Expository study of the Epistle of Jude

Historical Context & Background 

* The Author: Jude (Judas). He identifies himself as a "bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James."

This James was the leader of the Jerusalem church. Both were half-brothers of Jesus. 

Significance: Jude does not name-drop his biological relation to Jesus. He bases his authority on his spiritual servitude, not his bloodline. 

The Date: Likely between 65–80 AD. The letter reflects a time when the apostles’ teachings were established but were under internal attack. 

The Audience: Jewish Christians. This is evident because Jude relies heavily on Old Testament illustrations and Jewish extra-biblical literature (1 Enoch, Assumption of Moses) without stopping to explain them. 

The Threat: Antinomianism (Anti-law). False teachers had infiltrated the church, turning the grace of God into a license for immorality and denying the lordship of Christ.

II. Expository Teaching: Verse-by-Verse Breakdown

Section 1: The Greeting (Verses 1–2)

"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called..."  

Exposition: Jude establishes the believer's security before addressing the threat.   

Sanctified: Set apart by the Father.   

Preserved: Kept safe. The Greek word indicates a continuous, watchful guarding. 

Spurgeon Point (The Believer's Safety): Charles Spurgeon often emphasized that before God asks us to fight, He assures us of our standing. We are not "preserved" by our own grip on God, but by His grip on us. We are kept in a vault, and that vault is Christ.

Section 2: The Purpose – The Change of Plans (Verses 3–4)

"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith..."

Exposition:   * The Shift: Jude wanted to write a positive, theological treatise on salvation. The Holy Spirit redirected him to write a "wartime" manual.   

"Earnestly Contend": From the Greek epagonizesthai (root of "agonize"). It implies the exertion of a wrestler. The faith is not something we just believe; it is something we defend.   

"Crept in Unawares": The enemy did not kick down the front door; they slipped in the side door. They look like sheep but speak like dragons. 

We cannot be passive when the culture attempts to dilute the Gospel. We must identify when false teachers use "grace" as "permission to sin." The enemy’s strategy is infiltration, not invasion.

Section 3: Three Historical Reminders of Judgment (Verses 5–7) 

Verse 5 (Israel): Saved from Egypt, yet destroyed in the wilderness because of unbelief. Lesson: Past deliverance does not guarantee immunity if you abandon faith. 

Verse 6 (Angels): Angels who left their "first estate" (proper domain) are kept in chains. Lesson: High position does not prevent judgment. 

Verse 7 (Sodom and Gomorrah): Destroyed for "going after strange flesh." Lesson: God judges sexual immorality and rebellion against created order. 

Teaching Note: Jude uses these three to dismantle the false teachers' arrogance. They believed they were "spiritual elites" exempt from moral law. Jude argues that if God judged His own people, angels, and whole cities, He will judge these teachers.

Section 4: The Character of the Apostates (Verses 8–10)

"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities."

Exposition: The false teachers are driven by subjective "dreams" rather than objective Scripture. They reject authority ("dominion"). 

The Archangel Illustration (v. 9): Jude cites an account where Michael the Archangel disputed with the devil over the body of Moses. Michael did not use a "railing accusation" but said, "The Lord rebuke thee." 

Even the greatest angel did not act on his own authority. If Michael—who is far mightier than we are—relied on "The Lord rebuke thee," how arrogant are false teachers (and modern believers) who speak flippantly to spiritual powers or mock authority? We must rely solely on the authority of God, not our own bravado [bold showing of confidence that hides fear or insecurity] Pschologists call this imposter syndrome today.

Section 5: The "Woe" and the Nature Metaphors (Verses 11–13)

Jude pronounces "Woe" using a triad of Old Testament villains: 

Way of Cain: Religion without blood/sacrifice; relying on human effort/envy. 

Error of Balaam: Ministry for money; selling out the truth for profit. 

Gainsaying of Korah: Rebellion against God-appointed leadership.

The Natural Metaphors (v. 12-13): 

Clouds without water: They promise refreshment (revival/teaching) but produce nothing. 

Trees whose fruit withereth: No spiritual fruit (character). 

Raging waves: Noisy, chaotic, foaming out shame. 

Wandering stars: Shooting stars that flash briefly and disappear into darkness (no fixed orbit/no consistency).

