Bart Ehrman, Ignatius, the Trinity, & the True Church
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In this post I will be quoting from the work The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I: I Clement. II Clement. Ignatius. Polycarp. Didache, edited and translated by Bart D. Ehrman, and published in 2003 by Harvard University Press. I will be citing Ehrman’s translation of St. Ignatius’ seven letters in respect to the Bishop of Antioch’s views on,
The Trinity.
Christ as an uncreated divine Person who became Man.
The Holy Spirit’s Personhood.
The unity of the Church and its hierarchy.
The supreme authority of the Bishop, who stands in the place of God the Father.
The Eucharist being the actual flesh and blood of Christ given to us as our medicine for immortality.
The importance of being true Christians that follow Christianity, not Judaism.
The Old Testament prophets not being followers of Judaism, but believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who raised them from the dead after he appeared and arose on the third day.
All emphasis will be mine.
TO POLYCARP
Ignatius, who is also called God-bearer, to Polycarp, bishop of the church of the Smyrnaeans—rather, the one who has God the Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ as his BISHOP (episkopemeno)—warmest greetings. (Pp. 309, 311)
3
Do not allow those who appear trustworthy yet who deliver contrary teachings daze you. Stand firm as an anvil that is struck. It is the mark of a great athlete to bear up under blows and still claim the victory. But we must endure everything especially for God's sake, that he may endure us. 2. Be more eager than you are. Take note of the seasons. Await the one who is beyond the season, the one WHO IS TIMELESS (ton achronon), the one who is invisible, who became visible for us, the one who cannot be handled, the one who is beyond suffering, who suffered for us, enduring in every way on our account. (Pp. 313, 315)
8
Because I have not been able to write to all the churches— since, as the divine will enjoins, I am unexpectedly to set sail from Troas to Neapolis—you are to write to the churches that lie before me [Or: "on this side"],34 as one who has the mind of God, that they may do the same thing as well. Some can send messengers by foot; but others can send letters through those whom you send yourself, so that all of you may be glorified by an eternal work, since you yourself are worthy. 2. I greet all by name, and the wife of Epitropus, along with the entire household of her and her children. I greet Attalus, my beloved. I greet the one who is about to be deemed worthy to go to Syria. God's grace will be with him constantly, and with Polycarp who sends him. 3. I bid you constant farewell in our God Jesus Christ. May you remain in him, in the unity and care that comes from God. I greet Alee, a name dear to me. Farewell in the Lord. (Pp. 319, 321)
TO THE EPHESIANS
Ignatius, who is also called God-bearer, to the church that is blessed with greatness by the fullness of God the Father, a church foreordained from eternity past to obtain a constant glory which is enduring and unchanging, a church that has been unified and chosen in true suffering [Or: a glory which is enduring, unchanging, unified, and chosen through true suffering] by the will of the Father and of Jesus Christ, our God (tou theou hemon); to the church in Ephesus of Asia, which is worthy of all good fortune. Warmest greetings in Jesus Christ and in blameless joy!
1
Now that I have received in God your greatly loved name, which you have obtained because of your upright nature, according to the faith and love that is in Christ Jesus our Savior—for you are imitators of God and have rekindled, through the blood of God (en haimati theou), the work we share as members of the same family, and brought it to perfect completion. 2. For you were eager to see me, since you heard that I was being brought in chains from Syria because of the name and hope we share, and that I was hoping, through your prayer, to be allowed to fight the beasts in Rome, that by doing so I might be able to be a disciple. 3. Since, then, I have received your entire congregation in the name of God through Onesimus, who abides in a love that defies description and serves as your bishop in the flesh—and I ask by Jesus Christ that you love him, and that all of you be like him. For blessed is the one who has graciously granted you, who are worthy, to obtain such a bishop. (Pp. 219, 221)
7
For some are accustomed to bear the name in wicked deceit, while acting in ways that are unworthy of God. You must shun them as wild animals. For they are raving dogs who bite when no one is looking. You must guard against them, for they are hard to tame. 2. For there is one physician, both fleshly and spiritual, born AND UNBORN (gennetos kai aggenetos), God come in the flesh, true life in death, from both Mary and God, first subject to suffering and then beyond suffering, Jesus Christ our Lord. (P. 227)
9
I have learned that some people have passed through on their way from there with an evil teaching. But you did not permit them to sow any seeds among you, plugging your ears so as not to receive anything sown by them. You are stones of the Fathers temple, prepared for the building of God the Father. For you are being carried up to the heights by the crane of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, using as a cable the Holy Spirit; and your faith is your hoist, and love is the path that carries you up to God. 2. And so you are all traveling companions bearing God, bearing the temple, bearing Christ, and bearing the holy things, adorned in every way with the commandments of Jesus Christ. I exult in you, since I have been deemed worthy through the things that I write to speak with you and to rejoice together with you; for you love nothing in human life but God alone. (P. 229)
18
My spirit is a sacrificial offering bound to the cross, which is a scandal to those who do not believe but salvation and eternal life to us. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the debater? 8 Where is the boast of those called intelligent? 2. For our God, Jesus Christ (theos hemon ‘Iesous ho Christos), was conceived by Mary according to the plan of God; he was from the seed of David, but also from the Holy Spirit. He was born and baptized, that he might cleanse the water by his suffering.
