To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
All honor and greatness and sovereign authority forever belong to God alone, for He alone is perfectly wise and He is the Saviour. This outburst of praise comes right after the assurance that He is able to keep His people from falling and to bring them faultless into the presence of His glory with overwhelming joy. It is encouragement to the faithful while ungodly, sensual mockers who follow their own lusts are exposed, calling them to grow strong in holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, remain in God's love while looking for Christ's mercy unto eternal life, and rescue others from destruction while hating sin. From Jude 1:20 to the close is set forth the balanced whole of Christian work and warfare for Christ, with no extravagance and no idleness, honoring each person's individuality and putting away judging, jealousy, faultfinding, and evil-speaking for united brotherly love. It is a call to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered by lifting up God's trampled law and leading transgressors and wanderers back to the Shepherd through living faith, and it guards against false teachers with only a form of godliness who would divert minds from the safe position in these last days.
Meaning and Setting
To the only wise God our Saviour belong glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, for He alone is wise and He is the Saviour whose rule and glory endure now and forever. All honor and ruling authority now and forever are His. This doxology follows the assurance that God is able to keep believers from falling and to present them faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. It is praise that rests on His keeping power and His presenting of His people faultless before His glorious presence with great joy.
Its setting comes after Jude exposes ungodly men and mockers who shall be in the last time, who walk after their own ungodly lusts. They are sensual and without the Spirit, and their works are manifested just as portrayed in this period of earth's history.
The verse is words of encouragement spoken to God's faithful people. It concludes Jude's call to build themselves up on most holy faith, to pray in the Holy Ghost, to keep themselves in the love of God while looking for the mercy of Christ unto eternal life. It closes the charge to show compassion and to save others with fear from the fire, pulling them out while hating sin even as the garment spotted by the flesh.
Faithful Living and Mission
The doxology belongs to the instruction from Jude 1:20 to the close that makes Christian work a complete whole and teaches how to conduct warfare in the service of Christ. That warfare is balanced action with no one-sided extravagance and no indolence or shiftlessness, respecting every man's individuality and rejecting cold-hearted criticism and selfish practice. It joins building up on most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping in the love of God, looking for mercy unto eternal life, and saving others with fear, as the way to conduct the Christian warfare. It warns those who claim great light and spiritual knowledge to keep their garments undefiled.
The verse gives assurance to those who give themselves to Him body, mind, and soul and ask earnestly for help as laborers together with Him. It comes as praise after building up on most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping in the love of God, looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, having compassion and saving others with fear, pulling them out of the fire while hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. It therefore calls for putting away judging one another, jealousy, suspicion, faultfinding, envy and evil-speaking, and for living in complete unity and healthful brotherly love under the intercession of Christ.
It closes Jude's charge to believers living when mockers walk after their own ungodly lusts, sensual and without the Spirit, to build themselves up in holy faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep themselves in the love of God looking for the mercy of Christ unto eternal life, show compassion, and save others with fear from the fire while hating sin. It calls those who profess to believe in the soon coming of Christ to judge the earth, including physicians and ministers, to examine heart and life to see if they stand in this position, keeping the commandments of God so they may be saved in His kingdom. The verse belongs to Jude's call to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints by bringing men back from transgression of the commandments of God. That contending proclaims the gospel of Christ with earnestness and zeal as light to commandment-breakers to arouse them to prepare to meet God, raising the standard of truth and magnifying God's trampled law and making it honorable, because sin is the transgression of the law.
The verse belongs to a call to keep faith and turn wandering people back to life, urging believers to rely through living faith on divine power and lead the lost back to the Shepherd who gave His life for them. It guards believers against the seductive influences of false teachers, men who have a form of godliness but are not safe leaders. It applies in these last days when false teachers arise and become actively zealous, presenting theories to divert minds from the very truth that defines the position that can be occupied with safety. This is a time when Satan is working with power upon religionists, leading them to make a pretense of being righteous while failing to place themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
All honor and greatness and sovereign authority forever belong to God alone, for He alone is perfectly wise and He is the Saviour.
