Jude 24–25

24–25 Jude now closes his letter with a doxology praising the glorious power of God to preserve his people, spanning past, present, and future. First, God is praised for his ability “to keep you from stumbling.” Jude again emphasizes the idea of “keeping” (vv. 1, 6, 13, 21), though using a different Greek verb (phylassō); this term has the sense of guarding or protecting someone (John 17:11–12; 2 Thess. 3:3).¹ God promises to keep believers from “stumbling” (aptaistos), a rare word that Philo uses to explain that no one can live an entire lifetime without sinning (Quod Deus sit immutabilis 1.75). Believers are called to run the race of the Christian life by avoiding the entanglements of sin and the world, in the confidence that God will protect them (Ps. 121:1–8; Heb. 12:1–2).

God is also able “to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” Those who keep themselves in the love of God will stand before the Lord as perfect reflections of Jesus Christ, the blameless one (1 Pet. 1:19). While believers have had their eyes opened to see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6), we still await the day when we see the Lord face-to-face (1 John 3:2; Rev. 22:4). God’s “glory” is the visible manifestation of his character, often communicated by his name (Ex. 33:18–34:9) but most fully communicated in his Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:14; Heb. 1:3). All that God does is ultimately to display his own glory (Hab. 2:14). The “great joy” believers will experience on that day is the culmination of Christ’s joy in us as it reaches its full realization (John 15:11) when we celebrate the consummation of God’s promises (Isa. 66:7–14).

Jude gives several descriptions of God to explain why God is worthy of praise. He is the “only God,” stressing his utter uniqueness (Deut. 6:4–5). He is “our Savior,” the one who rescues believers from sin and eternal destruction. This praise is offered “through Jesus Christ our Lord,” an expression that occurs in various forms in the NT to identify Christ as the one through whom God’s blessings come to us (Rom. 5:1; 1 Cor. 15:57; 1 Thess. 5:9).

Jude prays that four specific attributes of God would be recognized and magnified. On “glory,” see above. “Majesty” (megalōsynē) is a “state of greatness or preeminence,”² and the term occurs elsewhere in the NT as a title for God (Heb. 1:3; 8:1). “Dominion” (kratos) highlights God’s sovereign rule over the universe as the rightful king, and it is ascribed to God often in doxologies or statements of praise (Isa. 40:26; Rev. 1:6; 5:13). “Authority” refers to the power God exercises in his rule over creation. These attributes are grounds for praising God “before all time and now and forever.” God has been worthy of praise from eternity past, is currently worthy of praise, and will continue to be worthy of praise forevermore. The appropriate response is simply “Amen”—so be it!