Concluding the "dialogue"

Justin concludes by going over many familiar points to establish that Church>Israel. One new argument is a typology by which Leah becomes Israel and Rachel the Church.

After some of the heat generated in the dialogue it was touching to see the cordial, even friendly tone on which it concluded.

The weekly worship of Christians

Chapters 67-68 draw the apology to a close. In chapter 67 Justin describes the worship of the Christians. Some points:

(1) Help for the poor and those in need is given a central position.
(2) Strong role for the Eucharist and prayer.
(3) Great emphasis is on teaching, including the "memoirs of the apostles."
(4) The main service is on Sunday.

Couldn't help reflecting that so many of the more positive concerns of the Emerging church and missional churches are encapsulated here.

Justin Christian worship and mini creed

Chapter 13 is another theological gem. Here Justin sets Christian worship and the rejection of sacrifices and other forms of religious ritual in the context of God desiring prayers and the good use of the creation that he has established.

Here we also have a proto-trinitarian mini-creed where Christ is worshipped as the son of God and the prophetic Spirit is referred to. The nature of Justin's belief is still unclear here as he refers to Christ as "second to the eternal and unchangeable God".

Idols and serving God

In chapter 9 Justin follows the traditional OT polemic against idol worship, adding that there is demonic inspiration behind such worship.

In contrast, the true God, who cannot be represented in any form, and has no personal name, is to be worshipped through the imitation of his "excellences", especially "temperance...justice...philanthropy."

Ignatius: Epistle to the Phiadelphians

In this epistle we once more have the common theme in Ignatius of church unity and the authority of the bishop. For Ignatius, "If any man follows him that makes a schism of the Church, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God"

Whilst Ignatius does not expect any schismatics to be reading this epistle, there apparently was enough of a problem in the Philadelphian church for some to suspect that his plea for unity and submission to the bishop had come at the latter's request. Hence, he is at great pains to emphasise that it came from the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Ignatius: Epistle to the Trallians

Moving further along with my reading of Ignatius. This epistle begins with the now well known theme of submission to the bishop of the church, now extended to include the presbyters and the deacons. What is significant is Ignatius' claim that without such order there can be no church.

Spirituality and church order for Ignatius

In chapter 5 Ignatius outlines the traditional biblical theme of a way of death and a way of life. What is significant is the spirituality of the way of life. It is having the character of the Father impressed on us by the Son, as we learn to die in the Son's passion.

Chapters 6 and 7 continue with the issue of church order and the authority of the bishop. What is significant is the way that the unity of the church under a bishop is grounded in the relationship of Christ with the Father. Just as the Son did not do anything without the Father, so those in the church should not do anything without the bishop.

The youthful bishop

In chapters 3 and 4 church leaders are urged to show respect towards their bishop, despite his young age. Submission to the bishop is equivalent to submission to Christ.

This statement is interesting in the light of the contrast between emerging and pentecostal churches. Whilst emerging churches stress a decentralization of leadership, "successful" pentecostal churches are often based around one leader who exercises a strong authority.

Unity under a bishop

In chapters 3-6 we see Ignatius stressing the unity of the church. What is significant is that he links the unity of the church under the leadership of its bishop to the union of the church with Jesus and the union of Jesus with the Father. Thus to break the unity of the church becomes a serious offence, for one is in essence breaking oneself away from the unity that the church has with Jesus.

Who are these Christians

Chapters 5 and 6 introduce the reader to the Christians. Granted that there is probably more than a small element of propaganda involved, Chapter 5 is still very striking, not the least in the way it presents the ideal Christian life:

"Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed.They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh.They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven."

Chapter 6 introduces an analogy of the Christian relationship with the world along the lines of the soul's relationship with the flesh. Again this left me curious, as the author seems to be espousing a dualism very close to Gnosticism.

Step in line!

Chapters 51-57 consist of Clement's appeal to the church for unity, and for the leaders of the sedition to step in line.

(1) The authors of sedition are urged to repent from their sin, with OT examples of the dire consequences of not repenting quoted.

(2) From Moses' example in the OT, interceding for the people when they sinned and asking to be punished for their sakes, Clement urges the leaders of the sedition that they be willing to step down and suffer loss for the sake of their community. Clement strengthens his argument by referring to heathen kings who were prepared to do the say. Significantly, (in terms of his understanding of the OT canon), Clement quotes not only Ester but also Judith as examples of women interceding for their people.

(3) The readers are urged to correct and admonish one another, and the leaders of the sedition are urged to submit to those leaders they had sort to depose.

