The Book of Jude may be the shortest in the Bible, but its impact is undeniable. At just 25 verses, it is a brief but weighty letter from Jude, the brother of James and Jesus Himself. Jude's primary purpose was to warn the early church about the dangers of false teachers who were distorting the gospel. After sounding the alarm about these spiritual threats, Jude closes with one of the most well-known doxologies in all of Scripture:
Now 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, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen (Jude 24-25).
This doxology - a word derived from the Greek doxologia meaning "expression of glory" - is a profound expression of praise to God. While brief, it is densely packed with glorious truths about the character of the Almighty. Let's unpack these closing verses by walking backward through Jude's words and examining them from the foundation up.
“Through Jesus Christ our Lord”
Jude's doxology ends by declaring that this glory, majesty, dominion, and authority belong to God "through Jesus Christ our Lord." This is the same Lord who has rescued us from the bondage of sin, and it is through His redeeming work that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16).
Every hope we have as Christians rests entirely on the name and person of Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).
He joined Himself to humanity in the incarnation, lived a human life completely obedient to His Father, walked in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit, took upon Himself the sin of the entire human race, took it all the way into death, and left it behind when He rose from the dead. He is now standing before the Father, interceding for us.
It is only through Him and the work He has done, and the work He continues to do that Christians have any hope of deliverance from sin and the wrath of God.
“To the only God our Savior”
This leads us "to the only God our Savior." Jude leaves no ambiguity that there is only one true God. The God we worship is not one among many, but the single, solitary, triune ruler of the universe.
Remarkably, Jude describes this one true God with the title "our Savior." The God who revealed Himself in terrifying power and holiness on Mount Sinai, the same God who poured out fierce judgments on the disobedient in the Old Testament, is our merciful Savior.
This is the essence of the gospel - the holy yet loving God has pursued us to save us from the penalty and power of sin. Through the atoning sacrifice of His own Son on the cross, our righteous Judge has also become our gracious Redeemer. We can now approach His throne, not in trepidation of His wrath, but with joy over His lavish forgiveness.
“Blameless with great joy”
Jude goes on to proclaim that we will one day "stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy." We who were once stained by sin and under condemnation will be able to stand before the blinding glory of the holy God Himself. Not only will we stand there, but we will do so "blameless."
How can this be? It is only because of the imputed righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we put our faith in Jesus, God sees us clothed in His Son's perfect righteousness rather than our own filthy rags of unrighteousness. We who are utterly unworthy to stand in God's consuming presence, have every spot and blemish covered by the blood of the spotless Lamb.
So we will stand before Him blameless, but also with great joy. This holy joy will be ours, but it will also be God's joy over His redeemed people. How many times in Scripture do we see God rejoicing over His children with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17)? The Lord will take great delight in us on that day because through Christ, we will at last be perfected and presented in glory.
“Able to keep you from stumbling”
Yet the Christian life is far from perfect now. We struggle daily against the temptations of the world, our flesh, and the devil. This is why Jude begins his doxology with that greatly encouraging affirmation - "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling."
Jude had just spent a great portion of his letter warning about false teachers who were causing believers to stumble. He urged his readers to "keep yourselves in the love of God" (Jude 1:21). But he doesn't leave us to psych ourselves up through self-effort. No, he directs our gaze to the only One who is able - God Himself.
Our heavenly Father knows our weakness and just how feeble we are. He knows that if left to ourselves, we would utterly stumble and fall. So in His great love, He Himself is the One who keeps us from stumbling. He preserves and protects us every step through the spiritual landmines of this life.
Does this mean we'll never falter or fail? Of course not. But it does mean that the God who calls us is also faithful and will firmly establish and guard us (1 Thessalonians 5:24). By His power and sustaining grace, we will make it home.
