Part 7
Of all these things none is hidden from you if you are single-hearted and if you direct your faith and love toward Jesus Christ. These are the beginning and the end of life: the beginning is faith, the end is love. The two bound together in unity are God. Everything else that belongs to goodness follows from these. No one who professes faith sins, and anyone who possesses love does not hate. The tree is known by its fruit. Those who profess to belong to Christ will be recognized by their actions. However, what matters now is not a mere professing of faith. Now
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the crucial thing is whether a man is found in the power of faith to the end. He who truly possesses the word of Jesus can even hear his silence speak. In this way shall he be perfect: he will act in accordance with his words and will be known even by his silence.
Our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived by Mary of the seed of David and yet of the Holy Spirit according to God's plan of salvation. He was born and baptized so that through his suffering he would purify the water. From that time on every evil spell was exposed, all bonds of evil vanished, and ignorance was removed. The ancient kingdom was shattered. God revealed himself in human form to bring the newness of eternal life! Now began that which had been prepared by God. From now on everything came into motion, for now the destruction of death was taken in hand.
Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians, before the year 120.
57 The most wonderful thing is unity with Jesus and with the Father. In him we shall partake in God if we firmly resist and flee all the arrogant attacks of the prince of this world.
Unity of prayer, unity of supplication, unity of mind, unity of expectancy in love and in blameless joy: this is Jesus Christ and there is nothing greater than he. Flock together, all of you, as to one temple of God, as to one altar, to one Jesus Christ, who proceeded from the one Father, who is in the one and returned to the one.
Therefore, breathed upon by his grace, they were persecuted in order fully to convince the disobedient that there is one God, who revealed himself through Jesus Christ his son, Christ who is God's word which came forth from his silence and who in every way was a joy to him who sent him.
Ignatius, Letter to the Magnesians, before A.D. 120.
58 Take up kindness and renew yourselves in faith that is the flesh of the Lord, and in the love that is the blood of Jesus Christ. Let no one among you hold anything against his neighbor. Be deaf toward anyone who tells you tales that do not lead to Jesus Christ, who was of David's
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lineage, Mary's son; who was born; who ate and drank; who was persecuted under Pontius Pilate; and was crucified and died while the powers of heaven, earth, and the underworld looked on; who also rose from the dead because his father awakened him. In his likeness the Father will also awaken us, who believe in him, through Christ Jesus, without whom we have no true life.
Ignatius, Letter to the Trallians, before A.D. 120.
59 Ignatius, also called Theophorus…salutes the church that presides in the district of the Romans. Grant me nothing more than to be a sacrifice to God while there is still an altar ready. Having become one choir in love, you should sing praises to the Father in Christ Jesus that God has made the overseer and supervisor of Syria, who is worthy of being deported from the rising to the setting of the sun. It is wonderful to set thus away from the world toward God in order that I may have my rising in him!
I beseech you, do not show me any misplaced kindness! Let me become fodder for the wild beasts! Passing through them, I shall reach God. I am God's grain. Ground by the teeth of wild beasts, I shall become the pure bread of Christ. I would rather that you coax the wild beasts to become my tomb and leave no trace of my body lest I should become a burden to anyone after my death. In this way I shall truly become a disciple of Jesus when the world sees nothing of my body anymore. Plead with Christ for me that by these instruments I may become a public sacrifice to God.
Now I am just beginning to be a disciple. Nothing visible or invisible shall prevent me from reaching the presence of Jesus Christ. Come fire, cross, and packs of wild beasts; come cutting to pieces, tearing to bits, dispersion of bones, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body; come all the evil tortures of the Devil upon me – if only I attain the presence of Jesus Christ!
All the wide bounds of the world and the kingdoms of this age will profit me nothing. Better to die for the sake of Jesus Christ than to be
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king over the utmost ends of the earth. Him I seek who died for us. Him I want who rose for our sake. The day of my birth pangs is upon me. Allow me to imitate the suffering of my God! If anyone bears Him within himself, he will understand what is my desire. He will have compassion with me, for he knows what urges me on.
My love has been crucified. That fire which burns for earthly things is not in me. There is, however, living water speaking in me and saying within me, "Go up there, go to the Father!" Perishable food does not tempt me anymore, nor the allurements of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who is of the seed of David. For drink I want his blood. This is an imperishable love feast.
Ignatius, Letter to the Romans, before A.D. 120.
60 My brothers, my love for you is boundless. I am strengthening you with loud shouts of joy. Of course it is not I who am strengthening you, but Jesus Christ, because I am still fearful in my chains as one who is not yet fully prepared. Your prayers, though, will prepare me on my way toward God so that I may win the lot which through mercy has fallen to me. It was the Spirit who proclaimed and said: "Do nothing without the overseer. Keep your flesh as God's temple. Love unity. Flee from all division. Become and act like Jesus, the Christ, who is the image of the Father in heaven."
Ignatius, Letter to the Philadelphians, before A.D. 120.
61 Ignatius, also called Theophorus, sends the church at Smyrna in Asia joyful greetings!
I praise Jesus Christ, the God who has filled you with such wisdom. I did indeed see you armed with immovable faith as though nailed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ in flesh and in spirit and firmly joined together in love through the blood of Christ. You are fully convinced by faith in our Lord that he is truly of the lineage of David, according to the flesh, and that he is the son of God according to the will and power of God; born of a virgin and baptized by John so that all righteousness might be fulfilled by him; nailed for us on the cross in the flesh under
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Pontius Pilate and Herod (we are the fruit of this, his most blessed suffering) so that through his resurrection he might set up a banner of victory throughout all ages for his saints and believers, whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one Body of his church. He suffered all this for our sake, so that we might be saved. He suffered just as he also raised himself from the dead.
Why have I given myself up to death, fire, the sword, and the wild beasts? To be near the sword is to be near God. To be in the midst of wild beasts is to be in the midst of God, only it must be done in the name of Jesus Christ. To suffer with him I endure everything, for he who became the perfect man is powerful in me. Let no man deceive himself. Judgment will come even over the heavenly powers, even over the splendor of the angels, and over the earthly and the invisible principalities unless they believe in the blood of Christ. Let him grasp it who can.
