Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Jude 1:3

"Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints." — Jude 1:3 (ASV)

Jude tells his “dear friends” (lit., “beloved”; GK 28) how he came to write this letter. He wanted to write a positive statement of the Christian faith. Whether he was actively engaged in writing or only in the process of thinking about it is not clear. “The salvation we share” is that which all Christians now participate in, though elsewhere in the NT salvation is spoken of as future (cf. 1 Peter 1:5). Both are true. Christians have been saved (Titus 3:5), they now possess salvation (Jude 3; cf. Hebrews 6:9), and they long for Christ who “will appear a second time... to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).

By saying “I felt I had to write,” Jude explains that a compelling obligation to the people of God prompted him to change his focus for their spiritual good. His letter is now intended to exhort the readers to struggle for “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” “Contend” (GK 2043; related to 74–76) basically refers to the intense effort in a wrestling match (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25). The specific form here shows that the Christian struggle is to be continuous. “The faith” (GK 4411) is the body of truth that very early in the church’s history took on a definite form (cf. Acts 2:42; Romans 6:17; Galatians 1:23). Without doubt, the form of the faith as a body of recognized truth became clearer as time passed. Jude stresses that this faith has been entrusted “once for all” (GK 562) to the “saints” (GK 41)—the ones set apart by God for himself. Basically the Christian faith cannot be changed; its foundation truths are not negotiable (2Jn 9).