What The Early Church Believed About Jesus

Did 1st century Christians believe that Jesus Christ was God? Following is information concerning the thinking of the early church. Was Jesus being worshipped as God? Read the following, and draw your own conclusions. Let’s examine the Arian doctrine.

Arius, a Christian priest of Alexandria Egypt, born 250 A.D. died, 336. His teaching gave rise to a theological doctrine known as Arianism. He maintained that, “The Son of God was not;” He stated that the Son of God could not be co-eternal, co-essential, and co-equal with the Father. He reasoned that it was inconsistent and impossible, since the Father, who begat, must be before the Son, who was begotten: the Son therefore, could not be absolutely eternal.

Athanasius was the chief opponent of the Arian doctrine. Athanasian’s fixed their reasoning on the sacred writer by scholastic terms, to which the Arians agreed, with various evasive exceptions.

Trinitarians assert that Christ was God. The Arians allowed it, but only in the same sense as holy men and angels are called, “gods” in Scripture. Note lower case, meaning one of many gods, Implying that Jesus was not truly God, but was created by the Father. Athanasius affirmed that Jesus was God, Arius said, “They are of God, of whom are all things.” In other words, Jesus was a created being.

Athanasian’s collected a number of texts, which amounted to proof that the Son was of one and the same substance with the Father; Arians would admit that Jesus was of like substance.

Arius was excommunicated as a heretic, and banished to Illyricu. Several years passed and Arius and his followers were called back to Rome. The emperor insisted on his being received back into communion with the church of Alexandria. The church leaders refused to receive him. In 326 Arius died suddenly.

As the years passed successive emperors took opposing sides. The peace of the Catholic church was in turmoil for many years, each side in their turn being excommunicated, fined, imprisoned, or banished depending on the emperor in power.

Eventually the doctrine accepted at Rome, was considered heresy at Constantinople and vice versa. Rome fixed the doctrine of the Trinity, while the African and eastern churches, supported Arianism, or some of its subdivisions of articles.

The Arians were in no way unanimous, but divided into various shades of thinking, under their individual leaderships. From this came two distinctions, one being Arians, the other Semi-Arians. The Semi-Arians stripping the character of Jesus Christ into that of a mere creature, while the latter admitted every thing except Jesus had absolute equality with the Father.

My personal thoughts are the Alpha or A. (codex Sinaiticus a forth century text) and the B Vatican ms (another fourth century text) were of Arian origin. The authors are not known, and many corrections had been made to both documents prior to them being found in the 19th century. The two A. and B. are what most modern day Bibles use as their text. These vary in many areas from the Received Text of the K.J.V. Why do I say this?

Romans 3:1-2, “What advantage then hath the Jew? — Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles (sayings) of God.”

We have undisputed evidence that the received text of the K.J.B. has been keep by the Jews, this in keeping with God’s command. The authors, the source, and place of penmanship of the A. and B. manuscripts are unknown.

Little of Arianism was heard from until the 18th century. Arian and Semi-Arian teachings remained at odds with each other as it had been before. Jesus in some cases was reduced to the rank of an angelic being. Does this sound familiar? Jehovah Witnesses teach that Michael the arch-angel is Jesus Christ.

At the council of Nice, the Catholic Church in Bithynia, in 325 A.D. had met for two months, intending to deal with the Arian heresy. Between 250 and 318 bishops of the church had gathered together. The emperor himself attended, with Hosins, the bishop of Cordova Spain. Hosins loved God, was a learned scholar, and would preside over the council. The profession of faith, called the Nicene creed was drawn up at Nice, and was subscribed by all the bishops except a small number of Arians.

Many of the bishops in attendance had gone through some form of persecution at the hands of the Romans. Jailed or tortured in the name of Jesus Christ.

Arian teaching is not new, but is brought to the surface every now and then by fringe groups, or individuals like Taze Russel, founder of the Jehovah witnesses.

Here is a quote from Flaius Josephus a first century Jewish historian, who lived among the first century Christians. He was aware of who and what these Christians represented. Josephus wrote the following from a historical perspective.

“There was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for He was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross. (the date April 5th, 30 A.D.) Those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”

These are the words of a first century historian, a general in the Jewish army, who fought against the Roman invaders. It is said that he had abandoned his people, and joined Rome.

A letter from Pliny to Trajan:

Trajan was the emperor of Rome. He was renowned for his philosophic virtues, issued edicts against the Christians, turning the population against them, this to wreck his vengeance on them, and to destroy them at the peoples own pleasure. A violent persecution against the Christians raged in Bithynia.

