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In Jude Christ is presented as our Keeper.
Verse 1 speaks of “those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept by Jesus Christ.” The Greek word rendered “by” may also be translated “for.” By denotes the strength for and means of keeping; for denotes the purpose and object of keeping. All the believers have been given to the Lord by the Father (John 17:6), and they are being kept for Him and by Him. We are kept by the Christ whom we enjoy.
Jude 3 continues, “Beloved, while using all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you and exhort you to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” Here Jude speaks of our common salvation. This is general salvation, which is common to and held by all believers, like the common faith (Titus 1:4).
The faith in this verse refers not to subjective faith as our believing but objective faith as our belief, referring to the things we believe in, the contents of the New Testament as our faith (Acts 6:7; 1 Tim. 1:19; 3:9; 4:1; 5:8; 6:10, 21; 2 Tim. 2:18; 3:8; 4:7; Titus 1:13), in which we believe for our common salvation. This faith, not any doctrine, has been delivered once for all to the saints. For this faith we should earnestly contend (1 Tim. 6:12).
In the New Testament, faith has both an objective meaning and a subjective meaning. When used in a subjective sense, faith denotes our action of believing; when used in an objective sense, faith denotes the object of our belief. In 1 Timothy 1:19 the word faith is used in both a subjective and objective sense. Here Paul says, “Holding faith and a good conscience, concerning which some, thrusting these away, have become shipwrecked regarding the faith.” The first reference to faith in this verse is subjective; it denotes our capacity to believe. The second use of faith is objective; it denotes the object of our faith. Peter tells us in his second Epistle that equally precious faith has been allotted to us (1:1). This faith is subjective and refers to the faith that is within us. This differs from the faith in Jude 3, which refers to what we believe.
The faith in the objective sense is equal to the contents of God’s will given to us in the New Testament. The law includes the contents of the Ten Commandments and all the subordinate ordinances. The law was given in the Old Testament, but what God gives in the New Testament is the faith that includes all the items of God’s new will. This will includes even the Triune God. However, it does not include such matters as head covering, foot-washing, or methods of baptism. Nevertheless, some believers contend for such things, thinking that they are contending for the faith. But that is not the correct understanding of what Jude means by contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. To contend for the faith is to contend for the basic and crucial matters of God’s new will.
The faith — our belief — is constituted of certain basic truths. First, we believe that God is one yet triune — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Second, we believe that our God became incarnated in the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Third, we believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnated as man, lived on earth and died on the cross for our sins to secure our redemption. On the third day He was resurrected from the dead both physically and spiritually, and today He is our Savior, our Lord in resurrection, and our life. Because we believe in Him, our sins have been forgiven, He has come into us as our life, and we have been regenerated. Eventually, the Lord Jesus will come back to receive all His believers to Himself. These are basic truths, basic doctrines, that constitute the faith for which we should contend. Because every sound, genuine believer holds these basic truths, they are called the common faith (Titus 1:4).
Although Paul in Ephesians 4 makes a clear distinction between the faith and doctrine, many Christians confuse these two things. Instead of contending for the faith, they contend for their particular doctrine. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we told to fight for doctrine. However, we must contend for the faith that is related to our “common salvation” (Jude 3). Our common salvation comes from the common faith. Although all genuine Christians have the faith and salvation in common, we may not have all doctrines in common. The different denominations emphasize different doctrines and hold on to them. Although we are not to fight for doctrine, we must be willing to fight for the faith. In 1 Timothy 6:12 Paul charges Timothy, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” Therefore, we should contend for our faith, but we should not fight for our doctrine. Concerning the faith, we must be bold, strong, and definite, ready to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. However, as far as doctrines are concerned, we must be liberal with others.
Jude 20 through 23 say, “You, beloved, building up yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have mercy, on those who are wavering; save them by snatching them out of the fire.” Here Jude gives certain charges to the believers. In verses 20 and 21 he charges the believers to build up themselves upon the holy faith and to live in the Triune God. Then in verses 22 and 23 he charges the believers to care for others with mercy in fear.
In verse 20 Jude says, “You, beloved, building up yourselves upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” The faith here is primarily objective faith and refers to the precious things of the New Testament in which we believe for our salvation in Christ. We build up ourselves on the foundation and in the sphere of this holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit. The truth of the faith in our apprehension and the Holy Spirit through our prayer are necessary for our building up. Both the faith and the Spirit are holy.
