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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jude 1:17

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But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

17. remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles ] The passage stands in close parallelism with 2Pe 3:2, but differs in speaking only of “apostles” and not of prophets, and apparently also in referring only or chiefly to the predictions of the apostles and not to their commandments. If we could assume that 2 Peter was the earlier of the two Epistles, we might see in St Jude’s language a reference to that of the Apostle. It will be noticed also that St Jude does not say, as St Peter does, “of us the apostles” (see, however, note on 2Pe 3:2), and so far leaves it uncertain whether he includes himself.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

But, beloved, remember ye … – There is a striking similarity between these two verses and 2Pe 3:1-3. It occurs in the same connection, following the description of the false and dangerous teachers against whom the apostle would guard them, and couched almost in the same words. See it explained in the notes at the similar passage in Peter. When Jude (Jud 1:17) entreats them to remember the words which were spoken by the apostles, it is not necessarily to be inferred that he was not himself an apostle, for he is speaking of what was past, and there might have been a special reason why he should refer to something that they would distinctly remember which had been spoken by the other apostles on this point. Or it might be that he meant also to include himself among them, and to speak of the apostles collectively, without particularly specifying himself.

Mockers – The word rendered mockers here is the same which in the parallel place in 2Pe 3:3 is rendered scoffers. Peter has stated more fully what was the particular subject on which they scoffed, and has shown that there was no occasion for it 2Pe 3:4, following.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Jud 1:17-19

Remember ye the words spoken before of the apostles.

Words to be remembered

1. Great should be the care of the ministers of Christ to warn the Church of approaching evils, especially of seducers.

2. It is our duty to acknowledge and commend the gifts and graces of God bestowed upon others with respect.

3. The consent between the penmen of Scripture is sweet and harmonious; they were all breathed upon by the same Spirit, and breathed forth the same truth and holiness.

4. Scripture is the best preservative against seduction.

5. They who are forewarned should be forearmed. (W. Jenkyn, M. A.)

Mockers in the last time.

Mockers

1. What is told to the Church in general, we must apprehend it as told to us. Paul telleth Timothy, and Peter telleth the distressed strangers, and Jude saith they told you. The Bible is a message sent from heaven to acquaint us with the mind of God; if we own the Divine authority of it, why do we regard it no more?

2. We should not be troubled at what is foretold; monsters expected are not wondered at; expectation forearmeth the mind against evil (Joh 16:4). We are the better prepared to entertain evils when we expect them before they come, and the evil to which the mind is accustomed seemeth the less. Again, we have an experience of Gods truth in the prediction. Finally, it assureth us that the Lord hath a hand and a counsel in all our troubles, for He told us of them before.

3. The Scriptures speak much of the evil of the latter times; there is more knowledge and yet more sin and error. The latter days are as the bottom and sink that receive the dregs of foregoing ages, and as the world groweth old it is much given to dreams and dotage.

4. Among other sins that are found in the latter times, there will be many scoffers, partly because in times of controversy men will lose all awe–when truths are made questionable assent is weakened; partly because in times of liberty men will give vent to their thoughts.

5. Mockers and scoffers are usually the worst of sinners. Scorning cometh from custom in sinning, and maketh way for freedom in sinning.

6. Those that cast off the awe of the Lords coming will certainly give up themselves to brutish lusts.

7. It argueth a state of wickedness to walk after our own lusts; that is, when sin and lust is our constant practice. (T. Manton.)

Mockers

By scoffing at things sacred, and ridiculing the notion that there is any harm in licentiousness, or anything estimable in holiness, they created a moral atmosphere in which men sinned with a light heart, because sin was made to look as if it were a matter of no moment, a thing to be indulged in without anxiety or remorse. It would be more reasonable and less reprehensible to make a mock at carnage or pestilence, and teach men to go with a light heart into a desolating war or plague-stricken neighbourhood. In such cases experience of the manifest horrors would soon cure the light-heartedness. But the horrible nature of sin is not so manifest, and with regard to that, experience teaches its lesson more slowly. It is like a poisoning of the blood rather than a wound in the flesh, and may have done incalculable mischief before any serious pain is felt, or any grave alarm excited. Hence it is quite easy for many to walk after their own ungodly lusts and at the same time mock at sin and its consequences. (A. Plummer, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 17. Remember – the words] Instead of following those teachers and their corrupt doctrine, remember what Christ and his apostles have said; for they foretold the coming of such false teachers and impostors.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Especially Paul and Peter: see Act 20:29 and 2Pe 3:2, besides the places in the margin. From this passage it appears that this Epistle was written late, and, likely, after the other apostles, except John, were dead.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

But;beloved … ye in contrast to those reprobates, Jud1:20,again.

remember implying that his readers had been contemporaries of theapostles. For Peter uses the very same formula in reminding thecontemporaries of himself and the other apostles.

spokenbefore spoken already before now.

theapostles Peter (see on 2Pe3:2,2Pe3:3),and Paul before Peter (Act20:29;1Ti4:1;2Ti3:1).Jude does not exclude himself from the number of theapostleshere, for in Jud1:18,immediately after, he says, they told You, not us(rather as Greek,used to tell you implying that Judes readers werecontemporaries of the apostles, who usedto tellthem).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

But, beloved,…. Or “my beloved”, as the Syriac and Arabic versions read; or “our brethren”, as the Ethiopic version; the apostle addresses the saints in this manner, to distinguish them from the false teachers, and to show that he had a different opinion of them from them; and that be would have them beware of them, and not be surprised at them, since it was no other than what was foretold; and also to engage their attention and regard to the following exhortation:

remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; these words mean not the doctrines of the apostles in general, but particularly the prophecies delivered out by them, as by the Apostles Paul and Peter, concerning the false teachers that should arise; and these being spoken of before, and by apostles, even by the apostles, of our Lord Jesus Christ, were worthy of regard, and deserved to be remembered; a remembrance of which is a preservative from error, and a relief in the worst of times, whether of persecution, or heresy. This does not suppose that Jude was not an apostle, only that there were other apostles besides him; and that these, some of them at least, had prophesied of these men, and that he had lived to see their predictions verified; nor does he exclude himself from being one of them; yea, the Ethiopic version reads, “which we the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ have formerly declared unto you”; see 2Pe 3:2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Remember ye ( ). First aorist passive (deponent) imperative of with genitive (words). In 2Pe 3:2 we have the indirect form (infinitive ). The rest as in II Peter, but in simpler and more exact structure and with the absence of (the holy prophets).

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “But, beloved remember ye the words”, In direct affectionate appeal, as (Greek agapetoi -beloved ones), in spite of the apostate creep problem, Jude focused memory of the sanctified believers on words and warnings of God, formerly spoken by men of God. He who does not learn and chart his course of life and warfare in relation to former experience of recorded truth is not wise.

FOR EXAMPLE

a) The Passover was a memorial of remembrance, of deliverance, Exo 12:13.

b) The Brazen Serpent was a memorial of remembrance of judgment for complain and deliverance from venom Num 21:8.

c) The Lord’s supper is a memorial of remembrance of His broken body and shed blood, 1Co 11:23-25.

d) Remember words of warning to Israel – are for our admonition, 1Co 10:10-11; Rom 15:4.

e) Remember always warnings of false brethren, wandering stars, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and false prophets and deceitful workers as follows:

2) “Which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude focuses attention on the merit of spoken warnings by the apostles, taught and sent out by the Lord Jesus Christ. What they said was as true as if the Lord -had spoken it himself.

a) Matthew recounted his warnings of wolves in sheep’s clothing Mat 7:16-20; of the hypocrisy of boastful prayers of Pharisees and their deceitful behavior, Mat 6:2-8; Mat 16:12; Mat 23:1-36.

b) Paul warned of false brethren Act 20:29-34; Gal 2:4-5; 2Co 11:13-15.

c) Peter 2Pe 2:1-19; 2Pe 3:1-4.

d) John 1Jn 2:18-19; 1Jn 3:10; 1Jn 4:1-4; 2Jn 1:7-11; 3Jn 1:9-11.

THEY SAY, BUT DO NOT

Ye call Me Maker, and obey Me not. Ye call Me Light, and see Me not. Ye call Me way, and take Me not. Ye call Me Life, and desire Me not. Ye call Me Wise, and follow Me not Ye call Me Fair, and love Me not. Ye call Me Rich, and ask Me not. Ye call Me Eternal, and seek Me not. Ye cal I Me Gracious, and trust Me not. Ye call Me Mighty, and honor Me not. If I condemn you, blame Me not. Joh 15:14 reads, “ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

17. But, beloved. To a most ancient prophecy he now adds the admonitions of the apostles, the memory of whom was recent. As to the verb μνήσθητε, it makes no great difference, whether you read it as declarative or as an exhortation; for the meaning remains the same, that being fortified by the prediction he quotes, they ought to be terrified.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

A SPOKEN WARNING OF APOSTASY

Jud. 1:17-19

Text

17.

But ye, beloved, remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

18.

that they said to you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.

19.

These are they who make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit.

Queries

81.

In describing the people addressed in Jud. 1:17, what is common to the Jud. 1:1 description?

82.

What is common in this verse with the fifth verse?

83.

What, in Jud. 1:17, would make it very unlikely that the epistle of Jude was written in the second century, as some claim?

84.

Do you think the quote in Jud. 1:18 was actually spoken, or could it have been written?

85.

How could in the last time be referring to the time when the epistle was written, when nearly 2,000 years have passed and the last day has not arrived yet?

86.

Explain how a person who followed after his own lusts would also be a mocker?

87.

How many times has the word ungodly been used in Jud. 1:15; Jud. 1:18?

Paraphrases

A. 17.

But you, dear brethren, are different; for you remember the words which you hear the Lords apostles speak,

18.

When they told us, as they habitually spoke, that there would be fools who would make a mock of sin during the Christian days, having as the object of their desires ungodly sensuousness.

19.

These are the ones whose conduct destroys unity and fellowship, for they are governed by the natural body rather than the Spirit of Christ.

B.* 17.

Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you,

18.

That in the last times there would come these scoffers whose whole purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable.

19.

They stir up arguments; they love the evil things of the world; they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.

Summary

The apostles also prophesied concerning these, as you recall.

Comment

Once again a strong denunciation of the libertines is preceded by an appeal to prophecy. This time, the prophets are the New Testament apostles. Remember the words, says Jude. If the readers remembered hearing the apostles speak the words (and more than one apostle is included), then the epistle could not have been written far into the second century, nor could Jude be quoting from a book that was not completed until the second century. The fact that the readers could remember the apostles words harmonizes with the evidence that Jude, the Lords brother, wrote the epistle.

Some seem to see a repetition of 2Pe. 3:2-3 in this passage. The two passages are not parallel, however. Peter does not indicate that the apostles words were spoken, but Jude does so indicate. What they mock in each case is entirely different. With Peter, they are scoffing at the second coming of Christ. These apostates in Jude are mocking Gods dealing with themselves and the surrendered life and conditionalities of the gospel. Note also the different verbs used.

Paul also warned against apostasy in 1Ti. 4:1; 2Ti. 3:1-9; and Act. 20:29-30. Jesus also prophesied of the seducers in Mar. 13:22-23, as Peter reminds us in the 2 Peter passage. These all prophesied of apostasy to come whereas Jude writes that it has come. Although this seems to date Jude after 2 Peter, it is probably not very long after. The warnings are too similar in content and expression.

The content of the apostles prophecy again pinpoints the men whom he describes. These men make a mock of sin, and without shame follow their own ungodly lusts. In mocking the reality of sin, they also mock God and His righteousness.

The phrase in the last time may give some difficulty, but it need not. The last days were ushered in with the coming of Christ, and that great and notable day of the Lord the day of salvation, actually begun on the day of Pentecost. Paul writes to believers upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (1Co. 10:11). God has spoken to us at the end of these days. (Heb. 1:2)

In this connection we might also note Heb. 9:26; 1Pe. 1:5; 1Pe. 1:20; and 1Jn. 2:18.

All history looked forward to the coming of Christ. All redemptive prophecy looked forward to that great and notable day when salvation would be offered, and the writer of Acts says, This is it! The two thousand years since Christ have been an unfolding of that great and notable day, wherein the Spirit and the bride say, come.
These are the men prophesied against. These are the sensual, who have not the Spirit. Who have not what spirit? Some think the spirit of man is intended. Thus, these are the men who walk after their bodies but who have no spirit of a man. Although this is a possible meaning, the point seems somewhat strained.

More proper, it would seem, these are the men who walk after their physical desires, but who have not the Spirit of Christ. They do certainly have some spirit, as does every man (1Jn. 4:6); but the Spirit of Christ is not to have sensuousness as a goal. The meaning could also be that these men walk after sensuality but have not the Holy Spirit. The implied fact is the same: they are not Christians!

Added information about them is here given. They separate themselves. It is not as though they walked away from the brethren. They are still in the presence of the church, preying upon them. They are separated by their choice of desire. They want the ungodly lusts, and strive for sensuality. Thus the Holy Spirit is quenched and cannot remain with them. Their spirit is far removed from the Spirit of Christ, and so they are separated from those who do have the Spirit of Christ. True unity and fellowship is based directly upon loyalty to Christ. It is a unity of spirit; His Spirit. Without the loyal life and submission to Christ there can be no real unity, and fellowship is not much more than a convenience for opportunists.
Apostasy is a growing canker. One of its immediate results is division among the brethren. This division will jel, if the apostasy continues, into a schism. A fault will then exist across the brotherhood of saints, and will deepen and widen until finally no bridge is possible. Then heresy follows, and a new body loyal to an apostate doctrine is the result. Thus apostasy has again and again split the church of the living God until the final result has been a tangled web of feuding denominations. The only way out is to go back to the author and finisher of our salvation, Jesus Christ. With a new heart surrendered to Him each man can search the holy word of God afresh; and allow his brother the same privilege. Allowing that God is the judge, man could through submission to Him find unity in Him, if he would.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

17. But, beloved Turning, as it were, his face towards the purer part of the Church. Later prophets than Enoch have described these men, and with a more specific designation of their time and place.

