What did Paul mean by “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3)?
Question 01204
There is a phrase tucked into the brief letter of Jude that has echoed through two thousand years of church history with remarkable power. In just a few words, Jude establishes something that every generation of Christians must grapple with: there is a fixed, definite, once-for-all body of truth that has been entrusted to God’s people, and we are called to contend for it. This is not Paul’s phrase, actually, but Jude’s, though it expresses what Paul and all the apostles taught. The phrase is “the faith once for all delivered to the saints,” and understanding what Jude meant by it is essential for every believer who wants to stand firm in an age of theological drift and doctrinal confusion.
The Text in Context
Jude’s letter is one of the shortest in the New Testament, yet it packs a remarkable punch. Let us read the key verses: “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 3-4).
Jude had intended to write a positive letter about the salvation believers share. But circumstances changed. False teachers had infiltrated the church, and Jude felt compelled to sound the alarm. This shift from his original intention underscores the urgency of the matter. When the faith is under attack, other priorities must wait.
The phrase we are examining is τῇ ἅπαξ παραδοθείσῃ τοῖς ἁγίοις πίστει (tē hapax paradotheisē tois hagiois pistei), which the ESV renders “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Each word in this phrase carries theological weight.
“The Faith” (τῇ πίστει)
The definite article is significant. Jude does not speak of faith in a general sense, as in our subjective trust in God, but of “the faith,” a specific body of doctrine. This objective sense of πίστις (pistis) appears throughout the New Testament to denote the content of Christian belief. Richard Bauckham notes that “the faith” here refers to “the gospel as a body of teaching which the church has received and is obligated to pass on.”
Paul used the term in the same way when he wrote to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). And again: “The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). In both cases, “the faith” refers not to Paul’s personal trust in God but to the body of apostolic teaching that he had received and proclaimed. Gene Green explains: “In Jude, ‘the faith’ is not the act of believing but the content of what is believed, the apostolic teaching that was handed down to the church.”
This understanding has profound implications. Christianity is not a shapeless spirituality that each generation reinvents according to its preferences. It is a defined faith with specific content. There are truths to be believed, doctrines to be affirmed, and boundaries to be maintained.
“Once for All” (ἅπαξ)
The word ἅπαξ (hapax) is perhaps the most theologically loaded term in the phrase. It means “once for all,” “once and for all time,” “one time with permanent results.” It is the same word used in Hebrews to describe the finality of Jesus’ sacrifice: “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself” (Hebrews 7:27).
Just as Jesus’ sacrifice was a once-for-all event that never needs to be repeated, so the delivery of the faith to the saints was a once-for-all event that never needs to be supplemented. Michael Green observes: “The Christian faith is not something that is still being revealed. The apostolic deposit is complete. Jude is not suggesting that doctrine cannot develop or be more fully understood, but that its essential content has been finally and definitively given.”
This stands in direct contradiction to those who claim ongoing revelation or who suggest that the faith must be updated for each new generation. The foundational truths of Christianity were delivered once. They are not negotiable, not revisable, not subject to cultural adaptation at their core.
“Delivered” (παραδοθείσῃ)
The verb παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) means “to hand over,” “to entrust,” “to pass on.” It is the technical term in the New Testament for the transmission of authoritative teaching. Paul used it repeatedly: “Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you” (1 Corinthians 11:2). “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread…” (1 Corinthians 11:23). “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
The pattern is clear: the apostles received truth from Jesus, and they delivered it to the churches. This was not their own invention but a sacred trust passed from the Lord through His appointed messengers to His people. The verb is in the aorist passive, indicating a completed action. The faith was delivered; the delivery is done. Peter Davids comments: “The passive voice indicates that God is the ultimate source of the tradition; it was delivered by his commissioned agents, the apostles.”
“To the Saints” (τοῖς ἁγίοις)
The recipients of this delivered faith are “the saints,” which simply means “the holy ones” or “those set apart.” This is not a special class of super-Christians but all genuine believers. Every Christian has received this sacred deposit. Every Christian is responsible to guard it and pass it on.
This corporate dimension is important. The faith was not delivered to isolated individuals to interpret as they please. It was delivered to the community of believers, the church. The church corporately is the “pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), and individual believers are accountable to the faith as it has been understood by the faithful throughout history.
The Content of “The Faith”
What exactly does “the faith” include? While Jude does not provide a systematic theology, the New Testament gives us clear indications. At minimum, it includes the gospel message itself—that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This is “of first importance,” Paul says, the non-negotiable centre. It includes the identity of Jesus—that He is the eternal Son of God, fully divine and fully human, the only Saviour (John 1:1-14; Colossians 2:9; Acts 4:12). It includes the person and work of the Holy Spirit—who convicts, regenerates, indwells, and empowers believers (John 16:8-11; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9-11). It includes the authority and sufficiency of Scripture—which is God-breathed and profitable for all matters of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It includes the reality of future judgment and the return of Jesus—which forms the hope of the church and the warning to the lost (Acts 17:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 19-22). It includes the nature of salvation by grace through faith—apart from works, received as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).
These core truths, along with their necessary implications, constitute the faith once delivered. They are not a matter of preference or denominational distinctives. They are the boundaries that define authentic Christianity.