It is correct to say that faith in verse 20 is objective faith. However, we need to realize that this objective faith produces subjective faith. Faith first refers to the truth contained in the Word of God and conveyed by the Word. The written word of God in the Bible and the spoken word in the genuine and proper preaching and teaching contain the truth and convey the truth to us. By truth we mean the reality of what God is, the reality of the process through which God has passed, and the reality of what He has accomplished, attained, and obtained. Hence, truth as reality includes all the facts concerning what God is, what God has passed through, what God has accomplished, and what God has attained and obtained. All this is revealed in the New Testament. We may read about this in the Bible, or we may hear it through someone’s preaching and teaching. But in either case this reality is contained in the holy Word and conveyed by the Word to us.
As we listen to the word that contains the truth, the Spirit of Christ works within us. The Spirit of Christ always works according to the Word and with the Word. This means that the Spirit of Christ cooperates with the Word. As a result of this cooperation, eventually in our experience the revelation of what is contained in the Word is impressed on our spirit and becomes our faith. This is the faith allotted to us as our portion from God (2 Pet. 1:1), and this portion is nothing less than the New Testament inheritance.
As we build up ourselves upon our most holy faith, we build ourselves up in a faith that is not only objective but also subjective. The subjective faith comes out of the objective faith. In other words, faith implies both what we believe in and also our believing. This is the most holy faith.
This faith is not something of ourselves. In ourselves we do not have such a faith. The most holy faith is a great blessing given to us from God, of God, and even with God. When this faith comes into us, it comes with God, with all that God is, with all that God has passed through, with all that God has accomplished in Christ and through the Spirit, and with all that God has obtained and attained. All this comes into us with God in this faith. As long as we have this faith, we have the processed God, redemption, regeneration, the divine life, and all things related to life and godliness. We are also positioned and privileged to partake of the divine nature and enjoy it. Therefore, once we have this faith, we have everything. Now we need to build up ourselves upon this holy faith.
Faith in Jude 20 implies the true word, for faith is produced out of the contents of the true word, God’s revelation. The word of God’s revelation contains the divine reality of God’s being, process, redemptive work, accomplishment, and attainment, and this word conveys all this divine reality into us. When we hear the words concerning this reality, the Holy Spirit works within us in a way that corresponds to these words. The outcome is faith.
Although faith implies the true word, it implies much more than this. According to the New Testament, faith is all-inclusive. As long as we have faith, we have all the divine things. Our holy faith is both the materials with which we build and also the base or foundation on which we build. If we do not have faith, we have neither the materials with which to build nor the base, the foundation, on which to build. This means that without faith we have nothing to build on and nothing to build with. As believers, we build ourselves up with the content of our most holy faith, and we build up ourselves upon this faith as a foundation. Therefore, with these divine things as the material and foundation, we may build up ourselves upon our most holy faith.
To build up ourselves upon the faith does not mean to build ourselves up with theological doctrines or biblical knowledge. Mere doctrine or knowledge is too objective and also empty. But truth as the reality of the holy Word is not empty. This truth is the content of the most holy faith. Therefore, with this content we have something real and solid with which and on which to build.
The building up in the most holy faith is not individualistic; rather, this building is a corporate matter. Jude is speaking to the believers corporately when he charges them to build up themselves in their most holy faith. If we would build up ourselves in the faith, we must do it in a corporate way; that is, we must do it in the Body, in the church life. Apart from the church life, we cannot build up ourselves upon the faith. Outside the church life, there is not such a building. Actually, to build up ourselves upon the most holy faith is to build up the Body of Christ. In fact, Jude’s word concerning building up ourselves upon our most holy faith is equal to Peter’s word about being built up as a spiritual house, into a holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5).
According to Jude 20, if we would build up ourselves upon our most holy faith, we need to pray in the Holy Spirit. Faith is related to the Word, and in the Holy Spirit we have life. In this verse the Holy Spirit refers mainly to life, not power. However, some Christians today understand the Holy Spirit mainly in terms of power. In Romans 8:2 Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of life. From experience we know that praying in the Holy Spirit is much more a matter of life than a matter of power. When we pray, we may not sense power; however, we often have the sense of life. Life is more precious than power. Actually, real spiritual power comes from spiritual life.
Genuine power is a matter of life. We may use seeds as an illustration. Seeds of every kind are small. Yet although a seed is small, it is dynamic and full of life. Because a seed is full of life, it is powerful. After a seed is sown in the ground, it sprouts and grows into a plant or tree. Although the sprouts may be very tender, they have the power to break through the soil. This power comes from the life in the seed. In a similar way, building ourselves up by praying in the Holy Spirit is mainly a matter of life.
