“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 which was once delivered unto the saints.”
My Notes
What Does Jude 1:3 Mean?
Jude's letter begins with a change of plans — and the change reveals how urgent the situation is. "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation" — Jude wanted to write a different letter. His plan was to write about the salvation believers share — the common (koine) inheritance, the faith that unites. A positive, encouraging, celebration-of-salvation letter.
"It was needful for me to write unto you" — ananken, necessity. Something compelled Jude to change course. The need was urgent enough to redirect his entire purpose. The letter he wanted to write became the letter he needed to write.
"And exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith" — the new purpose: contending. The word "earnestly contend" (epagonizesthai) is built on the root agon — struggle, contest, fight. The epi- prefix intensifies it: super-contend, fight hard, strain with everything you have. The faith isn't just something to believe. It's something to fight for. And the fight is urgent.
"Which was once delivered unto the saints" — "once" (hapax) means once for all, a single definitive delivery. The faith wasn't gradually assembled or evolving over time. It was delivered — paradotheise, handed over, entrusted — to the saints as a complete package. The content of the faith is fixed. What changes is the need to defend it. And Jude's letter exists because the faith that was delivered once is under attack and requires contention to preserve.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Jude changed his letter from encouragement to warning. Are you aware of threats to the faith in your own community, or have you been assuming everything is fine?
- 2.The faith was 'once delivered' — a fixed deposit. How does that challenge the idea that Christian truth should evolve with culture?
- 3.Earnestly contend — fight hard. Are you contending for the faith or passively absorbing whatever comes? What would active contending look like in your context?
- 4.Jude says the faith needs defending from the inside (v. 4 — 'crept in unawares'). Where do you see the faith being undermined from within the church today?
Devotional
Jude wanted to write about salvation. Instead, he wrote about fighting. Because the faith was under attack and someone needed to say so.
The change of plans tells you everything about the letter's urgency. Jude had a positive letter in mind — the common salvation, the shared inheritance, the good news they all celebrated. And then something happened that was urgent enough to redirect his pen: false teachers had crept in (v. 4). The faith was being undermined from the inside. And Jude realized the church didn't need encouragement. It needed a warning.
"Earnestly contend for the faith." The word is athletic and military. Epagonizesthai — fight hard, strain, contest with everything you have. The faith isn't a delicate heirloom you place on a shelf and admire. It's a possession that has enemies, and the enemies require a fight. Contending isn't optional. It's necessary — because the faith that was "once delivered" is always under threat from people who want to revise, dilute, or dismantle it.
"Once delivered unto the saints." The faith has a fixed content. It was delivered — not discovered, not developed, not evolving. Delivered. Handed over. A completed deposit entrusted to the saints for safekeeping. The faith doesn't need to be updated, improved, or adapted to modern sensibilities. It needs to be contended for — defended against every attempt to change what was delivered once for all.
If you've been passive about your faith — absorbing whatever teaching comes along, not questioning what you hear, not fighting for the truth that was handed to you — Jude's letter is the wake-up call. The faith has enemies. Some of them are inside the church. And the saints who received the deposit have a responsibility to guard it. Not violently. Not arrogantly. But earnestly. With the intensity of someone who knows what they're holding is worth fighting for.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Beloved - An expression of strong affection used by the apostles when addressing their brethren, Rom 1:7; 1Co 4:14; 1Co…
When I gave all diligence - This phrase, πασαν σπουδην ποιουμενος, is a Grecism for being exceedingly intent upon a…
We have here, I. The design of the apostle in writing this epistle to the lately converted Jews and Gentiles; namely, to…
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation More accurately, giving all diligence, as a…
Cross References
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