This is a wonderful title for God.
1. “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ” (Rom 16:25)
2. “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph 3:20)
3. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling” (Jud 1:24)
“to keep you from stumbling” This metaphor of sure-footed horses is used to describe God’s care for faithful believers in Psa 121:3 (also cf. Psa 17:5; Psa 66:9; Psa 94:17-18) and stable believers in 2Pe 1:10. The book of Jude is characterized by those who have stumbled, but God is able to stabilize true believers.
“to make you stand” We are “guarded by God” so as to stand firm in faith (cf. Eph 6:11; Eph 6:13-14; Rom 5:2; 1Co 15:1).
SPECIAL TOPIC: CHRISTIAN ASSURANCE
“in the presence of His glory” “Glory” is an OT term for brightness. God’s presence is described as a glorious shining. Sinful mankind cannot approach this glorious light of purity and holiness. But now in Christ, believers have been transformed by God’s grace, Christ’s work, and the Spirit’s empowerment to approach and maintain fellowship with the Holy One of Israel. See Special Topic at Jas 2:1.
“blameless” This is an OT sacrificial term used of an animal without blemishes, acceptable for an offering on the altar of sacrifice. This phrase is used of (1) Christ’s blamelessness in 1Pe 1:19; (2) believers’ blamelessness (cf. Eph 1:4; Php 2:15; Col 1:22), which is only available in the finished sacrificial work of Christ (cf. 2Co 5:21; Col 1:22) and (3) the glorified church in Eph 5:20-27.
SPECIAL TOPIC: BLAMELESS, INNOCENT, GUILTLESS, WITHOUT REPROACH
“with great joy” In this eschatological setting, sorrow, suffering, sin, and temptation are no more. It has always been God’s will that His special creation (mankind) approach Him with joy and thanksgiving (cf. Psalms 100). Mankind’s fear is a terrible sign of the reality of rebellion.
Jud 1:25 “to the only God” This is a reference to monotheism (cf. Deu 6:4-5). It is grammatically parallel to (the dative) “to Him who is able” of Jud 1:24. We must hold to the OT affirmation of the oneness of God but add the NT emphasis on the Deity of Jesus and the personality of the Spirit. We affirm one divine essence but three eternal personal manifestations.
“our Savior” This is also used of God the Father (cf. Luk 1:47; 1Ti 1:1; 1Ti 2:3; 1Ti 4:10; Tit 1:3; Tit 2:10; Tit 3:4). It is an example of a title used both for the Father and the Son. Notice the usage in Titus:
1. “God our Savior” (Tit 1:3)
“Christ Jesus our Savior” (Tit 1:4)
2. “God our Savior” (Tit 2:10)
“our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13)
3. “God our Savior” (Tit 3:4)
“Jesus Christ our Savior” (Tit 3:6)
“through Jesus Christ our Lord” He is the only channel of God’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness to fallen mankind (cf. Joh 14:6; Act 4:12; 1Ti 2:5). He is God the Father’s agent of creation, salvation, and judgment. Every blessing and provision comes through Him (cf. Col 1:15-22).
It is interesting that 2Pe 3:18 closes in an affirmation of “glory” and eternality to Christ, while Jude closes with an affirmation to God the Father.
“glory” This is the splendor (Hebrew kabod) of the holiness of the one true God. This brightness attaches to everything in His presence (cf. 1Pe 4:11). See note at Jas 2:1.
“majesty” The root term is “great.” It is a periphrasis for God (cf. Heb 3:1; Heb 8:1). A related term is used of Christ in 2Pe 1:16.
NASB, NKJV”dominion”
NRSV”power”
TEV”might”
NJB”authority”
Paul and Peter use this term to describe God’s power unto the ages (cf. Rom 16:25-27; Eph 3:20; 1Ti 1:17; 1Pe 4:11; 1Pe 5:11). It describes God’s strength to accomplish His purposes (cf. Act 19:20; Eph 1:19).
“authority” This is the Greek term exousia, which means (1) freedom to act; (2) ability to act; (3) right (legal) to act; and therefore, (4) absolute power to act. It is used of God and in a derived sense of angels and human rulers.
This series of powerful terms describes the God who is able (versus the angels and false teachers who are not able) to deliver His promises.
“now” God is still able and ready to provide every need through Christ to Jude’s readers.
“forever” God’s character and promises are sure and trustworthy unto all the ages (cf. Psa 102:25-27 [Heb 1:1-11]; Mal 3:6; Heb 13:8; Jas 1:17).
keep = guard. Greek. phulassso. Compare Joh 17:12.
from falling = without falling. Greek. aptaistos. Only here. Compare Rom 11:11(stumble).
present = set, or make stand. See Act 22:30.
faultless = blameless. Greek. amomos. See Eph 1:4. Col 1:22.
before the presence of. Greek. katenopion. See 2Co 2:17.
glory. See p. 1511exceeding joy = exultation. Greek. agalliasis. See Act 2:46.