The Holy Spirit in Jude is the Spirit for our prayer. We need to pray not in ourselves but in Him. Today this praying Spirit is abiding in our spirit; thus, we must live in spirit. Jude 19 says, “These are those who make divisions, soulish, having no spirit.” What should distinguish the believers from the unbelievers is that the latter are soulish, not using their spirit, while the former care for their spirit and pray in the Holy Spirit. We may illustrate the difference between believers and unbelievers in the following ways. When an unbeliever is going to travel, he exercises his mind to decide on the means of transportation. This means that he is soulish. However, when a believer is going to travel, he should make his decisions by exercising his spirit to pray. Similarly, the unbelievers exercise their mind and live in the soul to make decisions about their schooling. The believers, however, behave in a different way. Because they have the Holy Spirit within them, they make all their decisions by exercising their spirit to pray in Him. It is regrettable, though, that we sometimes behave the same as the unbelievers do. It seems that we do not have a spirit, that we are soulish. In everything, we need to pray in the Spirit. Unbelievers do not have the Holy Spirit in their spirit, but we the believers do.
Prayer should be in the Holy Spirit. Prayer, which is a matter of man cooperating with God, must possess two natures. Prayers that come only from man and thus are not mingled with God are merely religious prayers. They do not touch God, breathe in God, or reach God. This is the reason that Jude says we should pray in the Holy Spirit. Praying in the Holy Spirit means that we and the Holy Spirit must pray together.
The secret to the Christian life is to be mingled with the Holy Spirit. The spiritual life of a Christian is absolutely a matter of man being mingled with the Holy Spirit. When we are in the Holy Spirit, we live a genuine spiritual life. When we are not in the Holy Spirit, we do not live a genuine spiritual life. It is possible for us to have all kinds of religious activities, but if we are not in the Holy Spirit, there is no way for us to have a genuine spiritual life. This particularly applies to prayer. Apart from the Holy Spirit we have only religious prayers, which have no spiritual worth before God. If we want genuine, spiritual prayers, prayers that reach God, touch God, breathe in God, and are in God, we must pray in the Holy Spirit.
In verse 21 Jude says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” We should keep ourselves in the love of God by building up ourselves in the holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit. In this way we should await and look for the mercy of our Lord so that we may not only enjoy eternal life in this age but also inherit it for eternity (Matt. 19:29).
If we do not build up ourselves in the faith and pray in the Holy Spirit, it will be easy for us to depart from the love of God. Actually, the words in the love of God mean in the enjoyment of the love of God. Here Jude speaks of the love of God not in an objective way but in a subjective way, in the way of enjoying this love. Hour after hour we need to enjoy the love of God. We should be in the love of God not only objectively but also subjectively. We need to keep ourselves always in the enjoyment of God’s love by building ourselves up and by praying. Building up ourselves is related to the holy Word, and praying is related to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if we have the Word applied to us and the Spirit working within us, we will be kept in the enjoyment of God’s love as we await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jude 21 speaks of “awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is significant that Jude speaks of mercy and not of grace. Peter emphasizes grace, but Jude emphasizes mercy. In verse 2 of this Epistle Jude says, “Mercy to you and peace and love be multiplied.” Mercy reaches further than grace does. Mercy is for persons who are in a miserable and pitiful situation and condition. When the prodigal son came to his father in Luke 15, he was altogether in a miserable and pitiful condition. Whatever the Father did for this pitiful, prodigal son was a mercy to him. While we are praying in the Spirit and keeping ourselves in the love of God, we should await further mercy from the Lord. The word awaiting implies trusting. While we await and look for the mercy of our Lord, we are also trusting in His mercy.
Jude 20 and 21 charge the believers not only to build themselves up in the holy faith but also to live in the Triune God. The entire blessed Trinity is employed and enjoyed by the believers in their praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping themselves in the love of God, and awaiting the mercy of our Lord unto eternal life. In these verses we have the Spirit, God the Father, and the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God, and await the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, in these verses we definitely have the Triune God.
In the Christian life the believers possess the Divine Trinity and should live in and with the Divine Trinity. The Father is in the believers (Eph. 4:6), the Son lives in the believers (Gal. 2:20), and the Spirit abides in the believers (John 14:17). In 2 Corinthians 13:14 Paul says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [the Son], and the love of God [the Father], and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Then Jude tells us that we should be those who, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God [the Father], awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Son] (vv. 20-21).
The revelation of the Divine Trinity in 2 Corinthians 13:14 and Jude 20 and 21 match each other. In both portions there is the love of God (the Father). The mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Son) in Jude matches the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Son) in 2 Corinthians. In the Lord Jesus there is grace, and when grace is extended to us and reaches us, it is mercy. Finally, praying in the Holy Spirit in Jude matches the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians. Praying is a kind of fellowship.
