SUMMARY
The concluding doxology makes a strong theological statement that resonates with the circumstances that face the letter’s audience.
ANALYSIS
Part of a Christian leader’s task is to help others see their circumstances in the context of an ongoing purpose, and a primary aspect of this involves holding up hope. This doxology draws a direct link between the ongoing counsels and purposes of God, and the precise and immediate need of the readers of Jude: “to keep you from falling,” “to make you stand,” and so forth. Nothing that the author can say can make the community’s life easy, painless, or safe. It is, however, possible for the right kind of teaching at the right moment, spoken in the right way, to (re-)introduce a sense of the ongoing work of God, which is good, purposeful, and unshakable. In this uplifting doxology, the author brings the letter to a close.
