The Ekklēsia in Jude The word ἐκκλησία, ekklēsia, does not occur in the brief letter of Jude, and Jude offers us very little data from which to discern his total ecclesiology. This much is plain: for Jude the church is a spiritual entity comprised of those “who have been called, loved by God the Father, and kept by Jesus Christ” (v. 1). The church lives under the sovereignty and lordship of Jesus Christ (v. 4) and the teaching of his apostles (v. 17). His readers have experienced the “mercy,