“Contend for” (ἐπαγωνίζεσθαι)
Jude does not merely ask believers to hold the faith passively. He commands them to “contend for” it. The Greek ἐπαγωνίζεσθαι (epagōnizesthai) is an intensified form of the word from which we get “agonise.” It was used of athletic competition, of straining every muscle to win the contest. The prefix ἐπί (epi) intensifies the struggle.
This is not a gentle request but an urgent command. The faith is worth fighting for. Not with physical weapons, of course, but with teaching, preaching, refuting error, and living consistently with the truth we proclaim. John MacArthur observes: “The word pictures a vigorous, intense, determined struggle to defeat the opposition. It is the same verb used to describe an athlete straining to win a victory.”
Paul used similar language when he told Timothy to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) and when he reflected on his own ministry: “I have fought the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7). The Christian life involves spiritual combat, and one of the primary battlefields is doctrine.
Why Contending Is Necessary
Jude explains why this contending is necessary: “For certain people have crept in unnoticed” (verse 4). False teachers do not typically announce themselves. They infiltrate. They use Christian vocabulary while emptying it of Christian meaning. They appear as angels of light while serving the agenda of darkness.
Paul warned of the same: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30). The threat is both external and internal. Wolves come from outside, but twisted teachers also arise from within the church itself. This is why vigilance is required. This is why every generation must take up the mantle of defending the faith.
Jesus Himself warned about false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing but are inwardly ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15). The imagery is deliberate. False teachers look like the flock. They sound like the flock. But their agenda is destruction.
Historical Perspective
The early church fathers understood this responsibility and took it seriously. When heresies arose—Gnosticism, Arianism, Pelagianism—the church responded by clarifying and defending the faith once delivered. The great creeds of the church (the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Definition of Chalcedon) were not innovations but articulations of what the church had always believed based on apostolic teaching.
Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130-202 AD), combating Gnosticism, wrote extensively in defence of the apostolic faith. He argued that the true teaching could be traced directly to the apostles through the succession of teachers in the churches they founded. Tertullian (c. 155-220 AD) similarly contended against heresy, famously asking: “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What has the Academy to do with the Church?” His point was that the faith has its own content, its own source, its own authority—and it is not to be judged by philosophical systems alien to it.
The Reformation was itself an act of contending for the faith. The Reformers were not innovators but restorers. They believed that medieval Catholicism had departed from the apostolic faith and that Scripture alone must be the final authority. “Sola Scriptura” was a call back to the faith once delivered.
The Contemporary Challenge
In our own day, the faith is under attack from multiple directions. Liberal theology denies the supernatural elements of Christianity. Progressive Christianity reinterprets sin, salvation, and sexuality according to contemporary preferences. The prosperity gospel distorts the message of Jesus into a means of personal gain. Mystical movements add extra-biblical experiences and revelations to the apostolic deposit.
Each of these represents a departure from the faith once delivered. And each requires believers to contend, to stand firm, to refuse the accommodation of truth to error. This does not mean we are to be quarrelsome or unkind. Paul told Timothy that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness” (2 Timothy 2:24-25). We contend for the faith with truth and love combined, never sacrificing one for the other.
Practical Application
What does it mean to contend for the faith in practical terms? First, know the faith. You cannot defend what you do not understand. Every believer should be growing in their knowledge of Scripture and sound doctrine. This is not optional for the serious Christian. Peter commands us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
Second, identify error. This requires discernment, which comes from immersion in truth. The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily to see if what they were taught was true (Acts 17:11). We must do the same with every teaching we encounter, no matter how popular the teacher or how appealing the message.
Third, speak up. When error is taught, faithful believers must be willing to address it—in love, but clearly. This may mean a private conversation with someone who has been deceived. It may mean a public response to public teaching. The form will vary, but the responsibility remains.
Fourth, live consistently. Our lives are part of our defence of the faith. Jude goes on in his letter to describe the ungodly behaviour of the false teachers. True faith produces godly living. When our conduct matches our confession, we commend the truth to others.
Fifth, pass it on. The faith was delivered to be transmitted. We are not the last generation. We must ensure that those who come after us receive the same apostolic teaching, uncorrupted and undiminished. This is why Paul told Timothy: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Conclusion
The faith once for all delivered to the saints is not a museum piece to be admired from a distance. It is a living trust to be guarded, proclaimed, defended, and passed on. It is the body of truth that Jesus taught His apostles, that they delivered to the churches, and that has been preserved through the centuries by faithful believers who refused to let it be corrupted. We live in an age that despises fixed truth. Everything is said to be relative, fluid, subject to revision. But the faith stands. It has survived Roman persecution, medieval corruption, Enlightenment scepticism, and modern relativism. It will survive whatever challenges our generation brings, because it rests not on human wisdom but on divine revelation. Our calling is clear. Jude’s exhortation echoes across the centuries to us: contend for the faith. Not with arrogance but with conviction. Not with anger but with love. Not with our own clever arguments but with the Word of God, which is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. The faith has been delivered. Now let us be faithful to defend it.
“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 3
Bibliography
- Bauckham, Richard J. Jude, 2 Peter. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco: Word Books, 1983.
- Davids, Peter H. The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.
- Green, Gene L. Jude and 2 Peter. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
- Green, Michael. 2 Peter and Jude. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987.
- MacArthur, John. 2 Peter and Jude. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 2005.
- Moo, Douglas J. 2 Peter, Jude. NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.