Jude 19-25To: Jude Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page Jude 19"These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.""These men," i.e., these apostates "divide" you; and the word for "divide" is the participle of avpodiori,zw, and it defines the principle of apostasy: that they are troublemakers who cause divisions among the saints. And these apostates are further described as yuciko,j, or "governed by the old sin nature, by the sensuous." [21] In other words, the apostates of Jude's day were, specifically, unbelievers and they did not have human spirits; i.e., they were dichotomous, having only bodies and souls. They were spiritually dead because they had rejected Jesus Christ and salvation. Thus, they are unable to comprehend spiritual information. I Cor. 2:14 describes them thusly, "The man without the Spirit (human-spirit) does not accept the things that come from the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." Another similar description is found in James 3:15, "Such 'wisdom' does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil." These two verses, then, describe the "soulish," "sensuous," or "natural" man. And this particularity suggests extensive review of the concepts of the 'soul' and the 'spirit.' The SoulIn mankind, i.e., homo sapiens, the real person is found in the soul, according to Genesis 2:7, which says, "And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (lives), and man became a living being." [22] The human body, then, is a temporary abode for the human soul, II Cor. 5:1-4. The 'real you' is inside your skull. The components of the human soul: self-consciousness, which is awareness of oneself; the mentality, which is made up of two parts: 1) the mind, where human knowledge is processed, and 2) the heart, where spiritual knowledge is processed; the conscience, which is the location of one's norms and standards (ethics, morals, principles, mores, etc.); the viewpoint or perspective, which is how one views life based upon the combination of one's standards and mentality; the volition, which is free will; and the emotions, which respond to stimuli. Scripture distinguishes between the human soul and the human spirit. As already stated, Genesis 2:7 speaks of the 'breath of lives.' And it is plural in the Hebrew. In other words, soul life, spirit life, and body life. Unbelievers are described as dichotomous, i.e., as having body life and soul life, Jude 19, and I Cor. 2:14. Whereas believers are described as trichotomous, i.e., as having body life, soul life, and spirit life, I Thess. 5:23: "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." And only the human soul, not the human body, was formed or made in the image of God, Genesis 1:26,27, 2:7. In other words, the immaterial part is similar -- God is Spirit. [23] According to Psalm 19:7, 34:22, Mark 8:36,37, Hebrews 10:39, and I Peter 1:9, only the human soul, not the body, is saved at salvation. I Peter 1:9 says, "For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." The soul must be saved because it is born spiritually dead -- and this is caused by the old sin nature which resides in the body, Ephesians 2:1, Romans 5:12. Inasmuch as the soul processes and contains knowledge in its mentality, it is subject to Satanic attack, Proverbs 19:2, Matthew 10:28, Ephesians 4:17-19. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28) Psalm 143 states that the soul of the believer is the spiritual combat area. And the soul, according to Job 21:25, and Zechariah 11:8, is the location of the worst sins, those called 'mental sins.' These would include: arrogance, judging, maligning, hatred, worry, fear, etc. Likewise, through neglect and disuse, the soul becomes the seat of misery -- mental anguish, Psalm 6:3, 106:15, 119:25,28,81. Authentic misery comes from the soul. "My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?" (Psalm 6:3) And, just as true misery resides in the soul, so also does true happiness and the ability to love, I Samuel 18:1 and I Peter 1:22. "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart." (I Peter 1:22) Finally, physical death is the departure of the soul from the body. The body dies, not the soul, Job 27:8, Psalm 16:10, II Corinthians 5:8. And remember, the real you is your soul. [24] The Human SpiritHebrews 4:12 discriminates between the human soul and the human spirit and states that they are not the same, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." And as already demonstrated, the unbeliever does not have a human spirit, I Corinthians 2:14, Jude 19. In other words, again, the unbeliever has body life and soul life, but no spirit life. Because the unbeliever is spiritually dead and cannot understand spiritual information, God the Holy Spirit acts as a human spirit when the gospel is presented to the unbeliever. This ministry of the Holy Spirit is called the Doctrine of Common Grace and/or the Convicting Ministry of the Spirit. Scripture citations are: John 16:8-11, Genesis 6:3, and I Corinthians 2:14-16. The believer is spiritually regenerated ("born again") at the moment of salvation and becomes trichotomous, i.e., soul life, body life, and spiritual life, I Thessalonians 5:23. And Romans 8:16 and I Corinthians 2:10,13 assert that this spiritual life and the filling of God the Holy Spirit remove all natural mental restrictions. The Greek term establishes the fact that the human spirit can process and remember spiritual information. The term is "used in the N.T. of the knowledge of things ethical and divine." [25] The following passages teach this principle: Philippians 1:9, Colossians 3:10, Romans 10:2, Romans 3:20, Ephesians 1:17, 4:13, II Peter 1:2,8, 2:20. "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit (human spirit) of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." The spiritual growth and maturity of the believer is determined by the amount of spiritual information stored in the human spirit, Job 32:8, Romans 8:16. Job 32:8 says, "But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding." I John 2:27 and I Corinthians 2:13 state that not only must a person be spiritually alive to learn spiritual information, but he/she must also be filled with the Holy Spirit; for the Holy spirit witnesses to the human spirit, i.e., He reasons and persuades the human spirit of the truth of what is being heard, read and learned. "This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit (the Holy Spirit), expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words." (I Cor. 2:13) And remarkably, according to II Corinthians 7:13, the human spirit is a place of refreshment, "By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you." Finally, the short but pithy book of Philemon tells us that an understanding of God's grace and the application of grace toward others is based upon spiritual information in the human spirit. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit (human spirit)."[26] Jude 20"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit."In Jude 20-23, Jude is still writing about the defense against apostasy. And in verse 20, again, he uses the term for "beloved," ''avgaphto,j, referring to the saints' position in Christ. These "beloved" are to "build themselves up," which is evpoikodeme,w, i.e., "in plain language, to give constant increase in Christian knowledge." [27] In other words, one of the best defenses against apostasy is spiritual advancement, Eph. 2:20 and Acts 20:32 which says, "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." And how is this advancement accomplished? Through their "most holy faith," which is their 'separated unto God doctrine.' In other words, through those true Christian doctrines which they believe and which separate them as royal family of God from all the unbelievers. Additionally, they are to "pray in the Holy Spirit;" i.e., they are to pray to God the Father while they are filled with the Spirit. To accomplish this filling of the Spirit, they must claim I John 1:9, confessing their sins or judging themselves. Ephesians 6:18 supports this command given by Jude in verse 20: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Eph. 6:18) Jude 21"Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life."Here, Jude reminds them to maintain their devotion-type love (virtue love) as they prosde,comai, which is 'wait with keen anticipation' for the ev,leoj, the 'grace in action,' or 'mercy' of our Lord. In other words, this is the anticipation of eternal life with our Lord. And this same 'anticipation' is used in Titus 2:13 for the Rapture of the Church, "While we wait for the blessed hope -- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." Jude 22"Be merciful to those who doubt."The best manuscripts give cause for a different translation in this verse. The confusion revolves around evle,gcw and evlee,w, with the former term being commended by the textual criteria. And evle,gcw, means "to rebuke with sufficient cause, and also effectually, so as to bring the one rebuked to a confession or at least a conviction of sin. In other words, it means to convince." [28] So the revised translation might read, "and some (apostates), keep on refuting them when they dispute with you." So Jude tells his readers to take aggressive action when faced with argumentative apostates: they are to refute them, and to attempt to convince them of the true doctrines of God. Jude 23"Snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear -- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."Here, Jude instructs his readers that some of the unbeliever/apostates will respond to the gospel and to the truth -- they are to save them from the fire (Amos 4:11, Zechariah 3:3, and Psalm 106:18) of judgment by providing the gospel. "To others show mercy," refers to providing the true doctrines of God to believer/apostates. And "mixed with fear" gives the motivation for these grace actions: "through or because of their own respect, reverence and regard for Christ." "Hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh," is an interesting and misunderstood phrase. The "clothing" is the apostasy itself; note, though, that clothing (the apostasy) is to be hated, not the person. And this is in keeping with the devotion-type love commanded in verse 21. The "corrupted flesh" is the 'old sin nature,' which causes the apostasy. In other words, hate the apostasy and its source, but demonstrate devotion-type love and compassion toward the person -- provide them with the gospel, which is the only hope of salvation for anyone. Jude 24 and 25"To him (God the Father) who is able (omnipotent) to keep you from falling (eternal security) and to present (to establish) you before his glorious presence without fault (blameless because of the work of Christ on the Cross) and with great joy (the extreme joy that the saints will experience in heaven alone) to the only (the unique Person/the God-Man) God our Savior (Jesus Christ) be glory (preeminence at the right hand of God the Father), majesty (greatness), power (ruling power) and authority (ruling authority, the right to rule under primogeniture), through Jesus Christ our Lord*, before all ages (from eternity past), now (the present) and forevermore (the future)! Amen (I acknowledge it, I concede it).Concerning Jude 1:25, A.T. Robertson wrote, "as complete a statement of eternity as can be made in human language." [29] "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth." (John 4:24) "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds." (II Corinthians 11:14,15) Notes: [21] Berry, George Ricker. A Dictionary of New Testament Greek Synonyms; page 24. [22] 'Then the Lord God formed [yatsar] man of dust from the ground [biological life], and breathed [naphach] into his nostrils the breath of life [nishmat chayyim]; and man became a living being [nephesh chayyah, i.e., a soul having life]. "The verb naphach, translated 'breathed into,' produced nishmat chayyim, 'the breath of life.' Thus God directly imparted neshemah, the spark of life, to Adam's body (Isa. 42:5). First God formed the tangible flesh, blood, and bone of biological life from the chemicals of the soil. This was only biological life, not yet human life. When God exhaled His breath into the first man, he became a 'living soul' in the image of God Himself." Taken from, Thieme, Robert. Creation, Chaos, and Restoration; privately published, page 7,26. [23] The Hebrew terms bring out the full translation and difference. In Gen. 1:26, the word for 'make' is asah, which denotes the creation of the human soul according to the pattern of God's quiddity. And in Gen. 1:27, the word for 'made' is bara; and it means to 'create from nothing.' Thus God created man's soul from nothing and patterned it after His own essence. [24] Thieme, Robert. The Human Soul; from notes of July 1971; revised and altered by R.E. Radic. [25] Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament; page 237. [26] Thieme, Robert. The Human Spirit; from notes of August 1971; revised and altered by R.E. Radic. [27] Thayer, Henry Joseph. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament; page 246. [28] Berry, George Ricker. A Dictionary of New Testament Greek Synonyms; page 16. [29] Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures; from Bible Works CD by Hermeneutika; version 3.5 There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. You can help further this work by your prayer and by sending a contribution to: Grace Notes 1705 Aggie Lane Austin, Texas 78757 wdoud@bga.com Grace Notes Web site: http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/ Anonymous FTP site: ftp://ftp.bga.com/vendors/wdoud/ Grace Notes is a ministry of Village Missions International. |
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