24, 25.] CONCLUDING DOXOLOGY, conceived in terms referring to their state of danger and necessity of divine upholding. But (the , as in Rom 16:25, closes off all other considerations and sums up all in this one. It is not at all given by the now of the E. V., which conveys a strictly temporal idea to the hearer) to Him that is able (exactly thus, Rom 16:25) to keep them (the occurrence of (which is almost beyond doubt the true reading instead of or ) can only be accounted for by the supposition that St. Jude writes here, as of all to whom he has been addressing himself, in the third person, as if he was praying to God for them. His reason for not using may have been his desire to include also in the term those who might be convicted, rescued from the fire, and compassionated, as well as his more immediate reader. But it is hardly likely, in the solemn close of his Epistle, that he should mean by , those only) without falling (see reff.: and for , Jam 2:10; Jam 3:2), and to set (them) before-the-presence-of His glory (which will be revealed when the Son of man shall come, , Luk 9:26, in the , Tit 2:13) blameless (see reff. and 1Th 3:13) in (element, in which they will be found) great-rejoicing (tripudiatio, the exuberance of triumphant joy: see reff.: and the verb in 1Pe 1:6 reff.), to the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord (on the union of with , see Prolegg. to Vol. III., ch. 7 1, 34. Observe the qualification here), be (on account of below, De Wette insists as necessary that , as 1Pe 4:11, not , is here to be supplied. But might be in the Writers mind, while the precise periods embraced by it might rather be left to the fulness of his devout spirit than marked by strict precision) glory, majesty, might, and power, before all time (before the whole age, scil. of the world. Thus we have eternity a parte ante), and now (thus, time present), and to all the ages (thus, eternity a parte post). Amen (the ordinary conclusion of a doxology: cf. Rom 1:25, 1Pe 4:11 (and 2Pe 3:18, where as here it stands at the end of the Epistle)).
Jud 1:24. , to keep you[11] free from stumbling) in contradistinction to those ungodly men. , for , refers to the preceding announcements, as Mat 23:37.- , before the presence of His glory) before the presence of Himself, when He shall he revealed most gloriously.-, without fault) in your own selves. This is antithetical to, free from stumbling.
[11] Why it is that both here and in the Germ. Vers. the pronoun has been translated by you (euch), this very note of the Gnomon indicates: to wit, the reading does not seem a probable one according to the decision of both Greek Ed.-E. B.
is the reading of B (according to Tisch.) and Stephens Rec. Text. , in C Vulg. and Elezev. Rec. Text. A has .-E.
Jud 1:24-25
SECTION FOUR
BENEDICTION
(Jud 1:24-25)
24 Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy,–The doxology is to Jesus Christ, our Saviour, whom the writer affirmed was, (a) able to guard his readers from stumbling; and (b) to set them before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy. The word “guard” indi-cates the protection which the Lord extends to his saints who “keep themselves” in his love (verse 21), a protection which ex-tends even to stumbling, an act to be distinguished from falling, since it is possible for one to stumble, and not necessarily to fall, To stumble is a step short of falling, and a condition precedent to it. It follows, therefore, that if one never stumbles, he will never fall. This passage does not teach the impossibility of apostasy; it is not affirmed that God guards all whether they keep themselves in his love or not; on the contrary, only those who avail themselves of the means of escape provided (1Co 10:12-13) are thus protected. The verb “to set” means, literally, “to cause to stand,” and this the Lord will do for those who are faithful to him to the end. Such shall stand before him “without blemish” (i.e., blame-less, faultless, pure), because they have kept themselves from de-filement, and have lived in such fashion as to merit his approval. These shall experience “exceeding joy” because of the marvelous blessings there to be vouchsafed them.
25 To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.–Jesus is called God be-cause he possesses the divine nature, was in the beginning with God, and is God. (Joh 1:1.) The glory, majesty, dominion and power here ascribed to him is past, present, and future, embracing all time, and the whole of eternity. And thus the Epistle closes on a note of genuine faith and trust in the Lord, having begun with a prayer and a petition that mercy, peace, and love might abound. Fearlessly Jude had rebuked the deceitful workers threatening the peace and security of the church; with scathing denunciation he had condemned those who corrupted the faith and sought to lead the saints astray and now, with tenderness and faith he commits his readers to the Source of all good–“to the only God our Saviour”–their Protector, Defender, and Lord. May we, through equal fidelity to his will and way, make him ours as well!
Commentary on Jud 1:24-25 by E.M. Zerr
Jud 1:24. This and the next verse are a form of praise to the Lord that is most impressive. Keep you from falling will be done according to 2Pe 1:10. Christ will present us faultless if we serve him in this life (Luk 12:8), and He will do this with exceeding joy to Him and us.
Jud 1:25. Transferring the praise to God directly Jude says He is only wise. That means that God is the First Cause of wisdom as He is of all things. Glory means grandeur and majesty means greatness. Dominion means domain and power means authority. Jude ascribes these dignities to God to last now and ever.
Commentary on Jud 1:24-25 by N.T. Caton
Jud 1:24.-Now unto him that is able.
That is, unto God. To him is this doxology addressed. God only is capable of so guarding our footsteps that we neither stumble nor fall. The Christian life is, metaphorically, called walking, so that falling into sin would be to a Christian, metaphorically, stumbling, and stumbling is the word here used. God guards and preserves us in our Christian walk, and so conducting ourselves here, we are presented faultless in the presence of his glory-glorious presence-with joy to ourselves and the redeemed hosts.
Jud 1:25.-To the only wise God our Savior.
He that guarded and guided us, even God, to him who is only wise-that is, wise without deriving his wisdom from any other source than himself-who conceived in his own infinite love the plan by which we are saved, and therefore our Savior-be ascribed the glory of infinite perfection and majesty-that is, honor throughout the entire universe, dominion and power, the right and authority to rule, both now and throughout eternity. Amen. Thus closes Jude’s epistle, and while many grand and striking doxologies appear from the pen of the heroic Paul, it strikes me that nothing in the English language can be found that is equal to this one of Jude’s in point of beauty, grandeur and sublimity.