19
The virginity of Mary and her giving birth escaped the notice of the ruler of this age; so too did the death of the Lord—three mysteries of a cry which were accomplished in the silence of God. 2. How then did he become manifest to the aeons [Or: ages; or: world]? A star in the sky shone brighter than all the stars. Its light was indescribable and its novelty created astonishment. All the other stars, along with the sun and the moon, formed a chorus to that star, and its light surpassed all the others. And there was a disturbance over whence it had come, this novel thing, so different from the others. 3. Hence all magic was vanquished and every bondage of evil came to nought. Ignorance was destroyed and the ancient realm was brought to ruin, when God became manifest in a human way, for the newness of eternal life. And that which had been prepared by God received its beginning. From that time on, all things were put in commotion because the dissolution of death was taking place.
20
If Jesus Christ finds me worthy through your prayer and it be his will, in the second small book that I am about to write you I will show you plainly what I have begun to discuss about the divine plan that leads to the new person Jesus Christ, involving his faithfulness and love, his suffering and resurrection. 2. I will especially do so if the Lord shows me that all of you to a person are gathering together one by one in God's grace, in one faith and in Jesus Christ—who is from the race of David according to the flesh, and is both son of man and son of God—so that you may obey the bishop and the presbytery (which is undistracted in mind), breaking one bread, which is a medicine that brings immortality, an antidote that allows us not to die but to live at all times in Jesus Christ. (Pp. 237, 239, 241)
TO THE MAGNESIANS
3
But it is not right for you to take advantage of your bishop because of his age. You should render him all due respect according to the power of God the Father, just as I have learned that even your holy presbyters have not exploited his seemingly youthful appearance [Or: rank; or: position]; but they have deferred to him as one who is wise in God—and not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, the bishop of all. 2. And so it is fitting for us to be obedient apart from all hypocrisy, for the honor of the one who has desired us. For it is not that a person deceives this bishop who is seen, but he deals falsely with the one who is invisible. In such a case, an account must be rendered not to human flesh, but to God, who knows the things that are hidden.
4
And so it is fitting not only to be called Christians, but also to be Christians, just as there are some who call a person the bishop but do everything without him. Such persons do not seem to me to be acting in good conscience, because they do not hold valid meetings in accordance with the commandment. (Pp. 243, 245)
6
Since, then, I have observed, by the eyes of faith, your entire congregation through those I have already mentioned, and loved it, I urge you to hasten to do all things in the harmony of God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God and the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles, and the deacons, who are especially dear to me, entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father BEFORE THE AGES (pro aionon) and has been manifest at the end. 2. You should assume the character of God and all respect one another. No one should consider his neighbor in a fleshly way, but you should love one another in Jesus Christ at all times. Let there be nothing among you that can divide you, but be unified with the bishop and with those who preside according to the model and teaching of incorruptibility.