To enjoy the Divine Trinity, we need to pray. To pray is to enter into the current of the Divine Trinity, to enter into the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Through this fellowship, we reach the source of the love of God. Then in the love of God, we await and look for the mercy of our Lord, that we may not only enjoy eternal life in this age but also inherit it for eternity (Matt. 19:29). In the opening of his Epistle, Jude mentions mercy (v. 2). Mercy is mentioned instead of grace due to the church’s degradation and apostasy. In the degraded situation of the churches, God’s mercy is needed. When the churches are in degradation, what they need is the Lord’s far-reaching mercy. We all need the Lord’s mercy. This mercy is a bridge to the grace of Christ. We need to pray in the Holy Spirit that we may touch the source, the love of God, in which we await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the enjoyment of the Triune God.
Jude concludes verse 21 with the words unto eternal life. Here the word unto means issuing in or resulting in. The enjoyment and inheritance of eternal life, the life of God, is the goal of our spiritual seeking. Because we aim at this goal, we desire to be kept in the love of God and await the mercy of our Lord.
Jude is not saying that we do not yet have eternal life. Neither is he saying that if we keep praying in the Holy Spirit and remain in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of the Lord, then we will eventually have eternal life. Rather, Jude is saying that praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves in the love of the Father, and waiting for the mercy of the Lord issue in the present enjoyment of eternal life. We already have eternal life in us. However, unless we pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of the Father, and wait for the mercy of the Lord, we will not enjoy this eternal life. But when we do all these things, the eternal life within us becomes our enjoyment.
Although we have eternal life, our measure of this life may be somewhat limited. But if we pray in the Spirit, keep ourselves in the Father’s love, and wait for the Son’s mercy, the eternal life in us will grow in measure. Therefore, unto eternal life means not only unto the enjoyment of eternal life but also unto the growth, the increase of the measure, of eternal life. To experience this is to live in the Triune God.
In verses 22 and 23 Jude continues, “On some have mercy, on those who are wavering; save them by snatching them out of the fire.” Jude’s word concerning snatching the wavering ones out of the fire is a metaphor probably adopted from Zechariah 3:2. The fire here is the fire of God’s holiness for His judgment (Matt. 3:10, 12; 5:22). According to this word, we should seek to save others and snatch them out of the fire.
Jude 24 says, “To Him who is able to guard you from stumbling and to set you before His glory without blemish in exultation.” Verse 24 is one of the precious and exceedingly great promises (2 Pet. 1:4). God is able to guard us from stumbling and to set us before His glory without blemish in exultation through the Christ whom we enjoy.
Jude indicates clearly that although he has charged the believers to endeavor in the things mentioned in verses 20 through 23, nevertheless only God our Savior is able to guard them from stumbling and to set them before His glory without blemish in exultation. Glory here is the glory of the great God and our Savior, Christ Jesus, which will be manifested at His appearing (Titus 2:13; 1 Pet. 4:13) and in which He will come (Luke 9:26). The preposition in here means in the element of, and the word exultation signifies the exuberance of triumphant joy (Alford).
Jude 25 concludes, “To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, might, and authority before all time and now and unto all eternity. Amen.” The only God is our Savior, and the man Jesus Christ is our Lord. To such a Savior, through such a Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority throughout all ages. Glory is the expression in splendor; majesty, the greatness in honor; might, the strength in power; and authority, the power in ruling. In Jude’s words this is “before all time and now and unto all eternity.” Before all time refers to eternity past; now, to the present age; and unto all eternity, to eternity future. Therefore, it is from eternity past, through time, unto eternity future.
In Jude there is the matter of building up ourselves upon the most holy faith (v. 20). Here the faith is the impartation of Christ into us. To be built up in this faith is to be built up in the dispensing of the divine life. Then we can pray in the Holy Spirit and keep ourselves in the love of God as we await the mercy of our Lord (vv. 20b-21). In the holy faith we have the Trinity for our enjoyment. This enjoyment of the Trinity is for us to partake of the dispensing of the divine life. Eventually this is unto eternal life and will set us before His glory without blemish in exultation (v. 24). This indicates clearly that to experience the Trinity is to enjoy the dispensing of life, which is unto eternal life and the divine glory. We need to pray in the Holy Spirit, keep ourselves in the love of God, and wait for the mercy of Jesus Christ so that we may have the enjoyment and increase of eternal life forever and be set before God’s glory.