We have now done.
The effort is unpretentious, the production humble. We have written with only one view before us, and that was to learn the mind of the Spirit. This, with prayerful patience, we pursued for many weary days. And now, with the earnest prayer to the Father of all mercies, that it may be in his hands an instrument for good, we commend it to all honest and thoughtful readers.
Commentary on Jud 1:23-25 by Donald Fream
In conclusion let us look to our only God who saves us through Jesus, and give Him His proper place in our life and praise. Amen.
How fitting that the conclusion would take the reader back to facts concerning God and His salvation through Christ, for these are the very facts attacked by the loose-living libertines. These libertines are evidently the forerunners of the Gnostic element within the church, for by their loose example the Gnostics were enabled to infilter the church with their particular brand of apostasy during the second century.
There is only one God, contrary to the brand of apostasy developed by the Gnostics. Jesus is the Christ, again contrary to the Gnostic heresy. All perfection, rule, power, and majesty belong to Him, and not to any so-called superior god, nor to any sect or privileged group.
This God has ordained to redeem us through Jesus Christ, and no other. He will present us faultless, without any spot or wrinkle of sin, because we are washed in the blood of Jesus and only for this reason. The saints will be put in the full view of His glory and will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1Pe 1:8).
He not only legally absolves us from blame, but He presents us faultless. We are made internally pure and eternally unblemished. To such a one we can only marvel in His wisdom, and glorify His majesty, and submit to His dominion, and be eternally thankful for His keeping power.
What a conclusion to an exhortation to contend earnestly for the faith! In an age as today, when atheism is the byword in public education, where the fear and worship of God are prohibited, when philosophers and men of science openly ridicule the idea of God, when sensuousness has become a way of life so common it is seldom noticed; here and now, our God is able and willing to keep us spotless and pure in Him through Jesus Christ our Lord. God help us also to be willing!
Commentary on Jud 1:24-25 by Burton Coffman
THE BENEDICTION
Jud 1:24 –Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and forevermore. Amen.
Rose remarked that, “If Jude is known or noticed at all by churchgoers, it is because of the frequent use of Jude 1:1:24,25,” [52] in such things as the benediction. To this writer, this benediction instantly brings to mind Ike Thorne (a faithful deacon from the Central Church of Christ, Houston, Texas, a retired member of Plasterers’ Labor Union, and truly a wonderful person.) who frequently dismissed the congregation with his immense, stentorian voice, booming out the awesome words of this magnificent passage, using no other words except these. One feels sure that many others have similar recollections.
Unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling … If Christians heed the instructions of their Lord and walk in the light as he is in the light, they will not stumble; and, for those who thus walk, the Lord indeed can and does guard them from stumbling.
And to set you before the presence of his glory … This refers to the “great day” of Jude 1:1:6, the judgment day, when all nations shall be assembled before the White Throne.
Without blemish … Payne, with others, identifies this as a metaphor “from the Old Testament sacrificial system (Lev 1:3, etc.)”;[53] but there may also be in it another glimpse of the perfection commanded in Mat 5:48, and promised to Christians as an actual achievement upon their behalf, not by themselves, but through Christ, according to Paul’s promise that every man should be presented “perfect in Christ” (Col 1:28). For more on perfection see in my Commentary on Colossians, pp. 130-133.
In exceeding joy … “This denotes a proud, exulting joy,”[54] having something of the meaning “to be proud of” in it, affording a glimpse of the triumph of God himself in his exultation because of the redemption of his people.
To the only God our Saviour … This stress of the unity of God could have found such a prominent place in primitive doxologies and benedictions as an effective rejection of antinomian Gnostics who were infected with polytheism. Paul also referred to God as Saviour.
Through Jesus Christ … God is not man’s Saviour apart from his acceptance and obedience of his Son Jesus Christ.
Be glory, majesty, dominion and power … All of the ultimates belong to God. “In him we live and move and have our being.” All of the praise, all of the glory, all of the worship and adoration that human hearts are capable of are rightfully given only to God through Christ.
Before all time, and now, and for evermore … “This is as complete a statement of eternity as can be made in human language.”[55] Our blessed Saviour was, and is, and shall be forevermore. He is one with the Father, the eternal God who is ever and perpetually the “I AM” of all time and eternity.
Amen … For a comment on this expression, see in my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 360,361. It means “So be it.” It calls God to witness the words which are sealed by it. It is the signal that any hymn or prayer concluded by it is held to be sacred in the eyes of God, and is a pledge of the sincerity and integrity of the petitioner.
In this series of commentaries, our studies have now brought us to the threshold of the Apocalypse; and, in this last short epistle, an immeasurable blessing has been received through the study of it. Although, in a sense, known for many years, the full impact of a certain truth was heightened and increased by this little book. Is it not a most remarkable providence that of those four little boys, all of them younger than Jesus, who grew up at Nazareth in the same room with Jesus in the home of Joseph and Mary, is it not astonishing that two of them, James and Jude, have left the legacy of two precious epistles?
