The author of this letter is Judas, the brother of James, and half-brother to the Lord Jesus. In Greek, the name is literally "Judas." He wrote the book of Jude. Judas is mentioned 44 times in the New Testament, representing the name of a person, as well as the name of the territory of Judah in Israel. Both are the same words. There are eight people named Judas in the New Testament.
Jude's letter is specifically written to believing Jews as it refers to the Old Testament scriptures and the Jewish historical books. Jude was written around 70 A.D. from Jerusalem. Jude wrote his letter in the Present Tense indicating that the false teachers that Peter warned about were now present in the Church which seemed to be the purpose of his letter.
The theme of Jude's letter can be found in Verse 3, where Jude calls on believers to contend for the faith which was once delivered to the Saints. Jude's letter contains many allusions and illustrations from the Old Testament, indicating that his primary audience was the believing Jews.
Jude 1:1 - Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
There is a whole lot packed into this one verse, so please bear with me as I try and keep this as short as I can. He starts out by saying Jude, which in Greek is IOUDAS, Judas, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James. It's interesting that both Judas and James did not push their position as being the Lord's half-brothers to fit into some kind of a privileged position.
They both presented themselves as slaves of Jesus Christ. They are servants, literally slaves (DULOS) of Jesus Christ. And Jude includes that he is a brother of James. And everybody knows who James is. He's the head of the church of Jerusalem.
Jude 1:7 - Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities around them in like manner, giving themselves over to sexual immorality, and going after strange flesh. Interesting! Going after strange flesh is a Hebrew term for homosexuality. It's going after different flesh than what God intended it for. They are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. So, he presents three instances from the Old Testament of God's judgment that came.
Jude 1:8 - Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
Likewise also these filthy dreamers, they defile the flesh, they despise dominion, that is, they reject authority, and they speak evil, or blaspheme dignities, or glories. It's from a Hebrew term denoting angels. They blaspheme angels.
Jude 1:13 - Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
They are raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; they are wandering stars, which is a Hebraism for false prophets. They are wanderers. They have no stability.
Jude 1:2 - Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
He says mercy to you, and in the Greek text, this is in the Optative Mood, which means this is a wish. The last phrase "be multiplied" is literally, may it be multiplied. He's asking for a wish. May mercy be unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied, or increased. And that is Jude's desire for them, especially after he ministers to them about the problems in the church.
Jude 1:3 - Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
It was needful for me, literally, a necessity was placed upon me to write unto you, and to encourage you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. We're talking about the faith that was once and for all given to the saints, nothing new. But he says that you should earnestly contend for the faith.
Earnestly contend is one word. It's a compound word in the Greek text. And it is the word over, and the word AGONIDZO, where we get our word agonize from. It's from the coliseum games, the training of the athletes. They went through agony.
He's calling upon all believers, the faith that was founded through Jesus Christ and established for us by the apostles and prophets that Christ chose to represent Him after He left, that's the same faith that we have today. It's not new.
But to earnestly contend for the faith means you have to take a stand, and you have to go through the agony of the suffering for it, just like an athlete going through the pains for the athletic contest. So, to earnestly contend, it means to stick up for the truth, and whatever you have to go through to do that, he's encouraging us to do that.
Here it says that Christ is keeping us. And it is a Perfect Tense. It is a permanent condition that He is keeping us. We see in John Chapter 17, which is a great chapter. This is the Lord's Prayer to the Father before He is crucified. And the prayer gives us so much more information about His ministry to us.
But He says "Father, I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom you gave me, that they may be one, as we are. In the verse prior to this, Jesus talked about how He kept them while He was with them in the world. And now he is going to be crucified. He's going to die, be buried, and rise from the dead.
And now He's asking the Holy Father to keep through your own name those whom you have given to me. So, we are kept by Christ. We are kept by the heavenly Father. There's another text in 1 Peter Chapter 1 where he says we are those who are being kept by the power of God until our salvation is realized when He comes for us.
