¹Jude . . . to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ . . .

We know little about Jude’s intended audience other than what we find here in this letter. Yet the letter has resonated with Christians from the earliest days. For after all, what church has not had to deal with the difficulty of false teachers discussed here? Further, the description Jude gives of his readership is true of all Christians.

All believers can be described as “the called.” Paul refers to the Roman believers similarly; we are “called of Jesus Christ” from among the Gentiles. The apostle Peter goes even further:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Being called is more than a simple invitation, as Jesus used the term in Matthew 22:14, “Many are called but few are chosen.” Jude uses the invitation as a description of those who believe. To infer the doctrine of election here might be reading too much into the word. The focus is not on our response to the call of God but on the fact that He called us out of the world to be a unique people among the world of humanity. There is great joy in knowing we are special to God because we are His; He called us.

We are also “beloved in God the Father.” The NET Bible renders this phrase “wrapped in the love of God the Father.” We are dear to God. How great is that?! The God of the universe, the judge of the whole earth, loves us; He loves me! We can never plumb the depths of this truth, but we do enjoy trying. We know He loved us because He saved us:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” (Eph. 2:4–5)

But He continues to love us, as John concurs: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

Finally, Jude tells us we are kept for Jesus Christ. He is guarding those whom He has called, those whom He loves. If you are a believer, that includes you, and it includes me. We are called, beloved, and kept. This is our identity in Christ as believers. Therefore, we must be on guard that no one steals these truths away from us with false teaching.

Lord, thank You for calling me, loving me, and keeping me!