Section 6: Enoch’s Prophecy (Verses 14–16)

"Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all..."

Exposition: Jude quotes 1 Enoch (a well-known Jewish text of that time). The focus is on the word "ungodly," which appears four times in verse 15. 

Teaching Point: Contemporary teaching often avoids the topic of God's wrath. However, to be faithful to the text, we must teach that God is a Judge. We cannot preach a Gospel that saves from nothing. We are saved from the wrath to come. The "ungodly" are those who live as if God does not exist or does not care about their conduct.

Section 7: The Believer’s Strategy (Verses 17–23)

How does the church survive this infiltration? Jude gives a strategy. 

Remember (v. 17): Do not be surprised. The apostles warned this would happen. 

Build Up (v. 20): "Building up yourselves on your most holy faith." We are responsible for our own spiritual construction. 

Pray in the Holy Ghost (v. 20): Spirit-led dependence. 

Keep Yourselves (v. 21): Stay within the boundaries of God’s love.

The Rescue Mission (v. 22-23): 

Group A: "Of some have compassion, making a difference." (Those doubting/confused). 

Group B: "Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire." (Those deep in sin). 

The Caution: "Hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." 

Teaching Insight: When rescuing a drowning man, you must be careful he doesn't pull you under. When ministering to those in deep sin, we must maintain a hatred for the sin while loving the sinner.

Section 8: The Doxology (Verses 24–25)

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy...">  

Exposition: The letter began with "preserved" (v. 1) and ends with "kept from falling" (v. 24). 

Teaching Point (Faultless): To be "faultless" is the greatest miracle of all. It doesn't mean we are without sin history; it means that through Christ's blood, when we stand before the throne, the Judge will see no spot or blemish. The joy mentioned here is primarily Jesus's joy—the joy of the Shepherd bringing the sheep home.

Application: Then and Now

| Context | Application THEN (1st Century) | Application NOW (21st Century) ||---|---|---||

The Threat | Gnosticism & Libertinism: Teachers claiming special knowledge allowed them to sin sexually without affecting their spirit.

"Cheap Grace" & Progressive Christianity: Ideally claiming that God's love affirms all behaviors, rejecting the idea of judgment or the need for repentance.

The Defense | Apostolic Tradition: Holding fast to the oral and written teachings of the Apostles.

Biblical Literacy: We live in an age of emotional spirituality. We must return to the objective truth of Scripture to spot counterfeits.

Urgency: The early church was small and fragile; allowing heresy could destroy the movement.

Boldness: In a today’s society, claiming Jesus is the only Master (v. 4) is offensive. Therefore we must contend for this truth without apology but with compassion.

Scriptural Support:

1. Supporting Jude’s Warning About False Teachers & Apostasy

2 Peter 2:1–3 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as 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. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

Peter gives a nearly parallel warning:

False teachers will “secretly bring in destructive heresies… and many shall follow their pernicious ways.”

This supports Jude’s point that false teachers crept in unnoticed and distort grace into license.

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Jesus warns:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing…”

This aligns with Jude’s imagery of infiltrators who appear harmless but are spiritually dangerous.

2. Supporting Jude’s Call to Contend for the Faith

1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

“Fight the good fight of faith…”

This echoes Jude’s “earnestly contend,” emphasizing spiritual struggle and perseverance.

Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”

“Stand fast in one spirit… striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

Paul reinforces the idea that the faith is something believers must defend and guard.

3. Supporting Jude’s Use of Historical Judgment Examples

Numbers 14:22–23 “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:”

(Israel’s unbelief)

God declares that the unbelieving generation will not enter the promised land—matching Jude’s reminder that deliverance from Egypt did not exempt them from judgment.

2 Peter 2:4–6 “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”

(Angels & Sodom)

Peter again mirrors Jude:

God “spared not the angels that sinned… and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes…”

This reinforces Jude’s triad of judgment examples.

4. Supporting the Believer’s Security in Christ

John 10:28–29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

“No man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

This beautifully parallels Jude’s opening (“preserved in Jesus Christ”) and closing (“able to keep you from falling”).

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

This supports Jude’s emphasis that God—not human effort—keeps believers secure.