We saw in 1 John Chapter 5 that God keeps His own people, and that the evil one cannot touch them, literally cannot grasp (HAPTO) them. So, it's all through the scriptures that God is keeping and guarding us for Himself. And that's what Jude brings out here, to those who have been sanctified by God the Father, and who have been preserved in Jesus Christ.
And the third thing he says, and who are called. All genuine believers are those who have responded to the call. You can study John Chapter 10 for the call if you'd like. Jesus said His sheep hear His voice and they follow after Him. All of His sheep respond to the voice of Christ.
Then who he's writing to, and this is interesting. He says to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and the called ones.
Three things:
First, they're sanctified. That is in the Perfect Tense in the Greek text, which means they stand in a permanent condition of being set apart. That's what sanctified means, set apart by God the Father. Of course, you probably already know that a believer is sanctified. It can be found many times throughout the NT. Sanctified is the verb form of the word for saint, HAGIOS, the set apart one.
HAGIOS is also the word for holy. So, when the Holy Spirit comes into a believer's life, they are set apart by God. And by His Spirit coming in, they experience sanctification. So, to those who have been sanctified by God the Father, and then another Perfect Tense, and who have been preserved in Jesus Christ.
It's a fascinating statement that many people don't even know is in the bible as we debate and share with one another about our permanent condition and if we can lose our salvation? A believer has been preserved, kept by, and in Jesus Christ. The word preserved is the word TEREO. There are actually two words that have to do with guarding someone.
TEREO is the word used for a guard who would be in charge for making sure people from the outside would not come in to get the prisoner. There's another word, PHULASSO, which means you would be the guard that would guard the prisoner to make sure he doesn't get out.
So, you're guarding in two different directions for two different things. The one that's used for the believer, as it is used here, is the word TEREO, which means that I am on guard. For me to keep the commandments of God, it means that I am to keep on guard for things coming in and interrupting my obedience to Christ. It doesn't mean I keep it perfectly. It means I'm on guard against the things that are interfering with the commandments of Christ.
(Jude Part 1a):
The author of this letter is Judas, the brother of James, and half-brother to the Lord Jesus. In Greek, the name is literally "Judas." He wrote the book of Jude. Judas is mentioned 44 times in the New Testament, representing the name of a person, as well as the name of the territory of Judah in Israel. Both are the same words. There are eight people named Judas in the New Testament.
Jude's letter is specifically written to believing Jews as it refers to the Old Testament scriptures and the Jewish historical books. Jude was written around 70 A.D. from Jerusalem. Jude wrote his letter in the Present Tense indicating that the false teachers that Peter warned about were now present in the Church which seemed to be the purpose of his letter.
The theme of Jude's letter can be found in Verse 3, where Jude calls on believers to contend for the faith which was once delivered to the Saints. Jude's letter contains many allusions and illustrations from the Old Testament, indicating that his primary audience was the believing Jews.
Jude 1:1 - Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
There is a whole lot packed into this one verse, so please bear with me as I try and keep this as short as I can. He starts out by saying Jude, which in Greek is IOUDAS, Judas, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James. It's interesting that both Judas and James did not push their position as being the Lord's half-brothers to fit into some kind of a privileged position.
They both presented themselves as slaves of Jesus Christ. They are servants, literally slaves (DULOS) of Jesus Christ. And Jude includes that he is a brother of James. And everybody knows who James is. He's the head of the church of Jerusalem.
Jude 1:7 - Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities around them in like manner, giving themselves over to sexual immorality, and going after strange flesh. Interesting! Going after strange flesh is a Hebrew term for homosexuality. It's going after different flesh than what God intended it for. They are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. So, he presents three instances from the Old Testament of God's judgment that came.
Jude 1:8 - Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
Likewise also these filthy dreamers, they defile the flesh, they despise dominion, that is, they reject authority, and they speak evil, or blaspheme dignities, or glories. It's from a Hebrew term denoting angels. They blaspheme angels.
Jude 1:13 - Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
They are raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; they are wandering stars, which is a Hebraism for false prophets. They are wanderers. They have no stability.
