Jude 1:25 Commentary and Bible Study

This is a doxology, even in human terms, of extraordinary intelligence and depth. What Jude does not do is simply allow words to tumble out at random. This is a deeply intelligent assembly of terms that cover specific aspects of the glory and wonder of God. It is a systematic analysis of the being of God, not in terms of his attributes, but in terms of the kinds of attributes that God possesses. ‘The only wise God’ views God from the point of view of his intelligence, his knowledge, his wisdom. Why ‘only wise’? Well because there is only one God, three persons mysteriously in the Godhead, equally divine, equally God and yet one essence, one united Godhead. But ‘only’ also because none of God’s created beings are wise as he is wise. The angelic host do not have his wisdom, his infinite, extensive wisdom. Human beings of course do not have his wisdom. The smartest, the cleverest, the shrewdest of world leaders cannot see the future, and leaves in his wake a string of unintended consequences. He can only do his or her best. There is no wisdom to be compared with God which is perfect and unassailable. That is why there is the divine explanation in the Bible of the world and of humanity, and how we have come about, and our nature, and how we operate, and how we function, and what influences us, and our strengths and our weaknesses. The wisdom of Almighty God is beyond criticism, beyond challenge; it never fails. When you are first saved, you rejoice in God’s plan of redemption, and then you come to understand it a little more, and you see the wisdom of it and you see that it is the only conceivable way by which a holy God can save man, and you marvel at its depths. ‘Be glory’, ascribed. Jude is speaking of the dignity and honour of God, the worth of God. How can we illustrate this? Suppose you have a little car, it is only a small car, it is an inexpensive small car. The manufacturers have cut corners all over the place to get it to you at that price. You think it is a good car, but it has got its faults. It is a pretty bumpy ride, it is far from perfect. Its cheapness shows through in so many ways. Now I am not advocating that you get this, but you can compare it with a Rolls Royce where every aspect of it seems to be perfect. You cannot hear it when it is motoring; it is as smooth as it could be; you are insulated from the noise and the traffic. Everything you look at is beautifully done. Well it is a feeble illustration, but you look from man, from the highest and noblest, and then you look to God. And that is what is meant by glory, value, worth. What is the difference between glory and majesty? Well, majesty is greatness in a difference sense. It really is looking at the rights of God. We get a picture of it in the royal dynasties and so on. If you lived in a time when kings and queens actually ruled, you would say that person has a right to rule. Of course, it is a strange right really because a few generations back the first person in that sequence of kings achieved it by ruthless conquest perhaps. But now he is clothed with dignity and right, the right of kings. God rules by right. In a democracy your government rules by mere majority, but it is God’s right to rule because he made everything. The dominion of God is the constant exercise of his power. But does God have constant power, when all over the world people go their own way, and refuse to worship him? Yes, he does. By his permissive will, people rebel against him. By his rule we were born and gained life, and by his rule we shall have it taken away again. It is all under his long-suffering. This last term refers to the intensity of his power. His dominion is the scope of his mighty power, but the last term is the intensity of it. If God chooses to cast down an empire in his dominion, it does not matter how seemingly well established and powerful it is, God’s power is so intense it will just rise above it and crush it. The historians are still puzzling over the collapse of the Soviet empire in our lifetime. How did it happen? We can trace the steps but suddenly the life went out of it. It was a divine act. Just go slowly through those words. Just think of them, just take them in, the majesty, the wonder, the power, the holiness and the love of God. This is the God who can keep us, you and me, moment by moment, from tripping and spoiling and ruining. All glory, says Jude, to our divine Lord.