Jude 1 - 2

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1:1-2)

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Introduction
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Last week, I began an introduction on the book of Jude. I thought it would be appropriate, in this day and age, for me to do an exposition on the letter of Jude because of all the false teachings that are present. Although false teaching is certainly contagious and deadly, apostasy is equally dangerous. We want to be reminded that the theme of Jude is that "the church must contend for the one true faith once for all delivered to the saints and people of faith must persevere to the end by resisting the false teachers and following the truth." (ESV Study Bible, Introduction to Jude) The purpose that Jude wrote this letter is found in verse 3, where believers are to "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." With thoughtful and careful exegesis, and biblical hermeneutics, we will today begin the study by understanding the opening and salutation of the letter.
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Jude 1 - 2
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Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

First of all, who is Jude? Jude introduces himself as a "brother of James". How do we know? Nowhere in the Bible does the word, "Jude", appear aside from this letter. 

Jude, in Greek (Ἰούδας, Ioudas), can also be called "Judas". Jude traces back to the root word in Hebrew called "Judah". We know Jude is not "Judas Iscariot", who betrayed Jesus Christ, because he was already dead by the time this letter was written. The options are then narrowed down to two as to who he is: one of the apostles (John 14:22) or the half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55). Evidently, Matthew 13:55 says Jesus' family, his brothers, consists of James, Jude, and others. In the introduction of this letter, we are told that Jude is a brother of James. It is highly possible, therefore, that Jude is the half-brother of Jesus.

Second of all, Jude also introduces himself as a "servant of Jesus Christ". In Greek, the word, "servant", is called "doulas", which means servant, bond-servant, or slave. Why does Jude call himself a "doulas" of Christ? Is he trying to be humble? Jude is not the only one who introduces himself like that, for the author of the Pauline Epistles and the author of the other Epistles often introduce themselves as "doulas" of Christ. The term, "servant of Christ", is not necessarily a term of humility per se, but an indication that the author's status comes from Jesus, whom they belong to. Jude recognized that his life is for the service of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There are many ways to refer to the identity of believers in Christ: Beloved, Children, Son, Disciples... As believers, we are also called "servants" or "slaves" because Jesus Christ bought us with His blood (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The implication is that we are called to obey Him and submit to His Lordship for our lives. Believers tend to miss this vital point regarding our identity in Christ. 

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ

There are two approaches in understanding what this "called" means. First, we accept that God, in His love, called us in the way of predestining us for His service. Calling, within this context, is when God elected His people, and this calling is not a "general calling" but an "effectual calling" to salvation. Or second, we accept that God's calling to salvation is for everyone, but they have to receive and accept that calling. Either way, we know that this calling has a connection to the Trinity. 

We are described as beloved (agapaō) in God the Father. This is good news. It is this great fact which determines the nature of the call. The call to men and women is the call to be loved and to love. Near the end of the letter, Christians are to "keep [themselves] in the love of God". Jude might be hinting at John's understanding of abiding love (1 John 4:16; John 15). Jude is indicating that those who are "loved by God" are "in God".

We are also described as "kept for Jesus Christ". Other translations might say "kept by Jesus Christ". However, the former is more natural when reading the Greek (pg. 38, The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude by Peter H. Davids). Those who are called and loved are also those who are protected. Who's doing the protecting? God the Father is doing the keeping (1 Peter 1:4-5; John 10:29). The Holy Spirit has sealed us (Ephesians 1:13-14). Jesus said nobody can snatch His people out of His hand (John 10:28). All are equally true. What is the emphasis in this passage? The emphasis is that believers are guarded or reserved (kept) FOR Christ - for Him in a specific way and in a special moment. The emphasis is an eschatological focus on the idea of guarding. I think believers being kept has a lot to do with Revelation 19:6-10 where Jesus Christ will get His Bride - the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). 

May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Finally, Jude completes his salutation with a threefold blessing: Mercy, peace and love. John MacArthur commented that " 'mercy and peace' [Shalom] was a common Jewish greeting; 'love' was added to make this distinctively Christian. Only here in the NT do these three qualities appear so closely together. Where law and works prevail, there is failure and death. Where grace prevails, there is mercy (Eph. 2:4; Heb. 4:16), peace (Rom. 5:1), and love (Rom. 5:5) in abundance." (John MacArthur Study Bible) And we see that Jude prays for this threefold blessing to be multiplied to you. Peter gives that same prayer (2 Peter 1:2). 
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Application
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There are important lessons to be learned in these two short verses. First of all, believers are identified as "servants" or "slaves" in Christ. This has strong implications regarding how we live our lives, spend our money, spend our time, how to talk and how we serve. If we are servants, then every part of us belongs to Jesus Christ. Not only is He our Savior and Friend, but He is our Master; He is our Lord. The false teachers and the apostates deny Jesus as their Lord and Master (Jude 4). How do you live your life as "servants" in Christ? Are you obeying Him? 

A second lesson we can learn is that we are beloved in God the Father. Every Christian should be able to say, "I am loved by my Father in heaven!" This love should transform us to be more like Christ. God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins (Romans 5:7-8). The love he shows us is part of His grace towards His people. When we sin, we can find forgiveness in Him. Regret, shame and guilt may cause us to doubt God's love for us, but Scripture affirms that God does indeed love us; and we need to hold on to that reminder.