(cf. Jude 24-25)

Aren’t you glad to know that God is willing to work with us in the midst of our failures and problems? Against the backdrop of man’s failure, and man’s inability, and man’s rebellion comes the truth that sets our feet on the rock of the Gospel of grace. And the God who called us out of darkness into light, “unto Him who is continually able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and Majesty Dominion authority before all time and now and forevermore, amen!”

If you look at your reference Bible where this little phrase, “unto Him who is able” is used, there are other prayers in the Bible that start with this little phrase which emphasizes first of all, that we don’t worship a God made with human hands; a God that’s blind, and dumb, and incapable of locomotion. We don’t worship a God that we just bowed down to but nothing really happens. In our lives we worship a God who is present, and capable, and powerful. The Creator beside which there is no other, and He is the God that is able to perform on our behalf and accomplishes with His own will anything He desires in His universe; the God who is continually active in our lives and in our world to accomplish His purpose. Paul in his letter to the Romans prayed a similar prayer, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen” (cf. Rom. 16:25-27). Ephesians 3:20-21 is one more prayer that Paul comes to pray unto “…Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen”. That’s the kind of God we’re talking about. A God who can establish us in the Gospel. A God who can do exceedingly abundantly in our lives. This same God is the God, who in the midst of our record of falling, in the midst of our record of sin, in the midst of our record of rebellion can establish His church, His people on a foundation that no one can move.

O, if we could just understand who we are in Jesus Christ. if we could ever see the picture of the spiritual truth and vitality of our salvation, totally apart from our own merit and our own works, fully and completely established in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we’d be able to stand a lot better. Because when you know who you are in Him, and you know that no one can pluck you out of His hand, you’d able to stand strong in the face of anything that comes your way – yes, even death. Hallelujah!