Remember ye the words This phrase naturally suggests spoken words; spoken by apostles whom they had, many of them, personally heard.

Spoken before Forespoken; uttered long before their fulfilment, and so predictive. They were forespoken to the Ephesian Church by its founder-apostle, Paul, in his memorable address to the Ephesian elders. Act 20:28-31. Also, 2Ti 3:1-5; and 2Th 2:1-10. And 2Th 2:5, says the apostasy was topic of oral apostolic discourse.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘But you, beloved, remember you the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they said to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.” ’

They need not be disturbed by these false and ungodly people who have come among them. Rather they should remember that the Apostles have continually warned them of such things, and that such warnings are on record. There is no indication in these words that the Apostles were necessarily dead, only that they were not currently present among those to whom he was writing. When we say, ‘Remember the words previously spoken by, say, Billy Graham’ we are not writing his obituary. Jude’s words here do, however, bring out how important the original Apostles were seen to be from the beginning. They were the final authority on everything for the early church.

Those who pay little heed to later tradition can tend to feel that apart from Paul and Peter the Apostles accomplished little. But that is to underrate them. The first few chapters of Acts actually reveal them as constantly active, even though the emphasis is on Peter as the spokesman in tough situations. And we have no reason to doubt that their activity continued. However they were not interested in establishing their place in history. They simply patiently went around spreading the Gospel. And they were not all accompanied by Luke. Writing was mainly not their forte.

The idea even of Apostleship was somewhat fluid. Jude clearly did not class himself as an Apostle, but that others saw him as an Apostolic man comes out in that his letter was accepted as Scripture from the beginning. The Lord’s own brothers, once they had been converted, were seen as having a special position (1Co 9:5). But they did not claim it for themselves.

And what the Apostles had warned was that “In the last time there will be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.” We can compare for this such statements as Paul’s in Act 20:29, ‘I know that after my leaving you grievous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock’. See also, ‘in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils —’ (1Ti 4:1). ‘In the last times grievous times will come, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, railers — lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God’ (2Ti 3:1-4). ‘Mockers’ are those who mock God by what they say and what they do. Thus to live a life following the ways of the flesh is to mock Him (Gal 6:7-8). Compare Pro 14:9, ‘the foolish make a mock at guilt’. One of the things that these people especially mocked was that Jesus Christ had intervened in history and would personally come again to bring it to its culmination (2Pe 3:4).

‘In the last time.’ That is in the period following the Messiah’s coming. It has now lasted for almost 2000 years. Compare 1Co 10:11; Heb 1:2; Heb 9:26 ; 1Pe 1:20; 1Pe 4:7; 2Pe 3:3 (speaking of the mockers in his own day); 1Jn 2:18.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Having Exposed The Ungodly Jude Now Turns To The Godly And Seeks To Encourage Them And Give Them Guidance ( Jud 1:17-21 ).

He first reminds God’s true people that what is happening is in full accord with the warnings given by the Apostles, that mockers would come who followed their own evil desires, who would cause division and lead people in sensuous ways, and then he tells them how they can combat such things by building up their knowledge of Christ, praying in the true Holy Spirit, keeping themselves in the love of God and looking off continually to the Lord, Jesus Christ for His mercy, which will result in eternal life.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

An admonition to holy steadfastness:

v. 17. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

v. 18. how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.

v. 19. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit

v. 20. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

v. 21. keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

v. 22. And of some have compassion, making a difference;

v. 23. and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

The apostle here addresses himself to the Christians in an earnest appeal: But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they told you. At the end of time there will be mockers who walk after their own impious lusts. The warning of Jude was not the first one which his readers had received; it was but necessary to remind them of words of solemn warning, spoken, for example, by Peter, when he wrote that there would come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 2Pe 3:3, and by Paul, when he told the elders of Ephesus that men would arise of their own selves, speaking perverse things, Act 20:29-30. Op. 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 3:1-9.

St. Jude completes the description: These are they that separate themselves, fleshly, not having the Spirit. That is the principal function of the false teachers: they cause divisions, dissensions, offenses contrary to the sound doctrine. They are sensuous creatures, seeking the gratification of their sensual appetites upon every occasion. The Spirit of God does not live in them, since they are servants of the Spirit of Darkness, Rom 16:17-18; Col 2:18-23. These words must be kept in mind at all times over against the false teachers that set aside the clear statements of God’s holy Word and try to entangle the souls in their nets of unbelief.

True believers have nothing in common with the false teachers and their ways: But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, with prayer in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, accepting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Here the apostle offers at least a summary of the treatise which he had in mind before circumstances obliged him to write this letter. He urges the Christians to be established upon, to build themselves up on, their most holy faith, upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and the apostles, Eph 2:20; Col 2:7. They should continue steadfast in the words of Christ, in the most holy and precious Gospel of their salvation, and let no power in the universe move them from their allegiance, Joh 8:31-32; Rom 16:17-18. And since this is not a matter of the believer’s own reason and strength, he will seek and obtain strength from the Lord in daily prayer in the Holy Ghost, who Himself assists us with groanings which cannot be uttered, Rom 8:26-27. In this manner do Christians keep themselves in the love of God, God’s most wonderful gift to mankind, Joh 3:16. This love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, Rom 5:5, and this love of God is bound to awaken love in our hearts in return, 1Jn 4:19. Thus we daily accept the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, His divine favor earned through His own suffering and death, which assures us eternal life by faith in Him, 1Jn 2:1-2; Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25. We are certain of everlasting salvation through the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.

This certainty of faith will then show itself in our behavior toward our brethren, in brotherly love: And some indeed admonish, making a distinction; but some deliver, snatching them from the fire; on still others have compassion in fear, hating also the garment which has been stained by the flesh. Three classes of weak brethren are here distinguished, and we are to make a distinction in our treatment of them. Those that are uncertain in their faith, always in doubt about placing their trust in the salvation of Christ, we should admonish to put aside their doubts. Others that have almost been led astray by the deceivers, we should snatch like a brand from the burning, Amo 4:11; Zec 3:2, tearing them away from the eager claws that would draw them down to perdition. Still others are just on the verge of turning aside from the right way, being inclined to listen to the voice of the deceivers. To such we should offer loving, merciful assistance, Gal 6:1-2. And this should be done in fear, in the spirit of meekness; we should always watch for ourselves lest we also be tempted. In our entire attitude there should not be the least indication of pride and presumption, but only a holy horror of sin, of the spotted garment of the flesh. And as for ourselves, it must be our constant effort to keep the garment of salvation, of the merit of Christ, with which God has clothed us, unspotted both by false doctrine and by carnal life, Rev 3:4-5.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Jud 1:17. The words which were spoken before of the apostles, &c. Many eminent writers believe that the apostles hada meeting upon the great case of the new false teachers, and that they gave jointly, by common consent and deliberation, precepts proper to the occasion, to be communicated to all churches. No single apostle would or could, in this case, call the common injunction his commandment; but would certainly call it, in the language of St. Peter, the commandment of the apostles of our Lord. St. Paul was an apostle, yet was it no disparagement to him to carry the decree of the council of Jerusalem to the churches of his plantation; and, in writing or speaking, he could not but have called it the decree of the apostles. The case might be the same here. We have some evidence to shew that this was the case. That there was a tradition at least in the church, is evident from the Apostolical Constitutions; in which there is mention made of a meeting of the apostles upon the very account of these false teachers, so particularly described by St. Peter and St. Jude. In Book 6: ch. 13 these false teachers are described to be such as fight against Christ and Moses, pretending at the same time to value both: and thus the false teachers, as described both in St. Peter’s and St. Jude’s Epistles, communicated with the church, while they corrupted its faith. They were spots in the church’s feasts, Jud 1:12. They are ordered to be expelled in the Apostolical Constitutions, that the lambs might be preserved sound and without spot. They are represented in the Apostolical Constitutions as the false Christians, and false prophets foretold in the gospel, blaspheming God, and trampling his Son under foot; which agrees exactly with St. Jude’s account, that they had been foretold of by the apostles,that they denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ, Jud 1:4 and 2Pe 2:1. At this meeting, it is said, instructions were given, to be communicated to all churches by their respective apostles and bishops. There were probably then many circular letters sent upon this occasion: the second Epistle of St. Peter, and St. Jude’s Epistle, may have been of this sort; and being drawn up on the same occasion, and upon the same instructions, it is no wonder that they are so similar in their expressions. There are in the epistles themselves some marks which seem to confirm the foregoing account. The veryword commandment used by St. Peter, when he makes mention of the apostles’ authority, points out some particular and distinguished precept: for he does not seem to refer to the general preaching or doctrines of the apostles; but to some special command, or form of doctrine, relating to the false teachers. But to come nearer our point, the agreement of the two epistles in the description of the false teachers,it is to be observed, that both St. Peter and St. Jude profess to write as reminding their churches of things with which they had before been acquainted (Jud 1:5 and 2Pe 3:2.). St. Jude says expressly, that the very subject of this letter had once already been known unto them; “I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this,” &c. The Greek word used here, is the same we met with before, “the faith once delivered;” and the words, “though ye once knew this,” are relative to the same matter; and it appears that the warning against the false teachers, and the prophetic description of them, were sent to the churches, together with the commandment. It appears likewise, that both St. Peter and St. Jude wrote their epistles after this commandment had been delivered to the several churches; for they write to them reminding them of what they had before received. This being the case, it is most probable that both St. Jude and St.Peter wrote from the common plan communicated to the churches, anddrew their description of the false teachers from the same source, but still under the infallible direction of the Holy Spirit of God.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Jud 1:17-18 . Jude now turns to his readers, comforting [42] and exhorting them in reference to the ungodly above described; see 2Pe 3:2-3 .

] an emphatic contrast to those above mentioned.

] presupposes the words meant by Jude known to the readers, as learned from the apostles.

] ; the word as an expression of thought. The in designates these words not as those which predict something future, but which were already spoken before (so also Hofmann).

. . .] Jude would hardly have so expressed himself were he himself an apostle, which several expositors certainly do not grant, explaining this mode of expression partly from Jude’s modesty and partly from the circumstance that, except himself and John, the other apostles were already dead.

Jud 1:18 . ] here renders it probable that Jude means such sayings as the readers had heard from the mouth of the apostles themselves; yet the words which follow are not necessarily to be considered as a literally exact quotation, but may be a compression of the various predictions of the apostles concerning this subject. [43]

[ ] ] a designation of the time directly preceding the advent of Christ. In the reading , is the genitive neuter, as in Heb 1:1 .

] only here and in 2Pe 3:3 , a word occurring only in later Greek; the LXX. have translated by . , as they render by . Mockers , that is, men to whom the holy (not merely the resurrection , Grotius) serves for mockery. is a of the holy (which Hofmann without reason denies); this is naturally united with a surrender to their own lusts; therefore ] , an echo of the saying of Enoch, is placed emphatically at the close, in order to render prominent the character and aim of .

That the apostles in their writings frequently prophesied of the entrance of heretical and ungodly men into the church, is well known; comp. Act 20:29 ; 1Ti 4:1 ; 2Ti 3:2 ff.; yet is not elsewhere stated as a characteristic mark of these men; this is only the case in 2Pe 3:3 , where, however, the mockery is referred only to the denial of the advent of Christ.

[42] Why Jude should not have intended to comfort his readers by reminding them of what the apostles had, at an earlier period, said of the appearance of these men, as he here describes them, cannot be perceived (against Hofmann).

[43] Entirely without reason, Schott maintains that the intervening words: , prove that Jude will here give a verbal quotation, and that this must be a writing earlier directed to the readers. . . simply introduces the statement of the contents of the , which were earlier spoken by ths apostles. The plural is not to be referred to one apostle, and the verb does not in the least degree indicate that this word was written .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

17, 18 .] Exhortation to remember how the Apostles forewarned them of these men . But ye, beloved (see again below, Jud 1:20 ), remember the words which were before spoken (not “prophesied:” see reff.) by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ (this can hardly be cited as evidence on one side or the other on the question whether St. Jude himself was an Apostle. He might use the expression, being himself an Apostle: be is certainly more likely to have used it, not being one. According to the critical text, St. Peter uses the same expression, without the , 2Pe 3:2 : and whichever view is taken as to the genuineness or otherwise of 2 Peter, there could be no intention by such an expression to exclude either the real or the pretended St. Peter from the number of the Apostles), that they told you (whether by writing, or by word of mouth, does not appear: so that we cannot say, with Bengel, “ergo hi, ad quos Judas scribit, cteros quoque Apostolos audierant.” It is worthy of remark that he does not say , but ; hereby again not indeed making it certain that he included himself among the Apostles, but making it very uncertain, whether he intends to exclude himself) that at the last of the time (see notes on 2Pe 3:3 : Heb 1:1 : 1Pe 1:20 ; = at the end of the world, in the last age of the Church) there shall be scoffers (men who sport with what is holy and good; the of Psa 1:1 . The prophecy is contained in 2Ti 3:1 , 1Ti 4:1 , Act 20:29 , and doubtless formed a constant subject of viva voce warning. 2Pe 3:1-2 , can hardly be supposed to be referred to, for that place is, as this, a reminiscence of things before said by the Apostles, and nearly in the same words), walking according to their own lusts of impieties ( , gen. after , indicating the direction, or perhaps the character, of those desires. Cf. the same words above, Jud 1:16 ).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Jud 1:17-19 . The Faithful are bidden to call to mind the warnings of the Apostles . The Apostles warned you repeatedly that in the last time there would arise mockers led away by their own carnal lusts. It is these that are now breaking up the unity of the Church by their invidious distinctions, men of unsanctified minds, who have not the Spirit of God. See Introduction on the Early Heresies in the larger edition.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Jud 1:17 . , , . The writer turns again, as in Jud 1:20 below, to the faithful members of the Church (Jud 1:3 ) and reminds them, not now of primeval prophecy, but of warning words uttered by the Apostles. Some have taken this as a quotation by Jude from 2Pe 3:3 , where the quotation is given more fully. But, there also, the words are referred back to a prior authority, “holy prophets” and “your Apostles”. The words , which follow, imply that the warning was spoken, not written, and that it was often repeated.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jud 1:17-23

17But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Jud 1:17 “But you, beloved” This is a strong logical contrast.