Just think. Two of the sacred New Testament writers lived with Jesus practically all of his life on earth, except for the four years, during which, for the most part, they did not belong to the immediate circle of the Lord’s followers, an exclusion that was doubtless also providential. These two did not at first believe in Jesus; but even their unbelief at first must be considered a testimony to the holiness of the Master. Why? Like all other Jews, they believed that Messiah would be a conquering hero who would rally the troops and chase the Romans out of Judea. They knew that Jesus was not that kind of person. But, when they came to know his real purpose of redeeming people from sin, all that they knew of him had its weight in constraining them to fall down in his presence and hail him as Lord and Saviour, leading them both also, ever afterwards, to write themselves “not as his brothers” but as “Servants of the Lord Jesus Christ!”
[52] Delbert R. Rose, op. cit., p. 448.
[53] David F. Payne, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 628.
[54] J. B. Mayor, op. cit., p. 277.
[55] Delbert R. Rose, op. cit., p. 628.
Commentary on Jud 1:24-25 by Gary Hampton
Assurance for the Christian(Jud 1:24-25)
Jude closed his book with a prayer. It was directed to Jesus, our protector. He can keep one from stumbling, which will, in turn, keep him from falling. One who avoids falling would receive many blessings that would produce joy in his life. Jude called Jesus God, just as He is depicted in Joh 1:1. Jesus’ greatness and the attributes of it are said to have lasted from the time before the beginning and will stretch into eternity. So, Jude closed with a tremendous statement of his trust in Jesus and His wondrous powers (Jud 1:24-25).
Commentary on Jud 1:24-25 by David Hersey
Jud 1:24 –Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,–If Christians heed the instructions of their Lord and walk in the light as he is in the light, they will not stumble; and, for those who thus walk, the Lord indeed can and does guard them from stumbling. Rom 14:4 “… Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
There is a role to play for man in this regard as well. God will not uphold the unrepentant, impenitent sinner. Paul makes this perfectly clear in Eph 6:13-18 where he gives instructions on how to stand, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”.
Standing without stumbling and falling requires a diligent effort on the part of the child of God. God helps to keep us from stumbling by giving us what we need in order to do it. According to Paul, we need truth, righteousness, preparation in the gospel, faith, the word of God, prayer, watchfulness, perseverance and supplication. And it should not go unnoticed or unmentioned that the adornment of oneself with those things which keep us from stumbling is given by Paul as something we are to do ourselves.
God provided truth, we have to gird our waists with it.
God provided righteousness, we have to put it on like a breastplate.
God gave us the gospel of peace, it is our responsibility to have our feet shod with it.
God gave us the system of faith we live under, it is our duty to shield ourselves with it.
God gave us the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, it is our job to wield it.
God provides us with all that we need to keep from stumbling.
God does His part and upholds His role in our salvation, but we as His children have a role to fulfill as well. Our faith has never been passive, rather it is proactive. God reaches down to us in love with His grace, we reach back up to Him in love by faith.
Jud 1:24 –And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. While giving instruction to husbands concerning their wives, Paul compared the relationship they should have to the relationship Jesus has with His church in Eph 5:25-28, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish”.
It has ever been God’s goal to provide a way of redemption for mankind. Man sinned and forfeited fellowship with God. God went to great lengths and personal sacrifice in order to achieve this. God displayed an enormous amount of intent and desire in His efforts to provide man with a way back into fellowship with Him. Those who have such intent and purpose and go to such lengths have a goal in site. God’s goal is to present to Himself a people who having sinned and lost that fellowship, chose of their own free will to seek to regain that fellowship and do what it takes to avail themselves of His mercy and grace. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.
Jud 1:25 –To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Jud 1:25 –“To God our Savior.” The KJV and the ASV render this verse more properly as, “to the only God our Saviour…”. This reference here to the singleness and unity of God speaks directly against the beliefs of the antinomian Gnostics who, having crept into the church, were infected with polytheism, especially later on as they moved ever further from the truth of God’s word. Jude here reaffirmed what Paul taught in Eph 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”. Even in the closing of His epistle, Jude made sure his readership was fully informed with all the facts they needed, closing with a direct statement affirming the fact that there is only one God.
Jud 1:25 –“Who alone is wise”–The apostates who had crept into the church came under the guise of possessing knowledge they alone had access to. They were like those to whom Paul referred in Rom 1:22-23, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man”. The apostates about whom Jude wrote were doing this very thing. They came in professing to be the bearers of wisdom but Jude here affirms that is it God alone who is wise. Christians should not be persuaded by the wisdom of men, but should seek the wisdom which comes from he alone who is wise. Paul had this to say regarding the rejection of human wisdom in 1Co 2:4-5, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”.
Jude is closing His epistle with words which strike at the heart of the issue at hand. He has declared, identified, characterized and condemned the apostates. Now in the final words of His letter he has reminded his readership of that which they already knew and should not forget. Our God is the only God. Do not be led away by the persuasive wisdom of man because it’s a deception for God alone is wise.
Jud 1:25 –Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. Jude ends his letter finally with putting the glory where it belongs. There is nothing in this letter speaking to the wisdom of men, rather it has all been about God from the beginning to the end. Jude never credited anything to himself, rather pointing his readership consistently towards God and God alone.
Jud 1:25 –“glory”–1Co 10:31-32, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Jude is attributing the glory of God to where it rightfully belongs.
Jud 1:25 –“majesty”–Pertaining to God’s supreme greatness or authority or sovereignty as the ruler of the universe, (Mic 5:4), “And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God”.
