With Great Joy

by Eric Adams, Elder

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jude 24–25 (ESV)

The end of Jude contains what may be the greatest doxology in all of Scripture. Packed inside these two theologically rich verses is a short phrase that recently jumped off the page for me: “with great joy.”

It is with great joy that God, through Jesus Christ, the One through whom all things were created (Col. 1:15–17), will present us before His glorious presence. God Himself rejoices over his people with gladness (Zeph. 3:17), and it is with great joy that our Savior will present believers completely blameless and without fault (Eph. 5:27).

It is by that same power that He will keep us from stumbling. Charles Spurgeon said of this verse, “The power to create a world, to divide the rocks, to shake the mountains or set them ablaze is inferior compared with the power that is able to keep us from stumbling.” Our victory on that final day rests only on the power of God in Christ (1 Pet. 1:5).

For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross for our sins, and He is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:1-2). With joy, Jesus defeated sin, defeated Satan and saved us. Jude reminds us that because of Jesus’ willing and joy focused sacrifice, we can give God all the honor He is due (Exod. 15:11).

On that wonderful day, with great joy, there will be no more stumbling and no more guilt. We will be presented standing before the blazing glory of God, blameless and faultless because of the finished work of a joyful Jesus. What a wonderful promise! May we will never grow tired of remembering it.