Jesus Will Keep You From Falling (Jude 24-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 06-10-04

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Jesus will keep you from falling

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Jude 24, 25

            Message of the verse:  “24 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, 25 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.”  (NAS)  “24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glory without fault and with unspeakable joy, 25 to the only God, our saviour, be glory and majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before time was, now, and in all ages to come, amen.”  (PHILIPS)

            This is probably the most well-known benediction that is in the Word of God and as it is broken down, to be understood better, it will be seen that it is rich in spiritual truth.  Jude says that Jesus Christ is able to keep us from stumbling, or from falling.  Jude was not writing about a believer that could loose his salvation, for the Bible makes it clear that this will not happen.   Jude was writing about the walk of the believer, and he does have responsibilities to fulfill in his walk with God too.  Jude wrote in verse 21 that the believer should “Keep yourselves in the love of God.”  The walk of the believer with the Lord in knowing what is the responsibility of the believer and that of God has always been a somewhat of a mystery for me, but God is faithful and He is showing me the truth in this matter.

            It must be remembered that Jude was writing about false teachers, and the fact that believers can fall prey to their false teachings, and for sure this would be considered stumbling or falling. 

            The next portion of verse 24 speaks of presenting the believer in the presence of God’s glory blameless and with great joy.  This was written of in John’s Gospel, chapter 17:22-24:  “ 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:  23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  24 ‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.’”  Dr. Wiersbe writes, “The grand purpose of salvation for the believer is that God may be glorified for all eternity.”  (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14)  As the believer gets hold of this truth, he should then have more motivation to live for the Lord and obeying His Word, by doing this the believer will bring joy to the Lord.

            The AV has in it the word wise in from of God, while some of the others do not include this word, and I am not sure why.  God is the God of all wisdom and He can give the believer the wisdom to live a life pleasing to Himself.  This was certainly not true of the false teachers.  James writes in his letter that if a person lacks wisdom he should ask the Lord for wisdom and He will give it to them, and then goes on to talk about using God’s wisdom to serve Him, and not doing things for one’s self. 

            Jude uses the word “glory” in verse 25, and glory is the sum total of all that God is and all that God does. 

            Majesty means greatness, magnificence, and only God is great.

            Dominion has to do with God’s sovereignty and rule over all things; He is in complete control over all things.

            Power means authority, which is the right use of power.

This is a wonderful doxology, and by memorizing and meditation upon it one can learn much.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The thing that caught my attention in this section was the wisdom of God, and how very much I need His wisdom in my life so that I can live a life that is pleasing to Him.

The Word of God was very refreshing to my heart as I read it this morning.

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord with the events that are going on in Canada with our investments, and ask God for wisdom on what my reactions about this should be.

Memory verse for the week:  1Cor. 13:4

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,