Jud 1:25 –“Dominion”–Meaning sovereign authority over that which one rules.
Dan 7:14, “Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion”.
Jud 1:25 –“power”–Consider what Paul says in Eph 1:19-23, “and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
God has all power, all authority, all dominion and all Glory. Man has nothing substantive to offer in this regard, therefore the duty of man is to recognize and affirm these attributes in God. It is ever the duty of man to point the way to the light.
Jud 1:25 –“Both now and forever”–Jude speaks here to the present reality of God’s “glory and majesty, Dominion and power” and then to the everlasting aspect of it. There is never going to be a time when God will not be sovereign and all powerful. There is never going to be a time when the truth of God can be set aside in favor of man. There is never going to be a time when man’s wisdom can supersede God’s. There’s never going to be a time when man should seek the light of God’s truth and the way of salvation from any source other than God. God’s nature, attributes and character are immutable, meaning never ever changing.
Malachi wrote in Mal 3:6 concerning God, “For I am the Lord, I change not”
The Hebrew writer wrote a fitting commentary on the closing words of Jude which apply directly to the entire theme of his letter:
Heb 13:5-9 –For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And then the Hebrew writer continued with words which ring loud and clear in view of the warnings of Jude, the bondservant of Christ and brother to James.
“Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.”
Let us heed the warnings here of Jude and so many other inspired writers. Let us do those things which we know are of the faith. Let us conduct ourselves in a manner befitting bondservants of Jesus Christ. Let us seek after God’s righteousness alone. Let us shun and reject the teachings of men. Let us contend earnestly for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Let us consider the biblical examples of those who rebelled against God’s authority and let us learn from the consequences of their errors. Let us beware of the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Let us learn from the mistakes of Cain and of Balaam and of Korah. Let us heed the warnings of the prophets. Let us seek the wisdom of God alone.
And let us always point the way to God’s glory and majesty. Let us always hold God up to the world as the light of truth and let us always follow after His ways, His truth, His righteousness. And by so doing, let us all share in the blessed hope we have in Christ and never ever forget to be thankful for Him and to Him, always giving Him the glory in all things.
Amen.
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
Jud 1:1-25
Cecil B. Douthitt
1. How does the author of this letter introduce himself? Ans. Jud 1:1.
2. To whom is the letter addressed? Ans. Jud 1:1.
3. What is said of mercy, peace and love? Ans. Jud 1:2.
4. What are the saints exhorted to do? Ans. Jud 1:3.
5. Describe certain men who had crept in unawares among the brethren. Ans. Jud 1:4.
6. What important fact of Israel’s history is called to rememberance? Ans. Jud 1:5.
7. What is said of fallen angels? Ans. Jud 1:6.
8. How and why were the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah punished? Ans. Jud 1:7.
9. Describe the conduct of men agitated by impure dreams. Ans. Jud 1:8.
10. What lesson is taught by the example of Michael, the archangel? Ans. Jud 1:9.
11. Those who rail at dignities, speak evil of what, and in what do they corrupt themselves? Ans. Jud 1:10.
12. A woe is pronounced on them for imitating what three characters, and in what way do they imitate them? Ans. Jud 1:11.
