It is these who cause
divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.
THE STUDY:
Jude applies
the prophecy (Vs 18) to the false teachers. He emphasizes it is these who cause division. The verb division (apodiorizō)
means “mark out boundaries in order to separate.” The intruders are splitting
the church. They are still participating in the fellowship meals (v 12). They
undoubtedly identified themselves as an elite group, superior to other
Christians, especially to those who limited their freedom to the moral
standards of traditional Christian teaching.
Despite their claims of spiritual
superiority, Jude maintains they follow
mere natural instincts (psychikoi:
souls) and do not have the Spirit (NIV). Follow mere natural
instincts translates a single Greek word, which literally means soul. Although soul usually possesses a positive meaning in the NT, Paul uses psychikoi to contrast the natural people (psychikos) with the spiritual
people (pneumatikos; see 1 Cor 2:14;
15:44). Similarly, Jude uses psychikoi
with a negative sense. The ungodly intruders are concerned only with what is natural to life instead of what is spiritual to life. They are “worldly
people” (nrsv) or “worldly-minded” (nasb).
Moreover, they are devoid of the Spirit. There is a strong
sense of irony in this accusation. The scoffers undoubtedly claimed greater
spiritual insight than other believers, probably through their experience of
dream visions (v 8). But their immoral and shameless behavior demonstrates they
are merely physical (psychikoi: soulish) in their orientation. They
pursue mere physical stimuli, like unreasoning animals (v 10). Far from
superspiritual, the intruders do not even possess the Spirit.[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that division causes separation. We can separate ourselves from friends, family members, or even our heritage or culture. All of these are possible and can affect us emotionally. The division that can and will affect us spiritually is when we are separate from God! I believe we all would agree, this is the most detrimental for all mankind.
CONCLUSION:
I remember asking a pastor friend of mine, “Why
are we seeing so many churches with problems such as splits, people leaving, or
leadership (pastors) being asked to leave? You don’t hear about or see this in
these cultish churches?” He quickly looked at me to reply as if he had rehearsed
his answer for hours if not days. He said, “Because Satan doesn’t have to worry
about them. They’re already on his side.”
We must remember
this, if we are experiencing troubles in our personal lives, strife in our
spiritual life or division in our church life, it all comes from the evil one.
He is out to seek and destroy all that is good.
So how do we
combat this attack? The first line of defense is to acknowledge the attacker.
Once we have done this we can then apply the game plan (God’s plan) to the situation.
We will be attacked (spiritually) with troubles, strife, and the lure to be divided.
Recognize, Rebuke and continue on with God’s plan. Don’t let Satan have victory
by separating you from God.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2
Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible
Commentary (288). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.
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