Course: Church History (1)
Course
Title: Church
History and the Standard of the New Testament
Section
One: The Early Church
Lesson
Five: Heresies and wrong teaching.
Text: ‘Take heed therefore unto yourselves,
and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the
Introduction: Being led by
false teaching or by the Holy Spirit.
Introductory
Story: Being
led into error.
Characteristics
of false teaching:
Main Points: Gnosticism, Montanists, Arianism
Question: How do you associate the harshness of the Old Testament with the
Sermon on the Mount?
Believed the God of the Old Testament – evil.
God of the New Testament – good.
Marcion was Docetic
– denying the human nature of Christ.
Compare 1 John
4:1-3.
Marcion rejected many scriptures.
Made his own
canon of scripture to fit his Gnostic beliefs .
Accepted Luke’s
Gospel (with the Old Testament quotes removed that linked Jesus to the Old
Testament)
and 10 of Paul’s epistles (also with
Old Testament quotes removed).
Marcion forced the Church to form a
canon of scripture (see lesson 5)
Tertullian's 'Against Marcion'
(Adversus Marcionem), Book
IV
Ephipanius' Panarion
sect. 42 'Against the Marcionites’
Irenaeus 'Against Heresies'
Montanus c.150,
came from Ardaban,
Converted priest of Cybele
Montanism reaction against corruption
in the Church
Call for reform
Montanus claimed to have the ministry
of a prophet and reformer of Christianity.
Montanism was characterised by
visions and prophecies.
Two women prophetesses, Maximilla and
Priscilla.
c.170 church synods
pronounced Montanism as heresy.
Montanism – New Jerusalem in
Announced the
imminent coming of the New Jerusalem
Prophesied that the New Jerusalem would come down from heaven to a
small village, Pepuza, in the west of
Followers led by
Montanus to prepare for its coming.
Enforced a
strict asceticism including celibacy
Followers left
worldly possessions.
Priscilla
prophesied:
‘Christ came to
me in the likeness of a woman, clad in a bright robe, and He planted wisdom in
me and revealed that this place (Pepuza) is holy, and
that here
When the New Jerusalem
did not come the Montanists remained there claiming
it was the residence of the Paraclete (the Holy
Spirit).
Montanus criticised for
•
Dissolving marriages
•
Enforcing fasting on followers
•
Financial misdealings
and taking a salary
Priscilla and Maximilla criticised
for
•
Leaving husbands
•
Making financial gain
•
Pretended stature of importance
Held prophecy to be on level of scripture.
Accepted marriage but not second marriages.
Paid salaries to clergy and accepted women in ministry.
Examination
of Montanist prophecy
Ecstatic
utterances
Maximilla prophesied as the passive
instrument of the Holy Spirit.
‘I am chased
like a wolf from the flock. I am no
wolf; I am utterance, spirit, and power.’ (Quoted by Eusebius)
The gift of
prophesy is for exhortation, encouragement and comfort.
The Holy Spirit does not bypass the individual personality of the person prophesying.
Moderate Montanism
Tertullian became a Montanist c.205.
A less radical
form of Montanism spread quickly across
Montanism sought to bring spiritual
gifts back to the church
Montanism was a reaction against:
…worldliness in
the church
…clerical
hierarchism
Montanism extremism was
…legalistic and
…exalted celibacy
3. Alexandrian School
Becoming the second most important city of
the
Cosmopolitan city – Greeks and Jews trading.
•
The Hebrew
scriptures were translated into Greek (Septuagint) in
•
Philo
linked the Hebrew scriptures with Greek philosophy.
•
Schools of philosophical thought.
•
Rise of Neo-Platonism
Church in
Development of the allegorical method of interpretation of scripture.
Origen c.185 – 254
Full name - Origenes Adamantius
Pupil of Clement of Alexandria (c.215)
202
Father (Leonides) martyred
during the persecution of Septimius Severus in
Origen wanted to be
martyred when his father was killed but his mother hid his clothes
Christian Neoplatonist
203-215 Head of Catechetical School in
Castrated himself – to
avoid scandal when teaching women.
215-216 Persecution of Caracalla
– visited
230 Ordained presbyter in
231 Bishop of
250 Imprisoned during Decian
persecution. Tortured sentenced to death.
251 Released after Decian
killed.
c.254 Died
Origen’s
teaching.
Produced 6000 works.
Works included: Textual criticism; exegesis;
theological; and letters.
Textual criticism
Origen’s Hexapla – six versions of the Bible.