13. To what are they compared? Ans. Jud 1:12-13.
14. Who prophesied concerning them? Ans. Jud 1:14.
15. What did he say in his prophecy of them? Ans. Jud 1:14-15.
16. Name five sins of which they are charged. Ans. Jud 1:16.
17. Whose words should be remembered? Ans. Jud 1:17.
18. What did the apostles of Christ say there would be in the last dispensation? Ans. Jud 1:18.
19. Of whom were they speaking? Ans. Jud 1:19.
20. Give four things that God’s people must do, and give the meaning of each. Ans. Jud 1:20-21.
21. In what ways must different characters be strengthened or restored? Ans. Jud 1:22-23.
22. What should be hated all the while? Arts. Jud 1:23.
23. Who is able to keep and to save? Ans. Jud 1:24-25.
E.M. Zerr
Questions on Jude
Jude Chapter One
1. Does Jude call himself an elder?
2. Whose brother is he?
3. To whom does he write?
4. How is it to be preserved in Christ Jesus?
5. By what are they called?
6. For what did he give diligence?
7. Explain “common” salvation?
8. Was Jude indifferent about writing?
9. How should they contend?
10. Does this violate 1Co 1:10-11?
11. By what means was this faith delivered?
12. Why delivered unto the saints?
13. How had certain crept in?
14. In what sense had they been ordained of old?
15. What kind of men?
16. Made what perversion of grace of God?
17. What were they denying?
18. Why would such men want to deny Him?
19. What historic fact does Jude recall?
20. Does this agree with “once in grace always in grace” ?
21. Do angels have their own proper sphere?
22. If they break over what is done?
23. Unto what day are they reserved?
24. What can they do to be redeemed?
25. To what did Sodom and others give themselves?
26. What is meant by “strange flesh”?
27. Explain last of Jud 1:7 by 2Th 1:3-9.
28. What do they do as to flesh?
29. State their attitude toward dignitaries.
30. Whose example should shame them in this?
31. On what subject did they have this dispute?
32. What had been done with the body of Moses?
33. Did Michael know about the body of Moses?
34. Did the others know whereof they spoke?
35. How did they act as to what they did know?
36. From what basis did they know some things?
37. What is pronounced upon them here?
38. In what way had they gone?
39. Whom else did they imitate?
40. What was the motive?
41. Who is meant by Core?
42. Explain “feasts of charity.”
43. Were they ever commanded?
44. What is significance of “clouds without water”?
45. Why “carried about of winds”?
46. Explain the figure of the trees here.
47. What kind of stars?
48. Into what will they wander?
49. What darkness does this astronomy represent?
50. What prophet is here mentioned?
51. Is his prophecy elsewhere recorded?
52. Compare these many saints with Mat 27:52-53.
53. For what will the Lord come as to evil ones?
54. Had such characters been predicted before?
55. After what principles will they walk?
56. They have not what?
57. On what should the saints be built up?
58. Keep themselves in what?
59. Looking for what?
60. What “difference” is here corrunanded?
61. What should be hated?
62. How can a garment be thus spatted?
63. Compare Jud 1:22-23 with 1Th 5:14-15.
64. Who is able to keep us from falling?
65. By what power does he do this?
E.M. Zerr
TRUE. FALSE TEST
James to Jude
1. Temptations should be a matter of joy.
2. Every good gift is from God.
3. Christians should not show respect to persons.
4. We are justified by faith only.
5. The tongue can no man tame.
6. Divine wisdom is first peaceable then pure.
7. The devil will flee when resisted.
8. It is sin to know good and not do it.
9. We are forbidden to make oaths.
10. The apostles knew more than the prophets.
11. The angels understood these things.
12. Christ was a stumbling stone.
13. Disciples are kings and priests.
14. We must submit to the ordinances of man.
15. Obedient wives may convert their husbands.
16. The spirits preached to Noah while in prison.
17. Baptism saves people now.
18. We cannot be saved with ant a good conscience.
19. If accused of murder we must suffer it.
20. The righteous will scarcely be saved.
21. Peter was an Elder.
22. The devil always is an as an angel of light.
23. All things pertaining to godliness are given.
24. Faith needs nothing added to it.
25. It is possible to fall.
26. It is possible to keep from falling.
27. Peter expected to die.
28. Prophecies were the suggestions of the prophets.
29. God did not spare the angels that sinned.
30. Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
31. Lot was condemned for being in Sodom.
32. Unjust are reserved to day of judgment.
33. God will deliver righteous out of trials.
34. Adulterous eyes are not quieted by gratification.
35. An animal rebuked a man.
36. Some men were willingly ignorant.
37. The Lord will come in guise of a thief.
38. This earth is to be destroyed by fire.
39. The Word is from the beginning.
40. All men have committed sin.
41. Jesus died for all.
42. We are now like our Saviour.
43. We shall be like him in next life.
44. Sons of God are those whom God loves most.
45. A Christian is unable to do wrong.
46. We may pass from death unto life.
47. We ought to lay down our lives for brethren.
48. We should not believe every spirit.
49. Our love for God caused him to love us.
50. It is possible for us to overcome the world.
5!. Belief in Christ begets us for God.
52. False teachers are to be rejected.
53. Endorsing him makes us partakers.
54. John was an Elder.
55. He placed Diotrephes in place of prominence.
56. Jude commanded us to contend.
57. Angels cannot sin.
58. Sodomites are sentenced to eternal fire.
59. Michael gave the body of Moses to the devil.
60. God is the only wise Saviour.
Jude Chapter One
Ralph Starling
Jude is concerned about false teaching
For the truth of God’s word is the
Basis for sound preaching.
False teachers care have great appeal.
For faith’s sake their mouths should be sealed.
For with every man’s ability,
He must face accountability.
Remember even angels were cast out of heaven,
Because they were not obedient or behavin’.
And then there was Sodom and Gomorrah
Lessons for us today and tomorrow.
And the arch-angel and the Devil contending for the body of Moses
Moses, of all people, on of God’s chosen.
True, Moses made mistakes and sinned.
But he was faithful to make amends.
Jude talks about Cain, Balaam, Enoch and Core
Without lives continue the story.
So insist on sound preaching,
And be wary of false teaching.
For to join with them in ther behavior
Will nullify the death of our Lord and Savior.
Reciprocal: Gen 41:46 – he stood Gen 47:2 – presented Lev 14:11 – General Num 6:24 – keep thee Deu 31:14 – presented Deu 33:27 – underneath 1Ki 2:4 – That the Lord Job 9:4 – wise in heart Job 33:26 – and he shall Job 40:10 – majesty Psa 16:11 – in thy Psa 17:2 – Let my Psa 37:17 – Lord Psa 45:15 – With Psa 51:12 – uphold Psa 96:7 – glory Psa 119:117 – Hold Pro 2:8 – and Pro 16:17 – he Son 2:14 – thy countenance Son 4:7 – General Isa 51:11 – everlasting Isa 63:1 – mighty Jer 15:19 – stand Jer 35:19 – stand Eze 13:23 – for I Dan 2:20 – for wisdom Dan 6:20 – able Mat 6:4 – reward Luk 6:48 – could Luk 12:8 – confess Luk 21:36 – stand Joh 10:28 – they Joh 16:20 – your Joh 17:11 – keep Act 3:26 – in Act 15:29 – if ye Act 20:32 – I commend Rom 8:4 – That Rom 8:37 – him Rom 14:4 – he shall Rom 16:25 – to him 1Co 1:8 – blameless 2Co 4:14 – shall present 2Co 4:17 – far Eph 3:20 – able Eph 5:27 – he Eph 6:11 – able Phi 4:1 – so Col 1:22 – to Col 2:7 – stablished Col 3:4 – ye Col 4:12 – that 1Th 2:19 – our Lord 1Th 3:13 – unblameable 1Th 5:23 – preserved 2Th 2:17 – stablish 2Th 3:3 – and 1Ti 6:14 – unrebukeable 2Ti 1:8 – according 2Ti 1:12 – keep 2Ti 4:18 – and will Heb 2:18 – he is Heb 7:25 – he is 1Pe 1:5 – kept 1Pe 1:7 – might 1Pe 5:10 – make 1Jo 5:18 – keepeth Rev 2:5 – thou art Rev 3:5 – confess Rev 14:5 – without Rev 22:11 – and he that
Jud 1:24. This and the next verse are a form of praise to the Lord that is most impressive. Keep you from falling will be done according to 2Pe 1:10. Christ will present us faultless if we serve him in this life (Luk 12:8), and He will do this with exceeding joy to Him and us.
