From the Pen of Paul: Jude Exhorts Us to be Faithful (2)
In these articles we are examining a number of exhortations for us to be faithful given by Jude near the end of his letter. Last week we looked at (1) “Remember the words that were spoken before”; and (2) “Build yourselves up on your most holy faith” (verses 17-20).
Exhortation #3: “pray in the Holy Spirit” (v. 20b). Prayer is one of the Christian's greatest blessings. God “heareth not sinners” but “the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers” (John 9:31; I Pet. 3:12). He promises to hear and answer our prayers when they are asked “according to His will” (I John 5:14-15). Prayer is the necessary compliment to the word of God. By the word, God speaks to us; by prayer, we speak to God. God's word is a source of strength and comfort to us; but so also is prayer. Paul wrote, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ” (Phil. 4:6-7). We should consider prayer and the word of God as the two legs of our spiritual life; both need to be well-balanced if we are to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18).
What does “praying in the Holy Ghost” mean? Jude does not elaborate, nor does Paul, who uses a similar expression in Ephesians 6:18: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” But Paul does use the expressions “live in the Spirit” and “walk in the Spirit” in Galatians 5:25, which suggest walking or living according to the Spirit's direction as found in the Word of God. Perhaps “praying in the Spirit” simply emphasizes that our prayers must be in harmony with what the Spirit teaches in the Word of God, which is also very similar to what John wrote in I John 5:14: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us.” Diligent Bible study and prayer are certainly essentials to keep us from falling. But, as we continue to look at Jude's exhortations, we learn that there is still more we need to do.
Exhortation #4: “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (v. 21). What is meant by “the love of God?” This expression can refer to either God's love for us, or our love for God. It appears that it is the former, God's love for us, that is significant here. The need is apparent; that is where blessings are found; that is where blessing are received. We must keep ourselves in the love of God by conforming our lives to His will. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (I John 5:3). “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby we know that we are in Him” (I John 2:4-5).
Human agency is also involved. While God provides the area of salvation, His love (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8), it is our responsibility to keep ourselves through faithfulness in that area; and when we fail to do so we are excluded from the provisions God has made for our salvation. If you have been reading these articles from Jude's letter for the past several weeks, you may remember what we learned as we studied the word “preserved” in Jude 1. Just as there are two sides to the plan of salvation (God's part and man's part), there are also two sides to our being preserved or kept. God provides the power (His word) to keep us safe (I Pet. 1:5). We must provide the faith. The area or sphere of safety is the love of God; but we must keep ourselves there.
To avoid thinking that we somehow earn our salvation, we need to heed Jude's next exhortation which we will consider in our third installment in next week's bulletin.
—Paul Wilmoth
From the Preacher’s Viewpoint. . .
“Will we know each other in the world to come?”
Often men have questioned as to whether there will be a hereafter or not. Many today say that when one dies he is just like an animal. They say there is nothing after death. We need to keep in mind that man says a lot of things which are not so. Just because one may teach that there is no hereafter does not make it that way. I am willing to let God be true in all things (Rom. 3:4).
The creation tells us there is something after death. The world has design about it and there had to be a designer. That designer is God and He lives in eternity or the other world. The universe is an organized unit, so there must have been an Organizer. That Organizer is and was God. God dwells in the land that is on the other side of death; He lives where Christians will live after death. The devil lives where sinners will live after death.
Will we know each other in the world to come? The Bible tells us that Moses and Elijah were talking with Christ on the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-5). Notice that they were still Moses and Elijah even though they had been dead for years. Christ said that God was still the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and yet they had been dead for hundreds of years when Christ spoke these words (Matt. 22:32). The point that I want us to remember is that they were still Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Death did not change them and it will not change us. We will still be who we are after death.
We will know God after we die (Rev. 21:3). We will know Christ in the world to come (I John 3:2). The rich man knew Abraham after death (Luke 16:24). The rich man knew Lazarus in the other world (Luke 16:24). Abraham knew the rich man in the other world (Luke 16:25). David said he could not bring back his baby that had died but that he could go to the baby (II Sam. 12:23). How could David go to the baby if the baby will not be known in the world to come?
The men of Nineveh will still be known as the men of Nineveh in the day of judgment (Matt. 12:41). The queen of the south will be known as the queen of the south in the judgment (Matt. 12:42). We will have a memory in the next world (Luke 16:25). We will remember the kind of life we lived while in this world in the next world (Matt. 25:31-46). We will remember and know our family after death (Luke 16:27-28).
Death does not change who we are. We will be the same person after death as we were when we died. In death we only move out of this earthly body into eternity. Yes, we will know each other in the world to come.
—Malcolm L. Hill