Pliny, was a governor of the province, addressed a letter to Trajan, giving his account of the Christians as a heathen of intelligence and honest sincere expression. From this a persecution against Christians’ ensued. Pliny’s letter was written in the year 106, or 107 A.D. soon after the death of John the apostle. I will quote parts of the letter, which has been preserved.

Pliny to Trajan:

“I never had the fortune to be present at any examination of Christians, before I came into this province. I am therefore at a loss to determine what is the usual object o inquiry or of punishment, and to what length either of them is to be carried.” — should “any distinction be made between the young and the old, the tender and the robust; whether room should be given for repentance, or the guilt of Christianity once incurred, is not to be expiated by the most unequivocal retraction whether the name itself, abstracted from any flagitiousness of conduct, or the crimes connected with the name, be the object of punishment. — those who were brought before me as Christians. I asked them whether they were Christians? If they pleaded guilty, I interrogated them twice afresh, with a menace of capital punishment. In case of obstinate perseverance, I ordered them to be executed . —- Some were infected with the same madness, whom, on account of their citizenship, I reserved to be sent to Rome, to your tribunal.”

Some had renounced their Christianity, so what happened?

“Persons who yet declared that they were not Christians then, nor ever had been; and they repeated after me an invocation of the gods and of your image, which for this purpose, I had ordered to be brought with the images of the deities. They performed sacred rites with wine and frankincense, and execrated (declare to be evil) Christ, which I am told, no Christian can ever be compelled to do. On this account, I dismissed them. Others, named by an informer, first affirmed, and then denied the charge of Christianity; declaring that they had been Christians, but had ceased to be so, some three years ago; others, still longer; some even twenty years ago. All of them worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and also execrated Christ.” —

“This was the account which they gave of the nature of the religion they once had professed; whether it deserves the name of crime or error, namely — that they were accustomed on a stated day, to meet before day-light, and to repeat among themselves a hymn to Christ, as to a God, and to bind themselves by an oath, with an obligation of not committing any wickedness; but, on the contrary, of abstaining from thefts, robberies and adulteries; also of not violating their promise, or denying a pledge; after which it was their custom to separate, and to meet again at a promiscuous, harmless meal, from which last practice, however, they desisted, after the publication of my edict, in which agreeably to your orders. — by torture, from two females who were said to be deaconesses, what is the real truth. But nothing could I collect, except a depraved and excessive superstition. Deferring therefore any farther investigation, I determined to consult you. For the number of culprits is so great, as to call for serious consultation.”

Trajan to Pliny:

“You have done perfectly right my dear Pliny, in the inquiry which you have made concerning Christians. — These people must be sought after. If they are brought before you and convicted, let them be capitally punished; yet with this restriction, that if any one renounce Christianity, and evidence his sincerity by supplicating our gods, however suspected he may be for the past, he shall obtain pardon for the future, on his repentance. —”

From the letters, we learn that Christians flourished; that every where they worshipped Christ as God. That their morals were not only unimpeachable, but of a high character; and that, because of the spirit of Christianity, the heathen temples were practically empty.

Also, in 107 A.D. Ignatius who presided in the church of Antioch, suffered martyrdom for the faith of Jesus.

Trajan said to Ignatius, “What an impious spirit art thou.”
Ignatius answered, “Forasmuch as all wicked spirits are departed from the servants of God. But if you call me impious because I am hostile to evil spirits, I won the charge in that respect. For I dissolve all their snares through Christ, the heavenly king.” —- “for their is only one God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is them; and one Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, whose kingdom be my portion. ”

Polycarp was with Ignatius, who was the disciple of John the apostle. Polycarp was a pillar in the church of Smyrna. He chose death by fire rather then to renounce Jesus Christ. He said moments before his death,

“I bless thee that thou hast counted me worthy of this day, and this hour, to receive my portion in the number of martyrs, in the cup of Christ, for the resurrection to eternal life, both of soul and body, in the incorruption of the Holy Ghost, among whom may I be received before thee this day as a sacrifice well savored and acceptable, which thou the faithful and true God hast prepared, promised before-hand and fulfilled accordingly. I glorify thee by the eternal High Priest, thy well beloved Son, through whom, with him in the Holy Spirit, be glory to thee, both now and for ever. Amen.

Eleven brothers of Polycarp from the church of Philadelphia suffered with him.

There is much more, but I will stop here. So ask yourself, did the early Christians worship Jesus as God?

Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com