Jude 1:2 - Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
He says mercy to you, and in the Greek text, this is in the Optative Mood, which means this is a wish. The last phrase "be multiplied" is literally, may it be multiplied. He's asking for a wish. May mercy be unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied, or increased. And that is Jude's desire for them, especially after he ministers to them about the problems in the church.
Jude 1:3 - Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
It was needful for me, literally, a necessity was placed upon me to write unto you, and to encourage you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. We're talking about the faith that was once and for all given to the saints, nothing new. But he says that you should earnestly contend for the faith.
Earnestly contend is one word. It's a compound word in the Greek text. And it is the word over, and the word AGONIDZO, where we get our word agonize from. It's from the coliseum games, the training of the athletes. They went through agony.
He's calling upon all believers, the faith that was founded through Jesus Christ and established for us by the apostles and prophets that Christ chose to represent Him after He left, that's the same faith that we have today. It's not new.
But to earnestly contend for the faith means you have to take a stand, and you have to go through the agony of the suffering for it, just like an athlete going through the pains for the athletic contest. So, to earnestly contend, it means to stick up for the truth, and whatever you have to go through to do that, he's encouraging us to do that.
Jude 1:1 continued
Here it says that Christ is keeping us. And it is a Perfect Tense. It is a permanent condition that He is keeping us. We see in John Chapter 17, which is a great chapter. This is the Lord's Prayer to the Father before He is crucified. And the prayer gives us so much more information about His ministry to us.
But He says "Father, I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom you gave me, that they may be one, as we are. In the verse prior to this, Jesus talked about how He kept them while He was with them in the world. And now he is going to be crucified. He's going to die, be buried, and rise from the dead.
And now He's asking the Holy Father to keep through your own name those whom you have given to me. So, we are kept by Christ. We are kept by the heavenly Father. There's another text in 1 Peter Chapter 1 where he says we are those who are being kept by the power of God until our salvation is realized when He comes for us.
We saw in 1 John Chapter 5 that God keeps His own people, and that the evil one cannot touch them, literally cannot grasp (HAPTO) them. So, it's all through the scriptures that God is keeping and guarding us for Himself. And that's what Jude brings out here, to those who have been sanctified by God the Father, and who have been preserved in Jesus Christ.
And the third thing he says, and who are called. All genuine believers are those who have responded to the call. You can study John Chapter 10 for the call if you'd like. Jesus said His sheep hear His voice and they follow after Him. All of His sheep respond to the voice of Christ.
Jude 1:1 continued
Then who he's writing to, and this is interesting. He says to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and the called ones.
Three things:
First, they're sanctified. That is in the Perfect Tense in the Greek text, which means they stand in a permanent condition of being set apart. That's what sanctified means, set apart by God the Father. Of course, you probably already know that a believer is sanctified. It can be found many times throughout the NT. Sanctified is the verb form of the word for saint, HAGIOS, the set apart one.
HAGIOS is also the word for holy. So, when the Holy Spirit comes into a believer's life, they are set apart by God. And by His Spirit coming in, they experience sanctification. So, to those who have been sanctified by God the Father, and then another Perfect Tense, and who have been preserved in Jesus Christ.
It's a fascinating statement that many people don't even know is in the bible as we debate and share with one another about our permanent condition and if we can lose our salvation? A believer has been preserved, kept by, and in Jesus Christ. The word preserved is the word TEREO. There are actually two words that have to do with guarding someone.
TEREO is the word used for a guard who would be in charge for making sure people from the outside would not come in to get the prisoner. There's another word, PHULASSO, which means you would be the guard that would guard the prisoner to make sure he doesn't get out.
So, you're guarding in two different directions for two different things. The one that's used for the believer, as it is used here, is the word TEREO, which means that I am on guard. For me to keep the commandments of God, it means that I am to keep on guard for things coming in and interrupting my obedience to Christ. It doesn't mean I keep it perfectly. It means I'm on guard against the things that are interfering with the commandments of Christ.
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