Inasmuch as many have taken
in hand to set in order
a narrative of those things
which have been fulfilled
among us, just as those
who from the beginning
were eyewitnesses
and ministers
of the word delivered
them to us.
Luke 1:1-2
Luke gives hint that there were numerous books that were in circulation, and it is a fact that the Jewish people held in great admiration the ability to relate events as they actually occurred. Luke in his writing to Theophilus gives the reason for writing this inspired word of God: "...that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed" (Luke 1:4). John makes mention that Jesus did much more that was recorded and not written in his book and the reason the book was written: "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31). It is clear that the Scriptures having been given to men to write, and that which was given was inspired of God by means of the Holy Spirit so that we/men could be instructed so that they would know the Only Begotten Son of God, that He was the Savior, the promised One, the Messiah. As John would so indicate: the Scriptures are present and are preserved by God so that man would believe in Jesus Christ and have life in His name. It is that important necessitating that the Scriptures be free of heretical theology. It is important that the Bible we count on to be the true word of God be just that: the truth, not partial truth. The early Church fathers relied upon the Scriptures, that is, the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypse as they became the basis for their writings. It is unfortunate for us, those writings became obsolete from disuse over time, and yet while not being inspired by God literature, they still had and have importance for the Church today. How?
Those writings of the early Church fathers do much to fill in the gap in historical knowledge between the New Testament period and the latter part of the fourth century. These men spoke out against heresy, and persecution, causing them to formulate apologetic and polemical literature. Creeds were formed to give accurate statements of faith. The Creeds are seldom mentioned in so many Churches, and most congregants do not much about them, or know nothing of them, and some have never read or recited them: it is as if to be a Creedal Christian is non-Christian, or that the term Creedal Christian is a pejorative term: oh! what has been lost. This loss is due to liberalism within the Church, and much of the blame can go to Scriptures that have been accepted as the truth when in fact they are not the truth, even though having some truthful words. Any serious student would benefit by reading those writings of the early fathers, and even the Apocryphal books for they are full of knowledge and and far from dull reading. Start with the Creeds, the Nicene Creed, The Athanasius Creed, the Apostles Creed, and you will find that the Gospel is fully contained in them and reciting them will deepen your faith. Then read the writings of the early Church fathers, get to know them, and you will find, as I did, that they fought hard to maintain the truth, and they combated heresy even to their demise, death.
Why call them "fathers" or "fathers of the Church?" When we use this term we are not referring to the use of the word "father" as is used by the Roman Catholics, and the Anglicans; this term was given to bishops to express affectionate loyalty. From the third century onward this use of the word "father" or "fathers of the Church" was used to describe the orthodox champions of the faith. We can be assured that the completion of the inspired writings of the Bible were completed by the end of the first century after Jesus Christ. The men who knew the apostles and the apostolic doctrines continued to write Christian literature, and those men have the title of "Apostolic fathers." Most of their writings were done in the period of 95 to 150 A.D.
There is certain characteristics to the writings of these men, the Apostolic men who wrote, the Ante-Nicene writers and can be seen by their simple statements of sincere faith, and that their writings were informal, pious and showed little evidence of being influenced by philosophy, especially those writings of Origen or Clement of Alexandria. The Apostolic writers held the Old Testament in high regard and use those writings for their typology, and for their ideas. Furthermore, these men knew the New Testament writings well and used them as models for their work. It is the edification of the Church that stand out as their major objective in their writings.
In the next blogs I will cover the life and writings for some of those Apostolic men so that you may have a basis for your understanding of their works and how they may apply to the life of a Christian. The Bible is the word of God and it is the bible form which we find the guide given to us by God for our lives, but the other writings will give to us more knowledge of the history of the Church, how those men fought heresy. This will give us a foundation and enable us to fight heresy as well. It will add as support to the Bible, and will aid in our faith. Don't be afraid of them: but do understand how they may be of use. We have the Apostle Peter who advises us when speaking about false prophets: "These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever"(2Peter 2:17).
Therefore do not fear them,
for there is nothing covered
that will not be revealed, and
hidden that will not be known.
Matthew 10:26
The More You Read The Bible--The More God Will Direct You
Richard L. Crumb
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