BIBLE VERSE STUDY
Jude 1:20 — Building Up on Most Holy Faith
Jude 1:20 commands believers to build themselves up on their most holy faith and to pray in the Holy Spirit, standing in deliberate contrast to the sensual, divisive people of v. 19.
Scripture
20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
What this passage means
The verse opens with the address "beloved" (ἀγαπητοί), the same tender title used in v. 17, which marks a deliberate turn from the sustained denunciation of vv. 5–16 to direct, pastoral instruction for the faithful community. The contrastive "But ye" sets the congregation over against the mockers, dreamers, and divisive people just described, and begins a continuous exhortation that runs through v. 23. The shift is not merely rhetorical; Jude is moving from warning to construction, telling the "beloved" what they are to do in light of the threats they face.
The command "building up yourselves on your most holy faith" uses the present participle ἐποικοδομοῦντες, which suggests an ongoing, layered process rather than a single event. The dative phrase "on your most holy faith" identifies the foundation: faith here is not a private possession but the shared confession once for all delivered to the saints (cf. v. 3), and the superlative "most holy" (ἁγιωτάτῃ) elevates that faith to the highest possible category. The reflexive "yourselves" indicates that the community itself is responsible for this mutual edification; the building is assembled by the believers, with their most holy faith as the bedrock upon which everything else is constructed.
The second participle, "praying in the Holy Spirit," continues the same construction and is joined directly to the first. The sphere of this prayer is the Holy Spirit, indicating that the prayer is not merely human utterance but is carried along by the Spirit. The juxtaposition of "most holy faith" and "Holy Spirit" shows that Jude grounds the believers' edification in two realities: the objective apostolic faith already handed down, and the continuing ministry of the Spirit who energizes their prayer. Together, these two actions describe a congregation that is internally built up and God-ward in its dependence, precisely the posture the opponents in v. 19 do not share.
Context
Jude 1:20 is the hinge of the letter. The preceding verses (vv. 3–4) announce the threat of ungodly intruders who turn grace into license; the middle section (vv. 5–16) builds up a triad of Old Testament judgments — faithless Israel, fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah — and applies their condemnation to the opponents. Verses 17–19 then quote the apostolic warning about last-time mockers, and describe those mockers as those who "make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit." Verse 20 immediately answers that description with two present participles: building up in the faith, and praying in the Spirit.
The verses that follow (vv. 21–23) extend the exhortation: keeping oneself in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of Christ, and showing mercy to those who are doubting or caught in sin. The letter then closes with the doxology of vv. 24–25. So v. 20 sits at the structural pivot where the warning ends and the constructive pastoral care begins, and its two actions — edification in the faith and Spirit-led prayer — set the theological foundation for everything that follows in vv. 21–23.
Common questions
What does it mean to build up yourselves on your most holy faith?
The phrase uses a present participle in Greek, suggesting an ongoing communal process. The foundation is the apostolic faith once for all delivered to the saints (mentioned in v. 3), described with the superlative 'most holy.' The community itself is responsible for this mutual edification, building upon that shared confession as bedrock.
How does praying in the Holy Spirit relate to building up in faith?
Jude joins the two activities with two coordinated present participles, presenting them as inseparable. Faith is the objective foundation — the apostolic confession. The Holy Spirit is the active sphere in which prayer occurs. Together they describe a community grounded in the historic faith and carried by the Spirit in its present God-ward dependence.
Why does Jude address them as 'beloved' in this verse?
The address 'beloved' appears in v. 17 and again here, marking the transitions from denunciation to pastoral instruction. It deliberately contrasts the faithful community with the mockers and divisive people described in v. 19, and frames the commands of vv. 20–23 as pastoral care for those Jude holds dear.