This outburst of praise comes right after the assurance that He is able to keep His people from falling and to bring them faultless into the presence of His glory with overwhelming joy.
It is encouragement to the faithful while ungodly, sensual mockers who follow their own lusts are exposed, calling them to grow strong in holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, remain in God's love while looking for Christ's mercy unto eternal life, and rescue others from destruction while hating sin.
From Jude 1:20 to the close is set forth the balanced whole of Christian work and warfare for Christ, with no extravagance and no idleness, honoring each person's individuality and putting away judging, jealousy, faultfinding, and evil-speaking for united brotherly love.
It is a call to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered by lifting up God's trampled law and leading transgressors and wanderers back to the Shepherd through living faith, and it guards against false teachers with only a form of godliness who would divert minds from the safe position in these last days.
Meaning and Setting
To the only wise God our Saviour belong glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, for He alone is wise and He is the Saviour whose rule and glory endure now and forever. All honor and ruling authority now and forever are His. This doxology follows the assurance that God is able to keep believers from falling and to present them faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. It is praise that rests on His keeping power and His presenting of His people faultless before His glorious presence with great joy.
Its setting comes after Jude exposes ungodly men and mockers who shall be in the last time, who walk after their own ungodly lusts. They are sensual and without the Spirit, and their works are manifested just as portrayed in this period of earth's history.
The verse is words of encouragement spoken to God's faithful people. It concludes Jude's call to build themselves up on most holy faith, to pray in the Holy Ghost, to keep themselves in the love of God while looking for the mercy of Christ unto eternal life. It closes the charge to show compassion and to save others with fear from the fire, pulling them out while hating sin even as the garment spotted by the flesh.
Faithful Living and Mission
The doxology belongs to the instruction from Jude 1:20 to the close that makes Christian work a complete whole and teaches how to conduct warfare in the service of Christ. That warfare is balanced action with no one-sided extravagance and no indolence or shiftlessness, respecting every man's individuality and rejecting cold-hearted criticism and selfish practice. It joins building up on most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping in the love of God, looking for mercy unto eternal life, and saving others with fear, as the way to conduct the Christian warfare. It warns those who claim great light and spiritual knowledge to keep their garments undefiled.
The verse gives assurance to those who give themselves to Him body, mind, and soul and ask earnestly for help as laborers together with Him. It comes as praise after building up on most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping in the love of God, looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life, having compassion and saving others with fear, pulling them out of the fire while hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. It therefore calls for putting away judging one another, jealousy, suspicion, faultfinding, envy and evil-speaking, and for living in complete unity and healthful brotherly love under the intercession of Christ.
It closes Jude's charge to believers living when mockers walk after their own ungodly lusts, sensual and without the Spirit, to build themselves up in holy faith, pray in the Holy Ghost, keep themselves in the love of God looking for the mercy of Christ unto eternal life, show compassion, and save others with fear from the fire while hating sin. It calls those who profess to believe in the soon coming of Christ to judge the earth, including physicians and ministers, to examine heart and life to see if they stand in this position, keeping the commandments of God so they may be saved in His kingdom. The verse belongs to Jude's call to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints by bringing men back from transgression of the commandments of God. That contending proclaims the gospel of Christ with earnestness and zeal as light to commandment-breakers to arouse them to prepare to meet God, raising the standard of truth and magnifying God's trampled law and making it honorable, because sin is the transgression of the law.
The verse belongs to a call to keep faith and turn wandering people back to life, urging believers to rely through living faith on divine power and lead the lost back to the Shepherd who gave His life for them. It guards believers against the seductive influences of false teachers, men who have a form of godliness but are not safe leaders. It applies in these last days when false teachers arise and become actively zealous, presenting theories to divert minds from the very truth that defines the position that can be occupied with safety. This is a time when Satan is working with power upon religionists, leading them to make a pretense of being righteous while failing to place themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.