“the faith once delivered”
Download discussion questions: Jude 1-3
I encourage you to look at the passage in Jude before you read this Blog entry. What do you see in the text yourself? What questions come to your mind? How would you interpret what the writer says? After even a few minutes examining and thinking about the text you will be much better prepared to evaluate the comments in the Blog.
There is quite a bit of overlap between letter of Jude and the Second Letter of Peter (see below). It will be helpful to continue the present blog series as we study those two epistles together.
Why Jude?
The New Testament book of Jude has been described as “the most neglected book in the New Testament,”[1] although we saw a similar evaluation of the book of Hebrews. Jude is short (only Philemon, and 2nd and 3rd John are shorter),[2] and the writer quotes the apocryphal source of 1 Enoch (Jude 14), apparently considering it “an authoritative and prophetic writing.”[3] The authenticity of Jude was questioned in the early centuries of the church,[4] and Luther later lamented that in Jude “the gospel message does not shine very luminously.”[5]
Yet Jude is in our canon, recognized as inspired Scripture, the Word of God. Jude is included in what is likely the earliest list of canonical books (around 200A.D.).[6] Jude was part of the canon of Athanasius in 367[7] with all twenty-seven books of our New Testament.[8]
We discussed why Jude seems to be “neglected.” Someone suggested that it could be slighted simply because it is so short. Another person pointed out that Jude could be overshadowed by interest in Revelation. Or perhaps the unfamiliar (and uncomfortable?) reference to the prophecy of Enoch would make some people (especially Protestants) avoid the letter altogether. When we get into the text, we may explore more reasons why the book was so controversial.
Jude Who?
Jude, Judas, and Judah in English Bibles are all translations of the same Greek version of a Hebrew name, Ἰούδας (Ioudas). As someone in our group pointed out, the writer probably wanted to be sure and establish his identity separate from Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus.
Like other New Testament letters, the text opens with the identity of the writer.
Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James… (Jude 1)
“Bond-servant of Jesus Christ” is a frequent self-description of several other writers of New Testament letters (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1, Titus 1:1, James 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1). “Brother of James” is unique.
In our discussion, someone asked if the greeting of any other NT letter used “brother” as a form of identification as Jude does. Another person asked if Jude might have used “brother” in a figurative sense, meaning simply a “brother in Christ” of James. A little additional research[9] on the uses of “brother” revealed the following examples:
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, (1 Corinthians 1:1)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, (2 Corinthians 1:1)
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, (Colossians 1:1)
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved brother and fellow worker, (Philemon 1:1)
In each of these cases (all in Paul’s letters), “brother” refers to a co-author. Paul the apostle communicates his close relationships with Sosthenes and Timothy to his readers at the beginning of his letters.
In another, slightly different greeting, John identifies himself with his audience as a brother, a fellow Christian who shares in their tribulation.
I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 1:9)
The use of “brother” by Jude is different from each of these. Jude seems to use his relationship with James as evidence of his credentials and authority, “the honor and status derived from Jude’s blood relationship with an important person like James”.[10]
As in the study of the letter written by James, there is a question. Which James is this? Which James does Jude cite as his brother? The author of the NT book of James was almost certainly written by James, the brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3).
He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
(Matthew 13:54-55, emphasis added)
As mentioned in our study of James,
None of the other Jameses mentioned in the NT lived long enough or was prominent enough to write the letter we have before us without identifying himself any further than he does.[11]
It follows, then, that Jude was the brother of this James and also the [half] brother of Jesus Christ. The designation points to a Jude who is well known and to a James who is well known. The author feels no need to identify himself further, suggesting a well-established reputation in the community.[12]
That identification is also supported by both James and Jude being named as brothers of Jesus in the verses cited above (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3).
That left the question: Why didn’t Jude identify himself as the brother of Jesus? Our group agreed that humility prevented Jude from making that explicit claim. He might be on an equal standing in his fraternal relationship with James, but he recognized and emphasized his submission as a slave to Jesus Christ.
Jude’s early unbelief along with the rest of the brothers (John 7:1-13) might also have contributed to his humility.
Jude’s physical relationship to Jesus did not bring him any spiritual benefit. The title is therefore irrelevant to what he is doing in his letter.[13]
The human family tie was of no importance in comparison to the spiritual connection, just as his half-Brother had proclaimed: “My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:21).
When?
