Jude 3a-Jude Initially Intended to Write to the Judaean Christians About Their Common Salvation

Jude 3 Beloved, although I have prepared myself with utter diligence to communicate in writing for the benefit of each one of you regarding our common salvation, I have become under compulsion to communicate in writing for the purpose of exhorting and encouraging each and every one of you at this particular time to make it your habit of exerting intense effort for your own benefit on behalf of the faith, which has been delivered once and never again for the benefit of the saints. (Lecturer’s translation)

Jude 3 marks a transition in this epistle.

Specifically, it is marking a transition from the opening of this epistle in Jude 1-2 to the body of this epistle, which is contained in Jude 3-23.

Jude addresses the recipients of this epistle with the adjective agapētos, “beloved.”

This word expresses the close personal relationship that existed between the recipients of this epistle who were Jewish believers residing in the Roman province of Judaea and the writer of this epistle, Jude.

It also speaks of the relationship the recipients of this epistle possessed with the Trinity.

It expresses the fact that they were the recipients and beneficiary of God’s love.

This adjective is a reminder that before conversion, they were the object of God’s “impersonal” love but now after conversion, they are the object of God’s personal and affectionate love.

Interestingly, the anarthrous construction of this adjective is qualitative emphasizing that the recipients of the epistle of Jude are the objects of a love that is “divine in nature.”

This word functions as a vocative of simple address expressing the fact that Jude is expressing an urgent, deep, emotional Spirit inspired desire to encourage and exhort the recipients of this epistle to contend for the Christian faith in light of the opposition from the Zealots who were seeking to persuade them into following them in rebellion against the Roman civil authorities.

Now, Jude 3 is composed of a concessive clause, which asserts that although Jude was in a state having prepared himself with utter diligence to write for the benefit of the recipients of this epistle regarding their common salvation, he had come under compulsion to write for the purpose of exhorting and encouraging each of them to make it their habit of exerting intense effort for their own benefit on behalf of the faith which has been delivered once and never again for the benefit of the saints.

This concessive clause implies that Jude being compelled to write for the purpose of exhorting and encouraging the recipients of this epistle to make it their habit of exerting intense effort on behalf of the Christian faith is true in spite of the fact that he prepared with utter diligence to write to them concerning their common salvation.

This compulsion that Jude experienced to communicate in writing to the Christian community in Judaea for the purpose of exhorting and encouraging them to exert intense effort on behalf of the Christian faith, i.e., the gospel was from the Holy Spirit’s prompting him to do so.

Arno Gaebelein writes “The power which was to guide his pen constrained him to write about something else. The Holy Spirit constrained him to exhort Christians to contend earnestly for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints. Here is a very fine illustration at the close of the New Testament of how the Word of God was given. Jude had a desire to write about the common salvation; but the Holy Spirit wanted him to write about something else and He constrained him to do so, not in his own words but in words given by God.”[1]

In the protasis of this concessive clause, the verb poieō (ποιέω) pertains to putting oneself in the proper state of mind to undertake a particular task, which brings about an event, state or condition.

It is employed with the accusative expression pasan spoudēn (πᾶσαν σπουδὴν), which literally means “all diligence” and the infinitive graphein (γράφειν), which means “to write.”

Therefore, this construction is expressing the idea of Jude causing himself to be prepared with utter diligence to write to the recipients of this epistle regarding their common salvation.

Here in Jude 3, the verb poieō refers to Jude causing himself to be prepared with all diligence to undertake the task of writing to the recipients of this epistle regarding their common salvation in the sense of putting himself in the proper state of mind to do this.

The noun spoude, “diligence” denotes constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken.

The word pertains to “earnest commitment in discharge of an obligation.”[2]

It refers to performing a particular task “with intense effort and motivation.”[3]

Therefore, in relation to the verb poieō, this word refers to Jude preparing himself with “diligence” to write to the recipients of this epistle regarding their common salvation in the sense of possessing an earnest commitment in discharge of this obligation to do so.

Therefore, in relation to the verb poieō, this word spoude refers to Jude preparing himself with “diligence” to write to the recipients of this epistle regarding their common salvation in the sense of performing this particular task with intense effort and motivation.

Thus, this word spoude speaks of his “zeal” in performing this task.

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines zeal, “fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor.”

The noun spoude is modified by the adjective pas, which is functioning as a marker of the highest degree of something and is in the first attributive position in relation to this noun indicating the former has an attributive relation to the latter.

Therefore, the adjective pas is ascribing to the noun spoude the attribute of the degree of totality or highest degree of something.

Thus, in relation to the verb poieō and the noun spoude, this adjective refers to Jude being prepared to write with “utter” diligence to the recipients of this epistle regarding their common salvation since this English adjective pertains to carrying something to the utmost point or highest degree.

The noun spoude functions as an accusative of manner, which indicates that Jude prepared himself “with utter diligence” to write to the recipients of this epistle regarding their common salvation or in other words, in an utterly diligent manner he did so.

The noun sōtēria, “salvation” refers to the deliverance of Jude and the recipients of this epistle from their personal sins, enslavement to the sin nature, Satan, his cosmic system, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death and of course eternal condemnation.

Specifically, it speaks of all three stages of the Christian’s salvation.

The articular construction of this word is employed with the genitive first person plural form of the personal pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “our” to denote possession.

This construction emphasizes the close, intimate personal relationship that existed between Jude and each member of the Christian community in Judaea, which was the direct result of each of them being declared justified by the Father through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Jude describes this “salvation” with the noun koinos, “common” which is also in the first attributive position indicating that it is ascribing an attribute to the noun soteria (σωτηρία), “salvation,” which is that it is “common” to both Jude and the recipients of this epistle.

Therefore, this construction emphasizes that salvation is common to both Jude and the recipients of this epistle.

Now, in Jude 3, the noun sōtēria means “deliverance, salvation” and refers specifically to all three stages of the Christian’s salvation.

The first stage is positional and speaks of what God did for the sinner when He declared them justified through faith in His one and only Son.

It is also how God views the justified and it provides the justified sinner the guarantee of their salvation being perfected at the rapture of the church when they receive a resurrection body, which is the third and final stage of the child of God’s salvation.

Lastly, it sets up the potential to experience this deliverance through fellowship with God, which is the second stage of salvation and requires that the child of God exercise faith in the Spirit inspired commands and prohibitions in the gospel, which will result in obedience to these commands and prohibitions.

[1] Gaebelein, A. C. (2009). The annotated Bible, volume 9: James to Revelation (p. 178). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. [2] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature(3rd ed., p. 939). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [3] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 661). New York: United Bible Societies.