{"id":53509,"date":"2023-06-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/?p=53509"},"modified":"2023-06-02T07:12:22","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T14:12:22","slug":"what-should-we-do-while-we-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/what-should-we-do-while-we-wait\/","title":{"rendered":"What Should We Do While We Wait?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was thinking recently while stuck in road construction how much time is spent simply waiting for something to happen. There\u2019s not a day that goes by without us spending some time waiting for something. It seems as if God has weaved waiting into nearly every aspect of our lives. While there\u2019s not much to do while waiting in road construction, God clearly intends for us to do something while we wait. In fact, Jude<\/a> gives us some clear imperatives that tell us what we should do while we wait. Let\u2019s look at what he tells his readers to do while they wait for Christ\u2019s mercy with some help from the NIV Application Commentary<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing Fast While We Wait<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God\u2019s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. <\/p>Jude 1:20\u201321<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDear friends\u201d (see v. 17<\/a>) again signals a transition as Jude now turns his attention to the believers and begins to tell them specifically what they are to do in response to the false teachers. He begins with injunctions focusing on the need to maintain their own faith. Here is the first requirement when false teaching arises: to secure one\u2019s own spiritual position. Only then is one ready to reach out and confront those who are disturbed by it (vv. 22\u00ad\u201323<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the NIV does not make this entirely clear, we have in verses 20\u201321<\/a> four separate commands:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) \u201cbuild yourselves up in your most holy faith\u201d;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) \u201cpray in the Holy Spirit\u201d;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) \u201ckeep yourselves in God\u2019s love\u201d;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4) \u201cwait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two characteristic early Christian triads are observable here: faith, love,<\/em> and hope<\/em> (1, 3, and 4<\/a>); and Father, Son,<\/em> and Holy Spirit<\/em> (3, 4, and 2<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building While We Wait<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The frequent New Testament use of the imagery of \u201cbuilding\u201d to describe the spiritual development of the community probably comes from the idea that the Christian church forms God\u2019s new temple (1 Cor. 3:9\u201315<\/a>; 2 Cor. 6:16<\/a>; Eph. 2:19\u201322<\/a>; 1 Peter 2:4\u201310<\/a>). New covenant believers no longer need a literal temple, for they themselves are now the place where God, in Christ, resides. \u201cBuild yourselves up,\u201d then, is a command that Christians together encourage one another in holding fast to the truth of Christ and in maintaining a lifestyle that reflects that truth (for a similar idea, see Col. 2:7<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in the similar phrase in verse 3<\/a>, \u201cfaith\u201d here means what Christians believe \u2014 the doctrinal and ethical core of Christian identity. This is what the false teachers were threatening; therefore, true believers must devote themselves to the faith with renewed dedication. It is possible to translate \u201cbuild yourselves up by means of your most holy faith.\u201d But the building imagery suggests that the NIV is on the right track, taking \u201cthe most holy faith\u201d to be the foundation on which we are to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Testament elsewhere puts Christ in the role of the foundation of the church (1 Cor. 3:7\u201317<\/a>), or even \u201cthe apostles and prophets\u201d (Eph. 2:20\u201322<\/a>). These are not, of course, competing, but complementary images. For it is Christ who accredits apostles and prophets, who, in turn, set forth and guard the \u201cfaith once for all entrusted to the saints.\u201d Christ is the \u201cultimate foundation,\u201d for we rest on him alone for salvation. But the apostles and the teaching they have given are subsidiary, but necessary foundations. They reveal to us the meaning of Christ and guard against any attempt to diminish who he is or what he has done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Praying While We Wait<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The form of the word in the Greek text may be suggesting that the second injunction is a means by which the first can be carried out \u2014 that is, by \u201cpraying in the Holy Spirit\u201d we can build one another up in the faith. Many commentators think that Jude is enjoining believers here to engage in distinctly \u201ccharismatic\u201d praying, including, though not limited to, speaking in tongues. They suggest that this praying is a praying in which the Spirit himself supplies the words. Without diminishing the importance and value of this kind of praying, I doubt whether Jude intends to be so specific. All praying that is worthy of the name will be praying that is done \u201cin the Spirit\u201d \u2014 that is, stimulated by, guided by, and infused by the Holy Spirit. Note Ephesians 6:18a<\/a>: \u201cAnd pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing Fast While We Wait<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jude\u2019s third exhortation combines with his description of believers in verse 1<\/a> to form an interesting and instructive pairing of ideas. Christians, Jude has said, are \u201ckept by Jesus Christ\u201d; now he urges them to \u201ckeep yourselves in God\u2019s love.\u201d Here we find the typical two sides of the New Testament approach to the Christian life. God has done all in Christ that we need to be saved; yet we must respond to God if we are to secure our salvation. God \u201ckeeps\u201d us; we are to \u201ckeep ourselves.\u201d Both are true, and neither can be sacrificed without missing something essential to the Christian pursuit of godliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jude may be thinking as he writes these words of Jesus\u2019 command in John 15:9<\/a>: \u201cNow remain in my love.\u201d Christ loves us, unconditionally; yet we have the obligation to remain within his love for us. And this reminiscence is particularly appropriate because Jesus goes on in the next verse to note that it is by obeying his commands that we are able to remain in his love. It is precisely in this matter of obedience that the false teachers are so significantly failing to keep themselves in the love of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercy is Coming<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jude\u2019s last exhortation, fittingly, directs attention to the future. God\u2019s mercy is always present, but the Scriptures often associate his mercy with deliverance on the last day (see, e.g., Matt. 5:7<\/a>; 2 Tim. 1:18<\/a>). Here, therefore, \u201cthe mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d is something that we are urged to \u201cwait for.\u201d The verb translated \u201cwait for\u201d often occurs in such eschatological contexts. It connotes eager yet patient expectation and the kind of lifestyle that should accompany such hope for deliverance (see the use of the word in 2 Peter 3:12\u201314<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The connection between \u201ceternal life\u201d and the rest of the verse is not immediately clear. The NIV paraphrases the Greek here, taking the phrase with the word \u201cmercy\u201d (cf. also NRSV: \u201cthe mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life\u201d). But the phrase can also go with the command \u201ckeep\u201d at the beginning of the verse: \u201ckeep yourselves in God\u2019s love \u2026 so that you may experience eternal life,\u201d though the distance of \u201ceternal life\u201d from the command \u201ckeep\u201d makes this option less likely. Thus Jude is urging his readers to look beyond the disruptions created by the false teachers to that ultimate expression of Christ\u2019s mercy on the day he comes back in glory to bring his people to their eternal enjoyment of the life he provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discover More Insights with the NIV Application Commentary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The NIV Application Commentary<\/a> is an award-winning commentary by Zondervan. These commentaries discuss each passage of Scripture by looking at the original meaning,<\/strong> bridging contexts,<\/strong> and contemporary significance.<\/strong> Follow the link below to visit our store and learn more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
NIV APPLICATION COMMENTARY<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was thinking recently while stuck in road construction how much time is spent simply waiting for something to happen. There\u2019s not a day that goes by without us spending some time waiting for something. It seems as if God has weaved waiting into nearly every aspect of our lives. 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