Like many NT documents, the precise date of Jude’s letter is uncertain. Conservative scholars agree on a general window in the first century: “early 60s,”[14] “before AD 66,”[15] or possibly AD 68.[16]
The date relates to another question about the letter of Jude and 2 Peter. As we will explore through our study of these two books,
2 Peter and Jude are, in some respects, an ‘odd couple.’ They are a couple in that the majority of Jude is included in edited form in 2 Peter….[17]
It is possible that both inspired authors wrote completely independently. However, the overlap and striking parallels suggest at least three additional possibilities.[18]
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- Peter was familiar with the letter of Jude.
- Jude was familiar with the letter of Peter.
- Peter and Jude were both familiar with either a written or oral source or perhaps a combination.
How, if at all, does any mutual familiarity affect our interpretation of each of the letters? How does that affect our understanding of the inspiration of Scripture? More questions for our future discussions.
To Whom?
Like the other so-called “catholic epistles”[19] (small “c” catholic meaning addressed to a “general” or “universal” audience), the recipients Jude writes to are not explicitly named (cf. James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John). Jude writes to churches in general, perhaps in a geographic area, that are facing common problems.
In discussing the beginning of Jude’s letter, we noted three things he says about the recipients (Jude 1b).
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- They are “beloved in God the Father.”
- They are “kept for Jesus Christ.”
- They are “called.”
Even these three seemingly straightforward observations generated considerable discussion.
Beloved in God the Father
At least one person using the King James translation raised a question. That version translates the first phrase “sanctified by God the Father” (similar translations have “sanctified in God the Father”).[20] Most of the related translations (AKJV, KJ21, GNV, NKJV) are revisions of the King James version, and presumably all are based on the same Greek text as was used for the 1611 translation.
“Beloved” and “sanctified” are hardly synonyms. Certainly, an argument can be made for a theological connection, but that doesn’t reconcile the textual question. The words in the original are different but similar enough that confusion is easy to imagine.
ἠγαπημένοις (hēgapēmenois, beloved; NASB)
ἠγιασμένοις (hēgiasmenois, sanctified; KJV)
So why do all modern translations have “beloved” instead of “sanctified”?
This is almost certainly an example of more recently discovered Greek manuscripts used for modern translations. The King James Version was based on Greek manuscripts mostly from the twelfth-century.[21] In the years since King James, much older documents (i.e., closer to the originals and therefore less likely to have been mis-copied) have been found, some as early as the beginning of the fourth-century[22] – eight-hundred years nearer to the hand of Jude and the other New Testament writers. We can have a high level of confidence that Jude originally wrote “beloved” as he addressed his letter. (For a brief summary of the process of textual criticism, see the essay “Textual Variants – What to do about differences in the Bible.” For a more detailed discussion, see the resources mentioned in the footnotes.)
With several other topics of conversation, we didn’t really discuss the meaning of “beloved in God” (ESV, NASB, NIV2011, etc.). Is that the same as “beloved (or loved) by God” (CSB, NIV1984)? But “beloved in God the Father” “does not identify who is doing the loving,”[23] so “beloved by God the Father” seems preferable. In either case, the emphasis is clear, Jude writes to those in “the sphere in which God’s love is exercised”[24] and experienced.
Kept for Jesus Christ
The second assertion Jude makes about his target audience is that they are “kept for Jesus Christ” (ESV, NASB, NIV2011, etc.) or “kept by Jesus Christ” (HCSB, NIV1984). Here again there are different translations for a preposition. (In fact, there is no preposition in the Greek text. One preposition at the beginning of the phrase covers both Persons: “in/by God the Father beloved and Jesus Christ kept”). Again, the main point is clear that we as believers are kept, guarded, watched over (τηρέω, tēreō).[25]
‘Being kept for Jesus Christ’ means that God throughout this life exercises his power on behalf of Christians to preserve them spiritually intact until the coming of Jesus Christ in glory. Believers have much to go through in this life: temptations, trials, and onslaughts from Satan and his minions. But God promises to watch over us at every moment, keeping us safe for Christ’s sake.[26]
After our studies in Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter and the repeated warnings about trials and suffering, the words of Jude are critical and comforting reminders. No matter what, believers (from the first century to the twenty-first) are kept until Jesus Christ returns.
