Title: Strong in Jude
Contents
Lesson 59 Jude (Jude 1:21)
I. Author, Recipient and Date of Record
The author is Judas, the younger brother of Jesus. Jude 1:1 testifies that “Judas, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James”. He did not believe in Jesus as the Christ in the early days (John 7:3-8), but at the time of writing he was the leader and evangelist of the early church (Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 9:5).
Some view the recipients as saints from Syria and Asia Minor, which suffered a lot of damage from Gnosticism, but the strong view is that they are Jewish saints from Palestine, judging from the apocryphal citations, etc.
The record date is A.D. It's around 70-80. Considering that the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) is not recorded, it can be considered earlier (A.D. 65), but considering the form of Gnostic heresy in this book, A.D. 70 years later is likely.
As for the place of writing, Judas was the leader of the Jerusalem church along with his brother James, so the Jerusalem authorship theory is strong.
II. Theme: The theme of Jude is “the fight for the faith.” The author points out the behavior of heretics and recommends not to be deceived by their temptations, but to fight hard to defend the orthodox faith. The book of Jude describes Jesus Christ as the only One who gives eternal life.
Ⅲ. Overview (purpose of record and characteristics)
The purpose of writing the book of Jude is to write an apologetic about gnosticism, which had a serious adverse effect on the saints at the time, as mentioned in Jude 1:3 as ‘a letter to the saints to fight hard for the way of faith given at once.’
IV. content study
Similar to other common correspondences, this book is also a warning about gnosticism, which had a huge negative impact on the early church. Gnosticism is a dualistic idea that divides the soul and the body into good and evil. They are a christological heresy that denies the incarnation that Christ, who is God, cannot put on an evil human body. Hypocrisy emerged as a result of either the anti-moralism that despised the body and therefore bodily indulgence is nothing, or asceticism, an extreme hatred of the body.
Using the Old Testament apostates Cain, Balaam, and Korah as examples, the book of Jude sternly warns that the immoral Gnostics will face a tragic end, and actively encourages the saints to stand firm and grow in absolute faith in Christ and to save those who have been deceived by heresy. is recommended as
1. Introduction (1:1~4)
(1) Greetings / 1:1-2
The “Called One,” God, chose us before eternity to believe in Christ. It is based on the love of God and preserves it to eternal life in Christ Jesus.
(2) Purpose of record / 1:3-4
Judas, who had planned to record the content of the gospel (“salvation gained in general”: no discrimination against anyone, “once”: a one-time action with lasting effect), was stimulated by the sudden appearance of a heresy. He confesses that he is writing a letter of strict warning.
Verse 4: Ignorance, turning the grace of God into lust, and denying Christ.
The enemies of Jude were those who remained in the church (“participating in love feasts”, v. 12), who abused freedom (“those who turned grace into debauchery”, v. 4) using grace as an excuse.
There are several branches of Gnosticism, and it is assumed that the Gnosticism in the book of Jude did not acknowledge Christ as the Savior, but disregarded the ethical laws of the world and argued that it was okay to act according to lust. The Nicolaitans in Revelation 2 are such Gnostics.
2. The identity and judgment of false teachers (1:5-19)
(1) The precedents of punishment of criminals, warning those who read this book against being tempted by false teachers / 1:5-7
① Those who received grace from the Exodus also fell into unbelief and were judged and died.
② Even angels sinned (forgetting their mission, pride, opposition) and were cast out by God's judgment.
③ The people of Sodom and Gomorrah also “became a mirror by committing adultery in the same way as them (false teachers) (homosexuality, bestiality, etc.) and following a different color, and were punished by eternal fire.”
(2) Beware of all the sins of false teachers / 8-19
Judas does not reveal what teachings are being deceived by those who cause trouble in the church. Arguing on a theoretical and doctrinal basis has the potential to be exploited by adversaries. Instead, they attack the hypocrisy, divisiveness and immorality of their adversaries. Matthew 7:15-16 “Beware of false prophets ...you will know them by their fruits.”
