Preserved BEFORE the Storm

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:

Jude 1

As we continue to glory in the sovereignty of God in salvation, let us continue with our “passing over” theme. Today we take up the first verse in Jude.

Notice, first of all, that God is the only one active in this text. We are the direct object receiving the blessing from God.

Jude uses three words to describe our condition by the grace of God – sanctified, preserved, and called.

To be sanctified by God the Father means that we were chosen in the covenant of election before the world began (Ephesians 1). God set us apart for salvation from the soon-to-be fallen mass of humanity.

To be preserved means that God has done everything necessary to make sure that our saved condition cannot be lost. This is secure because we were placed in Christ in election before the world began.

To be called means to be born again or made spiritually alive. Again, this act is done solely by the power of God without the use of any means of man or in cooperation with man’s will or choice.

So we are sanctified, and then preserved, and then called.

Note that we are preserved in Jesus even before we are called in the new birth!

We do not get eternal security because we believe and become born again. We believe because we have been born again. And we are born again because we are already preserved in Jesus Christ.

We were preserved in Jesus Christ even before the journey and storms of our life began. What a comfort to know that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God which is Christ Jesus our Lord.