Learn to know those who teach errors about the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us; recognize how they are opposed to the mind of God. Such teachers do not care for love and the meal of love; they have no concern for widows or orphans, for anyone in need, for those in prison or released from prison, for the hungry or the thirsty. They keep away from the Lord's Supper and from prayer, for they do not confess that the Lord's Supper is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, which flesh suffered for our sins and was raised up by our Father in his goodness. Because they speak against the gift of God, they are dying of their disputes. It would be better for them to hold the "meal of love" so that they too might rise from the dead. It is proper to shun such people and not to speak about them either privately or together. Rather should we hold to the prophets and above all to the Gospel in which the passion is revealed to us and the resurrection is accomplished.
Flee from divisions as the beginning of all evil! Follow the overseer, all of you, as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and follow the council of elders as you would follow the apostles. Honor the brothers who serve as you honor God's command. In church matters let no one do anything without the overseer…Where the overseer is present, there the church
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should also be just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the universal church.
Ignatius, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, before A.D. 120.
62 Ignatius, also called Theophorus, sends heartiest greetings to Polycarp, overseer of the church of the Smyrnaeans, or rather to one who has God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for his overseer.
If you love the good disciples it does not bring you any credit; rather restore the corrupted ones by kindness. Not every wound is healed with the same plaster. Relieve fits of fever with poultices.
Men who seem trustworthy but teach errors must not intimidate you. Stand firm, like the anvil under the blows of the hammer. A good wrestler wins the fight even though he suffers blows. Above all, we ought to endure everything for God's sake so that he may also endure us. Be more zealous than you are now. Learn to understand the times. Expect him to come who is above time, the timeless one, the invisible one who became visible for our sake, the untouched one, the one beyond suffering who came to suffer for us, who in every way endured for our sake.
Toil together, fight, run, suffer, rest, and rise up together as God's stewards, companions of his table, and his servants! Please him who is your warlord, him from whom you will also receive your soldier's pay. Let none of you desert the flag! Let your baptism remain your armor, faith your helmet, love your spear, patience your weapon.
Ignatius, Letter to Polycarp, before the year A.D. 120.
63 Polycarp and the elders with him to the church of God that lives as an alien in Philippi:
Believe in him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him glory and a throne at his right hand. Everything that is in heaven and on earth is made subject to him. Everything that has breath serves him who is coming, a judge of the living and the dead, whose blood God will require of those who disobey him. He who raised him from the dead will raise us also if we do his will and live in his words; if we love what he loved; if we keep clear of all injustice, avarice, greed for money, slander, and lying; if we do not return evil for evil, bad word for bad word, blow for blow, or curse for curse; but at all times bear in mind what our Lord said.
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Brothers, I do not write these things to you about justice on my own initiative but because you asked me to do so. Neither I nor anyone else like me is able to follow in the wise footsteps of the blessed and glorious Paul, who lived among you. He stood face to face with the generation of his time and took a clear and firm stand for the word of truth. When absent he wrote letters to you that will enable you, if you consider them carefully, to be established in the faith given to you, which is the mother of us all. Love to God and Christ and to our neighbor goes before her, and hope follows her. He who lives in these things has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness, for he who has love is far from any sin.
The love of money is the beginning of all evil. We know that we brought nothing into the world and that we can take nothing out of it. If we live in this present age in a way that is pleasing to him, we shall partake in the age to come according to his promise to raise us from the dead. If we conduct our life in accordance with his nature, we shall also rule with him if only we have faith.
Let us therefore hold unceasingly to our expectation, to the guarantee of our future righteousness. This is Jesus Christ, who carried our sins on his own body up to the tree, who committed no sin. No guile could be found in his words, but he suffered everything for our sake so that we should live in him. Therefore let us become imitators of his patience, and if we must suffer for the sake of his name, then let us glorify him. In this he gave us an example in his own person, and in this we believed.
Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians. Attested to by Irenaeus,
Against Heresies III.3.4; Eusebius, III.36.13–15.
64 When I see the great and extensive demands made on you by God, I feel an extraordinary and overwhelming joy at your blessed and glorious life in the Spirit. The grace of the gift of the Spirit has been deeply implanted in you. Our Ruler has made the past and the present known to us through the prophets. He also gave us a foretaste of the things of the future. Thus, when we see how these things become a reality one after another just as he said, we ought through this to come to a richer and deeper sense of the fear of God. Not as a teacher but as one from your midst, I want to point out a few things that could be an encouragement to you in the present situation.
The days are evil now, and he who makes them so still has power. Therefore we should inquire into the demands of the Lord and watch over ourselves at the same time. He says to us:
Behold, this is the fast which I have chosen, says the Lord (not the fast of a man who chastises his soul but quite different): Undo every unjust fetter. Untie the knots of
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forced contracts! Set free the oppressed! Tear up every unjust bond! Break your bread with the hungry! When you see someone naked, give him clothes. Bring the homeless into your house! And if you see a humble man you shall not despise him. You shall not turn your eyes from those who belong to your own flesh and blood. Then your light shall break forth at dawn…Then justice will go before you. Then God's righteousness will encompass you. Then you will cry out and God will hear you, and while you are still speaking he will say, "Behold, I am here!" This he will do if you have given up binding with fetters, raising your hand, and speaking unfriendly words; if from your heart you give your bread to the hungry and show compassion to those who are oppressed.
Let us flee completely all the works of lawlessness lest the works of lawlessness take hold of us! Let us hate the error of the present age so that we may find love in the age to come! Let us not give our souls freedom as if we were allowed to go on the same way with the sinners and the wicked lest we become like them! The final stumbling block recorded in the words of Enoch is at hand. Our Ruler has cut short the times and the days so that his beloved one may hasten his coming and enter into his inheritance. The old covenant was shattered so that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed into our hearts. This takes place through the expectation that belongs to faith in him.
Let us be watchful during these last days! Our whole lifelong faith will be of no profit to us unless we resist now, in this godless moment of history and in the cataclysm to come, as becomes children of God. To make sure then that the Black Spirit cannot creep in, let us flee from every kind of vanity, let us hate utterly the deeds of the way of vice! Do not withdraw into self-satisfied solitude as though your righteousness were already assured, but gather together instead, and participate in seeking out what serves the common good. The Scripture says, "Woe to those that are wise in their own estimation and clever in their own conceit!"
