Judas 1
H.A. Ironside · Citado em PreceptAustin
Judas 1:1-13
Ironside - Our Lord Himself declared it (the love of the Father) when He said, "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one. I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. (John 17:22-23). This is the measure of the Father’s love to every child of grace. There are no degrees in His affection for His children. The feeblest and the strongest are alike “[beloved of] God the Father” as truly as His Son is the Beloved of His heart. (Jude - Ironside's Notes) Hiebert says the word "beloved at the very beginning of an epistle is unusual, occurring elsewhere only in 3Jn 1:2. Jude at once assured his readers that the unpleasant theme of his present communication did not negate his personal love for them. His love was grounded in the reality of God's love and redemptive purpose for them (Jude 1:1b) and prompted him aggressively to seek to eliminate the dangers which threatened the beloved." (BORROW Second Peter and Jude An Expositional Commentary - page 216) Kept (5083) (tereo from teros - a guard or warden) (4x in Jude 1:1, 6, 13, 21 cf 4x in 2Pet 2:4, 9, 17; 3:7) means to keep an eye on, to keep something in view, to hold firmly, to attend carefully, or to watch over it (watchful care - Jesus' prayer to His Father for His disciples - Jn 17:11). Tereo speaks of guarding something which is in one’s possession. It means to watch as one would some precious thing. The idea is to observe attentively and to retain in custody. Jude's readers are kept safe, guarded, watched over. The perfect tense indicates we have been and are in the present state of being watched, being kept safe from harm, being preserved. Tereo expresses watchful care given to someone, conveying a sense of security -- in this case we are being maintained by and for our Lord! Recall Jesus' prayer to His Father… “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep (tereo) them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. (John 17:11)
Judas 1:1-13
Ironside - Whatever may be the difficulties of life, however great the trial of our faith, in the love of God we are preserved by the One who has saved us. He it is who, “having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). Were it not for His preserving grace not one saint would persevere. “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). There is no ground for self-confidence, or fleshly elation. Such grace calls for reverent and adoring gratitude, and a walk that corresponds to the lovingkindness lavished on creatures so unworthy. (Jude - Ironside's Notes) Tereo describes God's guarding the fallen angels (Jude 1:6) and "these men" (Jude 1:12, 13) for judgment, but He is preserving His own children for glory. Meanwhile, He is able to preserve us in our daily walk and "keep (verb phulasso) us from stumbling" (Jude 1:21) Wuest on kept for Jesus Christ - Tereo (kept) means "to guard, to hold firmly, to watch or keep," expresses watchful care, and is suggestive of present possession. Here again Jude uses the perfect participle. The saints have been kept guarded by God the Father with the present, and here, permanent result that they are the objects of His permanent, watchful care. The words "Jesus Christ" are in the simple dative case. God the Father is keeping them guarded for Jesus Christ. Our Lord prayed (John 17:11), "Holy Father; keep (tēreō, same word) through thine own name those whom thou hast given Me, that they may be one as we are." Our Lord committed the saints into the watchful care of God the Father, and He is keeping them for Jesus Christ not in the sense that the Father is keeping the saints in lieu of His Son keeping them, but in the sense that the Father is keeping them so that they might continue to be forever the possession of the Lord Jesus.(Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) James Smith - KEPT (JUDE.) The words “keep” and “kept” are mentioned five times, and form a helpful study. I. The Lord’s People are Kept Ones. Kept by God from sin for the Lord Jesus. “Preserved in Jesus Christ” (1) is the R.V. “Kept for Jesus Christ.” II. Some Angels “Kept Not their First Estate” (6), so are “kept” (R.V., instead of Reserved) in chains. III. We Must Keep Ourselves in the full constant assurance that God loves us (21). IV. He is Able to Keep Us, not merely from “falling,” but as R.V., from “stumbling,” for it is stumbling which precedes falling (24). QUESTION - Who was Jude in the Bible? ANSWER - There were several men named Jude, or Judas, in the New Testament. Jude is a derivative of the names Judas and Judah, much as the nickname Sam is a derivative of the name Samuel. But three men named Jude (Judas) had significant roles in Jesus’ day: 1. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed our Lord for thirty pieces of silver, was a chosen disciple who later hanged himself (Luke 6:16; Matthew 27:4–5). 2. Judas the apostle is identified in the gospels as “not Iscariot.” So Jesus chose two men by the name of Jude (or Judas) to be among the twelve disciples (John 14:22; Acts 1:13). 3. Jude was a half-brother of Jesus and brother of James, leader of the first Jerusalem church. This Jude was the son of Mary and Joseph and would have been raised as a brother to Jesus Christ (Mark 6:3). This Jude is the author of the New Testament book by that name. In Jude 1:1, he identifies himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.” It is interesting that neither he nor his brother, James, claimed familial relationship with Jesus when they penned their letters. Pride would have nudged them to include that fact, but reverence and an understanding of Jesus’ divine identity motivated them to consider themselves as only His servants. Jude was among the siblings of Jesus who, at first, did not believe His claims to be the Messiah (John 7:3–5). At one point, they along with Mary waited outside the place where Jesus was teaching in order to bring Him home with them (Matthew 12:46–47). Their purpose was “to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:21). It was most likely after the resurrection that Jude and his brother James came to understand that their half-brother, Jesus, was indeed the Son of God. It was that shift in perspective that motivated Jude to define himself not as “the brother of the Messiah” but as “a servant of Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1). Although not one of the twelve apostles, Jude was a leader in the early church. He begins his letter with a deep concern about believers abandoning the faith and turning to false teachers (Jude 1:3–4). His manner of addressing “those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ” is kind and loving. Yet he is direct and unapologetic in addressing the wickedness of false teachers (Jude 1:12–13). He speaks easily of Jesus, as one who knew Him intimately. It is also noteworthy that Jude credits the Lord Jesus with saving His people from Egypt (Jude 1:5), although at the time of the exodus Jesus had not yet been revealed. It may have been that after his conversion Jude recalled the stories and claims of his older brother during their growing-up years that he had discounted at the time. As the eyes of his heart were opened (see Ephesians 1:18), Jude began to see Jesus in a completely different light and had insights and knowledge not available to everyone else. Jude and his brother James also teach us that familiarity with Jesus is not sufficient to save us. They lived in the same household with the Son of God for years, yet they did not believe in Him. They knew about Him, but they did not know Him. The same is true for many professing Christians today. Cultural Christianity places people in proximity to the truth, but many have not allowed that truth to redefine their lives. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well” (John 14:6–7). There were no shortcuts for Jude, James, or Mary. Living in the household with the Son of God could not save them. They had to be saved by grace through faith just like everyone else who wants to know God (Ephesians 2:8–9).GotQuestions.org