God is Able: Lessons From the End of Jude

The book of Jude is the one of the shortest books of the Bible, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less potent. With the New Daily Study Bible, let’s learn about Jude’s end to his 25-verse letter – a doxology proclaiming that God, our Savior, is able.

²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

— Jude 24-25

Jude comes to an end with a tremendous ascription of praise.

Three times in the New Testament, praise is given to the God who is able. In Romans 16:25, Paul gives praise to the God who is able to strengthen us. God is the one person who can give us a foundation for life which nothing and no one can ever shake. In Ephesians 3:20, Paul gives praise to the God who is able to do far more than we can ever ask or even dream of. He is the God whose grace no one has ever exhausted and on whom no claim can ever be too much.

Here, Jude offers his praise to the God who is able.

1. God is able to keep us from slipping.

The word is aptaistos. It is used both of a sure-footed horse which does not stumble and of a person who does not fall into error. ‘He will not let your foot be moved’ – or, as the Scottish metrical version has it, ‘Thy foot he’ll not let slide’ (Psalm 121:3). To walk with God is to walk in safety even on the most dangerous and the most slippery path. In mountaineering, climbers are roped together so that, even if the inexperienced climber should slip, the skilled mountaineer can take the weight and save the other person. In the same way, when we bind ourselves to God, he keeps us safe.

2. He can make us stand blameless in the presence of his glory.

The word for blameless is amōmos. This is characteristically a sacrificial word; and it is commonly and technically used of an animal which is without spot or blemish and is therefore fit to be offered to God. The amazing thing is that, when we submit ourselves to God, his grace can make our lives nothing less than a sacrifice fit to offer to him.

3. He can bring us into his presence exultant.

Surely the natural way to think of entry into the presence of God is in fear and in shame. But, by the work of Jesus Christ and in the grace of God, we know that we can go to God with joy and with all fear banished. Through Jesus Christ, God the stern Judge has become known to us as God the loving Father.

We note one last thing.

Usually we associate the word Saviour with Jesus Christ; but here Jude attaches it to God. He is not alone in this, for God is often called Saviour in the New Testament (Luke 1:47; 1 Timothy 1:1, 2:3, 4:10; Titus 1:3, 2:10, 3:4). So, we end with the great and comforting certainty that at the back of everything there is a God whose name is Saviour. Christians have the joyous certainty that in this world they live in the love of God and that in the next world they go to that love. The love of God is both the atmosphere and the goal of all their living.

New Daily Study Bible

The New Daily Study Bible: New Testament (17 Vols.), written by William Barclay, gives you straightforward commentary and elegant interpretive analysis. Add this commentary to your library today and incorporate Barclay’s timeless notes into your devotions, sermons, and studies.