Let us become people of the Spirit! Let us become a perfect temple for God! As far as it lies in our power, let us surrender to the fear of God. Let us fight to keep his words so that we feel joy in his commandments. The Lord will judge the world without respect of persons. Everyone will receive according to his actions: if he is good his justice shall go before him; if he is evil the wages of evildoing will await him. On no account let us
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give ourselves over to rest! Let us who were called never fall asleep over our sins! Let the prince of evil never gain power over us and force us away from the Lord's kingdom! Take this to heart, my brothers: you see that Israel, after the many signs and miracles that were performed in her midst, has nevertheless been abandoned. Let us be watchful, then, lest the word which is written, "Many are called, but few are chosen," be one day applied to us!
The reason then that the Lord took it upon himself to give his flesh over to destruction was that we might become pure through the forgiveness of sin. This takes place through his blood of atonement. Therefore we ought to give most fervent thanks to the Lord for making known to us the past, for giving us light about the present, and for not leaving us without discernment of the future. But the Scripture says, "Not unjustly are nets spread out for birds." This means that a man shall justly perish if he has knowledge of the way of justice and yet remains on the way of darkness.
Further, my brothers, the Lord took it upon himself to suffer for our souls, he, the Lord of the whole world, to whom God spoke immediately after the foundation of the world. "Let us make creatures after our image and in our likeness!"
Hear then how he came to take it upon himself to suffer at the hands of humans. The prophets, thanks to the gift of grace they received from the Lord himself, prophesied concerning him. He had to be revealed in the flesh in order to abolish death and to manifest the resurrection from the dead. He also took this suffering upon himself to fulfill the promise given to the fathers and to prepare a new people for himself. During his life on earth he wanted to demonstrate that he himself will bring about the resurrection, and that he himself will then exercise judgment.
Furthermore, he proclaimed the truth. He taught Israel and performed so many great miracles and signs because he loved them to the utmost. He chose his own apostles, those who were to proclaim his joyful news, from among those who had been the very worst of sinners. By this he proved that he did not come to call the righteous but the sinners. Af-
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ter he had made this choice, he revealed himself as God's son. If he had not appeared in the flesh, people could never have survived the sight of him. They even have to shut their eyes when looking at the sun, which is nothing but the work of his hands and will perish one day.
Furthermore, the son of God came in the flesh to fulfill the measure of sin of those who had already persecuted his prophets to death. He took suffering upon himself also for this reason. Even before his flesh was wounded, God said that it was caused by them: "When they have struck down their shepherd, the sheep of the flock will perish." But, as is known, it was by his own choice that he suffered in this way.
Thus speaks the Lord God: "Enter into the good land which the Lord swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and take possession of it, a land flowing with milk and honey." Learn now what knowledge [gnosis] has to say about this. "Hope," it says, "in Jesus, who shall reveal himself to you in the flesh in the time to come. For 'land' as something capable of suffering stands for 'man' since Adam was formed out of the earth." But what then does it mean, "into the good land?" The prophet means the Lord in a symbolic way; but only he will grasp it who is wise and understanding and loves his Lord.
Now, by renewing us through the forgiveness of sins, he made us to be of a different stamp, just as though he were giving us the souls of children and creating us again…Now the Lord says, "Behold, I make the last things like the first."…We have experienced a new creation in ourselves as he announced through another prophet. Therefore we are those whom he has led into the good land. Just as a child is kept alive with honey first and then with milk, so we also are filled with the strength of life, first by faith in the promise and then by the Word, and in this way we attain life in full possession of the land.
He also foretold: "They shall increase and multiply and rule over the fish." But who is presently able to rule over quadrupeds or fish or the birds in the sky? We ought to realize that such rulership depends on the authority to assert lordship by a mere word of command. Though this is not the case now, yet he did tell us when it would happen, namely, when
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we ourselves have been made perfectly ready to become the heirs of the Lord's covenant. Thus the son of God, who is the Lord and who will have the judgment over the living and the dead in the future, suffered in order that his wounds should secure life for us. Let us believe, then, that the son of God could not suffer except for our sake.
Observe what instructions he gave us in order to show what he would have to suffer at their hands: "Take a pair of fine goats, alike to each other." The one, he says, shall be the object of curses – note how Jesus appears symbolized in this! – and you shall spit upon it, all of you, goad it, put scarlet wool around its head and chase it out into the desert!…Take note what is meant by this, that one of the goats is destined for the altar, the other is to be cursed, and the accursed one is to be crowned with a wreath. It relates to this, that on that day to come they shall see him clothed with the scarlet robe around his body and they will cry, "Is not this the one whom we once scorned, spat at, goaded, and finally crucified? Truly this was the man who said at that time that he is the son of God."
Therefore the two goats must be alike, shapely and well matched, so that when they see him [Jesus] coming again, they will be terrified at the similarity.
What do you think is symbolized by the command given to Israel that people whose sins are consummated should offer a heifer, kill it, and burn it? That young boys should then collect the ashes, put them into containers, and put scarlet wool and hyssop around a piece of wood –
here again we see a foreshadowing of the cross and the scarlet! – and with this the boys should sprinkle the people one by one that they may be cleansed from their sins?
Take note with what plainness he speaks to us here! The slaughtered animal is Jesus; the sinful people who offer it signify those who offered him to be slaughtered. The young boys who did the sprinkling are those who brought us the joyful news of the forgiveness of sins and the cleansing of the heart, to whom he gave authority to proclaim the joyful news. Their number is twelve, pointing to the twelve tribes of Israel. Why are
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there three sprinkling boys, though? This points to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they are great in God's sight. And why is there wool on the piece of wood? Because the royal reign of Jesus rests on the wood and because whoever hopes in him will live forever.