7
And so, just as the Lord did nothing apart from the Father—being united with him—neither on his own nor through the apostles, so too you should do nothing apart from the bishop and the presbyters. Do not try to maintain that it is reasonable for you to do something among yourselves in private; instead, for the common purpose, let there be one prayer, one petition, one mind, one hope in love and in blameless joy, which is Jesus Christ. Nothing is superior to him. 2. You should all run together, as into one temple of God, as upon one altar, upon one Jesus Christ, who came forth from one Father and was with the one [Or: and was one with him] and returned to the one.9
8
Do not be deceived by false opinions or old fables that are of no use. For if we have lived according to Judaism until now, we admit that we have not received God's gracious gift. 2. For the most divine prophets lived according to Jesus Christ. For this reason also they were persecuted. But they were inspired by his gracious gift, so that the disobedient became fully convinced that there is one God, who manifested himself through Jesus Christ his Son, who is his Word that came forth from silence, who was pleasing in every way to the one who sent him.
9
And so those who lived according to the old ways came to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath but living according to the Lord's day, on which also our life arose through him and his death—which some deny. Through this mystery we came to believe, and for this reason we endure, that we may be found to be disciples of Jesus Christ, our only teacher. 2. How then are we able to live apart from him? Even the prophets who were his disciples in the spirit awaited him as their teacher. And for this reason, the one they righteously expected raised them from the dead when he arrived.
10
We should not fail to perceive his kindness. For if he were to imitate our actions, we would no longer exist. For this reason, since we are his disciples, let us learn to live according to Christianity. For whoever is called by a name other than this does not belong to God. 2. So lay aside the bad yeast, which has grown old and sour, and turn to the new yeast, which is Jesus Christ. Be salted in him, that no one among you become rotten; for you will be shown for what you are by your smell. 3. It is outlandish to proclaim Jesus Christ and practice Judaism. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity—in which every tongue that believes in God has been gathered together.10 (Pp. 247, 249, 251)
13
Be eager therefore to stand securely in the decrees of the Lord and the apostles, that you may prosper in everything you do in flesh and spirit, in faith and love, in the Son and the Father and in the Spirit, in the beginning and end, along with your most worthy bishop and your presbytery, which is a spiritual crown worthily woven, and your godly deacons. 2. Be submissive to the bishop and to one another—as Jesus Christ was to the Father, according to the flesh, and as the apostles were to Christ and to the Father and to the Spirit—so that there may be unity in both flesh and spirit. (Pp. 253, 255)
TO THE TRALLIANS
Ignatius, who is also called God-bearer, to the holy church in Tralles of Asia, beloved of God, the Father of Jesus Christ, chosen and worthy of God, a church made at peace in flesh and spirit by the suffering of Jesus Christ, who is our hope for a resurrection that leads to him, a church which I also greet in fullness in the apostolic manner and to which I extend warmest greetings.
1
I have learned that your way of thinking is blameless and unwavering in endurance, not by force of habit but by your very nature, just as Polybius, your bishop, showed me. He arrived in Smyrna by the will of God and Jesus Christ, and so rejoiced together with me, who am in chains in Christ Jesus, so that I saw your entire congregation in him. 2.1 was exultant when I received your act of godly kindness through him, for I found that you were imitators of God, as I had known.
2
For when you are subject to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, you appear to me to live not in a human way but according to Jesus Christ, who died for us that you may escape dying by believing in his death. 2. And so—as is already the case—you must not engage in any activity apart from the bishop, but be subject also to the presbytery as to the apostles of Jesus Christ, our hope. If we live in him, we will be found in him. 3. And those who are deacons of the mysteries of Jesus Christ must also be pleasing in every way to all people. For they are not deacons dealing with food and drink; they are servants of the church of God. And so they must guard themselves against accusations as against fire.