“ought to remember” This is an aorist passive (deponent) imperative. Believers are called on to remember the spiritual truths given to them by the spoken word (cf. 2Pe 3:2 OT Prophets, Jesus, and Apostles) as well as the later canonized written word (possibly some parts of the NT were circulating at this time).

“by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” This relates to the preaching and writing ministry of the select group of disciples called “Apostles.” This verse implies that Jude is addressing second generation believers. Some readers may have heard the Apostles speak, but now that option is not possible. This period of transition from the “spoken gospel” to the “written gospel” was a time of great flux and confusion. Many people claimed to know and speak for God. Jude, like Jesus in Matthew 7, directs believers to evaluate leaders by their words and lifestyles.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE KERYGMA OF THE EARLY CHURCH

Jud 1:18 “that they were saying” This is an imperfect active indicative which refers to recurrent action in past time. Exactly where an Apostle said this is uncertain, but 2Pe 3:3 is similar, as are Act 20:29; 1Ti 4:1 ff; 2Ti 3:10-13; 2Ti 4:3. It may be an idiom for apostolic truth (i.e., the faith once for all given to the saints).

“‘In the last time'” This is parallel to 2Pe 3:3 “in the last days.” Jude and Peter (as most NT authors) thought they were living in the last days. The delayed second coming surprised everyone (cf. 2Pe 3:4). The characterization of the last days in Jud 1:18-19 are true of every age of fallen human history. Life apart from God is an orgy of self!

The Jews saw history as divided into two distinct periods: a current evil and rebellious period and a coming new age of righteousness, inaugurated by the powerful coming of God’s Anointed One (Messiah). From NT revelation this two-fold time frame has been modified. There is an unexpected overlapping of these two ages. Jesus of Nazareth has inaugurated the Kingdom of God, but it will not be fully consummated until His glorious return. This overlapping period has been described as the “already, but not yet” experience of the church.

Jud 1:18-19 “there will be. . .” Jude again describes “these” end-time false teachers:

1. mockers (by word and deed, cf. 2Pe 3:3)

2. divisive (i.e., causing divisions or making distinctions)

3. worldly-minded

4. devoid of the Spirit

Why do so many follow this kind of person? If the goal of life is to serve self, then this existential “me first” approach makes sense. But, what if there is a God who will demand a personal accounting of the gift of life? The gospel frees believers from the tyranny of self (cf. Romans 6) and enables them to freely serve the one true God.

Jud 1:19 “devoid of the Spirit” There are several theories as to the meaning of this phrase but the best seems to be that they live on the level of instinct and mere animal appetite (cf. Jud 1:10).

Jud 1:20 “But you” There is a contrast (cf. Jud 1:17) between “the beloved” true believers and “these” false teachers (very similar to Heb 6:9). Jude gives true believers a list of expectations (cf. Jud 1:20-23):

1. build yourselves up on your most holy faith

2. pray in the Holy Spirit

3. keep yourselves in the love of God

4. wait anxiously for eternal life

5. have mercy on doubters

6. snatch doubters from the fire

7. watch out from being polluted by those you help

“building yourselves up” This is a present active participle used in the sense of an imperative. This is one of a series of participles used as imperatives in the close of this letter. They represent the believers’ covenant responsibilities. Notice the contrast between

1. the keeping power of God in the introduction (Jud 1:1) and the doxology (Jud 1:24-25) and

2. these calls to personal action (cf. Jud 1:20-23)

Believers live/serve as if it all depended on them but rest knowing that it all depends on Him. This same comparison is found in Eze 18:31 versus Eze 36:26 (cf. Act 20:32; Php 2:12-13).

The metaphor of the Christian faith as a building is common in the writings both of Paul (cf. Act 20:32; 1Co 3:10; 1Co 3:12; 1Co 3:14; 1Co 3:17; Eph 2:20-22; Col 2:7) and Peter (cf. 1Pe 2:5). This metaphor is stated in several ways.

1. the believer as a building (or part of the building) or temple

2. the admonition to build ourselves up

3. the concept of a good foundation to build on

“on your most holy faith” This grammatical form can mean

1. “on your most holy faith” (cf. NASB, NKJV, NRSV, TEV, NJB)

2. “by means of your most holy faith” (cf. New Century Version)

3. “in your most holy faith” (cf. NEB, NAB, NIV)

The Greek term “faith” (pistis) is translated into English by three terms: “faith,” “believe,” or “trust.” Faith is used in three senses in the NT.

1. as personal acceptance of Jesus as the Christ of God

2. as faithfully living for Him

3. as a body of truths about Him (cf. Jud 1:3; Gal 1:23; Gal 3:23-25).

Mature Christianity involves all three senses.

Jud 1:20-21 Notice that the Triune God is mentioned: Spirit (Jud 1:20); God (Jud 1:1); Lord Jesus Christ (Jud 1:21). The term “trinity” is not a biblical term, but the concept surely is”one divine essence” (monotheism) but three personal and eternal manifestations. If Jesus is divine and the Spirit is personal, then “monotheistic” means one divine essence but three personal manifestationsFather, Son and Spirit (cf. Mat 3:16-17; Mat 28:19; Joh 14:26; Act 2:32-33; Act 2:38-39; Rom 1:4-5; Rom 5:1; Rom 5:5; Rom 8:1-4; Rom 8:8-10; 1Co 12:4-6; 2Co 1:21-22; 2Co 13:14; Gal 4:4-6; Eph 1:3-14; Eph 1:17; Eph 2:18; Eph 4:4-6; 2Th 2:13; Tit 3:4-6; 1Pe 1:2; Jud 1:20-21).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY

Jud 1:20 “praying in the Holy Spirit” This is another present middle (deponent) participle used in the sense of an imperative. What does it mean to pray in the Holy Spirit?

1. the Spirit prays for the believer (cf. Rom 8:26-27)

2. the believer prays in the power/presence of the Spirit (cf. Eph 6:18)

3. the believer prays in the gift of tongues (cf. 1Co 12:10; 1Co 14:14, but notice in 1Co 12:29-30, a series of questions which expect a “no” answer shows that the gift of tongues is not for every believer)

4. since there is no article with “Spirit,” the Greek form is exactly like Joh 4:23, where Jesus describes true worship to the Samaritan woman as worshiping “in Spirit and Truth” (cf. Php 3:3).

In the midst of a series of commands (participles with imperatival force) for believers to fight the good fight, there is an acknowledgment of the necessity of the Spirit’s power bringing the needed theological balance between the sovereign God and required covenantal response. See SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER at Jas 5:16.

Jud 1:21 “keep yourselves in the love of God” This is the main verb of the context (this was a favorite concept for Jude [cf. Jud 1:1; Jud 1:6; Jud 1:13; Jud 1:21]), and another aorist active imperative. How does one keep oneself in the love of God? The aorist active imperative speaks of an urgent act. Salvation is described in the NT as

1. a past completed act (aorist indicative)

2. a state of being (perfect tense)

3. an ongoing process (present tense)

4. a future consummation (future tense).

Evangelicals have been guilty of over-emphasizing the initial act (which is surely necessary), but depreciating the process by neglecting to discuss the paradox of a free gift in Jesus versus a continuing life of faith and service. God has chosen to deal with humans through covenant. There are benefits and requirements. We love the benefits and neglect the requirements. True faith is a faith that perseveres. God’s love initially draws us (cf. Joh 6:44; Joh 6:65) and sustains us, but we must co-operate with Him in covenantal response at every stage (cf. Php 2:12-13; 1Pe 1:5-11). The Bible sets the ideal of mature, Christlike Christianity and we are forever trying to minimize the mandated responses.

SPECIAL TOPIC: SALVATION (GREEK VERB TENSES)

NASB”waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life”

NKJV”looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”

NRSV”look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life”

TEV”as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life”

NJB”wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life”

This is another present middle (deponent) participle. It is similar to 2Pe 3:14. An eager expectation of the Second Coming is a characteristic of believers (cf. Rom 8:19-25; 1Co 1:7; Tit 2:13). Believers are not “fully” saved until they have their new resurrected bodies (cf. 1Jn 3:2). This refers to the ultimate salvation at the Second Coming. One could describe these stages as: justification (salvation as a free gift in the finished work of Jesus Christ); sanctification (salvation demonstrated by Christlike living not sinlessness, but surely sinning less); and glorification (salvation from the penalty, power, and even presence of sin at the consummation of the new age).

The expression “eternal life” is a NT metaphor of the new age, the kingdom of God, heaven, or face-to-face fellowship with God forever. It is very common in John’s writings, but it also occurs in the other Gospels and in Paul’s writings. Notice that eternal life is connected not only with the reception of the gospel, but also with the consummation of the new age at the return of Jesus Christ. So it is both present and future, like the kingdom!

“mercy” Jude’s unique introduction used “mercy.” There is a play on this term in Jud 1:21-22. Mercy experienced (cf. Jud 1:21) issues in mercy given (cf. Jud 1:22-23; Mat 6:14-15; Mat 18:35).

Jud 1:22 “on some” This seems to speak of three groups of church folks who were deceived by the false teachers (ASV, NASB, TEV, NJB, NIV following the ancient Greek manuscripts and A). Jude is fond of threes (cf. Jud 1:2; Jud 1:4; Jud 1:8; Jud 1:11).

1. some doubters

2. some followers of the false teachers

3. some false teachers

Other translations see two groups (cf. KJV, NEB, and Williams following the Greek manuscripts P72, B, C, K, L). In Answers to Questions, F. F. Bruce says:

“I think that most probably two classes are envisaged; those who are responsible for maintaining due order in the churches must use different methods towards those who persist in inculcating subversive and immoral doctrine and those who have been misled by false teachers” (p. 135).

There is also another ancient Greek manuscript variation. The MSS , B and C2 have the present active imperative plural of “mercy,” while MSS A and C*, have the present active imperative of “convince” or “refute” (cf. RSV).

“who are doubting” It is possible because of P72 (also Greek text used by Clement and Jerome) to see the Greek participle translated “doubting” (NASB); “wavering” (NRSV, NJB), as really meaning “making distinctions” or “causing divisions.” P72 leaves out the verb “have mercy on” and relates the term “divisions” to a way to further characterize “some” (i.e., heretics). See The Cambridge History of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 336.

This probably refers to those in the church who are being influenced by the false teachers. They are beginning to loosen their grip on “Apostolic truth,” “the most holy faith,” “the faith once and for all given to the saints.” Believers must be proactive, not just reactive in the reclamation and restoration of weak brothers and sisters. This is an admonition not to accept false teachers or teachings, but to show the priority of compassionate love and mercy to wavering covenant partners (cf. Gal 6:1) by restoring them to godly living and true belief.

The possible structural parallel is 2Pe 2:20-21. If so, the consequences of continual rebellion are catastrophic!

Jud 1:23 “save others, snatching them out of the fire” This could be (1) the fire of God’s temporal judgment or (2) the fire of God’s eschatological judgment. This may be an OT allusion to Amo 4:11 or Zec 3:1-5.

One’s denominational tradition often determines which judgment option is chosen. If Zec 3:1-5 is the background which seems to be the case because of

1. the term “snatch”

2. the metaphorical use of “soiled garments” as sin, then the allusion points toward the lives of the High Priest, Joshua the companion and helper of Zerubbabel (i.e., 538 B.C.), who is obviously a faithful believer (and even a metaphor for the Messiah in Zechariah 4).

However, the obvious thrust of the entire book is those who were once faithful to God have rebelled and have been judged. This is a frightful warning.

“on some have mercy with fear” This means “fearing contamination” (cf. 2Co 7:1; Gal 6:1).

“garment” This refers to an inner garment worn in the first century. These clothing metaphors are often used of lifestyle characteristics in the Bible (cf. Zec 3:1-5; Isa 61:10; Job 29:14; Psa 109:29; Eph 4:22; Eph 4:24-25; Col 3:9-10). The false teachers’ converts’ lives were “soiled.”

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

words. Greek. rhema, See Mar 9:32.

were = have been.

apostles. App-189.

Lord. App-98.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

17, 18.] Exhortation to remember how the Apostles forewarned them of these men. But ye, beloved (see again below, Jud 1:20), remember the words which were before spoken (not prophesied: see reff.) by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ (this can hardly be cited as evidence on one side or the other on the question whether St. Jude himself was an Apostle. He might use the expression, being himself an Apostle: be is certainly more likely to have used it, not being one. According to the critical text, St. Peter uses the same expression, without the , 2Pe 3:2 : and whichever view is taken as to the genuineness or otherwise of 2 Peter, there could be no intention by such an expression to exclude either the real or the pretended St. Peter from the number of the Apostles), that they told you (whether by writing, or by word of mouth, does not appear: so that we cannot say, with Bengel, ergo hi, ad quos Judas scribit, cteros quoque Apostolos audierant. It is worthy of remark that he does not say , but ; hereby again not indeed making it certain that he included himself among the Apostles, but making it very uncertain, whether he intends to exclude himself) that at the last of the time (see notes on 2Pe 3:3 : Heb 1:1 : 1Pe 1:20; = at the end of the world, in the last age of the Church) there shall be scoffers (men who sport with what is holy and good; the of Psa 1:1. The prophecy is contained in 2Ti 3:1, 1Ti 4:1, Act 20:29, and doubtless formed a constant subject of viva voce warning. 2Pe 3:1-2, can hardly be supposed to be referred to, for that place is, as this, a reminiscence of things before said by the Apostles, and nearly in the same words), walking according to their own lusts of impieties (, gen. after , indicating the direction, or perhaps the character, of those desires. Cf. the same words above, Jud 1:16).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Jud 1:17. , , but ye, beloved) Thus also Jud 1:20.-, remember) They therefore to whom Jude writes had also heard the other apostles.-, apostles) Jude does not exempt himself from the number of the apostles; for in the next verse he says, to you, not, to us.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Jud 1:17-23

SECTION THREE

EXHORTATIONS TO FAITHFULNESS

(Jud 1:17-23)

17 But ye, beloved, remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; –Here, as also in verse 20, the writer directs an appeal to the saints themselves, in which he recalls for them words which they had heard the apostles speak regarding trials certain to come upon them. See Act 20:29; 1Ti 4:1 ff; 2Ti 4:1 ff; 1 John 4 1ff. By his reference to the apostles in the third person we have corroborative evidence of the view advanced in the Introduction that the writer was not himself an apostle. Had Jude been an apostle, as some affirm, it is reasonable to suppose that he would have adduced his apostolic authority; he would have said here, “Remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The statement is such as would have been made by one not an apostle. The teaching of the apostles, on the theme referred to, is not introduced as something new Jude’s readers were, in fact, familiar with it; and are here reminded of what they already knew. They were, therefore, ac-quainted with some of the apostles; they had heard them speak and read their writings, and thus would recognize this warning as one originally delivered by them. Thre phrase, hoti elegon humin, “that they said to you,” with which the next verse begins, suggests that the warning to which Jude refers was a spoken one, rather than written.