Called
Jude’s third description adds to his comfort to believers facing difficulties. He reminds his readers (then and now) that we are “called.” Since this is in the context of “beloved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ,” it seems safe to assume the calling is the sovereign activity of God. In fact, Jude saves this description for last. That emphasis is difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate in smooth English. Almost all English translations have it as the first of the three, such as NASB,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ.
The word order in the original leaves “called” until the final word in the sentence, emphasizing its importance. “Called” could be considered the “punch line” of Jude’s greeting, saving the best for last. In fact, “beloved” and “kept” are actually modifiers of the main object “called.”[27] Consider a more literal translation from an interlinear New Testament.
To the [in God the Father having been loved and in Jesus Christ having been kept]
called ones.[28]
He is writing to “the called ones,” who also are beloved and kept. Jude highlights believers’ status as “the called ones.”
Why does Jude emphasize such an idea here? Intruders threaten the faith of the church. Jude, in the course of his letter, will give sharp warnings to his readers. Such warnings, however, could give the impression that the focus is on human effort and endurance. Jude, by stressing God’s supernatural calling, reminds the readers of the efficacy of God’s grace.[29]
It is interesting that most of the attention today is on “beloved” of God and “kept” for Jesus Christ. But Jude’s original focus and emphasis is on the overriding fact that we are “called.”
Jude’s three-fold description of beloved, kept, and called confirmed the fact that he is writing to believers. The brief introduction doesn’t seem to give any clues about a question that came up in our group: Were the believers from Jewish or Gentile backgrounds? Hopefully further study through the letter will provide more evidence if that distinction is important.
The three-fold description also prompted a speculative thought. Jude relates “beloved” to God the Father and “kept” to Jesus Christ. Those two descriptions relate to two Persons of the Godhead. Perhaps “called” relates to the work of the Holy Spirit. God the Father loves us and initiates our salvation “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). Jesus the Son accomplishes our salvation on the cross and culminates our completed salvation at the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). “Beloved” and “kept” describe our salvation in eternity, past and future. In the present, the Holy Spirit calls us and brings us to faith (Titus 3:5). Perhaps Jude was moving toward an early sense of the Triune nature of God.
Someone in our group pointed out that reading our theology back into Scripture (eisegesis) is dangerous. But he also suggested that we can see the beginnings of doctrines that were better understood only after years or decades of Christian experience.
Jude was not at the point of formulating the doctrine of the Trinity! But when later Christians hammered out the concept of the Trinity, they built their theology on the almost casual kinds of indications that we find in this verse.[30]
Or, in the poetic prose of C. S. Lewis,
People already knew about God in a vague way. Then came a man who claimed to be God; and yet He was not the sort of man you could dismiss as a lunatic. He made them believe Him. They met Him again after they had seen Him killed. And then, after they had been formed into a little society or community, they found God somehow inside them as well: directing them, making them able to do things they could not do before. And when they worked it all out they found they had arrived at the Christian definition of the three-personal God. This definition is not something we have made up; Theology is, in a sense, an experimental science. It is simple religions that are the made-up ones.[31]
Speculative interpretation must be considered cautiously. Jude may not have consciously have thought of the Holy Spirit in relation to our calling. But that same Spirit was inspiring his writing, including the “casual kinds of indications” in this verse.
Why?
Whenever a writer (Biblical or modern) states the purpose for writing, we have an immediate advantage. We don’t have to guess about what he is saying. He tells us. Jude does just that at the very beginning of his brief letter.
In fact, Jude tells us even more. He describes his change of plans, deciding not to write the letter he originally intended.
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation,
(Jude 3a)
One wonders what that letter would have been like, the half-brother of our Lord, late in believing, describing the salvation that he shares with all his readers.
But something changed his mind. We considered what that might have been. Perhaps a message or a visit from a member of one of the churches told Jude about serious problems. Maybe the inner working of the Holy Spirit sovereignly guided his thinking. Whatever it was, the result, as pointed out by a person in our group, was a fervent response in strong language.
I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 3b, emphasis added)
Clearly, this is no casual suggestion about an imaginary problem. This is a call to immediate, serious action.