Blessed are those who, setting their hope on the cross, went down into the water…Again in another writing it says, "And there was a river meandering to the right, and graceful trees arose from it, and whoever eats of them will live forever." This indicates that we go down into the water full of sin and dirt, but then we come up from it laden with fruit, bearing reverence in our heart and hope in Jesus in our spirit. And whoever eats from them will live forever. With this he wants to say: whoever hears this proclamation and believes shall live forever.
The Spirit spoke into the heart of Moses telling him to make the symbol of a cross and thus foreshadow him who was to suffer. Then Moses piled shield upon shield in the thick of the battle, and when he had reached a point high above them all, he stood up there and stretched out his arms.
And the Spirit spoke through another prophet, "All day long I stretched out my arms to a disobedient people; they resist my way of justice."
For this Jesus was sent, that through his appearance he would free from darkness our hearts which are already wasted unto death and given up to the error of godlessness, and through his Word he would establish the covenant in us.
When his son comes, when he puts an end to the age of the unjust one, when he judges the godless and transforms the sun, the moon, and stars – then he will rest with honor on the seventh day.
We ourselves must have been made just and must have received the promise. There must be no godlessness anymore, and all things must have become new through the Lord. Only then shall we be able to keep the Sabbath day holy. First we ourselves must have been made holy.
"I cannot endure your new moons and sabbaths." Take heed what he means by this! It is not the present Sabbaths which I find acceptable but
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only the one I have ordained, on which I will put all things to rest and then make the eighth day begin. This means a different world. This is why we celebrate the first day of the week so joyfully, the same day also on which Jesus rose from the dead and, after he had manifested himself, ascended into heaven.
Let us become clear whether there is a temple of God! Yes, there is. It is where God himself promises to build and prepare one…Before we came to believe in God, our innermost heart was exposed to corruption. It was frail, just as a temple built with hands truly is, for it was full of idolatry. It was a dwelling place of demons because we did what was offensive to God. Yet it shall be built upon the name of the Lord. Take heed of the word that "the temple of the Lord shall be built in glory!"
By receiving forgiveness of sins, by setting our hope on his name, we became new men, we were created all over again. Now God really dwells in us, in our innermost being. How? The word of his faith, the invitation to his promise, the wisdom of his ordinances, the commandments of his teaching – they all dwell in us. By speaking through us prophetically himself, by dwelling in us himself, by opening the door of the temple, which is our mouth, he gives us who were under the lordship of death a change of heart and leads us into his imperishable temple. Let him who wants tobe saved look not to the man who speaks but to him who dwells in him and speaks through him…Be simple in heart and rich in the Spirit!
Love your neighbor more than your own soul. Share everything with your neighbor and call nothing your own. As the apple of your eye, love everyone who proclaims the word of the Lord to you. Night and day, remember the day of judgment, and daily seek the presence of the holy ones. Summon all your energy, yes, venture your life, to remain pure.
I urge those of you who are better off, if you will accept my well-meant advice, you have among you those to whom you can do good: do not fail to do so! The day is at hand when everything will perish together with the Evil one. The Lord is at hand, and his reward.
I urge you again and again: Be good lawmakers to each other, remain your own faithful counselors, keep away from all hypocrisy.
Letter of Barnabas in Codex Sinaiticus; ca. A.D. 120.
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Notes to Sayings of Jesus and the Apostles
Marginal numbers refer to corresponding passages on the previous pages.
1-53 The text of the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 654, published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1904 as the result
of their second discovery, begins with the words: "These are the sayings which Jesus speaks, the living
one and the Lord…He said to them [to Thomas and another apostle], 'Whoever hears these sayings shall
never taste death.'" Compare the close similarity of the beginning of the Coptic Gospel According to
Thomas. In a Coptic translation, the Gospel of the Hebrews says (according to Cyril of Jerusalem), "The
Power came into the world." Similarly, the Gospel of Peter 5:19 says that Jesus cried out on the cross,
"My Power! O Power!"
We can see from these examples that many of the scattered sayings of Jesus resemble those in the New
Testament so closely that it would not be worthwhile to differentiate between them. For instance, Au-
gustine (in Against the Enemy of the Law and the Prophets II.4.14) quotes the following as a Lord's
saying: "You have rejected the living one who stands before your eyes, and you babble about the dead."
In the Syriac Teaching of the Apostles (Didascalia) XIX; see also Connolly, p. 164, Jesus says, "Fear me,
who can destroy body and soul in hell." Ephraem reports this as a Lord's saying: "The physician hurries
to where the pains are." There are several extant sayings of the risen Jesus that differ slightly from those
of the New Testament, in which he announces to his disciples and women followers that it is he himself
whom they are seeing (see the account of the resurrection in the Coptic version of the Epistle of the
Apostles 9 –12; see also James, The Apocryphal New Testament, pp. 488–489). Sayings similar in style or
content to those contained in the New Testament are for the most part omitted from our collection,
which gives precedence to unfamiliar ones.
The numerous sources given after each saying and in our notes show the authority which the Lord's
sayings commanded in the first Christian congregations. A note by Aristides on the authority of the
Lord's sayings is found on p. 67 above: "They observe the words of their Christ with much care." For
extrabiblical sayings of Jesus in our book, see pp. 123, 196 ff., 220–221 above; 243, 307 below.
2 In his Gospel Commentary 15 (see also J. H. Hill, Dissertation on the Gospel Commentary of
Ephraem the Syrian, Edinburgh, 1896, p. 101) Ephraem the Syrian has the following parallel saying:
"Where one is alone I am with him, and where two are, I shall be with them." He adds another saying to
it: "And when we are three we gather as in the Church."
3 In this saying Jesus declares that he is the only door through which one can enter into life.
According to saying no. 6 on p. 147 above, this means the complete reversal of all things and, according
to the saying on p. 152 above, this entering brings about the "confusion" leading to repentance. An-
other Lord's saying quoted by Macarius of Egypt in his Homily 37.1 describes this decisive step as the way
going from faith and expectation through love to life: "Come together seeking faith and expectation.
From both is born love, the friend of God and the friend of man, that bears eternal life."
5 See also J. A. Ropes, "Agrapha," in Dictionary of the Bible, ed. J. Hastings, 1907, vol. 5, p.345.
6 This is also found in the mystagogy contained in the Testament of Our Lord I.28 and in Pseudo-
Linus, Martyrdom of Peter 17. See notes to sayings 3 and 4 above.
