01.2.5 Ignatius Epistles Still only Call Old Testament Scripture

Continuing with the pattern that we saw in Clement’s epistle there are again no Scripture references to New Testament epistles in either the long or short versions of the epistles by Ignatius deemed to be genuine. In fact, there are no Scripture references at all in the short versions. In the long versions, as we have talked about in another post, there are numerous Scripture references seemingly given as elaborations, but in every case they either reference Old Testament verses or Gospel citations. The gospel citations, however, are not limited just to the words of the Lord. For example,

For says the Scripture, “Many bodies of the saints that slept arose,”[1]

This verse, a reference to Matthew 27:52, is part of the narrative by Matthew, and not any words spoken by Jesus. So the longer version of the epistles do reference the gospels as scripture. However, since they are not recognized as genuine, this doesn’t validate that people of Ignatius time recognized the gospels as scripture. But it does suggest that by the time that the forgeries were written the gospels were called scripture.

Again, these gospel citations are in the longer versions which are deemed to be spurious, but it is the first time that words of the Gospels other than Jesus’ are called Scripture in early Christian writings. It is still significant that even in the longer versions which are deemed spurious there are still no New Testament citations other than to the Gospels.

That is not to say that there are not some wordings in these epistles that are also found in the New Testament epistles, they are just not referenced as Scripture. Scholars call these occasions “allusions”. So while there are wordings used that are also in the New Testament epistles, they are not called Scripture, even in the longer version. That suggests that at the time of the forgeries, while the gospels were starting to be called “Scripture”, the New Testament epistles were not.

What we are witnessing is that the definition of “Scripture”, words identified as the Word of God, appears to have expanded by the time of the forgeries. In Clement the word “Scripture” was limited to the Old Testament writings. Additionally, Clement treated the words of our Lord as the word of God. In the longer versions of Ignatius “Scripture” now refers to the Old Testament and the Gospels, but it does not refer to the New Testament epistles from Peter, Paul and so forth. Of course, since Scripture was only referred to in the longer versions that means they were written sometime after the original Ignatian writings and how much longer is not known.

So, through the times of Clement, and now Ignatius (around 107 A.D.), “Scripture” only refers to Old Testament writings.

[1] The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians, Chap. IX. — Reference to the History of Christ, E-Sword Program

Original Christianity

This web is a look at primitive, original Christianity, how it developed over time into innumerable denominations and divisions and how original Christianity compares to current practices. It is a resource for looking systematically at the beliefs and practices in the original Christian church, numerous movements and churches since, the modern Christian church, with discussion about how all these changes happened and especially focusing on how well each of these compares to scripture.

Why?

"Jesus Christ is Lord" is the common belief of billions of Christians. But there are tens of thousands of denominations. While ancient denominations like the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox claim to be the original and consequently "true" church, innumerable churches and denominations have started citing error in these ancient bastions and/or the leading of the spirit to reform the church and restore the church.

There are numerous disputed issues. Cessation doctrine (prophecy and the gifts of the spirit ended with the apostles), infant baptism, the inerrancy of Scripture, the form of Church government, the role of women in the church, and currently, the acceptance of homosexuality are just some of the many disputed doctrines that cause the Christian body to be so divided.

The Reformation movement performed an invaluable service. But instead of simply reforming the church or simply working to create one more correct alternative church the Reformation movement worked to increase the number of disputes over scripture and consequently the number of splits has increased exponentially.

The problem with looking at all the denominations is that it can become confusing to just compare this church or denomination to that one. The complexity of looking at all the theological implications can become overwhelming. For many busy people that means just making the best, less than fully educated decision they can, and staying with the church of their heritage or finding a church where they feel they can grow. Just finding the information can be an overwhelming task. Putting it into some understandable framework is an even more complicated task.

This web site, rather than trying to just compare all the current positions on the differences goes back to the beginning (primitive, original Christianity) and evaluates Christianity starting at that point. This includes looking at the gospel accounts, but also includes looking at early church documents as well as other ancient documents, both secular and religious. (There is also a section on Philosophy because its profound impact on Christian theological development.) The articles have numerous references to works both in print and online.

Next the web site looks at the developments in Christianity from original Christianity forward to see how the church developed over time comparing each development with what we know about original Christianity. The goals are:

To trace the development of the church from start to now to see how the church at large wound up with all these competing churches/denominations today, and

To equip people with the knowledge of original Christianity to enable people to make an informed decision on what is the true faith and practice of the church Jesus Christ started.

For an overview of the articles by category, go to the Table of Contents Page.

This is a work in progress. My prayer is that sharing my journey is helpful to you and that together we can grow in the faith that Jesus Christ made available some two thousand years ago.

Also Please Pardon our Dust. There are hundreds of posts and some of them still have typos. If you find typos You can contact Mark at [email protected]. Please be so kind as to mention the name of the post as well as to copy and paste the section with errors. Thank you and God Bless You.

01.2.5 Ignatius Epistles Still only Call Old Testament Scripture

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