Two Bookends : Fear of the Lord & Being Kept in His Love.Sample

Jude 1:24-25

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!

Let us meditate on the beautiful doxology so filled with hope and confidence. Important to note is that Hebrew thought is not linear but multi-dimensional. Many truths all work in tandem with each other.

“Now unto to him who is able to keep you from falling.”

The Greek word for ‘keep’ here means to guard, watch, be vigilant, to keep an eye on.

This passage also tells us who is worthy of praise and what qualifies Him for the praise that follows in the second half of the sentence.

It is like saying I have put Mr. X in charge of your protection. Now, why should you trust Mr X. When you know Mr X’s credentials you will gain confidence to trust him. If I told you he is part of the elite Black cats, the best hand-to-hand combatant, and marksman, you will have full confidence in his ability to protect you.

He is able.

Why is He able? Jesus is able because He himself overcame falling short of the glory of God. He overcome temptation and therefore conquered sin and death.

“…present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy…”

Without fault or Blameless i.e., without blemish. Anyone born after Adam was automatically blemished. We have all fallen short of the glory of God therefore how can we be presented to God? We have fallen short of the glorious image bearers were meant to be. Jesus the ultimate sacrifice, the unblemished lamb died in the place of blemished people. He shed His blood so that you could be presented faultless. Not because of your righteousness. You are clothed in His righteousness. God did a prophetic act with Adam and Eve, A symbolic act with the Levitical priest’s clothing and the animal sacrifices to finally the actual act of Jesus shedding His blood and covering us with His righteousness. That is why we can enter the throne room of God boldly and Jesus can present us before the Father as blameless because He took our blame upon Himself.

We are the apple of His eye. God delights over us. Jesus is waiting to present His bride with great joy, exceeding joy. This is how much He loves you!!!

REFLECT

·Rejoice in the fact that Jesus is well-able.

·Once you are a new creation, you get back what Adam and Eve lost and fell short of. Thank Jesus for making a way for you to be restored to your original standing in Christ.