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7-8 In the Teaching of Addaeus we find this related saying of Jesus: "Whatever you say in words to
the people, practice in deeds before all men."
10 Concerning blindness of heart (according to Didascalia XXVI; Connolly, p. 224) Jesus expressly
says that eyes that see and ears that hear are blessed.
11 In another saying of Jesus the same thought is expressed much more forcefully: "If you have
seen your brother, you have seen your God (or 'Lord')." See Clem. Alex., Misc. I. 19.94 and II.15.70;
Rufinus, History of the Monks 55; Tertullian, On Prayer 26.
11-13 In connection with these Lord's sayings, Justin (Dialogue with Trypho 96, 124) and Clem. Hom.
(III.57, XI. 12, and XVIII.2) quote the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the sense that we
should be just as kind and merciful as our heavenly Father is. In Clem. Hom. (VII.4, XI.4, and XII.32) the
words of the Sermon on the Mount are condensed in one single sentence to guide the practical Chris-
tian: "What he wishes for himself he wishes also for his neighbor." In the Clementine Homilies (III.69.1)
Jesus is quoted as saying: "If you love your brothers you will take nothing away from them. You will share
your possessions with them; you will feed the hungry and help the thirsty, the naked, the sick, the pris-
oners, and the strangers; and you will hate no man."
A Lord's saying quoted in a Coptic Bible manuscript applies this love of Jesus also to animals: "Man,
why do you beat your animal?…Woe to you that you do not hear how it complains to the creator in
heaven and how it cries for mercy. But a threefold woe to the man under whom it moans and laments in
its pain!…Never beat it again, that you also may find mercy."
14 This saying is also found in Anastasius of Sinai. Compare with The Teaching of the Twelve
Apostles, p. 154 ff. above, and Hermas' The Shepherd, p. 247 ff. below (abbreviated in our text).
In Epiphanius, Panarion 80.5, we find the saying: "The laborer's simple food is sufficient for him," a
probable reference to the worker who labors in proclaiming the Gospel.
15 See also the note to saying 10. This lament of Jesus is intensified in a saying from Acts of Peter
10, quoting the Gospel of the Egyptians: "Those who are with me have not understood me."
16 See also Gospel According to Thomas 2.
17 This differs from the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount only in saying that the city is
fortified and cannot fall.
20 The Ethiopic text says, "He that is weak will give powerful strength." Compare the Lord's saying
in Origen's Commentary XIII.2 on Matthew: "I became weak for the sake of the weak." See also the note
to p. 149 above.
22 This badly mutilated text has been translated in many different ways. The present translation
comes perhaps closest to the convictions of the early days of Christendom. It attests that the Kingdom
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will come upon this earth; it regards the creatures of this earth as the instruments of the Father who
draws men into the Kingdom; and it emphasizes the working of the Kingdom within us and among us.
24 Compare the parables of Jesus, and see also Gospel According to Thomas 62.
25 Also in Origen, Commentary on Matthew XVII.31; IV.150.
26 Compare John 6:44 and 15:16.
27 See also Gospel According to Thomas 27. Regarding abstention, two other Lord's sayings
should be compared. In the first, according to Jerome (On Illustrious Men 2, quoting from the Gospel of
the Hebrews), Jesus, after his resurrection, asked the one who was fasting to eat his bread. In the second,
Jesus said that one who fasts can do so only for the sake of his brothers, not for the sake of Jesus
(Didascalia XXI; Connolly, p. 183).
28 The obscure last lines might possibly mean that, stripped of the carnal body in judgment, the
disciples will not be put to shame.
29 Some versions of this saying begins with the words, "Jesus, on whom be peace, has said:…"
(See also Hennecke ET, vol. 1, p. 90, and his Handbuch, p. 17.)
30 The demonic character of the present world-age and its end are confirmed in other Lord's say-
ings. Theodorus Balsamon cites as a "word of the Gospel: 'The shape of this world shall pass away.'"
Ephraem quotes: "The world shall be built up by grace."
According to two other sayings, sinful speech could be found even in prophets anointed with the
Spirit. For the first see Jerome, Against Pelagius 3.2, quoting from the Gospel of the Nazaraeans. The
second saying states: "Everybody who believes and is baptized shall have his past sins forgiven"
(Didascalia XX; see also Connolly, p. 178).
31 Compare the Lord's saying connected with the Sermon on the Mount, quoted by Aphraates,
which says that the humble shall possess the land and dwell on the earth for ever.
32 This saying clearly refers first of all to the beginning and the end of creation.
36 This saying can also be found in Clem. Alex., What Rich Man Can Be Saved?
37 This saying, found at Akhmim in Egypt, indicates that only those who hunger and thirst are
able to believe. There is another Lord's saying about the testing of man's life: "No one shall attain the
kingdom of heaven without having been tested" (Syriac Didascalia V; see also Connolly, p. 38, and
Tertullian, On Baptism 20.2, which contains a similar saying).
38 Compare with the note to saying 3 above, and with Paul's words in 2 Cor. 2:16.
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39 See also Hennecke ET, vol. 2, p. 383. The raising up of the dead and the miracle of the feeding
of the multitudes are mere pointers to the greater object, faith.
41 In connection with this significant saying about the interrelation of all guilt, see Didascalia XXI;
see also Connolly, p. 184, which expands the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are
those who mourn over the corruption of the unbelievers."
42 Didascalia XI and Connolly, p. 118, quote a saying "from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ"
attesting that it is his will and the will of his Father that nobody shall perish, but that all men shall believe
and live.
43 The Gospel of Thomas refers to seven as the age when children, although awakened to full
awareness, are still completely children.
45 In this venture of faith and courage the disciples take up their cross "with joy and jubilation,"
according to a Lord's saying in the Didascalia XIX; see also Connolly, p. 163. The Lord's saying in the Letter
of Barnabas, see p. 174 ff. above, expresses a similar thought: "Those who wish to see me and to take
hold of my kingdom need to go through affliction and suffering in order to grasp me."
