Epistles part Two

Epistles

E 02 Jude 5-7 Part 1
November 13, 2016
Part 2

Epistle of Jude-

Greeting

Judgment on False Teachers

Benediction

NKJ Jude 1:3
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.

“in behalf of the consecrated faith having once been handed over to us.”

…it is the holy faith, specifically referring to the body of truth from God handed over to faithful ones, the Christian apostolic tradition that is normative for the true people of God.

WRONG!

“to struggle in behalf of”

The words following that are dependent on it are in the dative case and indicate for the most part either the one against whom one is fighting, or the person or thing upon which one depends for support in a fight.

“the faith”- not the historical traditions per se, as a body of truth doctrines given to a faithful few, as in behalf of all the others, but the once for all “faith” given once and for all to each believer who resides in Christ) once ( adv. once, one time; once for all time;) having been handed over This is definitely the functional work of God the Holy Spirit.

once and for all time in the NT is then a technical term for the definitiveness and therefore the uniqueness or singularity of the death of Christ and the redemption accomplished by it.

KJV Hebrews 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. {would...: or, they would have ceased to be offered, because, etc.}

NKJ Hebrews 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

YLT Hebrews 10:2 since, would they not have ceased to be offered, because of those serving having no more conscience of sins, having once been purified?

The Epistle of Jude formulates the thought of Christian once-for-allness in a more rigid and intellectual manner the Hebrews 10.2 where once for all cleansed, made clean, purified; declared ritually acceptable, is hypothetically stated of
the Jews.

In Judaism there was no once-for-all purification because there was no once-for-all sacrifice, but Christianity has both.

Christianity is now the faith once for all time handed cover to the holy( consecrated) ones.

Christians are a people who know everything necessary for salvation and who are therefore, according to our author, possess it, and are in no danger of losing it.

The thought is thus quite different from that of Hebrews, the unique redemption of Israel out of Egypt is here to be interpreted as a prototype of the one definitive redemption by Christ.

Now I want in our mutual behalf to remind you, while you have continued knowing all these things from the beginning, that after the Lord had once saved a people out of the land of Egypt, the next time the people who after not believing, He had destroyed, also the angels, namely the ones who had not maintained their guard over their allotted place of authority, but to the contrary, they had abandoned their own (heavenly) home, for the purpose to enter into judgment in that Great Day, in an eternal imprisonment under darkness, He perpetually keeps them in custody, in the same manner also, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them (characterized by) the same nature as these, had been given over to fornication and a going way after flesh of an unnatural kind, is presently serving in behalf of those who think like them, as an example of those who are undergoing a judicial sentence of eternal fire.

Now I want ( to want, to desire, to wish; to be willing; to intend, to plan-)

In most NT passages the sense is that of wishing, desiring, or intending, often with something of all three.

in our mutual behalf [middle voice]

This is a reference to the earlier the common( from which comes koinonia fellowship, a sharing atmosphere of those things we have in common, including the blessings and joys of salvation )

to remind you,

While we understand that scripture builds upon scripture, so that when giving examples of biblical truths to mature believers, one usually need only make reference to events recorded in the Scriptures in order to prompt the memory of the truth principles contained therein; the reference the author intends to make is not merely to a collection of traditions, this is a reference to the faith which was [key-word once-for-all-time handed over to the believer by the work of the Holy Spirit coming alongside to manifestly deliver it at salvation, making it unnecessary to expound at length or to persuade by extensive argument.

The most important distinction to be made here is to differentiate between the highly valuable traditions of apostolic teaching, the body of truth doctrines we have received from the beginning of the establishment of Christianity as a faith, and the Spirit of Truth that each believer in Christ eventfully receives at the moment of conversion; this is the faith to which Jude is prompting the believer to remember.

This notion is about to be clarified by Jude as he continues.

while you have continued knowing all these things from the beginning (of your faith), [perfect tense] This one-for-all event happened when the faith was handed over to you by the paraclete; namely, by God the Holy Spirit, who has continued to minister not just intellectual insight, but spiritual truth insight coming from the Holy Spirit, ever since the beginning of the event of our conversion and bearing positive results in the present time.

Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life.

Jesus is God Incarnate

In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life. Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name,AMEN