The word translated “contend earnestly” (ἐπαγωνίζομαι, epagōnizomai) is from a root related to a place of contest or an arena for combat[32] (the source of the English word “agony”). This is the only place this emphatic word is used in the New Testament. Jude chose a particular word to express his exhortation. He wanted to communicate “the effort expended by the subject in a noble cause… the ideal of dedication to the welfare of the larger group.”[33]
The remainder of the letter describes the persons and ideas that necessitated them to “contend for” or “defend” (NLT)[34] the faith. In our increasingly hostile culture, Jude will provide much food for thought and discussion about how we are to “contend for the faith.”
An Anniversary
Furthermore, Jude was not concerned about some nebulous “faith” (or today’s generic “spirituality,” so-called). He had a very specific and well-defined “faith” or system of belief in mind.
the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 3c)
As someone in our discussion clarified, “faith” in this context is not our subjective action of believing or trusting. Rather, Jude refers to “the faith” (τῇ … πίστει, tē…pistei), the objective body of belief that defines Christianity and sets Christian believers apart from other beliefs. “The faith” is not vague, fluid, changeable. It was given “once for all” (ἅπαξ, hapax), the same word used of Jesus’ “once for all time” sacrifice (Hebrews 9:26, 28; 1 Peter 3:18). Jude draws attention to the timeless character of “the faith.”
In God’s Providence (certainly not by my careful planning), we begin the study of Jude and contending for the faith “once delivered” in June of 2025, the 1,700-year anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. In the summer of 325, church leaders gathered to address the heresy of Arianism, the then-growing belief that Jesus was a created being, not co-equal with the Father. The eventual outcome of that “contending earnestly” was the Nicene Creed,[35] a clear, precise expression of “the faith once delivered.” Several people in our group had learned the Creed in their earlier years in liturgical churches. All of us would benefit from memorizing it as well. Those lines from centuries ago help us remember and understand and explain “the faith once delivered.”
Arianism (or its heirs in present-day Jehovah’s Witnesses) may not be the main challenge confronting Christians today. Our culture presents a long list of problems, often aided, sadly, by “progressive” churches. As we will see in Jude’s letter, immorality and decadence (“licentiousness,” Jude 4) are the outcome of abandoning “the faith once delivered.” Holding to and contending earnestly for the faith described in the Creed can be one of the long-term results of our study in Jude.
[1] D. J. Rowston, quoted by Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 483.
[2] https://deanebarker.net/other/bible/
[3] Peter H. Davids, II Peter and Jude, Baylor Handbook on the Greek Testament (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2011), xix.
[4] J. N. D. Kelly, The Epistles of Peter and Jude, Black’s New Testament Commentary (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1969), 223.
[5] J. N. D. Kelly, The Epistles of Peter and Jude, Black’s New Testament Commentary (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1969), 225.
[6] F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are they reliable? (Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1968), 22.
[7] J. N. D. Kelly, The Epistles of Peter and Jude, Black’s New Testament Commentary (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1969), 224.
[8] F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are they reliable? (Chicago: Inter-Varsity Press, 1968), 25.
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NASB1995&quicksearch=brother&startnumber=1&begin=47&end=73&resultspp=500
[10] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 515.
[11] Douglas Moo, The Letter of James (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 2000), 10.
[12] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 484; [insertion] added.
[13] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 1996), 222.
[14] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 491.
[15] Peter H. Davids, II Peter and Jude, Baylor Handbook on the Greek Testament (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2011), xviii.
[16] https://www.biblestudytools.com/resources/guide-to-bible-study/order-books-new-testament.html
[17] Peter H. Davids, II Peter and Jude, Baylor Handbook on the Greek Testament (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2011), xvii.
[18] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 501.
[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_epistles
[20] https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Jude%201
[21] George Eldon Ladd, The New Testament and Criticism (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), 59-60.
[22] Bruce M. Metzger, The Bible in Translation; Ancient and English Versions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2001), 37.
[23] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 1996), 223.
[24] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 517.
[25] https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/tereo
[26] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 1996), 223.
[27] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 516.
[28] Robert K. Brown and Philip W. Comfort, translators, The New Greek English Interlinear New Testament (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publisher, Inc., 1990), 847; square brackets added to offset the participial modifiers; bold face added to highlight the article and noun, “to the called ones”.
[29] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 & Jude and Jude, Christian Standard Commentary (Nashville: Holman, 2020), 516.
[30] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter, Jude: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 1996), 225.
[31] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 2000), 163.
[32] Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary (Oxford: University Press, 2002), 4.
[33] W. Bauer, F.W. Danker, W.F. Arndt, and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 356.