46 The Talmud quotes another saying of Jesus dealing with judgment: "What came from filth
shall return to the place of filth." See also J. Jeremias, Unknown Sayings of Jesus, pp. 10–11.
47 With reference to the poverty of those who proclaim Jesus without receiving any salary or ben-
efits, see the note to saying 14 above.
48 In the same context the Clementine Homilies continue: "Therefore you should not let your-
selves be called 'leaders,' but only 'appointed ones.'"
50 Here the Spirit carries Jesus up to Mount Tabor, traditionally the Mount of Transfiguration
(Origen, Commentary II.6 on John). This saying from the Gospel of the Hebrews is also quoted by Origen
(Homily XV. 4 on Jeremiah) and by Jerome (commentaries On Micah 7.6, On Isaiah 40.9, and On Ezekiel
16.13).
54 The Didache or Lord's Teaching by the Twelve Apostles to the Heathen gives a comprehensive
insight into the life of the church at the end of the first century and the beginning of the second. The
finding of this teaching in a hospice at Constantinople and its subsequent publication in 1883 was the
most important of the many valuable discoveries of early Christian writings since the end of the last
century. Because of its significance, it is reproduced here without omissions. See p. 9, above.
The earliest version of the Didache evidently originated in Syria or Palestine before the year A.D. 100.
Clement of Alexandria (Miscellanies I.20.100) counted the Didache among the New Testament writings;
compare Eusebius (Church History III.25.4).
The first part of the Didache (pp. 154-161 above) is closely related to Jewish moral teaching and was
used for baptismal instruction. Only after instruction in the two ways of death and of life was baptism to
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be undertaken. The Lord's sayings, being commands of Jesus (and, incidentally, similar to those made in
the Sermon on the Mount), are to be neither shortened nor enlarged upon; they determine the character
of the first section of the Didache. The community which Christians have in immortal treasures should
apply all the more to transitory, material possessions, and Christians should claim nothing as their own.
True love has nothing to do with legal rights: "You shall love men more than your own life." This free-
dom from covetousness consists in reverence for the dignity of life and brings forth purity, honesty, and
humility.
The second part, written like a liturgy, provides instruction for baptism, fasting, and praying with the
Lord's Prayer and for the Lord's Supper (pp. 154-158 above). The instructions concerning prayer and
fasting are not without a legalistic trait. Because baptism pertains only to the convinced and determined
believer, there can be no question of baptizing children. As submersion into the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, baptism consists in the immersion of the body in living, flowing water. At the same time it is
the symbol of being penetrated and impregnated by the wind and water of the Holy Spirit, of being
buried into Christ, of being purified in this bath belonging to the new birth. Still or warm water and the
pouring of water over the head and body are conceded as exceptions.
Regarding the Lord's Supper: the breaking of bread signifies above all the unity of the Body (the
church), and the cup signifies above all the "vine" of Christ's blood. Compare the vine of the Son of Man
pointing to the Messiah in Psalm 80. The Holy Spirit is the true drink and the true food. Here we come
upon some of the earliest Christian prayers offering thanks and adoration to the Father and to the Son.
Deliverance from evil and the imminence of the kingdom stand out in such phrases as: "May grace
come!" "May this world-age pass away!" "Our Lord comes!"
The third part of the Didache (pp. 159-161 above) is concerned with the life of the church. First the
work of the apostles, prophets, and teachers is discussed. Their whole manner of life – their incessant
traveling, their life of poverty, and their laboring in and through the Spirit – was of symbolic significance,
pointing to the mystery of the church without demanding that all the believers imitate their way of life.
The prophets were chief priests. Overseers and servants who were later to become "bishops" and
"deacons" were regarded merely as deputies of the prophets and teachers. In this period of transition
they did not yet hold a position of leadership and control, but they were not to be ignored either. Bap-
tism too was not given through the overseers but through the whole church. In connection with meet-
ings on the Lord's Day (Sunday), overseers are not even mentioned. When the same reverence is
demanded for "one who proclaims truth" as for the Lord himself, this is meant for the person of every
Spirit-bearer, not for the place of meeting or for the office of the one who speaks. "The Lord himself is
in the place where the lordship of the Lord is proclaimed."
Meetings were to take place as often as possible. The constructive discipline and the offering of
prayers and gifts in the meetings were connected with the breaking of bread and the personal confes-
sion of transgressions.
Note the apocalyptic ending of the Didache, which shows a similarity to the eschatology of the New
Testament.
55 This letter was addressed by the whole church of Rome – not just by her bishop – to the church
at Corinth before A.D. 100, perhaps in A.D. 94. (The so-called Second Letter of Clement, written about
A.D. 150, is in actual fact a sermon, the oldest handed down to us, and can be found on pp. 244-246
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below.) Clement, who belonged to the generation immediately following the apostles, was one of the
leading men of the church at Rome; however, he is not mentioned by name in this letter.
The First Letter of Clement was read in congregational meetings until the time of Eusebius in more
places than just Rome and Corinth (see Eusebius, Church History III.16; III.38.1; IV.23. 11). Both letters of
Clement occasionally found a place in the New Testament, as in the Codex Alexandrinus and the Syriac
version.
The first, longer "half" of the First Letter of Clement (pp. 161-167 above) is built around a well-
founded challenge for believers to achieve a transforming degree of repentance "without envy." It was
through jealousy that death came into the world in times of old, and it is jealousy that causes death now
at Corinth. Jealousy is overcome by obedience of faith, which comes to expression in hospitality and
humility. It is God's goodness alone – the righteousness born out of faith in God and in Christ – which
creates that stance in life characterized by good deeds.
The believer bears the Lord's sayings in his heart; he gazes upon the defenseless suffering of Christ,
which through the removal of sin has brought healing and transformation to the whole world. Since the
Holy Spirit has been poured out over all, the church now looks toward the speedy return of Christ with
intense expectation. The letter bears witness to the resurrection of the dead in vivid pictures, the most
powerful of which is the ancient myth of the phoenix (p. 164 above).