Jud 1:24-25. Exhortations to keep themselves in the love of God are fitly followed by a doxology which reminds them that the power and grace are from Him who alone can keep them. Now to him that is able to guard you (not the same word as in Jud 1:21, but a strong military term) from stumbling (from every false step, Jas 2:10; 2Pe 1:10, shall never stumble), and make you to stand without fault (Rev 14:5, and like the Master Himself, without spot, the same word, Heb 9:14) before the presence of his glory in exceeding joy (the condition in which you will be found when you stand there), to the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord (these added words set forth God as Saviour through Jesus Christ, Tit 3:4-6), be (or is) glory, majesty (greatness), dominion and power (literally, might and right, power and authority), before all time (as it was in the beginning), and now (is now) and for evermore (and ever shall be). Amen (so let it be, or, so indeed it is). Glory and dominion are common in the New Testament Doxologies; majesty and right (lawful power) are found only here. For evermore is required in the rendering of what is a strong expression of everlastingness. For ever, for evermore, and for ever and evermore, represent three corresponding expressions in the Greek ( , , or , and ). All are applied to God, to the blessedness of the righteous, and to the punishment of the wicked. As so applied, they do not materially differ in meaning; but it is important to mark the differences and the intensity of expression.
The whole of this Doxology, so rich and so consolatory, may be a prayer, be glory, as its place at the end of the Epistle and the Amen rather imply; or it may be the assertion of a fact, as in 1Pe 4:11, where the Amen also is used, and the verb is (not be) is in the Greek; or we may combine the two meanings by making the Doxology an assertion of what really is, and the Amen a prayer: Be it in human hearts and throughout all creation as it is in truth! How solemn and instructive, that these ascriptions of glory to God are found in connection with judgment as well as with salvation, each, indeed, implying the other, and both illustrating the holiness and the love which we are to adore (Rev 15:3; Rev 16:5).
Observe here, 1. How our apostle shuts up his exhortation with prayer; having exhorted them to duty, he commends them to the divine grace, intimating, that the fruit of all must be expected from God, without whose blessing all exhortations and endeavours will nothing avail.
Observe, 2. The person who is the object of prayer and praise, Christ, described by his power.
1. He is able to keep us from falling; that is, from apostasy: he speaks not of his absolute power, so Christ is able to keep us from all sin, but of such a power as is engaged by promise and office; all believers are Christ’s charge, and he will preserve them from final destruction.
2. He is able to present us faultless. It is Christ’s office to preserve his church until he presents it spotless to the Father, before the presence of his glory that is, at his glorious appearance, when he shall come to judge the world with exceeding joy; on both sides, no doubt, both on Christ’s part and ours.
O sweet interview betwixt Christ and believers! he will joy to see us, as well as we rejoice to see him.
Learn, That Christ will one day make a solemn presentation of his people unto God.
2. That when he doth present them, he will present them faultless.
3. That the day in which he does present them, will be a very glorious day in itself, and a very joyful day to all his people; when the impenitent world howl, they shall triumph.
Assurance for the Christian
Jdg 1:24-25. Now unto him who alone is able to keep you from falling Into any of these errors or sins, or from stumbling, as literally signifies, rugged and dangerous as the ways of life are, and feeble as you know yourselves to be; and at length to present you faultless Fully sanctified and conformed to the image of Gods Son; see on Col 1:22; before the presence of his glory That is, in his own presence, when he shall be revealed in all his glory; with exceeding joy With joy, great and unutterable. To the only wise God, now become our Saviour That is, our Deliverer from the guilt and power of sin and its consequences, our Restorer to the enjoyment of the blessings lost by the fall, and our Preserver to eternal life. Or, as Macknight reads the clause, To the wise God alone. See on Rom 16:27. Be glory, &c. That is, the glory of infinite perfection; and the majesty Of empire absolutely universal; dominion Or strength, as may be properly rendered, namely, to govern that empire; and power , authority, or right to do whatever seemeth to himself good; both now and ever , throughout all ages, or both now and throughout all eternity. From the appellation here used, our Saviour, it is argued by some that this doxology is addressed to the Lord Jesus, whose proper title is our Saviour, and who is called God in other passages of Scripture, particularly Rom 9:5, where he is styled, God blessed for ever. Nevertheless, as in some passages of Scripture, particularly Luk 1:47; 1Ti 1:1; Tit 1:3, the Father is styled our Saviour, this argument is doubtful. They who contend that the doxology in this passage belongs to the Father, observe that the same doxology is unambiguously addressed to God the Father, Rom 16:27, to which passage we have just referred the reader.