18 That they said unto you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.–Cf. 2Pe 3:2-3, where the words are very much the same. Those who are disposed to hold that Second Peter was written earlier than Jude, and that the writer of our Epistle was dependent on that produc-tion for many of its sentences, cite this reference as evidence of the claim. It should be noted, however, that Peter, in the words which immediately precede the statement, refers the prophecy to an ear-lier announcement than his own: “This now beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; that ye should re-member the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles; knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the begin-ning of the creation.” (2Pe 3:1-4.) The word translated “mockery” here is the same as that which occurs in 2Pe 3:3, and the reference is much the same, though Jude does not detail, as did Peter, the specific form of mockery referred to–sneers at the delay alleged in the coming of the Lord. For an explanation of the terms used, and the meaning of the writer, see the comments on 2Pe 3:1-4.

19 These are they who make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit.–The word translated “make separations” is a rare one in the sacred writings, and means to cause divisions, par-ties, factions in the church. It is a compound word, made up of the prepositions apo, from; dia, through; and the noun oros, a section line. As here figuratively used, it designates one who draws a line through the church and sets one part over against another. It is a vivid and impressive picture of the actions of church dividers, factionists, troublers of the people of God. Some ancient versions render the phrase, “they who make separations,” as “these are makers of sects”; and Luther translated it, “makers of factions.” Such men are described as being “sensual,” and as “not having the Spirit.” The word “sensual,” here, is translated from the same word, as “natural,” in 1Co 2:14 : “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The root for the word sensual is the same as that translated “soul” in the scriptures–psyche. These men are soulish characters. The word soul is a generic term; and it is not possible to assign a simple meaning to it which will apply in each instance where it occurs. Here, in contrast with the higher nature of man, it signifies the individual life, and denotes that which pertains to a man as a man; and is, hence, the basis of a manner of life inferior to that which is described as spiritual. The word sometimes denotes the animal life which man possesses in common with beasts (Psa 78:50); occasionally it refers to and is used synonymously with the spirit (Rev 6:6-9. The soul stands midway between the body and the spirit of man. He who yields himself to the desires and the demands of the flesh becomes a fleshy person he who, through communion of his spirit with God’s Spirit, allows himself to be employed in the duties which he owes to God is properly styled spiritual. The natural man is thus an individual who lives on the plane of the soul–a lower nature than that of the spirit, though higher than that of the body and who refuses to rise to the high order of his being and to enjoy the communion which is possible between his spirit and God. Man is thus a triune being–he is composed of body, soul, and spirit.(1Th 5:23.) He is capable of living on either of these planes; and the manner orders of life his he lives is an index to that which life and controls his being. Those who are sensual possess a wisdom which is from below rather than that which is from above, and they “have not the Spirit.” Being without the guidance and direction of the Spirit of God, their lives are sensual, earthly, devilish. (Jas 3:15.)

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,–But ye, in contrast with these wicked and ungodly men, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, and praying in the Holy Spirit, “keep yourselves in the love of God.” Such was the design of their building up and praying. The metaphor of building, as a figure to represent growth in Christianity, is a common one in the sacred writings. (Eph 2:20 ff.) With faith as the foundation, they were to build a sacred edifice–a holy temple unto the Lord. (1Co 3:16-17.) For “praying in the Holy Spirit,” see 1Co 14:15. For evidence of the fact that the Spirit aids us in prayer, see Rom 8:26.

21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.–The phrase “love of God” can be understood as signifying either God’s love for us, or our love for God, though it is the former–God’s love for us–which appears to be its significance here. We keep ourselves in his love by conforming our lives to his will: “Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” (Joh 14:9-10.) In admonishing his readers to keep themselves in the love of God, humany agency in salvation is thus clearly indicated by the inspired writer. While God provides the sphere of salvation–his love–it is man’s function to keep him-self, through faithfulness, in that sphere and a failure to so do is to exclude one from the provisions of salvation. The “mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” sums up all that redemption provides; and all of this looks “unto eternal life,” i.e., to its ultimate possession in the next world.

23 And on some have mercy, who are in doubt; –There are various classes of humanity, and vastly different attitudes toward religion manifested by those of the same class, thus our approach to them must be influenced by the attitude characteristic of them. Some, in error, will be honest doubters, and with these we are to deal with infinite tenderness and patience; those who are perplexed, bewildered, confused, are to be tenderly escorted to the truth.

23 And some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.–These are those more advanced in error than those contemplated in verse 22; men who are far along the way to the fiery destruction which inevitably awaits them; and they are, therefore, to be snatched, as it were, from the fire to which they are so dangerously close. In so doing, we are to be careful that we do not partake of their uncleanness, “hating even the garment spotted (defiled) by the flesh” (the ways of the flesh). See Zec 3:1-4.

Commentary on Jud 1:17-23 by E.M. Zerr

Jud 1:17. Another reminder, but this time it is of things spoken before by the apostle. In referring to those who spoke before and mentioning apostles with them, it strengthens the conclusion that Jude was not one of them.

Jud 1:18. A mocker is one who makes fun of that which he cannot meet otherwise. The motive they have is their desire to walk after their own ungodly lusts.

Jud 1:19. Separate themselves. They put themselves in a different class from the faithful disciples by their wicked deeds. Sensual denotes being interested only in things that gratify the senses whether good or bad. Having not the Spirit because its teaching is against the kind of life they are following.

Jud 1:20. Building up means to edify themselves by the word which is the source of the most holy faith (Rom 10:17). Praying in the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) means to pray according to its teachings in the scriptures.

Jud 1:21. All who keep the commandments will have the love of God, and such persons may expect the mercy of the Lord when he comes to judge tyre world.

Jud 1:22. People should be dealt with according to their ability, and also their opportunity for knowing right from wrong. (See Gal 6:1.)

Jud 1:23. Save with fear denotes a feeling of terror over the wilful doing of wrong by others. Those deserve no mercy especially and should be dealt with sternly in the hopes they may possibly be rescued, just as we would snatch a person from drowning even if we had to grasp him by the hair of his head. Hating even the garment denotes that we should abhor anything that has been near fleshly sin. Jas 1:27 says that pure religion consists in one’s keeping himself unspotted from the world.

Commentary on Jud 1:17-23 by N.T. Caton

Jud 1:17.-But, beloved, remember.

The utterances of these false teachers ignore, and this you will do, if you but remember, as I exhort you to do, the words spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Lord. He and he only has a right to rule and have dominion over us. He bought us with his own blood, and that we might receive the benefits of his offering, he chose his own witnesses. Now these, his chosen, have spoken, and they spoke as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. They spoke the words of the Father, given by him to his Son, our Savior, and by the Son intrusted to his chosen witnesses. They made no mistake; they spoke with infallible accuracy. Remember ye the words they spoke.

Jud 1:18.-How they told you there should be mockers in the last time.

This is now what the inspired apostles had declared would occur. In the last time-that is, about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem-mockers should appear-men professing superior light and knowledge, disregarding the teaching of the chosen witnesses of Christ, setting it at naught, ridiculing and scoffing at it as of human invention and not God-given; and these mockers, although professing superior excellence, would conduct themselves after the low and beastly patterns set by the pagan idolaters.

Jud 1:19.-These by they who separate themselves.

The class mentioned in preceding verse separate themselves from those who walk as Christ’s apostles instruct, because they claimed superior virtue. Claiming superior virtue, they opposed apostolic teaching, saying that the disciples were not walking according to the Spirit. While they thus talked, and thus separated themselves for that pretended reason, they were observing their own selfish and sensual appetites and passions, contrary to the teaching of the Spirit.

Jud 1:20.-But ye, beloved, building up.

The apostle now turns to the brethren in earnest exhortation: You are built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ; you are a part of his spiritual edifice, the temple he erected in the world. The faith you have is a most holy faith; you believe Jesus Christ to be God’s Son; you take him for your Prophet, Priest and King; you acknowledge him to be your Savior, your guide. Now, you can build yourselves anew, day by day, by keeping up your connections and relations with your living head, by your prayers in the Spirit. This is not only your duty, but the blessed privilege of disciples of Christ who are God’s children.

Jud 1:21.-Keep yourselves in the love of God.

Constantly keeping before our minds what we owe as a duty to God for his wondrous mercy and love to us, we will do cheerfully, willingly and gladly what he requires of us, and thus we show our love to him and keep ourselves in his love by this course. While so doing, we are constantly keeping in mind that mercy which will eventuate in the greatest of all rewards-eternal life, which was made possible of attainment by our blessed Master.

Jud 1:22.-And on some have compassion.

While it is our duty to do all in our power to save sinners, the common version says that in our efforts a difference is to be made. Here, I confess, for a time I was greatly puzzled, and am not certain that I have reached the correct solution, yet I believe that I now grasp the idea the Holy Spirit, by the pen of the apostle, would have me entertain. Before, however, presenting my views as to the meaning intended, I shall lay before the reader some of the versions at hand, after introducing the succeeding verse, so that the whole subject may be before the mind.

Jud 1:23.-And others by fear.

The Syriac for the foregoing verses 22 and 23 reads as follows: “Verse 22. And some of them snatch ye from the fire. Verse 23. And when they repent, have compassion on them, with fear, hating even the tunic that is defiled by the flesh.”

Macknight has the following translation: “Verse 22. And making a difference, have compassion indeed on some. Verse 23. But others save by fear, snatching them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Rotherham reads thus: “Verse 22. And some, indeed, be convicting, such as dispute. Verse 23. But others, be saving out of fire, snatching [them], and on others have mercy in fear, hating even the garment spotted from the flesh.”

The Latin Vulgate reads thus: “Verse 22. And some, indeed, reprove being judged. Verse 23. But others save, pulling them out of the fire. And on others have mercy in fear, hating also the spotted garment, which is carnal.”

Tischendorf reads thus: “Verses 22-23. And of some, who waver, have compassion, and others save, pulling them out of the fire, and of others have compassion with fear.”

Now, the similarity of all these versions is apparent. The word “difference” in the common version, in the days of King James, may have conveyed a different thought to that which it does at the present day. It is certain, I think, that the apostle simply presents a method of approach in attempting the conversion of sinners. He has in his mind different characters, all of which can not be successfully approached in the same way. These different classes may be arranged thus:

1. Some that waver, that are in doubt.

2. Some that are willfully corrupt.

3. Some that are ignorant and controlled by others.

The first class are entitled to compassion, and are to be treated gently. Instruction proper to an honest doubter, or one willing to know the truth, is the method of approach the apostle suggests in this case.

The second class are like the false teachers; to save such, if possible, is a ‘Christian duty, and yet how to do so may be hard to determine. Stern rebuke and God’s threatenings to the ungodly might possibly reach such, and if thereby they are saved, it would be snatching from the fire.

The third class are to be approached in the fear of God, with all mercy for their frailty, exhibiting the light of the gospel to dispel the gloom, so that the only pathway to happiness and to God may appear to their benighted vision. Tenderness for the one class, vigor for the second, and mercy for the third, mercifully showing them their danger.

This, I think, conveys the idea intended to be inculcated in these verses, and whether there be yet an idea that we have not discovered, so much as we now see is of great importance to the believer, exhibiting the duty we are under to our fellowmen in their downward course to ruin.

Commentary on Jud 1:17-23 by Donald Fream

Some seem to see a repetition of 2Pe 3:2-3 in this passage. The two passages are not parallel, however. Peter does not indicate that the apostles words were spoken, but Jude does so indicate. What they mock in each case is entirely different. With Peter, they are scoffing at the second coming of Christ. These apostates in Jude are mocking Gods dealing with themselves and the surrendered life and conditionalities of the gospel. Note also the different verbs used.

Paul also warned against apostasy in 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 3:1-9; and Act 20:29-30. Jesus also prophesied of the seducers in Mar 13:22-23, as Peter reminds us in the 2 Peter passage. These all prophesied of apostasy to come whereas Jude writes that it has come. Although this seems to date Jude after 2 Peter, it is probably not very long after. The warnings are too similar in content and expression.

The phrase in the last time may give some difficulty, but it need not. The last days were ushered in with the coming of Christ, and that great and notable day of the Lord the day of salvation, actually begun on the day of Pentecost. Paul writes to believers upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (1Co 10:11). God has spoken to us at the end of these days. (Heb 1:2)

In this connection we might also note Heb 9:26; 1Pe 1:5; 1Pe 1:20; and 1Jn 2:18.

These are the men prophesied against. These are the sensual, who have not the Spirit. Who have not what spirit? Some think the spirit of man is intended. Thus, these are the men who walk after their bodies but who have no spirit of a man. Although this is a possible meaning, the point seems somewhat strained.

More proper, it would seem, these are the men who walk after their physical desires, but who have not the Spirit of Christ. They do certainly have some spirit, as does every man (1Jn 4:6); but the Spirit of Christ is not to have sensuousness as a goal. The meaning could also be that these men walk after sensuality but have not the Holy Spirit. The implied fact is the same: they are not Christians!

