The Completed Work of Christ

Jude 1 (NKJV)
Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.

Jude is writing concerning the foundational matters of faith in Christ and walking with the Lord. He starts out in this first verse by showing that salvation is performed by Christ alone. Jesus calls all people to come unto Himself, but only those who repent of their sins and believe in Him are truly saved. The word “called” has the idea of being invited to a banquet. Heaven is a banquet that every believer can earnestly anticipate.

Paul tells us in Eph. 2:8-9 that salvation is “by grace” and “not of works”, it is “the gift of God”. We cannot earn or work for salvation in any way, so it is God must perform this work. In Jude 1, it also says that we are “sanctified” by God, which has the idea of being cleansed and dedicated to God. The tense of this word in the Greek describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated. Once we are cleansed by Christ at salvation, it is a complete and finished work done by Him that cannot be undone.

We know that this work cannot be undone because this same verse goes on to tell us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. The word “preserved” has the idea of being guarded or kept in your current state in which you have been put. The amazing part of salvation that is so wonderful is the fact that Christ performs the work, preserves us, and promises that we will always be His. Since God has never yet broken a promise, we can rest assured that once we are His we will always be His. The tense of this word is also one of a work completed in the past, once and for all, not needing to be repeated.

Once we are saved, we now have a responsibility of our own. Even though we are securely preserved in Christ Jesus, we live in a sin fallen world and we must contend for our faith. Jude tells us in verse 3, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3, NKJV). The word “earnestly contend” comes from a root word that has the idea of fighting with adversaries or struggling with difficulties and dangers. Living the life of faith is, by no means, simple. It is a struggle, because, just as the world hated Christ, even so it will hate us. But, in the strength of Christ we can make it though this life with Him. We may have to fight with strenuous zeal to keep the faith. The walk of faith is not as easy or simple as the gift of salvation. But, all believers can live a victorious faith if they only obey Him and His word.

Thoughts, comments, objections.



Daniel A. Smith