Chapter 1

1:1  Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

preserved

Assurance is the believer's full conviction that, through the work of Christ alone, received by faith, he is in possession of a salvation in which he will be eternally kept. And this assurance rests only upon the Scripture promises to him who believes.

1:3  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.

salvation (See Scofield "Romans 1:16") .

it was needful Lit. constraint was upon me, i.e. of the Spirit.

1:5  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

saved

(See Scofield "Romans 1:16") .

1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

great day

The judgment of the fallen angels. The "great day" is the day of the Lord Isaiah 2:9-22 . As the final judgment upon Satan occurs after the thousand years, and preceding the final judgment Revelation 20:10 it is congruous to conclude, as to the time, that other fallen angels are judged with him ; 2 Peter 2:4 ; Revelation 20:10 . Christians are associated with Christ in this judgment. For association with angels at judgment 1 Corinthians 6:3 .

For other information (See Scofield "Revelation 20:12") .

angels (See Scofield "Hebrews 1:4") .

1:11  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Cain

Cain (cf) Genesis 4:1 type of the religious natural man, who believes in a God, and in "religion," but after his own will, and who rejects redemption by blood. Compelled as a teacher of religion to explain atonement, the apostate teacher explains it away.

error of Balaam

Balaam, the "error" of Balaam must be distinguished from his "way" (See Scofield "2 Peter 2:15") and his "doctrine" See Scofield " Revelation 2:14 ".

The "error" of Balaam was that, reasoning from natural morality and seeing the evil in Israel, he supposed a righteous God must curse them. He was blind to the higher morality of the Cross, through which God maintains and enforces the authority and awful sanctions of His law, so that He can be just and the justifier of a believing sinner. The "reward" of Jude 1:11 may not be money, but popularity, or applause.

Core

See Nu 16. The sin of Korah was denial of the authority of Moses as God's chosen spokesman, and intrusion into the priest's office.

gainsaying antilogia = against the Word.

1:15  To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

sinners

Sin. (See Scofield "Romans 3:23") .

1:23  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

flesh

Flesh, Summary: "Flesh," in the ethical sense, is the whole natural or unregenerate man, spirit, soul, and body, as centered upon self, prone to sin, and opposed to God Romans 7:18 . The regenerate man is not "in the sphere of the flesh," but in the sphere of the Spirit Romans 8:9 but the flesh is still in him, and he may, according to his choice, "walk after the flesh" or "in the Spirit" ; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 ; Galatians 5:16 Galatians 5:17 . In the first case he is a "carnal," in the second a "spiritual," Christian. Victory over the flesh will be the habitual experience of the believer who walks in the Spirit ; Romans 8:2 Romans 8:4 ; Galatians 5:16 Galatians 5:17 .