Apostasy is a growing canker. One of its immediate results is division among the brethren. This division will jel, if the apostasy continues, into a schism. A fault will then exist across the brotherhood of saints, and will deepen and widen until finally no bridge is possible. Then heresy follows, and a new body loyal to an apostate doctrine is the result. Thus apostasy has again and again split the church of the living God until the final result has been a tangled web of feuding denominations. The only way out is to go back to the author and finisher of our salvation, Jesus Christ. With a new heart surrendered to Him each man can search the holy word of God afresh; and allow his brother the same privilege. Allowing that God is the judge, man could through submission to Him find unity in Him, if he would.

With a final appeal, Jude turns to the sincere brethren. Out of a deep love he has written to them, and now with a burning heart he urges them to build up their faith. Some may read this, as other scriptures they so read, that there is virtue in faith itself. Not so. Most all men believe something, yet most men are on the broad road that leads to destruction. The most holy faith certainly places the faith in the proper scriptural object: Jesus Christ. The heart of the gospel and the object of our faith is many places set forth as Christ. There is no need that a reminder be made of this at every mention of the word faith. We do not build our lives on confidence; but on Christ, in whom we have confidence.

Praying in the Holy Spirit is an unusual expression. To determine the meaning we should let other scriptures do the interpreting. Nowhere are we instructed, or do we have the example, to pray to the Holy Spirit. This, then, is not the meaning. Nor do we have any teaching nor example that would indicate that the Holy Spirit completely submerges us and overwhelms our will to enable us to pray. Likewise the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not linked with our ability to pray.

What can the expression mean? Rom 8:26-27 says And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And so we do have specific instruction as to the part the Holy Spirit has in our prayers. Because we are saved, and have the first-fruits of the Spirit, and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, then the Spirit intercedes on our behalf, interpreting our very will, before God. This is especially beneficial when we are unable to frame our hearts desires with the proper words.

It may be said that we are to pray to God as Spirit filled Christians; and not as these libertines who follow sensuousness and have not the Spirit. Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which He gave us. (1Jn 3:24) We know the Spirit of God because of the confession made with the lips and with the life. (1Jn 4:2-6). John also adds that this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him. (1Jn 5:14-15).

We might also note a linking of the God, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit in this section. We pray in the Holy Spirit, we keep ourselves in the love of God, and we look for mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. All have a part in our being kept for heaven, and all fulfill their parts with unexcelled flawlessness.

There is a fourth party to our being kept, however. This party is ourselves. Our decision to stay with Him and to remain in His fold is not so flawless. And so we have the careful admonition to build up yourselves, to keep yourselves, and to look for the mercy. These are all admonitions that demand our active participation. We can by default or by choice neglect the object of our faith and so drift away from Him, (Heb 2:1). We can choose to go out from among the brethren. We can choose the way of apostasy, as Jude has so carefully warned. Even here he urges, with a burning heart, that we work with these apostates with fear; for a danger is involved!

Finally, we are admonished to hate. Sin is the mortal enemy. The wages of sin is death. Sin caused the death of Christ, and of every man. Sin made these apostates what they are, and can overthrow the Christian if he will not keep himself in Christ.

The particular sin of these apostates is the love of the flesh. Their danger is in the spread of lust to the saint. So it is the saint should hate the fleshly lusts, and even more, hate even the garment spotted by the flesh. The lust of the flesh is a possibility within every man and woman who is yet alive on this earth. The Christian is no exception, for he still resides in a body of flesh. Therefore have mercy with fear, says Jude.

If only the saints of God could realize the terrible result of sin, they would then hate every aspect of sin. The world is not just spotted with sin, it is engulfed in the crimson tide. In the most protected situation, such as the Christian home, or the church of Jesus Christ, there are still spots of sin. These spots must be seen in their true light, and hated, and resisted.

Commentary on Jud 1:17-23 by Burton Coffman

Jud 1:17 –But ye, beloved, remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Jude in this may have had reference to 2Pe 3:2, where almost the same sentiments are similarly expressed. Some have tried to make the language here mean that the age of the apostles was past when this was written; but Robinson pointed out that, “This need not imply the end of the apostolic age,” going on to add that the phrase “our apostles” was used by Clement. Also, “The phrase itself is compatible with the apostolic age.”[46]

The words which have been spoken … There is no need to inquire whether this means “written words” or “spoken words”; for apostles were still living when this was written, and it could have been, and probably was, both. What is truly significant here, as it regards dating the letter, is that the apostles of Christ at the time were not contrasted with any such officials as later rose in the church; but they stand here as the only authority appealed to, a condition that points squarely at the early 60’s or earlier.

ENDNOTE:

[46] John A. T. Robinson, op. cit., p. 179.

Jud 1:18 –that they said to you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts.

As we noted, the apostle Peter likewise prophesied of the scoffers who would make light of the truth; and, from what Jude wrote here, it may be inferred that all of the apostles gave the same teaching.

In the last time … Carl Henry, writing in Christianity Today, understood the New Testament to teach that in the years immediately before the Second Advent, the true faith, “once for all delivered” will be “boycotted as if it were heresy, and the sole surviving heresy at that.”[47] Rose stressed that for people committed to godlessness in their personal lives, who made light of all authority, who foamed out their own shame, and spoke blasphemously and contemptuously of heavenly persons” – Such as they, would naturally laugh at the idea of a judgment to come.”[48]

[47] Carl F. H. Henry, The Decline of Theology (Christianity Today) (Washington, D.C., 1966), Vol. X, p. 428.

[48] Delbert R. Rose, op. cit., p. 445.

Jud 1:19 –These are they who make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit.

Who make separations … They make separations, by separating themselves from the true church, and by inducing others to do so likewise. The rest of the verse means that, “They live as brute beasts, guided simply by their lusts and passions, their Bible being the manifold devices and covetousness of their own hearts.”[49]

Having not the Spirit … The blessed Spirit, long having been grieved, insulted, resisted, lusted against, and at last “quenched” by themselves, such men were no longer capable of any goodness whatever. This capacity for evil men to become, in some vital sense, actually sub-human was discussed in my Commentary on Romans, pp. 39-45; and we cannot but be impressed with this further evidence of such a phenomenon. Mayor observed it in these comments:

“The false teachers were so absorbed in the lower sensuous nature that they no longer possessed, in any real sense of the word, that element in man’s compound being, which is itself spiritual, and capable therefore of communion with the Divine Spirit.”[50]

[49] Adam Clarke, op. cit., p. 955.

[50] J. B. Mayor, op. cit., p. 273.

Verse 20–But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Building up yourselves … If we followed the pattern in works of this kind, three or four pages should be inserted here explaining how “there is not anything you can do to be saved,” “it is all of grace, and none of works,” “no man can be his own Saviour,” etc., etc. While such views certainly have a kernel of truth in them, provided it is properly understood, this is certainly the wrong place to rally a corpus of teaching designed to undercut and nullify what the sacred writer said here. And what did he say? That Christians are to build themselves up on their most holy faith! No New Testament author was afraid to stress what people must themselves do if they hope to receive salvation. On Pentecost, Peter said, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” Paul wrote that people should “work out their own salvation.” All such teachings, including this before us, have the effect of stressing the things people are commanded to do, with the sacred implication, that if they refuse to comply with the instructions upon which God’s grace is to be appropriated, their failure to comply is a forfeiture of the grace. The need on the part of humans to obey God’s teaching is in no manner incompatible with the conception that no man can earn salvation. Of course he cannot; but neither can the willfully disobedient enter heaven. When one thinks of it, what possible use could God have for any soul that refuses to do the things God commanded?

On your most holy faith … Either way this is understood, whether subjectively as Christian’s trust/faith, or objectively as the Christian religion, there is a human response factor in salvation.

Praying in the Holy Spirit … Prayer as a vital means of Christian growth and security is in sight here, including the blessed promise of the holy earnest that aids prayer. Neglect of this vital duty may prove fatal to the neglector.

Jud 1:21 –keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Keep yourselves in the love of God … Again the human response factor is stressed, the meaning here being exactly what it was in Jude 1:1:20, “keeping oneself in the love of God” being one and the same thing with obeying God’s commandments, as extensively taught in the Johannine literature, above. Summarizing the admonitions of these verses, what Jude commanded, or rather pleaded that the faithful should do, we have this: (1) work at your faith; (2) give constant attention to prayer; (3) receive, cultivate and cherish the indwelling Spirit; (4) keep yourselves in God’s love through strict obedience to his will; and (5) wherein one is frustrated or discouraged by failures (and there will be failures); (6) look unto the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ who will save the last unworthy one of us if we give him half a chance to do so!

Eternal life … Notice that this is preceded by “unto,” indicating that in some vital aspects of it, we do not now have eternal life; but this is not to deny John’s great promises regarding this; because they may be fully understood as our actual possession of eternal life, in the sense of having the blessed promise of it, the assurance of it, the earnest of it, and the vital, living hope of it.

Jud 1:23 –And on some have mercy, who are in doubt; and some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

The difficult Greek of this passage has challenged scholars for ages; and, even today, there is no unanimity on how it should be rendered. The problem is the exact arrangement of the clauses so as to convey the right meaning, and the difficulty of understanding exactly how the word [Greek: diakrinomai] should be translated, whether “make a difference” (KJV), or “be in doubt” (the English Revised Version (1885), New English Bible (1961)). Our own version (ASV) chooses one of three other possible renditions. The importance of all this lies in the number of classes of people in view. In KJV, and ASV, it seems that there are three; but only two are visible in English Revised Version and New English Bible.

In such cases as this, there is no certain manner of being absolutely right about it; but Bruce’s opinion would appear to be sound:

“I think that most probably two classes are envisaged. Those who are responsible for maintaining due order in the churches must use different methods toward those who persist in inculcating subversive and immoral doctrine and those who have been misled by false teachers.”[51]

The following rendition from New English Bible (1961) is based upon the same view:

“There are some doubting souls who need your pity; snatch them from the flames and save them. There are others for whom your pity must be mixed with fear; hate the very clothing that is contaminated with sensuality.

Snatch them from the flames of fire … is metaphorical, meaning “rescue them, as you would someone from a burning building.”

Pity mixed with fear … The subversives are indicated in this. No fellow-being lost in sin is otherwise than an object of pity in the hearts of Christians; but the danger to Christians themselves who might attempt to rescue some in this group is real and threatening. Regardless of Christian pity for some of the lost, there must be fear in attempting their rescue, a fear commanded in this verse; and the omission of the words “save them” in the second clause, as well as the hatred of their very “clothing” which is enjoined, falls short of any apostolic edict that any rescue at all should be attempted in the case of some. The great words of Jesus concerning the blind guides was “Let them alone!” And there are overtones of those words in this where pity is commanded, but rescue is not. We can only pray that we have not been misled in following the New English Bible (1961) in this verse.

ENDNOTE:

[51] F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 135.

Commentary on Jud 1:17-23 by Gary Hampton

Apostasy Described (Jud 1:17-19)

Jude pleaded with the faithful Christians to remember the teachings of the apostles. Jesus had said those men would relate all of His teachings and commandments (Jud 1:17; Mat 28:18-20; Joh 16:12-15). The apostles had foretold the coming of men who would mock the truth. Jude saw them as men who would not be pious. Instead, Jude said they were only seeking to fulfill their own fleshly desires. They, according to Jude, made a joke out of Christ’s teachings, especially concerning His second coming (Jud 1:18; 2Pe 3:1-3).

The false teachers of whom Jude told were men who drew lines of separation. They caused Christians to be pitted against one another. Woods says the word here translated “sensual” is translated “natural” in 1Co 2:14. Man is composed of three things — body, soul and spirit (1Th 5:23). To pursue the natural would be to fulfill the soul’s desires while rejecting the spirit. Thereby, one would be disallowing closeness to God. This is true because true worshippers of God must worship in spirit and in truth (Jud 1:19; Joh 4:24).

The Believer and the Faith (Jud 1:20-23)

In contrast to the ungodly, the faithful were to build upon their faith and pray in the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26; Eph 6:18). The idea of building on the faith that already exists is used in other places and in other ways, such as Heb 6:1-20. Jude’s desire was that Christians might stay in contact with the rewards found in God’s love for them. These rewards were theirs through obedience (Joh 14:9-10; Joh 14:15; Joh 14:21; 1Jn 5:3; 2Jn 1:6). The mercy of Jesus for which Jude prayed is found in salvation (Jud 1:20-21).

Clearly, the lost can be divided into two categories. There are those lost through being honestly mistaken and those intentionally lost. Jude urged Christians to be patient and loving with those honestly doubting the truth so they could be led to Christ. However, he warned them to exercise care with those in deeper trouble than the honest doubters. They would have to be snatched away from the very fires of hell. Of course, anyone trying to save them would have to beware lest, in pulling them out of trouble, they too should be spotted with the sins of the flesh (Jud 1:22-23).

Commentary on Jud 1:17-23 by David Hersey

Jud 1:17 –But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: This verse gives us strong evidence leading to the conclusion that Jude was written much later than most of the other books of the New Testament. It encourages the readership to look back on teachings of an earlier time. This verse also excludes the apostle Judas from consideration as the possible author of this work. The language here is that of someone who is referring his readers to a group of individuals which he is not a member of.

Jude is telling them to disregard what the apostates were teaching and go back to the source. Remember the words of the apostles which came before the words of the apostates. Jude told them to remember the words of all the apostles, not just one. As we learned from our study of Antinomianism from Jud 1:4, the teaching these apostates were advocating came from a perversion of Paul’s teachings regarding grace. Jude’s readership was encouraged to go back to the source and consider all of what had been spoken not by one apostle, but by all of them.

The application for us today is that when confronted with a false doctrine we too can do the same thing. We can go back and examine and study what the apostles spoke through the inspired record. We, like the readership of Jude can bypass all the conjecture and teaching of men and go all the way back to the source. That is what is authoritative, that is where we all must look to find the truth and that is where we must go to find the information we need to contend for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the saints (Jud 1:3).

