Triad of Truth
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. (Jude 3-5)
One of the first things a reader of the epistle of Jude will notice about his style is not only the use of dynamic and colorful metaphors, but the author’s fondness for triads. A triad is a literary device where groups of three things are used to support a single idea. “This device of using triads makes the grasping and remembering of what is said easier” (Hamilton 378).
The occasion which promoted Jude to write this epistle is given in a triad of reasons. The first occasion for the writing of this brief letter was to call upon the saints to zealously defend their “common salvation” which is a result of their obedience to “the faith” (1:3). Some commentators had come to believe that Jude wanted to write to them about the blessings of being saved when his plans were abruptly changed to a stern letter warning of the dangers of false teachers. This is perhaps reading too much into the text. Many warnings have been given about defending the faith which is the source of this common salvation. This was his original purpose.
The urgency of his writing is seen in the phrase “very diligent.” Jude felt a “necessary” obligation to write. The term “exhorting” is a Greek verb which was used in the army to call the troops together to battle. Jude is saying it is time for Christians to defend the Truth. “Christian life is a battleground, not a playground” (Weirsbe 549).
The exhortation was for them to “contend earnestly for the faith.” The term “faith” is in reference to the body of beliefs revealed to them by inspired men. From the very beginning at Pentecost when three thousand souls shared in the common salvation they were urged to “continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42). The phrase “contend earnestly” is from a single term in the Greek. It is used of the ancient athlete who would expend every effort and strain every muscle to win at his sporting event. From it the English word “agonize” is derived. Today, saints contend by studying God’s Word to understand and defend the faith, praying to God to keep them faithful to the Faith, remaining united in the Faith, and teaching others the Faith.
The “faith” is further described by “once for all delivered to the saints.” It means that the revelation from God was or will be revealed once and there will be no need of inspired words from God in the future. Just as the sacrifice of Christ was a one-time event never needing to be repeated (Heb. 10:10), so the Word has been revealed once for all time to all the saints. Any additional revelations being passed off as inspired messages from God are false.
The term “delivered” indicates something that has been given into the stewardship of another for safe keeping and protection (1 Tim. 6:20). As a friend would leave money or valuable possessions with a trusted friend. God has blessed each Christian with the Word of Truth, and it is their duty to faithfully defend the Word of God.
Jude’s second purpose in writing was to expose “certain men” who are false teachers (1:4). They are dangerous, because they have smuggled themselves into the congregations with their impure motives of attacking the faith of the saints in the Faith. They “have crept in unnoticed” until Jude points them out in this letter They are like the proverbial wolves in sheep’s clothing who sneak into the flock. They are “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:13).
Some believe this passage teaches God planned to punish these specific individuals from eternity. The Greek term for “marked out” is from the verb prographo meaning to write down in advance. This means Jude is referencing past scriptures describing how God has planned to deal with these “certain men.” The prophets of the Old Testament told of the judgements of God against these false teachers (Is 44:25; Jer. 50:36). Jesus warned of these false teachers (Matt. 7:15; 24:11,24). The apostle Paul foretold their coming and their ultimate demise in many of his teachings and epistles (Acts 20:28-31; 2 Cor. 11:12-15; Gal. 1:6-9; Phil. 3:2; Col. 2:8,16-19; 1 Tim. 1:3; 6:3; 2 Tim. 3:6). Several warnings and condemnations are mentioned in the writings of John (1 Jn. 2:9-11; 4:1; 2 Jn. 1:7-11).
Perhaps, Jude was alluding to Peter’s prophecy. “There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Pet. 2:1). After all, “long ago” does not necessitate the passing of extended periods of time. All these passages show that false teachers will come into and trouble the saints, but all those who are guilty of false teaching will be damned according to previous scriptures.
Jude’s epistle shares a great deal of similarity with that of the second chapter of Peter’s second epistle. In fact, out of the twenty-five verses in Jude, nineteen of them have parallels in 2 Peter. Both focus on the dangers and characteristics of false teachers. This similarity is not a mere coincidence. Peter wrote warning of the coming of these false teachers. Jude is following up some years later (somewhere between AD 68-90) indicating that Peter’s prophecy had become a reality among the saints.
An unprecedented six times Jude describes false teachers as “ungodly men.” “Ungodly” is from the Greek word asebeis meaning “disdainful of anything holy and disrespectful of the Holy God.” They have no reverence or respect for God and His Word It does not refer in this context to someone who is an atheist. Here it refers to those who are saints. They are attacking the Faith of the faithful from inside the congregation.
These “ungodly men” teach doctrines resulting in two false beliefs contrary to the Faith. First, they proclaim lies which “turn the grace of our God into lewdness.” Gnostics taught that the spirit is good, and the flesh is evil. Thus, God does not care about the sinful indulgences of the flesh for it is the spirit which is good. Therefore, they could be in God’s unmerited favor while indulging in “lewdness.” The Greek word is elsewhere translated “lasciviousness” or “licentiousness.” Paul lists it as one of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19). It is defined as “unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence, wanton (acts or) manners, as filthy words, indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females, etc.” (Thayer 79). These ungodly men teach others that they can live openly in sin without any shame as if they have been awarded a license to sin by the very grace of God. They live like this without fear of divine retribution. However, Jude has already pointed out the Scriptures abound with warnings that false teachers will be condemned. They will not receive God’s unmerited favor, because they have merited for themselves Divine destruction.
The second result of the heresies of these “ungodly men” is their teaching denies “the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” This does not mean they are in denial of both the Father and the Son. The names used refer to the same person: the Son of God. Just what they were teaching is not known. A variety of false teachings undermine the Lordship and Deity of Christ. The term “Lord” is the Greek word despotes showing that Jesus is the one and only Master over his slaves. With Christ as our Master one does not have the right to live and use his flesh according to his own desires but only according to the will of God (1 Cor. 6:19f).
The third purpose for this letter is to put the saints in remembrance of those things which they already had learned (1:5a). Man is forgetful. A great deal of an instructor’s time in teaching is in reminding students of things previously taught. Specifically, the saints are to remember a triad of illustrations from the past where Divine destruction came about ungodly men and those who followed after them.
– Daniel R. Vess