Origen put them together
in six columns.
The six versions were:
Origen’s heretical teaching.
Origen’s teaching was
declared to be heresy in 553AD.
(Second Council of Constantinople)
There is doubt over what Origen
actually taught.
His condemned teaching include:
1. Universal
Redemption. Even demons eventually
reconciled to God.
2. Hierarchical
structure of the Trinity.
3. Preexistence of the soul.
Neo Platonism
Temporality of matter.
Eternal souls perfected by escaping temporary, imperfect material world.
4. Arianism
Arianism held that the Son of
God was a created being, unequal to the Father, capable of sin.
The spread of Arianism caused
the Emperor Constantine to call the Council of Nicaea
(AD 325).
The Nicene Creed declared Jesus is ‘of the same
substance with the Father’.
Who was Arius?
Born 256 in
Priest
of the
Very popular - nearly
chosen to be Bishop instead of Alexander.
Arianism form of Gnosticism.
Gnosticism
- one, Supreme, unapproachable Being, and that all other beings, including the
Son of God, are creations:
Bishop
Alexander addressed his clergy in 319 re: the Trinity.
Arius publicly attacked what Alexander taught and accused him
of Sabellianism and 'confounding the persons'.
Sabellius claimed that God was one person Who manifested Himself in three ways as Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.
In
321 a provincial synod at
At
this synod the Arians stated that the Son of God was:
1.
a created being
2.
Unequal to the Father
3.
Capable of sin
The synod excommunicated Arius, two bishops, five priests, and six deacons.
Arius gained the support of
Eusebius Bishop of
Won
support at the synod of
Council of
The
spread of Arianism caused the Emperor Constantine to
call the Council of Nicaea.
Took place from May -
August 325
318 bishops attended +
many others, 2000 people altogether.
Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God (…of one
substance with the Father)
Most
important expression 'Homoousion' - of one substance.
Nicene Creed
'We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, begotten of the Father, only begotten - that is, of the substance with the
Father; by Whom all things were made, both in heaven and in earth, Who for us
men and for our salvation came down, and was incarnate, and was made man; suffered
and rose the third day; ascended into the heavens; and will come again to judge
the quick and the dead.
And in the Holy Ghost.'
Consider the error of Jehovah's Witnesses.
John
This
scripture must be understood in the light of scripture, Philippians 2:5-11.
Jesus came to earth to do the will
of the Father.
He became obedient to the Father
but He was equal with the Father.
John
Athanasius c. 296 – 373
Young presbyter in
Recommended
as successor by Bishop Alexander
328 AD Bishop of
46 Years
as Bishop
Tirelessly
defended the doctrine of the trinity against Arianism
Called 'Athanasius contra mundum'
(against the world)
Exiled four times from his church by Arian Emperors and Julian the
Apostate.
20 years
spent in exile.
Last years spent writing against Arianism.
Athanasian creed
Date of
the creed – probably composed after Athanasius death
(d. 373).
Not
known in the Eastern Church until 12th century.
Not
authorised by any council of the Church but is one of the three major creeds
upheld by Western Christendom.
Apostle's
creed (c. 2nd century)
Nicean
creed (325)
Athanasian creed (c. 500)
Augustine (350 – 430)
‘He ran back to Alypius and opened "the Apostle" at Rom. xii. 13, 14, "Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof."
"No further would I read, nor was it necessary." The peace of God was in his heart, and the shadows of doubt melted away. He marked the passage and told Alypius, the friends exchanged confidences, and Alypius applied to himself the words, a little further on, "Him that is weak in the faith receive" (Rom. xv. 1).
They went in, and filled the heart of Monica with joy at the news (Conf. VIII. viii.).’
5. Nestorius,
patriarch of
Brought
up in cloister:
Character
depicted as narrow, partisan, impatient, and ignorant of human affairs
Nestorianism
The humanity and deity of Christ - two separate and distinct natures
Heresy
developed in regard to the word 'Theotokos'
Mary
called 'God bearer' or 'Mother of God'.
Nestorius claimed God has no mother rejected this teaching.
Nestorius divided the two natures of Christ so that the Logos indwelt the man
Jesus.
Nestorianism declared heretical at the Council of Ephesus 431.
Summary:
Church
history warns us to beware of false teachers
1) Beware of those who claim higher
knowledge but let the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth.
2) Beware of extreme eschatological
teaching but do not quench the Holy Spirit.
3) Beware of those who deny the deity
of Jesus, the Holy Spirit upholds that Jesus Christ is Lord.