Jud 1:18 –how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. Jude’s readership was reminded that what they were experiencing with the apostates is what the Apostles warned them about. Some of these warnings can be found in 1Ti 4:1, 2Ti 4:3-4, 1Jn 4:1, 2 Peter chapter 2. Everything these enemies of god were doing had been foretold. Now that it had become a reality, Jude was exhorting them to go back to their predictions of these people and heed their warnings.

Jud 1:19 –These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. The usage of the word sensual here is associated with those who have not the Spirit. Thus the meaning here is of those who have a manner of life which is inferior to that which is described as spiritual. There are two types of people in the world, those who live after the Spirit, guided by the word of God with the correct attitude and those who live after the flesh being guided by their worldly desires and wishes.

Jud 1:19 –“who cause divisions”–The Greek word for “cause divisions” is “apodiorizo” which is a compound word in this case meaning one who draws a line through the church and sets one part over against another. It is a vivid description of those who would cause division among the people of the church. This is what the apostates were engaged in. They were drawing a line through the Lord’s church and setting the two sides against one another.

Jesus taught in Mat 12:25-26, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand”. Satan knows that if he can divide the church, he has a better chance of destroying it. This division is exactly the means by which Satan is at work today. And when we look out at the religious diversity among those claiming Christ as savior it is easy to see that Satan has not been lax in his efforts. The scriptures teach one faith, one body (Eph 4:4). The world presents many bodies and many faiths and this division is destructive to the efforts of the Lord’s church. Through the division we have today, Satan has managed to successfully set out an impressive array of decoys. Well meaning people seeking God’s righteousness may and doubtless are deceived into condemnation by following after one of Satan’s decoys. Division is one of Satan’s most powerful attacks and deception is how he works. Everyone who is lost is in some way a victim of Satan’s deceptions.

Jud 1:19 –“not having the Spirit”–There is no shortage of disagreement over what these four words mean among the religious writers and commentators used for aid in the preparation of this study. Many contend that this means the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is promised to all Christians and many are the various beliefs associated with that. Some hold to a literal personal indwelling of God within us. Some hold to a strictly representative indwelling through the word of God. Personally, this Bible student sees compelling evidence to support either position and it has been my belief for some time now that the indwelling is a measure of both rather than either/or. I do not believe the use of Jude here is in any way connected to the indwelling of the Spirit in the believer today so we are not even going to look into that aspect of our faith with this study.

Jude wrote by inspiration, which means he was writing to Christians during the period of time when the Holy Spirit was working directly to reveal and to confirm God’s word. The apostates coming into the church were trying to pervert the word of God from what was once delivered. These apostates had to be claiming divine direction in some fashion in order to be taken seriously. By telling his readership these apostates did not have the Spirit, he was telling them they were not operating under any direct guidance of the Holy Sprit, therefore what they were trying to teach did not have the authentication or approval of the Holy Spirit and should therefore be utterly rejected.

Jud 1:20 –But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, Jude had used a lot of stern language in identification, characterizing and condemnation of the apostates in his epistle. Yet here he displays his evident love for the brethren. Jude was every bit as loving for the brethren as he was stern with the apostates. He referred to his readership as “beloved” no less than three times in his letter, (Jud 1:3; Jud 1:17 and Jud 1:20). There can be no doubt concerning the love and concern Jude had for his brethren.

Jud 1:20 –“building yourselves up”–Christians are here commanded to build themselves up on their most holy faith! Jude like all the other inspired writers failed to stress what believers must themselves do if they hope to receive salvation. On Pentecost, Peter said, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” Paul wrote that people should “work out their own salvation.” All such teachings, including Jud 1:20 stress the importance of things people are commanded to do, with the undeniable implication, that if they refuse or fail to comply with the conditions upon which God’s grace is to be appropriated, they will either fall from or fail of God’s grace.

The need on the part of mankind to obey God’s teaching is not incompatible with the conception that no man can earn salvation. Mankind cannot repay God what it cost to offer salvation therefore all the works of righteousness in the world will still leave one short of earning salvation. But the fact that we can never earn our salvation does not excuse mankind from the obligation to obey God. The necessity of obedience to God is interwoven throughout Biblical history starting with Adam and continuing unbroken until the great day of the Lord some time in the future.

Jud 1:20 –on your most holy faith”–Whether one understands this to be the personal faith of the individual or the system of faith to which Christians are bound, there is a necessary human response associated with building oneself up.

Jud 1:20 –“Praying in the Holy Spirit”–Prayer is a vital means of spiritual growth and security for the Christian. It cannot be stressed enough how important prayer is. Through Christ, we have a direct line of communication and fellowship with God the Father (1Jn 1:3). As for praying in the Holy Spirit, this was something very much different then, than what it is today. As mentioned earlier, this epistle was written during the age when the Holy Spirit was working directly with believers in revealing and confirming the word of God. There was without a doubt some in Jude’s readership who had the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit and could do this. Today when we pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ, our prayers are in line with biblical teaching relevant to the age we live in now. Being in accordance with the will of God as revealed by the Holy Spirit, we are in effect praying in the Holy Spirit. But the ability to do that like they could during the miraculous age in the infancy of the church is not possible for us today.

There is an apostolic example of just such a thing in Rev 1:10, written by John, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet”. John’s being “in the Spirit” that day is not possible for us to accomplish today.

Jud 1:21 –keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Here we have Jude exhorting his Christian readers to keep themselves in the love of God. This is significant in that Calvinism teaches that the elect are incapable of leaving the love of God. Jude here puts the responsibility of remaining in the love of God squarely on the Christians to whom he was writing. John tells us exactly how to abide in God’s love in Joh 15:10, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” The use of the word “if” makes this an optional thing. Those who wish to remain in the love of God must be obedient to God’s will in order to accomplish this. Faithful followers of God have always had a role to fulfill in God’s plans and that role has always been obedience.

Not only can one not keep themselves in the love of God if they are not obedient, they cannot even claim to know God. John provided us with the test for whether or not we are in the love of God in 1Jn 2:3-5, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.”

Obedience to God is the key to our salvation (Heb 5:9), and under no circumstances does the necessity for obedience militate against our being saved by God’s grace. It was God’s grace which provided man a way of reconciliation with God in the first place. God didn’t owe mankind a second chance under any circumstances and would have been well within His rights to have allowed mankind to perish in His sin, suffering eternal condemnation. Jude was making sure his readers knew that they had a role to fulfill in God’s plan.

Jud 1:21 –“looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”–The Christian does indeed have a role to play in God’s plan, but it is also a fact that without God’s mercy, it is all for nothing. Jesus gave His life for mankind and in so doing paid a debt we couldn’t pay and be in fellowship with God. By paying that debt for us, He put us in the position of owing Him our lives. Scripture says that we were bought for a price (1Co 6:20). We cannot repay that fully so what we do is offer our lives back to Jesus in service. In the end, it won’t be our works that save us, because our works can never fully repay what it cost God to save us. In the end it will be God’s grace and mercy that bridges the gap between the insufficiency of our works and the debt paid by Jesus Christ on our behalf.

Jud 1:22 –And on some have compassion, making a distinction–Here we have some of the most extraordinary words in all of scripture in regards of how to deal with erring brethren. As uncompromising and stern as Jude was in his condemnation of the apostates, he allows that there is some diversity in the class of those in error and here gives instruction to make a distinction between them. On the one hand, you have those who are honestly in error and will take the steps to correct their actions. A compassionate approach may in some cases be the most appropriate method. And on the other hand, the approach Jude mentions in verse 23 may be the more effective method.

Jud 1:23 –but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. It may be the case where the erring brother may require a somewhat stronger approach. Perhaps the warning of condemnation which Jude certainly excelled in. One can hardly read this epistle and considering it honestly not lend themselves to a healthy measure of self examination.

The application for us today is that there are diverse ways of dealing with those in error. There is room for judgment regarding this. The important thing to keep in mind is that we must always show compassion when dealing with such things. A haughty and judgmental attitude is not going to be an effective means under any circumstances. 2Ti 2:24-26, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

Jud 1:23 –“hating even the garment defiled by the flesh”–Garments are used symbolically to represent one’s spiritual state. In Isa 61:10, we read, “My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness”. Garments which are white represent purity and righteousness (Rev 7:9) while unrighteousness is characterized by filthy garments (Zec 3:3-4), “Now Joshua [speaking here of the nation of Israel] was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And finally, Christians are represented in scripture as those who have washed their garments white in the blood of Jesus (Rev 7:14-15), “…These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”.

All sin defiles the garments of righteousness but the particular sin in view here is that of sins of the flesh. The temptation of the flesh is a powerful force and one that is responsible for the downfall of many. Christians are to hate the garments of all sin meaning they are to remove themselves from it as far as possible. Paul wrote in Eph 5:3-7, “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them”.

Christians are to be careful at all times, avoiding sin, not putting themselves in situations where they would be tempted (Rom 13:14). It is a fact that we must live and serve in a sinful world. We’ll never know what it is like to live without sin this side of eternity, but we must never allow ourselves to look favorably upon it. We are exhorted to hate the filthy garments of unrighteousness, choosing to look with disfavor upon them, shunning them and avoiding what they represent. 1Ti 5:14, “give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully”, (1Th 5:22), “Abstain from every form of evil”.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Fear Not

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.Rev 1:17-18.

It seems strange to us that St. John, of all men in the world, should be afraid of Jesus. He had spent with the Master so many familiar days. He had talked with Him on the highways, and listened to His voice by the seashore. He had joined with the inner circle of the disciples on the transfiguration mount, in the death chamber of Jairus house, and in the solemn stillness of Gethsemane by night. He had leaned on the Saviours breast at supper; and when the cross was upreared on Calvary, he had taken from the Lords dying lips the direction to receive Mary, the mother of Jesus, into his own home. And yet now, with all his experience of the Master, when the vision of the glorified Christ flashed upon him, he fell in consternation and terror at His feet.

But there was a great contrast between the vision which disclosed itself to the mind of St. John as he turned to see it and the memory which he cherished of the Lord as He was when he walked with Him in Palestine, or when he leaned on His breast at the supper table. St. John was the beloved disciple; he had been on terms of exceptional intimacy with his Master, but this was the risen and ascended Saviour; and so great was the contrast that he fell at His feet as one dead. He was overcome by the splendour of the vision; he was overwhelmed with the majesty of the Saviour. But it was the same loving Lord. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of death and of Hades.

Martin Luther tells us himself that in his youth, while he was still a devout member of the Roman Catholic Church, he was walking one day at Eisleben in his priests robes following the procession of the Mass, when suddenly he was overcome by the thought that the Sacrament, carried by the vicar-general (Dr. Staupitz), was really Jesus Christ (as he then believed) in person. A cold sweat, he says, covered my body, and I believed myself dying of terror. Afterwards he confessed his fears to Dr. Staupitz, when the latter (one of the more enlightened of the old school) replied: Your thoughts are not of Christ. Christ never alarms; He comforts. These words, adds Luther, filled me with joy, and were a great consolation to me.1 [Note: J. Waddell.]

There are three great encouragements in the text

I.Fear not to Live: I am the Living one.

II.Fear not to Die: I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore.

III.Fear not what comes after Death: I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Fear not to Live

I am the Living one.

1. The instinct of fear is deeply rooted in our nature. The thing that is unknown, yet known to be, will always be more or less formidable. When it is known as immeasurably greater than ourselves, and as having claims and making demands upon us, the more vaguely these are apprehended, the more room is there for anxiety; and when the conscience is not clear, this anxiety may well amount to terror. According to the nature of the mind which occupies itself with the idea of the Supreme, whether regarded as Maker or Ruler, will be the kind and degree of the terror. To this terror need belong no exalted ideas of God; those fear Him most who most imagine Him like their own evil selves, only beyond them in power, easily able to work His arbitrary will with them. The same consciousness of evil and of offence as gave rise to the bloody sacrifice is still at work in the minds of some who call themselves Christians. Naturally the first emotion of man towards the Being he calls God, but of whom he knows so little, is fear.

(1) Human experience is steeped in the fears brought by a guilty conscience. In all ages men have been terror-stricken as they thought of their sin. Even the most cultured peoples of paganism found no relief from such dread in turning to their gods. They did not think so well of their deities as to conceive of their pitying, helping, and saving. The favour of these monsters was to be won by pain, by suffering, and by surrender of what they loved the most; and so they hated their gods, and in their hearts bewailed the dire necessity of religion.

The ease of a guilty conscience is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Living One. It is in the touch of His right hand, in the hearing of the voice of Jesus, in the steadfast regard of what Jesus is, of what Jesus has done, and in the apprehension of the place that Jesus fills, and of the power that Jesus wields, that St. John is to find the ground of his fearlessness and steadfast confidence. This is one of the common places of Christian experience. Not in ourselves, not in our attainments, not in our circumstances, not in anything that is ours, not even in any suffering, surrender, or sacrifice, can we find any sure ground of confidence or of deliverance. It is in Christ, and in Him alone, that peace and rest can be found. While we look at Him, while we steadfastly contemplate Him, and dwell on His perfection, on His work, on the gracious relation He condescends to bear to us, we are safe from inward perturbation and from hesitation and doubt.

(2) Men are oft overcome with fear as they face some great crisis in life. Again and again in life we are called to face emergencies, to take risks, to attempt the apparently impossible, to stand steadfast when confronted with opposition or trial or persecution. And the nobler the life is, the more numerous are the occasions on which this call comes to us. The true man, the man who feels the hand of the Almighty upon him, soon finds that life is full of episodes of this kind, often recurring with increasing frequency; that so far from becoming easier as it goes on, life often becomes more strenuous and more difficult; that the path which he is called to tread is no level highway, not even a graduated ascent to a predestined goal. It is an ascent indeed, but not always gradual or continuous. At times he finds that it is broken by obstacles that have to be surmounted, by dangerous chasms that have to be bridged over, by slippery places in which it is difficult to find a foothold, by storm and by tempest and by darkness and by false guides and by open enemies.

