Jude 1b

"Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called,.."

(Jude 1:1b)

When Jude says that you are “the called,” he is using classic, Old Testament language for the people of God. Israel was called by God. Abraham was called by God out of the Ur of the Chaldeans, out of paganism, out of polytheism, out of his father's land and people to be the servant of God, to be the friend of God. And in Genesis 12:1-3 it is made clear that Abraham was called out of the world not simply for his own benefit but for the glory of God and for the good of the nations of the earth. Abraham was not only given blessing by God, but he was called to be a blessing to the nations. He was caught up in a story much bigger than himself. He was caught up as a missionary for God.

And when Jude calls these Christians called, he is reminding them that they have been called into a story which is much bigger than themselves. They have been called to not only divine blessings, they have been called by divine grace and choice, because men never take the initiative over God. They never approach God until God starts to draw them to Himself. You remember what Jesus says in John 6? “No man comes to the Father unless the Father draws him.” And so it's not only that they've been called and drawn by God's divine choice and election, but that they have been called into this grand adventure, an adventure in which we conspire to bless the world with the salvific blessings of God in Jesus Christ. 

(J. Ligon Duncan)