In the second, weaker "half" of the First Letter of Clement (pp. 165-167 above), the Old Testament
order of the priesthood (Num. 16) is introduced now by the Church at Rome as a deliberate innovation
for congregations. According to this concept, Christ, the only High Priest, is succeeded by the bishops as
priests and by the deacons as Levites. Here the ominous word "laymen" is used for the first time. (The
word "clergy" was used for the first time in Monogamy 12 by Tertullian, who was, however, opposed to
the whole concept.) All the same it is just this letter that proves that the office of an all-controlling epis-
copate existed neither in Rome nor in Corinth at that time. But in dealing with the quarrel at Corinth, the
letter tries to make clear that unity in one Christ, one spirit, and one body is based on love, discipline,
repentance, and humility through the recognition of the designated office. After all, youthful spirits had
rebelled against approved elders in Corinth!
Regarding the authority of the Spirit and the mission and task of the apostles and apostolic elders, see
p. 166 above; re: voluntary imprisonment for the ransom of others, see p. 167 above.
56-62 The seven letters of Ignatius are of as much consequence as the First Letter of Clement for the
development of the primitive church toward ecclesiasticism; and as regards a slowly emerging theology
they reveal considerably more. They also bear the stamp of greater originality. Ignatius, Bishop of
Antioch in Syria, wrote his letters shortly before his death as a martyr in Rome. His passionate, insistent
urge for martyrdom (pp.167, 170 and 172 above) and his equally ardent insistence on the unity of the
church (pp. 167-172 above) are the keynote of these resounding letters.
Already at the time of Ignatius, overseers and bishops exercised a ruling leadership in the churches of
Antioch. This evidently happened under the influence of the church in Jerusalem. The way Ignatius in-
sists that the reality of the church depends on the presence of the bishop –not, as was the case later in
the Roman Catholic Church, in his capacity as successor to the apostles, but as a representative of God
and Christ –and, further, the energetic way he fights for subordination to the bishops, proves that the
exclusive predominance of the bishops had not yet triumphed at that time, but that its way was being
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paved from Jerusalem by Ignatius and at the same time from Rome (see First Letter of Clement). Here, for
the first time, we find the expression "universal" (meaning catholic), and the idea of the church as an
institution. It is also in the letters of Ignatius that we find followers of Christ calling themselves "Chris-
tians" for the first time; compare Acts 26.
In his outlook Ignatius belonged to the Johannine circles of Asia Minor. He emphasized that salvation
meant redemption from mortality and corruption, and communion with Christ the redeemer.
59 Martyrdom is seen here as a blood-stained "Lovemeal," in the flesh as the bread, and in the
blood as the drink of Christ; it is the imitation of his divine suffering for us and of his resurrection.
61 This letter testifies that faith consists in being nailed to the cross, and that love consists in
being firmly established in the blood of Christ. This leads to an extensive confession of faith, particularly
of the second article. Christ's manhood, his physical suffering, and his resurrection through the Father
bring judgment also upon demonic spiritual princes; therefore one should shun the Gnostics.
63 Polycarp gives witness here to God and to the Christ who is risen, who will return, rule, and
judge. This means the certainty of resurrection for all believers who fulfill the demands of his Sermon on
the Mount. Polycarp feels humbled by Paul and witnesses to the latter's New Testament teachings and
faith as the "mother" from whom hope and love are born.
64 The Letter of Barnabas was written from Egypt either shortly before A.D. 100 or (more likely)
around A.D. 130, but certainly after the year A.D. 70. It was not written by the apostle Barnabas (who was
Paul's helper); nor does the letter claim apostolic authorship. Clement of Alexandria mentions it seven
times as an apostolic writing. In his treatise On First Principles (as well as Rufinus in his Latin version of
the same) Origen considers the Letter of Barnabas part of the New Testament. In the Bible manuscript
Codex Sinaiticus it follows the Revelation of John and precedes Hermas' The Shepherd. The Letter of
Barnabas reduces the legal and cultic precepts of the Old Testament to moral and religious spiritualiza-
tions or allegories which, for the most part, seem to have nothing to do with the real meaning of the
corresponding passages in the Old Testament.
Perceiving the "dangers" of Judaic legalism, cult, and ritual, the main body of the letter sets out to
prove, in the name of perfect knowledge (and using the word "gnosis"), that the Judaic Covenant of the
Old Testament had become ineffective and invalid. According to Barnabas, the Old Covenant should be
understood in a purely spiritual sense: in actual fact, he claims, it never belonged to the Jews but always
to the "people of redemption."
In his antagonism to Judaism, the writer of this remarkable letter can be regarded as a forerunner of
the Gnostic Marcion, who looked upon the God of the Jews as a legalistic spirit whom he wanted to oust
by means of his own understanding of Paul's beliefs. As a result, Paul's Letters and a mutilated Gospel are
almost all that Marcion retains in his "Bible." The New Testament came into being not least of all as the
result of opposition to Marcion's canon.
A quotation from the Book of Enoch (p. 175 above) points to the stumbling block, the "scandal" of
the last times, and to the imminent coming of the "beloved." Therefore we are called upon to stand
together as men of the Spirit against the "Black Spirit" (p. 175 above). Since the Old Covenant is shat-
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tered, we are challenged to be faithful to the calling and to forgiveness. Christ had to suffer in order to
wash us and purify us from our sins, and to invalidate death through his resurrection. The son of God
appeared in the flesh so that we would be able to endure the sight of him and so that the murderers of
the prophets would fulfill the measure of their sin against him (pp. 176-177 above).
Through the "new creation" that transforms us, we have come into the good land of the "new man,"
the Lord; we have come to faith and life, to authority and rulership, and into the future inheritance. The
accursed sacrificial goat, the consecrated goat of the altar, the scarlet wool – all these foreshadow the
crucified son of God who will come again (pp.178-179 above). The same is true of other Old Testament
symbols which foreshadow his slaughter, his forgiveness and purification, his rulership from the tree, his
baptism, his outstretched hands, his new covenant, and his creation of the coming new world (pp. 179
above).
The "new temple" arises through forgiveness and the renewal of our hearts by faith and promise, by
the demands made upon us, and by the word of prophecy speaking through us. Therefore we should
not look at the person who proclaims the Word, but only at the Word who dwells in him and speaks
through him. In this way we will become rich in the Spirit (pp.180 above). Love, and the awareness
that the coming of the Lord is imminent, prove their worth in true freedom – the freedom to become,
through the Spirit, our own counselors and lawgivers.
