Ad Gloriam Dei

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corintians 10:31

"Let us pursue the things which make for peace and those by which one may edify another"- Romans 14:19

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." - Proverbs 27:17

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Earliest Reference to the Lord's Day in the Church Fathers

"If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death - whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master-how shall we be able to live apart from Him, whose disciples the prophets themselves in the Spirit did wait for Him as their Teacher? And therefore He whom they rightly waited for, being come, raised them from the dead."

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (A.D. 30-107),
in his Letter to the Magnesians, Chapter IX

This version is the shorter and more reliable text. Eight of the fifteen Epistles of Ignatius are known (as far as possible) to be spurious and are thus ascribed to 'Pseudo-Ignatius'. There are also shorter and longer versions of the 'approved' letters, and the shorter of these is preferred (and not based on the assertion that the shortest is always the best). For more information see here. (This should especially be borne in mind when Pseudo-Ignatius is used to defend early Episcopalianism.)

There is also a dispute about the phrase "Lord's Day" because of the existence of a Greek manuscript that says, "...living according to the Lord’s life..." instead of, "...living in the observance of the Lord's Day..." Let each of you judge which fits the text better. More information on early references to the Lord's Day may be found here.


Read the rest...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home