Verse 8: Dreaming of false prophecies, committing fornication in filth, defying authority, blaspheming glory.
Verse 9: (Explaining how great the ‘sin of disregarding authority’ mentioned in verse 8) God had Michael to hide Moses’ body to prevent it from becoming idolatrous. When the devil interfered with it, he trusted in the authority and power of God.
Verse 10: False teachers do not receive the Holy Spirit, so they do not understand spiritually, and they make rash judgments based on their own ego. They follow only their instincts like beasts, and their soul is destroyed.
Verse 11: ① Cain’s way: Murder out of envy
② Balaam's perverted way: Acts against God's command through covetousness
③ Gora's rebellion: rebelling against the leader
Verse 12: ① The reef of love feast (the reef that breaks the church united by love),
② A shepherd who only takes care of himself (selfish),
③Waterless cloud blown by the wind (no weight, no benefit)
④ A fruitless autumn tree that died and died and was uprooted (unbelief, the apostasy was the second state of death)
Verse 13: The raging waves of the sea foaming up their shame.
A wandering star that will return to the dark darkness prepared for eternity (star derailed)
Verse 14: Enoch, the seventh-generation descendant of Adam, walked with God in the fallen world just before the flood, pleasing Him, and ascended into heaven without seeing death. This is the prophecy of Enoch passed down orally. “He will come with tens of thousands of angels and his saints, to judge all men, to give the honor of the ungodly, and to condemn all flesh, concerning all the ungodly deeds that ungodly sinners have done against him.”
Verse 15: “ungodliness” number 4, ungodly words and deeds - the sin of not loving and respecting God
Verse 16: ① Those who grumble, those who vomit
② Those who act according to their lusts (lust and water lust become more thirsty and dissatisfied),
③ A person who speaks boastful words with his mouth/ and flatters for his own gain
Verse 18 (2 Peter 3:3): A mocker who walks after ungodly lusts:
Those who live after their lusts, such as lust for water, lust for power, and other lusts, do not understand the doctrine and just ridicule it.
Verse 19: The party-makers, the natural, those without the Holy Spirit,
3. Counsel (1:20～1:23)
(1) Encouragement to stand on faith and love / 1:20-21
Verse 20: With faith as the basis for the examination of words and deeds, pray with the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Jesus)
Verse 21: To abide in God, let us obey His Word and wait for His mercy.
(2) Take pity on weak believers (22) and help them, coerce unbelievers (23), and be careful not to contagious criminals, but have compassion / 1:22-23
4. Benediction (1:24,25)
Ⅴ. main scriptures
Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was eager to write to you about our salvation in general, I felt the need to exhort you with a letter to the saints to fight hard for the faith that was once given to you.
Jude 1:21-23 20 Beloved, building yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keeping yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life 22 23 Be merciful to them, and save others by drawing them out of the fire; and others, have mercy on them with fear, abhorring even the clothes of the flesh.
Ⅵ. Faith and its application to life
1. Let's compare Gnosticism and mysticism found in modern religious circles.
2. Focusing on the book of Jude, let's discuss what kind of intruders are those who sneak into the church and shake the true faith (1:4, 8, 16,
① Worldly: ungodly
② Carnal: Turning the grace of our God into lust
③ Skeptical: Those who deny the only Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord.
④ Lawless: They despise authority and blaspheme.
⑤ Critical: one who complains and one who complains
⑥ Politicians: They flatter for this.
⑦ Outsiders: those who are natural and do not have the Holy Spirit.
3. What should Christians build? (1:20-23)
① Build yourself on the foundation of faith (faith)
② Pray with the Holy Spirit (filled with the Holy Spirit, pray)
③ Keep yourself in the love of God (love)
④ Waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life (hope)
⑤ Have compassion on souls and save them (soul salvation, evangelism)
VII. Prayer
Lord of faith, hope, love, help me to fight the good fight of faith and win.
I pray in Jesus name. Amen.