Man trembles as he enters into the cloud of sorrow. He would rather be let alone. He would prefer that his money-making, or his pleasure, or his sin should not be interrupted by sickness or misfortune. In prosperity he feels strong; in adversity his heart fails him. It is just then, in his hour of need, that a strong right hand is laid upon him, and a Voice whispers in his ear: I will in no wise fail thee. Fear not. Sometimes, when an electric car is mounting a steep street, the power fails, and the car sticks fast with half the height still to be climbed. But on the Hill Difficulty, or on the mountain of trial, the power of Christ will never come short. The most trying seasons of life are the seasons when His grace is most magnified and His arm strongest to save.

(3) There are those who fear to live because they can look forward to nothing day by day and year by year but the small dull round of toil, and its endless reaches of flat, straight, unchanging road oppress their souls. Every cyclist knows that the dead level is far more wearying than a road where he must climb even steep hills now and then. The same muscles are unceasingly exercised; one misses the fresh breeze and the expansive outlook of the uplands; one loses the rest that is born of change. So life on the dead level is in danger of exhaustion. Nowhere does one more plainly need to hear the Masters voice saying: Fear not. In the dead monotonies Christ reveals His power. He brings blessedness into the dull round of toilthe bitter weariness of chronic pain, the wearing anxieties of unchanging years. The desert can be made to blossom like the rose. What we are in soul will determine what we are in work. St. Pauls tent-making was never to him a monotonous desert. Let us try to catch the light of heaven, as we pursue our daily callings, whatever they may be, and we shall not fear to live through unchanging years.

To every thoughtful man life has its responsibilities, its cares, and its possibilities. Shall I be able to live worthily, to make a fit use of my opportunities? Shall I be able to live a rich, full, and gracious life, and be equal to the duties and the responsibilities which may devolve upon me? As we reflect on this, as we think out the situations and possibilities that open out to us as life proceeds and new horizons are disclosed, we feel the gracious power of this word, Fear not to live; for I am the Living One. It is as if the Lord said, Fear not to live; I share your life. Through Me you will be able to grasp the opportunities of life, you will rise to the height of your calling, and when duty calls you will be able to answer all its demands. You will be able to say, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. 1 [Note: J. Iverach, The Other Side of Greatness, 139.]

2. Jesus, then, would have us meet every fear with the assurance that He is the Living One. I am the first and the last, and the Living one; not merely the first and the last, not merely God at the beginning and God at the end, a Creator who put the world-machine into working order and who will step forward again into view at the last day to judge and punish and reward; but a God who is the Living One from first to last, the Giver and Sustainer of life, upholdingcarrying alongall things by the word of His power. In this picture is portrayed with a lightning touch the eternal being and the eternal activity of God.

The close connexion of clauses suggests that the claim made in the expression the Living one means more than that He was alive. It means exactly what Jesus meant when, in the hearing of this same Apostle, He said upon earth, As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he givenstrange paradoxso hath he given to the Son to have life in himselfa life which, considered in contrast to all the life of creatures, is underived, independent, self-feeding, and, considered in contrast with the life of the Father with whom that Son stands in ineffable and unbroken union, is bestowed. It is a paradox, but until we assume that we have sounded all the depths and climbed all the heights, and gone round the boundless boundaries of the circumference of that Divine nature, we have no business to say that it is impossible. And this is what the great words that echoed from heaven in the Apostles hearing upon Patmos meantthe claim by the glorified Christ to possess absolute fontal life, and to be the Source of all creation, in whom was life. He was not only the Living one, but, as He Himself has said, He was the Life.

Stevenson in his essays insists upon being vital, as he calls it. Whatever else you are, he says, be vital. He is encouraging and seeking to foster a brave and cheerful optimism. Do not trouble about death, says Stevenson, make the best of life. Now there is truth in that, and wisdom in it; and in all literature there is nothing more touching than the zest with which Stevenson determined to live, though in his sickly body he carried all his days the sentence of death in himself.1 [Note: J. D. Jones, The Gospel of Grace, 132.]

Fear not to Die

I was dead.

1. Man naturally fears death. Through fear of death men are all their lifetime subject to bondage. Though, under high motives and devotion to great causes, men have often subdued the fear of death, yet this fear is really a feeling common to all men. For men do not know what it is to die. It is an experience that is strange to men, and no one returns to tell others what it is to die. No traveller returns from the other land, and the experience of death lies before each man as new and as strange as if no one had ever had that experience. No one had ever before said, I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore.

It is said that George Morland, the painter, who killed himself by drinking, was possessed of such an unreasonable fear of darkness that, if the light happened to go out, he would creep towards the fire or the person next him, and he could never sleep without two lights in his room, lest one by some accident should be put out. That is something like the intolerable fear that most men have of death. They may reason themselves out of it, but the instinctive dread remains. Darwin used to go to the London Zoological Gardens, and, standing by the glass case that contained the cobra, put his forehead against the glass, while the cobra struck out at him. He was trying to conquer an instinctive fear; but though he knew that the glass was between, every time the creature struck out the scientist dodged. The same instinct makes most men fear the termination of earthly life. They may be firmly convinced in their minds that death is no enemy, but like Samuel Johnson they look forward with something very like terror to the awful hour of their decease. And yet, when the time came for Johnson, he was able to face death with calmness and Christian fortitude.1 [Note: J. Waddell.]

2. Christ does not teach us to make light of death; He says nothing to weaken a right sense of its awfulness and solemnity. Had we no shrinking from it, we should be lacking in the ordinary instincts of self-preservation and in due reverence for the sanctities of that human life which man may destroy but can never replace. Had we no native horror at the shedding of human blood, we might rush on suicide or murder, with the ferocious delight of savages or brute beasts. Yes! there is a rightful fear of death which is associated with a sense of the blessing and value of God-given life and in fullest accord with all the primary instincts of our being and well-being. We cannot suppose that this laudable fear is meant to be impaired by the gospel. No! the Lords words here do not mean that we are to have nothing of that natural fear of death which is one of the strong safeguards of our own life and that of others. It is only the tyrannous, embarrassing, distracting, oppressive, mischievous terror that becomes simply a curse and a snare for all who come under its sway, to which this command Fear not applies, and from which it is part of the gracious Saviours design to deliver us.

That man must be a coward or a liar who could boast of never having felt a fear of death.2 [Note: The Duke of Wellington.]

3. Christ bids us master the fear of death by remembering that He passed through its dark portals. I was dead. This announcement would remove all doubts from the mind of the Apostle as to the person addressing him. Whatever disparity between His present appearance and what He was when the Apostle saw and conversed with Him in the world, this declaration would remove all doubt. In the glorious One now in the midst of the golden candlesticks, and holding the seven stars in His right hand, and clothed with indescribable glory and majesty, he beholds the One whom he knew on earth as the man of sorrows and acquainted with griefthe One whom he saw arrayed in mock royal robes and the crown of thorns, the One whom he saw arraigned before an earthly tribunal and there unjustly condemned, the One whom he saw in indescribable agony in the gloomy precincts of Gethsemane, the One whom he saw nailed to the accursed tree, and whose cry of bitter agony he heard while under the hiding of His Fathers countenance, and whom at last he helped to commit to the dark and lonely grave. But what a contrast now! No longer the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; no longer the object of the hateful scorn and derision of the wicked; no longer the suffering Jesus, crushed with the burden of sins not His ownbearing the cross on which to lay down His life a ransom for many; no longer the seemingly conquered of death and the tenant of the grave, but the mighty conqueror risen to the possession of an endless life.

The actual words are, I became deada mysterious paradox, in which a most wonderful event is inserted, incorporated, into that eternity of being. In this short phrase He intimates the whole mystery of the Incarnation; but He presents just that aspect of it which sinful man, prone at His feet, most needs. He does not articulate the thought now of His blessed birth, or of His life, His speech, His labour, His example; there is nothing said here of Bethlehem, or of the years in Nazareth, or of the fair borders of the Lake with the furrowed fields, and the floating fishing-craft, and the listening multitudes upon the flowery slopes. It is all the cross; it is only and altogether the precious death and burial. I became dead. We read that sentence in the light of the long Apocalypse, and what do we see within it? The shame and glory of the crucifixion, the atoning and redeeming blood, the sacrifice of the Lamb, the Lamb not of innocence only but of the altaras it had been slain.

And behold, I am alive for evermore. This existence after death is special, and different. It is not a mere reassertion of what had been already included in His great word, I am the Living one. It is something added. It is an assurance that in the continued life which has once passed through the experience of death there is something new, another sympathy, the only one which before could have been lacking with His brethren whose lot it is to die, and so a helpfulness to them which could not otherwise have been, even in His perfect love. This new lifethe life which has conquered death by tasting it, which has enriched itself with a before unknown sympathy with men whose lives are for ever tending towards and at last all going down into the darkness of the gravethis life stretches on and out for ever. It is to know no ending. So long as there are men living and dying, so long above them and around them there shall be the Christ, the God-man, who liveth, and was dead, and is alive for evermore.

Death and darkness get you packing,

Nothing now to man is lacking;

All your triumphs now are ended,

And what Adam marrd is mended

Graves are beds now for the weary

Death a nap, to wake more merry.1 [Note: Henry Vaughan.]

4. Because Christ lives, His people must live too. They cannot die. He made Himself one with His people, so much one with them that His life was their life, His dying their dying, and His work their work. The closeness of that union is illustrated on the other side as well. Their life is His life, their dying is His dying, and their work is His work. So the Apostle of the Gentiles says to the Colossian Christians, Ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. So close is the unity between Christ and His people that St. Paul could say, If one died for all, then were all dead. If we trace this thought, as set forth in its fulness in Scripture, we find that the fear of death is overcome because the bitterness of death is past. It is no mere figure of speech which affirms that the Christian has died when he became a Christian. Nor is it only the case that when Christ died all His people died with Him. But the other side of the twofold experience is also true. Christ shares the death of His people. He is with them in the valley of the shadow of death. It is no lonely death that they die, when body and spirit part for the time. Christ is with them, and keeps them company in their dying hour. The sting of death has been withdrawn, and the bitterness of it has been taken away. For in virtue of the faith which has made him one with Christ, a Christian has died to sin, has passed into the state where there is no more condemnation.

It is told of Leonardo da Vinci that on his death-bed the king came to visit and cheer him. He talked to his majesty lamenting that he had offended God and man in that he had not laboured in art as he ought to have done. Suddenly he was seized with a paroxysm, and the king, taking him in his arms to give him comfort, the weary penitent died in the arms of his king. The words are a parable of that which awaits every Christian in the hour of death. He will die in the arms of his King, the Eternal God, his refuge, and underneath the everlasting arms, and so the pathway will not be strange.1 [Note: J. Waddell.]

III

Fear not what comes after Death

I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Two things in the rendering of the Authorized Version have given rise to much misapprehension. One is the order in which, following an inferior reading, it has placed the two things specified. And the other is that mistranslation, as it has come to be, of the word Hades by the word Hell. The true original does not read hell and death, but death and Hades, the dim unseen regions in which all the dead, whatsoever their condition may be, are gathered. The Hades of the New Testament includes the Paradise into which the penitent thief was promised entrance, as well as the Gehenna which threatened to open for the impenitent.

Here it is figured as being a great gloomy fortress, with bars and gates and locks, of which that shadow feared of man is the warder, and keeps the portals. But he does not keep the keys. The kingly Christ has these in His own hand.

When land on both sides of a river is held by the same farmer he also has the rights of the water. In the same manner Jesus Christ is the owner, on this side as well as the other side. Consequently He has the rights of the river which divides the two worlds.2 [Note: Richard Jones.]

1. Jesus went into death and Hades to become their Master on behalf of men. It was not necessary for Him to seek the keys of death and Hades for Himself, for He was in Himself the Lord of Life, and death and Hades were His vassals. It was humanity that had lost the keys, and was in bondage to death and Hades, and it was for humanity, and as its representative, that Jesus became dead, in order that He might become alive again and bear for us the keys of death and Hades. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Because He was the Living one, He broke deaths power, and Hades could not detain Him. It is a Divine paradox that the Lord of essential life should enter into death and Hades at all, but it would have been more than a paradox, it would have been the subversion of eternal truth and reason, if they had been able to detain Him. By voluntary surrender He entered into their domain, and by His will He burst their bands asunder and shattered their prison. They were compelled to admit into their stronghold One stronger than they, and they were conquered in their own citadel. They who had conquered millions were at last conquered for men by the Son of Man. With the majesty of invincible life all was measured out beforehand, not only the entrance into deaths domain, but also the rising on the third day. Conquering all the dark domain, He came forth bearing the keys of death and Hades. I became dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore.

There is a well-known engraving of Monica and her son St. Augustine. They clasp hands in the twilight, and look wistfully into the open sky. They are not gazing at the stars, their eyes are turned towards the infinite; they are askingBeyond the horizon, what? Who will read for us the everlasting riddle? There is a little poem by George MacDonald

Traveller, what lies over the hill?

Traveller, tell to me;

I am only a child at the window-sill,

Over I cannot see.

A verse in Richard Baxters hymn answers it well

My knowledge of that life is small,

The eye of faith is dim;

But tis enough that Christ knows all,

And I shall be with Him.1 [Note: F. Harper, A Broken Altar, 47.]

2. Jesus now carries the keys. Keys are symbols of authority and law; and the keys of death remind us that government and order prevail in the realm of mortality. Having regard to events which we constantly witness, it might seem that death is entirely lawless. Sweeter than the virgin rose, the young perish with the rose, whilst the very aged wearily grow older still; the strong are broken by sickness in a day, whilst the feeble linger on in helplessness and pain; the good cease from the land, whilst the vicious remain to torment and pollute. We know not when death will make its appearance, or whom it will strike; it seems the most fitful of agents, setting at naught all probability and prophecy. But just as the meteorologist sees, and sees ever more clearly, how law governs the wind which bloweth where it listeth, so the actuary discerns regulating principles under the apparent capriciousness of death, and bases his insurance tables upon those ascertained principles. However it may seem, the dark archer never draws his bow at a venture. The gate of the grave is not blown about by the winds of chance; it has keys, it opens and shuts by royal authority.

To have the key of any experience means to have entered into it and passed through it and endured it, and learned its secrets and made them your own.

