The Apostolic Fathers
Worship and discipleship as Christ’s community in humble unity, doctrinal truth and self-denial—this theme held captive the pens of the earliest Christian writers outside the Bible. These Christians are known as the “apostolic fathers” to indicate their close connection to the times of the apostles. Though some of their documents evidence a lengthy process of composition, involving perhaps different authors and editors, the versions we may read today seem to be dated to between A.D. 90 and 174. They are small yet precious gems that glitter with the features of Christianity immediately after the New Testament, from the close of the first century to the latter part of the second. Of these writings, especially noteworthy are the following: (1) the letter of 1 Clement (A.D. 96–98), written by the bishop of Rome to the Christians of Corinth; (2) the letters of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (ca. A.D. 110), written to several churches, including the Ephesians, Romans, Magnesians and Philadelphians; and (3) the Martyrdom of Polycarp, an account of the death of Polycarp (A.D. 155), bishop of Smyrna, sent in the form of a letter from the church of Smyrna to the church of Philomelium of Phrygia in what is today southern Turkey.
One particular occurrence of the disruption of Christian peace and unity was the division of the Corinthian church at the end of the first century, some forty years after Paul had written 1 Corinthians. Apparently younger, insolent members of the church had challenged and deposed honored bishops (presbyters) within the community for illegitimate reasons. So it is no surprise that Clement, in his letter to the Christians in Corinth, exhorted them to embrace humility: “Let us therefore be humble, brothers, laying aside all arrogance and conceit and foolishness and anger, and let us do what is written. For the Holy Spirit says: ‘Let not the wise man boast about his wisdom, nor the strong about his strength, nor the rich about his wealth; but let him who boast, boast in the Lord, that he may seek him out, and do justice and righteousness.’ ”1
Furthermore, Clement reminded his readers about the nature of the presbyter’s or bishop’s office (there was as yet no distinction between a presbyter and a bishop) and about its relationship to Christ and the apostles. For Clement, bishops were holders of a permanent office instituted by the apostles. The apostles had appointed the first bishops and they had intended the office to continue after their deaths. After the apostles, bishops were to be appointed by other reputable leaders with the church’s consent. Such men were not to be removed unjustly. In Clement’s letter the word bishops always occurs in the plural, so we assume that a plurality of bishops existed in both Rome and Corinth. Since the first ones had connections to the apostles, and since the apostles had connections to Christ, the bishop’s office was viewed seriously. Humility was required of those in this office. In this light, addressing the arrogant ones, Clement commanded, “You, therefore, who laid the foundation of the revolt, must submit to the presbyters and accept discipline leading to repentance, bending the knees of your heart.”2
Clement’s particular interest was the Corinthian church’s humility before their church leaders. But this was just one aspect of his larger concern for the great Christian virtue of submissiveness. It was this virtue, he said, that would lead to unity within the church.
Clement’s epistle reminds us that one of the essential components of Christianity is humility. He provides an Old Testament theology of the virtue. In 1 Clement 13 he cites Jeremiah 9:23-24:
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on the earth,
for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
At the end of the same chapter Clement quotes Isaiah 66:2:
This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and trembles at my word.
And 1 Clement 18 includes a quotation of Psalm 51:17:
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
Clement’s emphases run parallel with those of Peter and Paul: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph 5:21). “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’ ” (1 Pet 5:5). “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those who whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Tim 5:17).
According to the letters of Ignatius, leadership played a critical role in establishing church unity and correct doctrine. However, his letters reflect a situation in which, instead of there being several bishops in a location, there was a single bishop. Ignatius wrote his letters while he was being taken to Rome to be martyred. Arrested in Antioch because of his leadership in an “illegal” religion (Christianity), Ignatius composed epistles that continued to influence the Christian communities of Asia Minor and Rome. He had these special concerns:
☐ the false doctrines that were entering these communities
☐ the temptation, because of persecution, for believers to blend Jewish traditions with their Christian faith or to depart to Judaism
☐ the need for unity among the believers in light of these two dangers
The one doctrinal aberration that seemed especially to capture Ignatius’s attention pertained to the person of Christ. Some false teachers were promoting Docetism, the belief that Christ only seemed or appeared to be human and to possess actual flesh. The apostle John had already encountered a similar denial of Christ’s flesh in the communities to which he had written his first epistle. He had dealt with it seriously: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God,” he told his readers as he warned them about false prophets. “Every Spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus [as having come in the flesh] is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist” (1 Jn 4:2-3). Earlier, at the very beginning of the same letter, John had emphasized the importance of Christ’s real flesh. The apostles had “heard . . . seen . . . looked at . . . [and] touched . . . the Word of life” (Jesus), whom they preached (1:1). Christians emphasize the reality and fullness of Jesus Christ’s physical human flesh as well as his full deity.
Taking the threat of Docetism just as seriously as John did, Ignatius emphasized both Christ’s deity and Christ’s humanity. “There is only one physician, who is both flesh and spirit, born and unborn, God in man, true life in death, both from Mary and from God, first subject to suffering and then beyond it, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Ephesians 7.2).3
Ignatius also spoke directly of Christ’s humanity, as seen in his death and resurrection. Writing to the Smyrnaeans (1.2—3.1), Ignatius said that Jesus was “truly nailed in the flesh for us under Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch . . . and he truly suffered just as he truly raised himself—not as certain unbelievers say, that he suffered in appearance only. . . . For I know and believe that he was in the flesh even after the resurrection.”4
In addition to being influenced by false teachers who were spreading heresies about Christ’s person, the churches of Asia Minor were also being influenced by Judaizers. The apostle Paul had been concerned that some Christians were interested in returning to the traditions of Judaism (Gal 4:8-11). Ignatius, too, was concerned that Judaizers would lead believers to depart from grace and Christ. Like Paul, Ignatius believed that a return to the Jewish communal legislation would be a return to practices now superseded by Christ’s incarnation, death and resurrection. Ignatius wrote, “Do not be deceived by strange doctrines or antiquated myths, since they are worthless. For if we continue to live in accordance with Judaism, we admit that we have not received grace. . . . How can we possibly live without him [Jesus], whom even the prophets, who were his disciples in the Spirit, were expecting as their teacher? . . . Therefore, having become his disciples, let us learn to live in accordance with Christianity. . . . It is utterly absurd to profess Jesus Christ and to practice Judaism” (Magnesians 8.1—10.3).5
Against these threats to the Christian community fostered by the Docetists and Judaizers, Ignatius emphasized the need for unity. For him, divisio...