The problem in Corinth

Clement's gloves come off in chapters 45-48. For those who in their zeal would remove church leaders he states that the persecution of the Old Testament saints was always at the hands of the wicked. The schismatics are blamed for tearing apart the body of Christ. According to Clement "Your schism has subverted [the faith of] many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all. And still your sedition continueth." He accuses them of not having learnt the same lesson when they committed similar mistakes and were rebuked by the Apostle Paul. Thus, he urges his readers into immediate repentence.

However, one responds to Clement's position, the following advice offered in Chapter 48 seems suitable for all Christians, but especially leaders:

"Let a man be faithful: let him be powerful in the utterance of knowledge; let him be wise in judging of words; let him be pure in all his deeds; yet the more he seems to be superior to others [in these respects], the more humble-minded ought he to be, and to seek the common good of all, and not merely his own advantage."

Reading these chapters made me wonder how effective Clement's argument would have been. He seems to suppose that the leaders were blameless and in the right, yet this is precisely what his opponents would have disputed. I wonder whether they might have also appealed to the OT, seeing themselves as prophets rebuking flawed leaders.

Clement's approach to scripture comes across in these chapters. They are "the true utterances of the Holy Spirit...nothing of an unjust or counterfeit character is written in them". What is also significant is that Paul's epistles already have a similar status. Therefore, Clement claims that "Truly, under the inspiration of the Spirit, he wrote to you"

Self-conceit and the order of the Church

In chapter 39 Clement draws heavily upon the book of Job to indicate the foolishness of all human conceit.

God is presented as having established and order for worship, both concerning when, by who, and where offerings were to be presented. There is an enigmatic reference to offerings in the Jerusalem temple, which must every now and then allow a maverick scholar to suggest an earlier date for the epistle, but which more significantly raises the question of what Clement thought about the sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple.

Based on this, Chapter 42 presents Clement's understanding of the order of the Church. First are the apostles, commissioned by Christ, witnesses of the resurrection and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They then appointed and entrusted bishops and deacons from those who first converted. There is a curious hermeneutical use of the Old Testament in the way that Clement adapts Isaiah 60:17 "I will give thy rulers in peace, and thy overseers in righteousness.” (LXX) to say "I will appoint their bishops in righteousness, and their deacons in faith.”

Chapters 43 and 44 develop this further. What the apostles have done is analogous to what Moses did in the OT when he set up the priesthood. The problem in Corinth is that this order has been broken, those whom the apostles [or other eminent men] have appointed have been displaced without reason and the church is rebuked for having " removed some men of excellent behaviour from the ministry, which they fulfilled blamelessly and with honour."

Further exhortations

In chapters 21 and 22 Clement develops further his exhortation for his readers to resist those who are promoting sedition. These come accompanied with "traditional" recommendation concerning respect for one's elders, training of the youth and orderly behaviour by women and children.

I found the opening of chapter 21 quite enigmatic: "Take heed, beloved, lest His many kindnesses lead to the condemnation of us all."This juxtaposition of kindness and condemnation seems counter intuitive. This statement is only really explained in Chapter 23 when Clement points out that God has so much kindness towards us that there is a danger that we become double-minded and proud as a result. In consequence we may be caught out when Christ returns.

It is also interesting to see the trinitarian thrust of Clement's understanding of scripture in chapter 22 when he affirms that Christ speaks through the Holy Spirit in an Old Testament passage.

Clement urges humility

In chapters 13-19, concerned with the problems of sedition within the Corinthian church, Clement urges his readers to search for peace and to be humble. To make his case stronger, he points to the example of Christ and Old Testament "saints."

It is interesting to observe how the Servant passage of Isaiah 52-53 is applied in its fullness to Christ, along with Psalm 22, developing further a theme we find within the New Testament.

On a more pastoral note, Clement's plea "Let us cleave, therefore, to those who cultivate peace with godliness, and not to those who hypocritically profess to desire it", rings true in many contexts, even today.

Clement of Rome: First Epistle to the Corinthians

In the first three chapters of the epistle, the author, actually anonymous, condemns the sedition present in the church, which he attributes to a few selfish men. This criticism is strengthened as the author remembers how in the past his readers had been a model of Christian faith, their fall being attributed to pride.

Already in the first three chapters the writer's mastery of the Old Testament stands out, especially in the way that the OT flows into his natural style. Included is also a reference to the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon [which would have been part of the Greek OT that he read.]