3
So too let everyone respect the deacons like Jesus Christ, and also the bishop, who is the image of the Father; and let them respect the presbyters like the council of God and the band of the apostles. Apart from these a gathering cannot be called a church. 2. I am convinced that you agree about this. For I have received the embodiment of your love and have it with me in the person of your bishop, whose very deportment is a great lesson and whose meekness is power, who is respected, I believe, even by the godless. 3. I am sparing you out of love, though I could write more sharply about this matter. But I have not thought that I, a condemned man, should give you orders like an apostle.12 (Pp. 257, 259)
7
Guard against such people. You will be able to do this when you are not haughty and are inseparable from God—that is, Jesus Christ (theou ‘Iesou Christou)—and from the bishop and from the injunctions of the apostles. 2. The one who is inside the sanctuary is pure but the one outside the sanctuary is not pure. This means that the one who does anything apart from the bishop, the presbytery, and the deacons is not pure in conscience. (P. 263)
9
And so, be deaf when someone speaks to you apart from Jesus Christ, who was from the race of David and from Mary, who was truly born, both ate and drank, was truly persecuted at the time of Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died, while those in heaven and on earth and under the earth looked on. 2. He was also truly raised from the dead, his Father having raised him. In the same way his Father will also raise us in Christ Jesus, we who believe in him, apart from whom we do not have true life. (P. 265)
11
Flee therefore the evil offshoots that produce deadly fruit; anyone who tastes it dies at once. For these are not the Father’s planting. 2. If they were, they would appear as branches of the cross and their fruit would be imperishable. Through the cross, by his suffering, he calls you who are the parts of his body. Thus the head cannot be born without the other parts, because God promises unity, which he himself is. (P. 267)
TO THE ROMANS
Ignatius, who is also called God-bearer, to the church that has obtained mercy by the greatness of the Father Most High and Jesus Christ his only Son (tou monou hyiou autou); the church that is loved and enlightened by the will of the one who has willed everything that is, according to the faith and love of Jesus Christ, our God (kai agapen ‘Iesou Christou, tou theou hemon); the church that is presiding in the land of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honor, worthy of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy of holiness, and preeminent in love, a church that keeps the law of Christ and bears the name of the Father; this is the church that I greet in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father (hyiou patros). And I extend warmest greetings blamelessly in Jesus Christ, our God (en ‘Iesou Christon, to theo hemon), to those who are united in both flesh and spirit in his every commandment, filled with the gracious gift of God without wavering, and filtered from every unsuitable taint. (Pp. 269, 271)
3
At no time have you been envious of anyone; instead you have taught others. But my wish is that the instructions you enjoin on others be firm, when you make them disciples. 2. For me, ask only that I have power both inside and out, that I not only speak but also have the desire, that I not only be called a Christian but also be found one. For if I be found a Christian, I can also be called one and then be faithful—when I am no longer visible in the world. 3. Nothing that is visible is good. For our God Jesus Christ, since he is in the Father (theos hemon ‘Iesous Christos en patri), is all the more visible. The work is not a matter of persuasion, but Christianity is a matter of greatness, when it is hated by the world. (P. 273)
6
Neither the ends of the world nor the kingdoms of this age will benefit me in the least. It is better for me to die in Jesus Christ than to rule the ends of the earth. That is the one I seek, who died on our behalf; that is the one I desire, who arose for us. But pains of birth have come upon me. 2. Grant this to me, brothers: do not keep me from living; do not wish me to die; do not hand over to the world the one who wants to belong to God or deceive him by what is material. Allow me to receive the pure light; when I have arrived there, I will be a human. 3. Allow me to be an imitator of the suffering of my God (tou pathos tou theou mou). If anyone has him within himself, let him both understand what I want and sympathize with me, realizing the things that constrain me.
7
The ruler of this age wishes to snatch me away and corrupt my mind, which is directed toward God. And so let none of you who are present assist him; rather be on my side—that is, on God’s. Do not speak about Jesus Christ but long for the world. 2. Let no envy dwell among you. Even if I urge you otherwise when I arrive, do not be persuaded; instead be persuaded by what I am writing you now. For I write to you while living, desiring to die. My passion has been crucified19 and there is no burning love within me for material things; instead there is living water,20 which also is speaking in me, saying to me from within: "Come to the Father." 3.1 have no pleasure in the food that perishes nor in the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, from the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is imperishable love.
8
I no longer desire to live like a human; and I will succeed, if you also desire it. Desire it, that you may also be desired. 2. Through just a few words I ask you: trust me! Jesus Christ will show you that I speak the truth. He is the mouth that does not lie, by whom the Father spoke the truth. 3. Pray for me, that I may attain to God. I have not written you according to the flesh but according to the mind of God. If I suffer, you have desired it; if I am rejected, you have hated me. (Pp. 277, 279, 281)
TO THE PHILADELPHIANS
Ignatius, who is also called God-bearer, to the church of God the Father AND OF the Lord Jesus Christ that is in Philadelphia of Asia, that has received mercy and been founded in the harmony that comes from God, that rejoices without wavering in the suffering of our Lord and that is fully convinced by all mercy in his resurrection; this is the church that I greet by the blood of Jesus Christ, which is an eternal and enduring joy, especially if they are at one with the bishop and with the presbyters with him, and with the deacons who have been appointed in accordance with the mind of Jesus Christ—those who have been securely set in place by his Holy Spirit according to his own will. (P. 283)
2
Therefore, children of the light of truth, flee division and evil teachings. Where the shepherd is, there you should follow as sheep. 2. For many seemingly trustworthy wolves use wicked pleasure to capture those who run in God s race; but they will have no place in your unity.
