Read Jude 20-2520But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22And of some have compassion, making a difference: 23And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. 24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jude 20‑25)
Believers instinctively feel the need of being edified, or built up. Their souls look for food and they are conscious that their inward man requires renewing. They desire to know for their profit and blessing the things of God as set forth in the Scriptures of truth. But all have to learn on the principle that God is the giver; we are only receivers and we have nothing in ourselves, and yet we possess all things in Christ (1 Cor. 3:2222Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; (1 Corinthians 3:22)).
There are three ways in which edification, or building up, is presented to us in the epistles:
We have gifts such as teachers and pastors from Christ in ascension, for the perfecting of the saints, with a view to the work of the ministry and with a view to the edifying or building up of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:1212For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (Ephesians 4:12)).
We judge this third character of building up to be of particular importance at this time.
Often, where there has been the most faithful and the most spiritual ministry of the truth, there are those who have profited but little by it. Why is this? Is it not because they, if exercised about it, have trusted to be built up by others, and neglected self-building up? Few of us gather up lasting profit from any ministry, however excellent and spiritual, unless we receive the truth, not as we would an ordinary matter of instruction, but from the mouth of God, after having been assured it is according to His Word.
When there is the absence of such exercise of soul before God, it not only betrays a serious lack of spiritual mindedness, but also that there is no small amount of carnal confidence, a self-sufficient competency for attending to the things of God instead of a lowly state of dependence on the Lord. We do well to lay it to heart as to whether we are intellectually dealing with divine truth, or being led and taught by the Spirit of God, and hearkening to what He says.
It should be a daily question as to how much we are occupied in building ourselves up on our most holy faith. We all know as regards our bodies the need of continual cleansing, taking in frequent supplies of nourishment, protecting ourselves from bad external influences, and of availing ourselves of seasonal refreshment and comfort.
But what about our souls? Are we hating the garment spotted by the flesh? Are we carefully seeking to keep ourselves unspotted from the world and purposing not to touch the unclean thing? Is self-judgment before God habitual with us? Do we exercise ourselves to have always a good conscience, void of offense toward God and toward man? Do we go to the Word of eternal truth morning by morning to read, to meditate on it in dependence on the Spirit, to pray over it and to take it in as food for the renewal of our inner man?
Do we hide the Word of God in our hearts that we may not sin against Him? Do we thus have to do with God and the Word of His grace which is able to build us up and thoroughly furnish us unto all good works? Do we seek in this way to gather strength so that faith may grow and hope be increasingly brightened? If so, then it may be said that we are building up ourselves on our most holy faith. And we may be quite sure that those who are building up themselves will greatly value being built up by others, and be profited by their divinely given ministrations.
This exhortation as to building ourselves up, occurring in Jude, seems to be a loud voice to those who take the way of faith in these last evil days; for Jude traces the ruin of the Church from its commencement as God's corporate witness on earth to its going on to judgment without the smallest hope of reconstruction, or of general recovery. At the close, he addresses himself to such as are standing for God in this time of declension and failure, saying, "Ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith."
A people, true to the Lord in an evil time, are recognized and called to be diligent in building up themselves. Faith is not spoken of here, as at the beginning of the brief epistle, as "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," but as "your most holy faith." Yes, it is that divine revelation of truth which specially refers to us. It is your faith, and it is "most holy." It is not merely that we should be holding a set of principles or doctrines, but we should be taking into our hearts the ministry of the exceeding riches of divine grace, the actings of divine righteousness, and the almightiness of divine power. These are ours through the death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification of Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever.
We are delivered from the authority of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love, and by the Spirit we are united to Him where He now is. A work has been wrought by Him who not only died for our sins, but died to sin. This has set us free forever from the guilt of sins, and also from the dominion of sin; it has delivered us from our old standing in Adam, and has brought us into a totally new position, making us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Now in Christ Jesus we who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, are brought into favor in the Beloved, and are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ so that we are always before God in the cloudless favor, nearness, and acceptance of Christ.
Brought into relationship with the Father as His children, with Christ as members of His body, and with the Holy Spirit as His temple, our fellowship by the Spirit is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. The nature of God being now revealed in light and love, we walk in the light as He is in the light, where His eternal redemption has brought us. Truly, we have received an abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, and we shall reign in life with Christ!
So, is it any marvel that it is called "your most holy faith"? Can any blessing known on earth exceed this? Every step of our onward path has been considered and every possible contingency provided for in the accomplished work and present offices of Christ so that we can rejoice in hope of glory as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ and can wait for God's Son from heaven.
No doubt "the faith" is the common property of all believers. "The faith which was once delivered unto the saints" is not delivered to apostles, but to the saints for their common blessing. And it is our faith, that which more particularly concerns us and ministers to us; it is "your most holy faith"-the wonderful revelation of divine grace which could not have been made till Jesus came, declared the Father, accomplished redemption according to God's counsel and purpose and went back to the Father. In ascension as man glorified, He was made Head over all to the assembly which is His body and has sent down the Holy Spirit to form the assembly on earth. (1 Corinthians 12:1313For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)).
We are, then, to build ourselves up on our most holy faith, by meditation on the Word of God under the guidance and teaching of the Spirit, and we are to make it our own by mixing faith with this divine testimony. The oft-repeated question therefore with every believer should be: How much have I been occupied this day in building up myself? for "the inward man is renewed day by day."
No doubt such will be prayerful too. Hence it is added, "Praying in the Holy Ghost," for, they own the Spirit. Where there is reality, those who pray will be satisfied with nothing less than praying according to the leading and desires of the Holy Spirit which we know will always be according to the truth. And keeping ourselves in the love of God is indispensable; for all our peace and strength flows from the consciousness that we are objects of divine love, and while thus exercised, we can be looking for mercy till the Lord comes: "Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Where there is the absence of building up ourselves, we must not be surprised if prayer declines, if the enjoyment of the love of God be little known, and if the expectation of our Lord's mercy becomes dim. It is easy to go on in a routine of outward order and thus have credit among Christians, but what is it all worth •if the Lord has not our hearts, and we are not building up ourselves on our most holy faith? How ready every believer must be in the contemplation, of these things to cry out, "Hold Thou me up, and. I shall be safe!"
Scarcely can we think of any who are building themselves up who can be careless as to obedience to the Word of God. How could it be, if we are going on with God? Have not conditional blessings been set before us in Scripture? For example, are not those who, because they are God's children, refuse to be yoked with unbelievers, separated from what is "unclean" for the truth's sake and look for the Father's care and blessing? But what of those who do not take this place of separation in obedience to His Word and are more or less "yoked" with those who they know are "unbelievers"? Is it not often manifest that they have not in their souls the joy of relationship with the Father; and instead of God's blessing, find many of their plans frustrated and their expectations never realized? They have hoped for the Father's blessing without walking in obedience to His will.
The same thing is true as regards the world. We are told, "If any man love the world, the love of the 'Father is not in him" (1 John 2:1515Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)). Even a child of God will not have the enjoyment of this precious relationship with the Father if his heart goes after that which is contrary to His mind and loves that which is under His judgment; for Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world." But what about those who refuse to be "yoked" with unbelievers in marriage or in anything else and who come out from among them? Such consciously fall into their Father's arms and enter into this most dear relationship. They know that He receives them and they can taste and enjoy His blessing. They find those precious words fulfilled in their happy experience, "I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:14-1814Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:14‑18).