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he gathering of the church community in the presence of the Holy Spirit had great importance among the first Christians. From descriptions of how they gathered, ate, prayed, and sang together, we learn more about them, perhaps, than we do from any other sources. In early congregations, meetings were neither restrictively "religious" nor agenda-driven, as are so many of today's scheduled "services." To them, the gathering of the Body was sustenance, life, and identity. At meetings demons were expelled, confessions made, forgiveness requested and granted, gifts exercised, leadership recognized and affirmed, goods shared, and individual and corporate needs met. Most importantly, the name "which is above all names" was exalted and glorified.
Jesus called his apostles fishers of men; fish thus represent the people called and saved. Fish also allude to baptism, in whose waters men become caught, as fish in the net of the church (Tertullian, De Baptismo I). In a sacred Greek acrostic known only to the instructed, the word "fish" stood for "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior." The loaves represent Christ, the Bread of life; together with the fish, they allude to the New Testament story of loaves and fishes.
T H E E A R L Y C H R I S T I A N S - M E E T I N G S , W O R S H I P & C H U R C H P R A C T I C E S
1 Wherever there are two together, they are never without God.
Lord's saying according to a sheet of papyrus from an ancient collection of sayings.
Oxyr. Papyr. I, 1897, Grenfell and Hunt.
2 Still daily some become disciples of his Christ and forsake the way of error. Enlightened by the name of this Christ, they receive gifts according to their merits. One receives the spirit of understanding, the other of counsel, this one the spirit of fortitude, that one of healing, the one the spirit of prophecy, the other of teaching, and yet another the spirit of the fear of God. Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 39.2.
3 In whom have all the nations believed but in Christ who is already come? In whom have they believed – the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, Armenia, Phrygia, Cappadocia; those who live in Pontus, Asia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, in Africa beyond Cyrene; those born here and those who came here from Rome; also the Jews in Jerusalem and other national groups, as now the various tribes of the Gaetulians and of the wide regions of the Moors, and the Spaniards to their remotest boundaries; the different nations of Gaul; the haunts of the Britons, inaccessible to the Romans; the lands of the Sarmatians, Dacians, Germans, Scythians; and many remote nations, provinces, and islands, which are unknown to us and which we cannot enumerate?
We are but of yesterday, yet we have filled all that is yours: cities and islands, forts and towns, assemblies and even military camps, tribes, councils, the palace, the senate, the forum. We left you only the temples.
Tertullian, Against the Jews VII; Apology 37.
4 When our Lord sent us to the ignorant nations to baptize them for the forgiveness of sins, he commanded us to teach them first.
Homilies XVII.7; cf. IX.23; Recognitions II.33; IV.32. From the Ebionite "Gospel of the Twelve," ascribed to Clement.
5 All those who are convinced that what we say and teach is the truth have the faith and pledge themselves that they will have the
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strength to live accordingly. (Anyone who accepts baptism must feel the power in him to overcome himself.) All those who confess this are led to prayer. Fasting, they ask God's forgiveness for their past sins. We also pray and fast with them. Then we lead them to a place where there is water. They are born again. They experience rebirth in the same way as we ourselves experienced it. In the name of God, the father and Lord of all things, and in the name of our healer and Savior Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit, they now take a bath in the water.
Christ said, "Unless you are born again you will not be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven." Now it is clear to everybody that it is impossible for those who have once been born to reenter their mothers' wombs. It was said through the prophet Isaiah in what way those who have sinned and repent shall be freed from their sins. These are his words:
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Banish the wickedness from your hearts. Learn to do good. Defend the orphans and plead for the rights of the widow. Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them as white as wool; and though they be red as crimson, I will make them as white as snow. But if you will not hear me, the sword shall devour you. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
The apostles gave us the following reason for this: When we were first born we were begotten of nature's compulsion without our knowledge, from moist seed, through the intercourse of our parents, and grew up in bad customs and wicked principles. In order that we do not remain children of necessity and ignorance but become children by free choice and insight and gain forgiveness of our former sins, there is pronounced in the water, over the one who longs for the new birth and who has repented of his misdeeds, the name of God, the father of all, and the Lord. He who leads to the bath the one to be baptized uses these words only, for nobody is able to give a name to the ineffable God. Should anyone want to assert that there is one, he is smitten with hopeless insanity. This bath is called illumination by us, for those who experience these things happening to them become enlightened in their minds and spirits. Furthermore, the washing of the one who is enlightened is also done in the
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name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, who foretold everything concerning Jesus through the prophets. Justin, First Apology 61.
6 Indeed, Isaiah did not command you to bathe yourselves so that you would be able to wash away murder and other sins in this way. All the waters of the ocean would not be enough to cleanse you. Rather, the bath of salvation which he meant from the beginning is, as one might expect, that taken by those who repent, who no longer cleanse themselves through the blood of goats and sheep or through the ashes of a heifer or through the offering of wheat flour, but quite differently: on the way of faith, through the blood of Christ and through his death. That Christ suffered death for this purpose was said by Isaiah himself.
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 13.1.
7 We have become believers, then, through the bath which brings repentance and knowledge of God, which was given, according to Isaiah's word, to heal the sins of the peoples of God. We tell you that this bath foretold by him is the one which alone has the power to purify people, provided they repent. This is the water of life. The wells you have dug for yourselves have caved in and are useless…Wash your souls clean of anger, greed, envy, and hate, and you will see that the whole body will be pure. Justin, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 14.1.
8 The nature of our Meal and its purpose are explained by its very name. It is called Agape, as the Greeks call love in its purest sense. However much it may cost, it is always a gain to be extravagant in the name of fellowship with what is God's, since the food brought is used for the benefit of all who are in need. To respect the lowly is all-important with God.
If then the motive for our Meal is honorable, consider the discipline ruling during the Meal in that light. That which is rooted in religious commitment does not tolerate vileness and licentiousness. The participants do not go to the table unless they have first tasted of prayer to