From the Pen of Paul: Jude’s Doxology
Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory, and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).
In his short letter to the saints, Jude has written some very needed instructions, warnings, and exhortations. Some of these, at least to some degree, were not pleasant things to write about. He pleaded with them to contend earnestly for the faith (v. 3). He warned them about the ungodly men who had crept in among them unnoticed (v. 4). He reminded them of God's condemnation of certain ones in the past (vs. 5-7). He gave a description of these ungodly men, whom he labeled “filthy dreamers,” showing just how depraved they actually were (vs. 8-16). And through a series of exhortations, he counseled them on how they could keep from falling short and remain faithful (17-23). However, having to write as he did, Jude still was not left in a bad state of mind. He did not end on a depressed note; but instead he ends with a glorious doxology.
A doxology is “An expression of praise to God, especially a short hymn sung as part of a worship service” (American Heritage Dictionary). Such doxologies are not rare in the Scriptures. They are usually found at the end of an epistle as here and in Romans 16:25-27. Sometimes they are inserted in the middle of an epistle, as in Ephesians 3:20-21. Doxologies generally follow a format consisting of two parts. They are (1) an address to the one being praised, and including reasons why the praise is being offered, and (2) the pouring out or expressing of the praise itself. Thus in Jude's closing doxology, we find that his letter ends on an exceptionally high note, not on doubt and despair. Jude ends with this beautiful expression of faith and hope.
Jude begins by describing the one to whom the praise is directed, “To Him that is able...” And in verse 25 the words, “To the only wise God” makes it plain that God is the one in view and being praised by Jude. The emphasis seems to be on His ability to keep us from falling. This fact is particularly reassuring in an epistle with warnings of ungodly men who are intent on leading us astray. God's ability to prevent us from stumbling was implied in the very first verse of this epistle when he wrote to those “preserved” in Christ. But, as we have shown in previous articles, our faith must cooperate with God's power if we are to be kept from falling (I Pet. 1:5; II Pet. 1:5-11). Indeed, we must heed all of the six exhortations discussed in our three previous articles.
Jude further states that God is able “to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” In this part of his praise, Jude's focus is on God's ability to bring about his ultimate goal of saving us. That goal is expressed here as presenting us before God, (1) faultless, and (2) with exceeding joy.
Paul expressed this idea of our being faultless in this way: “That He might present it unto Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). Such is necessary before we can be permitted into the presence of God in glory (Rev. 21:25-27). This can only be accomplished by having our sins washed away and made white by the blood of the Lamb (Isa. 1:18; Rom. 4:7-8; 6:17-18; Acts 22:16).
“Dominion” suggests might, power, and strength. “Power” has to do with authority, jurisdiction, liberty, right, strength. By using these words, Jude indicates that it is God who rightly deserves and exercises authority over all. “Both now and forever” shows that Jude's fervent prayer is that this dominion, glory and power remain God's, not just for the present, but for eternity!
And with a single word, “Amen,” Jude closes his doxology, and the letter itself. The word “Amen” means “so be it.” And, so it will be; despite the attempts of many to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness and to deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ: (1) God will bring into judgment all the ungodly; (2) He will “preserve” all who remain faithful to Him, “keeping them from stumbling, and will present them faultless before His presence with exceeding joy”; (3) And to Him will be “glory, and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
—Paul Wilmoth
From the Preacher’s Viewpoint. . .
“What does it mean to worship God? Does the Bible authorize the hiring of entertainers to come and entertain at worship services?”
The Greek word for worship is proskuneo and means “to make obeisance, do reverence to.” This is the most frequent word used for worship in the Bible. (See W. E. Vine p. 235 and Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon p. 548.)
Worship is something we do. It is not passive but active. We may go watch a football game, a basketball game, golf game, etc., but we cannot watch worship and be worshiping. We must be involved in it. Sometimes people will say, “I just sit still and worship God in my heart.” This is impossible to do. People may think they do this but they do not. We worship God when we make obeisance to Him; do reverence to Him.
When we take the Lord’s Supper this is an act of obeisance and reverence toward God. When we sing, pray, study the Bible and give of our means to the Lord, these are acts of worship to the Almighty. No one can do my worshiping for me and no one can do your worshiping for you. Please remember that worship is something we do and not something we watch and listen to if we would be involved in worship.
Some people argue that everything the Christian does is worship to God. This is very false. When the Christian greases his car, is this worshiping God? When the Christian kisses his wife, is this worship to God? When the Christian fertilizes his garden, is this worship to God? When a father paddles his children, is this worship to God? When the Christian takes a bath, is this worship to God? Anyone that can see through a ladder should know better than this.
If everything the man of God does is worship, then the eunuch, when he was going to Jerusalem to worship God, was already worshiping God while he was traveling (Acts 8:27). He did not know it; as well the Holy Spirit did not know it. The wise men came to worship Jesus (Matt. 2:1-2). But if everything God’s people do is worship, then they were worshiping when they came to worship. The Holy Spirit did not know that they were worshiping while they traveled.
When the Lord’s church meets, they have a set time and a planned program in keeping with the Bible. There are five items of worship in the assembly of the church on the first day of the week (Acts 2:42). They are: singing, praying, preaching, giving, and the Lord’s Supper. These are not things invented by our forefathers and thus tradition. They are commanded of God and must be observed from the heart if one would please God (John 4:24). I read a bulletin a few days ago where the preacher said these weere traditions of men. If this is true, then he acknowledges that he worships according to the traditions of men; thus his worship is vain (Matt. 15:8-9).
Some churches hire quartets, choruses, and soloists along with entertainers to come to their church and entertain. This may get a crowd, but is it what God authorizes in worship? If we just wanted to get a crowd at Northeast, I would suggest that we have a striptease act. You could rest assured that every old reprobate in this country would be present. We would not have room for everyone. But our goals are much higher and our aim is much deeper than this type of fleshly thing. We want men to come to God according to God’s worship and will.
If we feed people hamburgers to get them to come to worship, then we must keep on feeding them to keep them coming. If we must entertain them to get them to come to worship, then we must keep on entertaining them to keep them coming. If people are not interested enough in God and His Word to attend worship, then they have a counterfeit religion and whatever else may be done is not going to do very much good.
At the Northeast church of Christ we worship God in the old-fashioned Bible way. This is all we have to offer. It may not be as entertaining as other things but it will get you to heaven. All we have to offer is Jesus and Him crucified. We believe this is enough (I Cor. 2:1-5). Shallow people want shallow things; but deep people want deep things; and one cannot get any deeper than God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. They will endure when all the entertainment is gone!
—Malcolm L. Hill