3
Abstain from evil plants which Jesus Christ does not cultivate, since they are not a planting of the Father. Not that I found a division among you, but a filter. 2. For all who belong to God and Jesus Christ are with the bishop; and all those who come into the unity of the church through repentance will belong to God, so that they may live according to Jesus Christ. 3. Do not be deceived my brothers; no one who follows someone creating a schism will inherit the kingdom of God;22 anyone who thinks otherwise does not agree with the Passion.
4
And so be eager to celebrate just one eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup that brings the unity of his blood, and one altar, as there is one bishop together with the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow slaves. Thus, whatever you do, do according to God. (Pp. 285, 287)
6
But if anyone should interpret Judaism to you, do not hear him. For it is better to hear Christianity from a man who is circumcised than Judaism from one who is uncircumcised. But if neither one speaks about Jesus Christ, they both appear to me as monuments and tombs of the dead, on which are written merely human names. 2. And so flee the evil designs and snares of the ruler of this age, lest being oppressed by his way of thinking you be weakened in love. But all of you should stand in agreement with an undivided heart. 3. I thank my God that I have a good conscience among you and that no one can boast against me, whether in secret or in public, that I burdened anyone in either a trifling matter or great. But I pray that none of those who heard me speak may encounter my word as a witness against himself.
7
For even if some people have wanted to deceive me according to the flesh, the Spirit is not deceived, since it comes from God. For it knows whence it comes and where it is going, and it exposes the things that are hidden.23 I cried out while among you, speaking in a great voice, the voice of God, "Pay attention to the bishop and the presbytery and the deacons." 2. But some suspected that I said these things because I knew in advance that there was a division among you. But the one in whom I am bound is my witness that I knew it from no human source; but the Spirit was preaching, saying: "Do nothing apart from the bishop; keep your flesh as the Temple of God; love unity; flee divisions; be imitators of Jesus Christ as he is of his Father."
8
I was therefore acting on my own accord as a person set on unity. But where there is division and anger, God does not dwell. Thus the Lord forgives all who repent, if they return to the unity of God and the council of the bishop. I believe in the gracious gift that comes from Jesus Christ, who will loose every bond from you. 2. But I urge you to do nothing in a contentious way, but in accordance with what you have learned in Christ. For I heard some saying: "If I do not find it in the ancient records, I do not believe in the gospel." And when I said to them, "It is written," they replied to me, "That is just the question." But for me, Jesus Christ is the ancient records; the sacred ancient records are his cross and death, and his resurrection, and the faith that comes through him—by which things I long to be made righteous by your prayer. (Pp. 289, 291)
9
The priests are good, but the high priest who has been entrusted with the holy of holies is better; he alone is entrusted with the hidden things that belong to God. He is the door of the Father,24 through which Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the prophets and the apostles and the church enter. All these things are bound together in the unity of God. 2. But there is something distinct about the gospel—that is, the coming of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, his suffering, and resurrection. For the beloved prophets made their proclamation looking ahead to him; but the gospel is the finished work that brings immortality. All things together are good, if you believe while showing forth love. (P. 293)
TO THE SMYRNEANS
1
I give glory to Jesus Christ, the God who has made you so wise (Doxazo ‘Iesoun Christon ton theon ton ontos hymas sophisanta). For I know that you have been made complete in a faith that cannot be moved—as if you were nailed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ in both flesh and spirit—and that you have been established in love by the blood of Christ. For you are fully convinced about our Lord, that he was truly from the family of David according to the flesh, Son of God according to the will and power of God, truly born from a virgin, and baptized by John that all righteousness might be fulfilled by him.25 2. In the time of Pontius Pilate and the tetrarch Herod, he was truly nailed for us in the flesh—we ourselves come from the fruit of his divinely blessed suffering—so that through his resurrection he might eternally lift up the standard for his holy and faithful ones, whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one body of his church. (p. 297)
Further Reading