The Second Century Church, part 9
In the early 1990's I told one of my friends that I was spending a great deal of time studying Church History, and especially the first three hundred years of that history. He asked me, "How did the Church, as we see it in the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament, change into the Catholic Church of the dark, Middle Ages?" I answered, "One step at a time, over a long period of time." This is one reason why I love reading about the second Century Church; it had changed very little from the Church we read about in the epistles and chapters 2-3 of Revelation.
The Church of the second century was still a church of power, love, and wisdom. And an important factor that gave wisdom and stability to the second century Church was the high regard the Church of that day had for the Scriptures. Both the Church of the first century and of the second century believed that the Scriptures are the inspired word of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17).
God has exalted His Word even above His Name: “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name” (Psalm 138:2). During the second century, Christians continued to hold to the truth that all Scripture is perfectly inspired. Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote, “the Scriptures are truly perfect, since they were spoken by the Word of God and His Spirit; . . . all Scripture, which is given to us by God, is perfectly consistent; the parables harmonize with those passages which are perfectly plain; and the statements of which the meaning is clear serve to explain the parables, and through the many diversified utterances of Scripture there is heard one harmonious sound. . .” (This quotation is in Polycarp Disciple of the Apostle John and the Second Century Church, page 93). Here Irenaeus not only speaks of the Scriptures being inspired by God, but he also gives us a sound principle for interpreting the Scripture: Always interpret symbolic, obscure, or difficult to understand passages with the aid of clear and plain passages of Scripture. (I might add that we should never use our interpretation of obscure passages to over-ride clear statements in the Scriptures.)
Even though many who went to church in the second century could not read, part of every service was dedicated to reading the writings of the Apostles and the Old Testament prophets. And Christians who could read were encouraged to read the Scriptures for themselves.
Hearing and following the Word of God is as important to us as it was to those living in the second century. It is by hearing God's Word that faith comes to us (Romans 10:17). And living by faith gives us the victory that overcomes the world (I John 5:4). And it is by following the Scriptures and putting God's Word into practice that we become wise (II Timothy 3:15, Psalm 19:7).
The Church of the second century was still a church of power, love, and wisdom. And an important factor that gave wisdom and stability to the second century Church was the high regard the Church of that day had for the Scriptures. Both the Church of the first century and of the second century believed that the Scriptures are the inspired word of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17).
God has exalted His Word even above His Name: “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name” (Psalm 138:2). During the second century, Christians continued to hold to the truth that all Scripture is perfectly inspired. Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote, “the Scriptures are truly perfect, since they were spoken by the Word of God and His Spirit; . . . all Scripture, which is given to us by God, is perfectly consistent; the parables harmonize with those passages which are perfectly plain; and the statements of which the meaning is clear serve to explain the parables, and through the many diversified utterances of Scripture there is heard one harmonious sound. . .” (This quotation is in Polycarp Disciple of the Apostle John and the Second Century Church, page 93). Here Irenaeus not only speaks of the Scriptures being inspired by God, but he also gives us a sound principle for interpreting the Scripture: Always interpret symbolic, obscure, or difficult to understand passages with the aid of clear and plain passages of Scripture. (I might add that we should never use our interpretation of obscure passages to over-ride clear statements in the Scriptures.)
Even though many who went to church in the second century could not read, part of every service was dedicated to reading the writings of the Apostles and the Old Testament prophets. And Christians who could read were encouraged to read the Scriptures for themselves.
Hearing and following the Word of God is as important to us as it was to those living in the second century. It is by hearing God's Word that faith comes to us (Romans 10:17). And living by faith gives us the victory that overcomes the world (I John 5:4). And it is by following the Scriptures and putting God's Word into practice that we become wise (II Timothy 3:15, Psalm 19:7).