24. And unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and enable you to stand in the presence of His glory, blameless, with rejoicing. This is Judes beautiful benediction. This refers to the Lords coming in His glory to receive His ready Bride (for which I am on the constant outlook). Blameless is the better translation, as we will not be faultless till transfigured. Sanctification, which is as far as we can go till the Lord comes, does not make us faultless, but leaves us encumbered with infirmities so long as we are in the fallen bodies. Justification makes us innocent. Sanctification makes us blameless, but glorification sweeping
away all the collateral infirmities of mind and body makes faultless like the angels. Entire sanctification prepares us to meet our Lord descending in His glory. Then after the resurrection of the dead in Christ (1Th 4:17), the living members of the Bridehood will be changed, i.e., transfigured, and made faultless and caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and be ever with the Lord.
1:24 {14} Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
(14) He commends them to the grace of God, declaring sufficiently that it is God only that can give us that constancy which he requires of us.
V. CONCLUSION VV. 24-25
Jude concluded his brief epistle with a formal doxology. It included a prayer for his readers. He wanted to assure them of God’s ability to help them remain faithful in spite of the apostasy that threatened them.
"The concluding doxology (Jud 1:24-25) is universally recognized as one of the fullest and most beautiful in Scripture. Stressing the security of the believer in the midst of apostasy, it brings the epistle to a marvelous conclusion." [Note: Hiebert, Second Peter . . ., p. 204.]
"It lifts the thoughts from earthly conflicts with which the author has been compelled to busy himself, up to the heavenly realms, where God is enthroned amidst eternal might and honor." [Note: Bo Reicke, The Epistles of James, Peter, and Jude, p. 217.]
Our confidence rests in God’s ability to keep us safe and faithful.
"He is able to save (Heb 7:25), able to establish (Rom 16:25), able to assist (Heb 2:18), able to subdue (Php 3:21)-and here He is able to keep." [Note: William MacDonald, II Peter and Jude: The Christian and Apostasy, p. 92.]
The Greek word translated "stumbling" implies the results of tripping as well as the fall itself. "Blameless" (Gr. amomos) does not mean without sin. It means having no justifiable ground of accusation (cf. Col 1:22; 2Pe 3:14; Rev 14:5). When the blameless person sins, he confesses and forsakes his sin. Standing before the judgment seat of Christ is in view in this verse. [Note: Hiebert, Second Peter . . ., p. 295.] This verse is not an unconditional promise that God will inevitably keep all believers from stumbling either doctrinally or morally (cf. Jud 1:21). [Note: See Robert N. Wilkin, "He Is Able to Keep You From Stumbling! Jud 1:24," Grace Evangelical Society News 9:1 (January-February 1994):2-3.]
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
A care to preserve our own characters and conscience unspotted, will be necessary to our courage, and hope of success, in such efforts as these. Let us therefore be more frequently looking up to him who is able to keep us from falling, and to improve, as well as maintain, the work he has wrought in us, till we shall be presented blameless before the presence of his glory. Then shall our hearts know a joy beyond what earth can afford, beyond what heaven itself shall have given us in the separate state: then shall God also rejoice over us, and the joy of our compassionate Saviour be completed in the seeing the full accomplishment of the travail of his soul. To him who has so wisely formed the scheme, and will faithfully and perfectly accomplish it for every faithful soul, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.
1. How that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed them that believed not, though he had done great things for them; and if he spared not these, let not the perverters of the gospel, whose crime is so much more aggravated, expect a less fearful doom. And remember also,
1. Their impurities were great. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh; sleeping and waking, their minds are ever running after impure objects, dishonouring their bodies by their lewd practices, and drawing in others to gratify their lawless appetites.
1. A prophesy of Enoch’s, recorded, concerning these men. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, in the line of descent, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, in glorious majesty, swift to avenge the wrongs of his people, and the blasphemies against himself; to execute judgment upon all, who must stand at his bar, and receive from his lips their decisive sentence; and to convince all that are ungodly among them, by the vengeance he will inflict, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, in defiance of his authority; and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Note; (1.) There is a dreadful day of judgment at hand, when vengeance shall overtake the ungodly. (2.) However impious and stout-hearted sinners may now be, every impenitent heart in that day will tremble, and every hardened face gather blackness. (3.) Though mockers now make light of ridiculing the word, and the ways, and people of God, they will find a fearful reckoning for their hard speeches in the day of recompence.
1. With his kind admonitions. But, beloved, be deaf to the arts of these seducers, and remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, which now have received their fulfilment, and should confirm the doctrines which they taught: how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts; scoffing at the genuine religion of Jesus, that without restraint they may give a loose to every lawless passion. And these be they, of whom the apostle spake, who separate themselves; fomenting factions, and, from base and interested motives, forming new sects and parties, while they are utterly sensual, and slaves of worldly-mindedness and fleshly lusts; having not the Spirit, and strangers to his grace and influence. Note; (1.) The only way to be preserved from the wiles of deceivers, is to cleave to our Bibles. (2.) We must not be ashamed of mocking; remember who will mock last. See Pro 1:26.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
[Translate:But to Him that is able to keep you from falling and to set you in the presence of His glory faultless with exceeding joy, to the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, strength and authority, before all eternity, and now and unto all the ages. Amen.M.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)