Jude 1:2

Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied.

This is the common form of introduction to a letter of that day and age, but in a Christian garment: Judas, servant of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to those that have been called, the beloved of God the Father and the preserved of Jesus Christ. Jude calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ, as Paul often does, although he was called as an apostle. There was nothing of hypocritical pride about these men which might have caused them to presume upon their rights in dictating to the people in their charge. Their attitude was rather that of willing service. That humility was a virtue of Jude appears, moreover, from the fact that he is perfectly content to be known as merely the brother of the more illustrious James. The names which he applies to his readers are significant. They are beloved in God the Father; God loved them from eternity, as a result of which love He gave them His only-begotten Son, through whose vicarious sacrifice they have been reconciled to Him and become His dear children. And it is Jesus Christ who confirms and preserves them; for to Him they belong by virtue of His atonement and their faith, from Him they receive their strength, as the branches from the vine. Thus the Christians are members of Christ, children of God, because faith was kindled in their hearts through the call of the Gospel. Because the Lord wrought in them the power to heed His call, therefore they have become partakers of His love and of the confirming power of Jesus Christ, their Savior.

The salutation speaks of the highest blessings in the world: Mercy to you and peace and love be multiplied! These are the gifts of God to men in and through Christ. The mercy, the free favor of God, is the basis, the ground of peace, and this is perfected in the feeling of God's love for the believers. Of these wonderful spiritual gifts the Christians should have not only a small, insignificant amount, but the apostle desires that they be poured out upon them in rich measure, that the divine mercy and grace become a source of divine life in them and cause them to partake of the nature of God, to be renewed in His image. This is a declaration and a blessing which at the same time imparts to the believer the spiritual power needed for steadfastness in faith.