Now Jesus knows what dying is like, and He knows what comes after. By the grace of God He tasted death for every man. He Himself felt that fear of it which makes cowards of us all. He Himself shrank from it, as we do. He Himself endured it, as we must. He suffered far more than any other man ever did or ever need, suffer. Of all men He was most solitary and forsaken. He trod the wine-press alone. He died deserted, in the dark. He Himself gave up the ghost, and went down into a human grave. He was crucified, dead and buried, and He descended into Hades. He went wherever we, in our turn, must go. He passed the mysterious gateway, and as Man He entered the unseen world, and all the secrets of that unutterable experience belong to Him.

One of the most profound and suggestive legends of ancient Greece was the legend of the Sphinx. The Sphinx, according to the old story, was a monstrous creature, half human, half animal, who had a riddle to propound to any travellers who passed her way. What exactly the riddle was does not matter to us just now. All that concerns us is that here was a creature propounding her riddle to men and exacting their lives as forfeit if they failed to answer it. Traveller after traveller, the legend says, tried and failed and perished. But at last there came one who discovered the answer, and the Sphinx, her secret discovered, destroyed herself. Whenever I think of that Greek legend I feel that from first to last it is nothing but a parable of death. Death is the Sphinx. Ever since the world began death has been in it propounding to mankind this tremendous riddle, If a man die, shall he live again?challenging them to discover her own secret, saying to them, Explain me or pay the forfeit in a life passed in fear and bondage. And generation after generation tried to discover the secret and explain the riddle. The greatest sages and philosophers and teachers tried and failed. The psalmists and prophets of the Old Testament tried and failed. Death remained the terrible and inscrutable Sphinx. But there came One at last who became dead and went down into the grave, and on the morning of the third day came out of it again. And now He says to the world, I have the Key.1 [Note: J. D. Jones, The Gospel of Grace, 128.]

3. The keys of death and Hades are in the hand of Him who is seated on the judgment-seat. He openeth, and no man shutteth; he shutteth, and no man openeth. Nor is the consolation derived from the thought that all power is in the hand of Jesus Christ. That would be an untrustworthy source of comfort. For the Christian would not desire or wish that the power should be strained on his behalf, or that an unworthy verdict should be given. For on that day it will be found that those who obtain the sentence of acquittal and of reward have become worthy of their place in the Fathers Kingdom. They have become the righteousness of God in Christ. They have become like Christ, have really obtained the Spirit of adoption, and have learned the language of the Fathers family, and are really the sons of God. The final procedure recognizes all that has been done for them, and all that is accomplished in them, and the verdict is given accordingly. Justified by grace, and yet judged according to works, is the final wonder of the Christian experience.

The weary child, the long play done,

Wags slow to bed at set of sun;

Sees mother leave, fears night begun,

But by remembered kisses made

To feel, tho lonely, undismayed,

Glides into dreamland unafraid.

The weary man, lifes long day done,

Looks lovingly at his last sun;

Sees all friends fade, fears night begun,

But by remembered mercies made

To feel, tho dying, undismayed,

Glides into glory unafraid.

Fear Not

Literature

Bernard (J. H.), From Faith to Faith, 91.

Brooks (P.), Sermons, 210.

Brown (J. B.), The Higher Life, 321.

Calthrop (G.), In Christ, 385.

Campbell (R. J.), Thursday Mornings at the City Temple, 298.

Corlett (J. S.), Christ and the Churches, 9.

Darlow (T. H.), in Great Texts of the New Testament, 141.

Davies (T.), Sermons and Expositions, ii. 239.

Greer (D. H.), From Things to God, 190.

Gurney (T. A.), The Living Lord and the Opened Grave, 112.

Hadden (R. H.), Sermons and Memoir, 94.

Hort (F. J. A.), Village Sermons, ii. 139.

Howe (J.), The Redeemers Dominion (Works, iii. 10).

Illingworth (J. R.), Sermons Preached in a College Chapel, 1.

Inge (W. R.), Faith and Knowledge, 3.

Iverach (J.), The Other Side of Greatness, 136.

Jones (J. D.), The Gospel of Grace, 117.

Liddon (H. P.), Easter in St. Pauls, 323.

Maclaren (A.), Creed and Conduct, 108.

Maclaren (A.), Expositions: Epistles of John to Revelation, 162.

Moule (H. C. G.), The Secret of the Presence, 127.

Paget (F. E.), The Living and the Dead, 209.

Raleigh (A.), Quiet Resting Places, 45.

Sowter (G. A.), Trial and Triumph, 239.

Thomas (J.), The Mysteries of Grace, 103.

Trench (R. C.), Sermons Preached in Westminster Abbey, 181.

Vaughan (J.), Sermons (Brighton Pulpit), New Ser., xiii. (1876), No. 1000.

Watkinson (W. L.), Studies in Christian Character, i. 87.

Westcott (B. F.), The Revelation of the Risen Lord, 61.

British Weekly Pulpit, iii. 49 (C. A. Berry).

Christian World Pulpit, xxix. 97 (A. M. Fairbairn); 1. 81 (W. B. Carpenter); lxvi. 8 (W. F. Adeney); lxix. 200 (A. M. Fairbairn); lxxxiv. 155 (J. Waddell).

Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible

Reciprocal: 1Co 14:37 – let Eph 3:5 – as it Eph 4:11 – he 2Ti 3:1 – in 2Pe 1:12 – I will not 2Pe 3:2 – and of 1Jo 4:6 – We are Rev 18:20 – and ye Rev 21:14 – and in

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Jud 1:17. Nor has any new thing happened to you. All this was foreseen and foretold. You yourselves know it; you have only to remember the words spoken before by the apostles (as in Act 20:29-30; 1Ti 4:1, where the evils are foretold, as in nearly every Epistle they are set forththe double meaning of spoken before). Most, indeed, of these passages are written, not spoken; but the writing is really the putting into permanent form of what in substance had been orally delivered. The language here used, by the apostles, does not necessarily imply that the writer was not an apostle; but if he had been an apostle, it is more likely he would not have used it. Compare the expression in 2Pe 3:2, of us the apostles, or, as the Revised reading is, through your apostles.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Having largely described those seducers, our apostle now comes to exhort those to whom he wrote to beware of them, assuring them that the apostles of Christ, St. Paul, and particularly St. Peter, had expressly foretold of those wicked scoffers that would arise in the church in the last times; which mockers and scoffers he shows were such as without any just cause separated themselves from the church’s communion, pretending greatly to sanctity, but addicted to sensuality, and destitute of the Holy Spirit.

Note here, 1. That the scripture speaks much of the sin and sinners that should be found in the latter times; we ought not therefore to be troubled at what is foretold, nor be unarmed when we are so often forewarned. It is a shame for them, who have oft heard and known the doctrines of the apostles, to be surprised by the seducers. St. Jude expects that these Christians, who know what the apostles had delivered, should vigorously oppose all seducers and seduction.

Learn, 2. That a causeless separation from a church of which we are members, is culpable and sinful: a separation from corruptions, and a separation from them that are corrupt, are two distinct things; the former is always a duty, the latter not so.

Learn, 3. That those that separate from the assemblies of the faithful, are unusually sensual, and have not the Spirit; they have not the spirit, either to guide them, or to quicken them, or to comfort them. These are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Apostasy Described

Jude pleaded with the faithful Christians to remember the teachings of the apostles. Jesus had said those men would relate all of His teachings and commandments (verse 17; Mat 28:18-20 ; Joh 16:12-15 ). The apostles had foretold the coming of men who would mock the truth. Jude saw them as men who would not be pious. Instead, Jude said they were only seeking to fulfill their own fleshly desires. They, according to Jude, made a joke out of Christ’s teachings, especially concerning His second coming ( Jud 1:18 ; 2Pe 3:1-3 ).

The false teachers of whom Jude told were men who drew lines of separation. They caused Christians to be pitted against one another. Woods says the word here translated “sensual” is translated “natural” in 1Co 2:14 . Man is composed of three things — body, soul and spirit ( 1Th 5:23 ). To pursue the natural would be to fulfill the soul’s desires while rejecting the spirit. Thereby, one would be disallowing closeness to God. This is true because true worshippers of God must worship in spirit and in truth ( Jud 1:19 ; Joh 4:24 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Jdg 1:17. But, beloved To prevent you from giving heed to the vain speeches of these deceivers; remember the words which were spoken before Or spoken prophetically; by the apostles Who have preached the gospel to you in all its purity. He does not exempt himself from the number of apostles; for in the next verse he says, they told you, not us. The resemblance, as Doddridge justly observes, between this text and 1Pe 3:2, is very remarkable. It is such as would incline one to think that Jude had the text in Peter before him, and omitted what had a peculiar reference to the former part of St. Peters epistle, and to which there was nothing in his own to answer. Though Jude only cites the words spoken by Peter in particular concerning the coming of scoffers in the last time, yet his exhortation being general, it comprehends the words spoken by the other apostles concerning the coming of false teachers, such as Pauls, 1Ti 4:1-5; 2Ti 3:4. Nay, it comprehends the words spoken by Jude himself in the preceding part of this epistle.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

17, 18. At the last time there will be mockers going forth according to their own lusts of the ungodly. Jude quotes this as a trite prophecy of our Lords Apostles. In 2Pe 3:3 you find the same. Hence there is no dodging the issue. We are living amid the awful fulfillment of this terrible prophecy. Fallen churches in all ages have bred false prophets. The world this day is filled with fallen churches and flooded with false prophets. Let God be true and every man a liar. What is a fallen church? A church without the Holy Ghost. Just as the body is dead without the soul, the church is dead without the Holy Ghost. When deposed from the leadership He does not stay long in a church. Who is a false prophet? One who is led by an evil spirit (a devil) instead of the Holy Spirit. That evil spirit is dressed up like an angel of light, passing himself for the Holy Ghost and deceiving the man, who thinks he is a true Gospel preacher till he wakes up in hell. As a rule, false prophets are candid, honest (with men), often scholarly, high-toned gentlemen, who edify and delight the people by their nice soft speeches, selling the people to the devil for money. 2Pe 2:3. Satan has more intelligence than a thousand theologians. If you do not get rid of him altogether, he will get the wool over your eyes somewhere. Can I get rid of the devil? Yes; glory to God! In both of our Lords prayers (Mat 6:13 and Joh 17:15) we have deliver us from evil. The Greek for evil is tou poneerou, the evil one, i.e., the devil. It is your glorious privilege not only to get rid of all sin, but to get rid of the devil and all his myrmidons. Here is where the flood of counterfeit preachers, i.e., false prophets, have always come in. They do not get rid of the devil, so he leads them captive, passing himself off for God. If you would not get caught in Satans trap, get rid of him altogether. How can I? While the devil is so wise and strong that he can deceive and wrap you round his fingers, Jesus is omnipotent and can toss the devil beyond the North pole in the twinkling of an eye if you will perfectly submit to Him, letting Him have His way with your soul, body, life and and faltered on entire consecration, and fallen into the hands of Satan.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Jud 1:17 f. But remember the words of the apostles, how they warned you that in the last times such men would be found. This passage plainly implies that the writer was not himself an apostle; some critics maintain that it also implies that the epistle dates from the sub-apostolic age. But the past to which the writer refers was the time when those whom he is addressing had received oral instruction from the apostlesor some of them; that period of personal intercourse was now past, not necessarily because the apostles were dead, but because they were no longer living in that neighbourhood. If we suppose that the epistle was addressed to Antioch, the language is quite consistent with the situation in A.D. 6364, when Peter and Paul were in Rome and the other apostles had left Palestine.

Jud 1:18. The same prophecy, expanded so as to include an anticipation of the denial of the Parousia, is given in 2Pe 3:3, though 2 P. gives it as his own prophecy. It has been urged that Jude is here quoting 2 P. and giving apostolic authority to it. But the prophecy itself was plainly a constant element in the apostolic teaching (cf. 1Ti 4:1, 2Ti 3:1-5, Act 20:29), and Judes reference to it in no way implies dependence on 2 P. The probability is that the writer of 2 P., finding the prophecy attributed by Jude to the apostles, quotes it as his own, in order still further to establish his identity with Peter.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

1:17 {11} But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

(11) The rising up of such monsters was spoken of before, that we should not be troubled at the newness of the matter.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

A. The Reminder to Remember the Apostles’ Warning VV. 17-19

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

"Forgetfulness of the teaching and warnings of God in Scripture is a major cause of spiritual deterioration. . . .

"Remember! It is the first imperative that Jude has used, and it heads a whole cluster of them in this concluding section." [Note: Green, p. 180.]

The term "apostles" here evidently refers to the Twelve plus Paul rather than to the larger group of Christian leaders whom Jesus sent out with the gospel (Mat 28:19-20). The New Testament writers also called this larger group "apostles" (cf. Rom 16:7; 2Co 8:23; Php 2:25). The smaller group of apostles, however, were those who mainly established the church on the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jud 1:3). It is for that faith that Jude urged his readers to contend. The official apostles therefore seem to be in view here rather than all those who functioned as apostles (lit. sent ones).

Jude’s quotation of the apostles’ teaching (Jud 1:18) seems to be a general summary rather than a specific reference. We find a similar statement in 2Pe 3:3, and that too is probably a summary. Jude may not have been quoting 2Pe 3:3 here. Many conservative scholars believe Peter wrote his second epistle after Jude. [Note: See my discussion of this subject in my notes on 2 Peter.]

The "last time" refers to the end of the historical period that encompasses the church age and the Tribulation. After this "last time" God will rule directly over humankind, first during the Millennium and then in the new heavens and new earth (cf. 1Ti 4:1; 2Ti 3:1; et al.). It is the last time in relation to Jesus Christ’s return to reign on earth.

The object of the "mockers" mocking seems to be the revealed will of God (cf. Psa 35:16; Pro 14:6; Pro 19:25; et al.).

"These workers were . . . ever intent on experiencing the thrills of new forms of ungodliness." [Note: D. Edmond Hiebert, "An Exposition of Jud 1:17-23," Bibliotheca Sacra 142:568 (October-December 1985):358.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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