Jude, God Alone

Jude 25 To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

The final passage in Jude’s benediction shines the light perfectly and completely upon God. He ascribes to God a quaternity of attributes, extolling the Lord for His virtues; virtues which provide definition for His otherwise inscrutable character. There is very much we would not–and could not–know about the nature of God if He did not deign to share it with the sons of men.

But He does deign, and He has shared it. In this verse much is imparted in a few words. We learn that God is our Savior. In Isaiah 44:6-8, God relates His uniqueness in existence. He is the first; He existed before the time/space universe. He existed before angels and men; He is the uncaused causation of all things that have a beginning. He IS that beginning; He is the first. He is also the last; among gods there are no rivals, equals, or alternatives. All professing gods are frauds; God is the first, last, and only. He delivers prophetic utterances to declare things to come, so that Israel (and us) may know Him to be the true God.

This singular, eternal being we call God is also the sole Savior of mankind. “I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior,” Isaiah 43:11. God intimates that before existence, there was only Him, Isaiah 43:13. The NASB renders the verse, “Even from eternity I am He.” Since God is the only Savior, and Jesus Christ our Lord is likewise ascribed that title interchangeably, Luke 1:47, 2:11, John 4:42, Acts 4:12, 5:31, 13:23, 1 Timothy 1:1, 4:10, Titus 2:10, 2:13, 3:6, 2 Peter 1:1, 1:11, 1 John 4:14, it is written deliberately, so that the discerning reader may understand that Christ the Lord is also God incarnate, the only one qualified to bear the title of Savior.

Jude asserts that God alone is wise. God is the source of wisdom. Solomon wrote as much to his son in Proverbs, stating, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” Proverbs 9:10. Job said of God, “With Him are wisdom and strength,” Job 12:13. Solomon elsewhere wrote, “For the Lord gives wisdom,” Proverbs 2:6. James counsels Christians, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,” James 1:5. True wisdom–not temporal, earthly wisdom–begins with the Lord. Jude reaches above and beyond and says of God, that He alone is wise. He is the dispenser of wisdom, and anyone on this earth that practices godly wisdom has sat at God’s feet to learn it.

Oxford defines wisdom as, “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” God’s understanding infinitely surpasses our own, Isaiah 55:9. Therefore He counsels us to defer to Him when it comes to matters that require wisdom. The Christian is to,” Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding,” Proverbs 3:5. Why? Because God is infinitely wise and knows what is best for us. Moreover, He desires what is best for us. We settle for the mire the world, the flesh and sin provide, when He wants to elevate us into a position of loving fellowship, where we may work at His command and in His strength for His glory, our good, and others’ benefit. If the world submitted to the wisdom of God as it is expressed in the Bible, imagine how the world would be at peace! And one day when Christ our Lord reigns in Israel from David’s throne, this will be so. It will be entirely unlike John Lennon’s song, “Imagine,” where he wanted us to do away with the notion of God and Heaven, as though true wisdom would spurn the divine and the eternal. But this is carnal and demonic wisdom, which James informs us does not descend from above.

Jude ascribes to God the attributes of glory, majesty, dominion and power in this present world of time and matter, and through the sprawling, epic expanse of eternity to come. Glory, simply put, is renown or honor. Majesty is stateliness, dignity, or beauty. Dominion is sovereignty or control. Power can mean authority, but the Greek implies, “the ability or strength with which one is endued.” These four descriptors define the ruling nature of God Himself. He is the most renowned or honorable, stately, dignified and lovely. He is sovereign, utterly in control of all that is His, and holds the authority of peoples and nations in His hand by virtue of creating them. God is the great and perfect constant in life. He existed before us, dwells with us, and will endure throughout eternity when time finally dissolves. There are none greater, wiser, statelier, more deserving of honor and praise than our God. All that is owes its all to Him. Jude understood this much and extolled these virtues, already abundantly (or infinitely) present in the Lord. It should behoove us to do likewise. Amen is typically translated, “may it be so.” And to that I believe we all can find agreement.