What 'Unorthodox' doctrine has come into the church?

[The Learner]

Irenaeus (115-190). As a boy he listened to Polycarp, the disciple of John. He became Bishop of Lyons.

“The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: . . . one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and His manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father ‘to gather all things in one,’ and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, ‘every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess; to him, and that He should execute just judgment towards all . . . ‘” (Against Heresies X.l)

Tertullian (160-215). African apologist and theologian. He wrote much in defense of Christianity.

“We define that there are two, the Father and the Son, and three with the Holy Spirit, and this number is made by the pattern of salvation . . . [which] brings about unity in trinity, interrelating the three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are three, not in dignity, but in degree, not in substance but in form, not in power but in kind. They are of one substance and power, because there is one God from whom these degrees, forms and kinds devolve in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” (Adv. Prax. 23; PL 2.156-7).

Early Trinitarian Quotes | Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry

Explore Christian Apologetics, theology, and critical answers to today's questions about God, the Bible, and the Christian faith at Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.

carm.org

 

[The Learner]

Challenge for you friend. Make a list of your doctrines (and that of your Church).

Go to newadvent.org and see if you can find them in the early church fathers. They were taught by the Apostles. If you can not find a doctrine then the early church did not believe IT. Make sure to include links to those quotes, so I can check the contexts.

 

[RedFan]

Challenge for you friend. Make a list of your doctrines (and that of your Church).

Go to newadvent.org and see if you can find them in the early church fathers. They were taught by the Apostles. If you can not find a doctrine then the early church did not believe IT. Make sure to include links to those quotes, so I can check the contexts.

It's a good exercise to go through, but I am hesitant to conclude that if it isn't found on newadvent.org, it wasn't taught or believed by any of the early church fathers. (Not that the compilation in newadvent.org isn't very good. It is. But anyone who claims to have recovered EVERY SINGLE WRITING BY EVERY CHURCH FATHER is probably deceiving himself. Writings can get lost easily after eighteen or nineteen centuries. Moreover, the staying power of parchment and papyrus wasn't all that good back then.)

Better to use newadvent.org to show what they DID believe, rather than what they didn't. If a doctrine doesn't contradict any early church father writings, newadvent.org won't be much help in determining whether any of them held to a particular doctrine or not.

By the way, if you go through the list of ante-Nicene fathers listed on newadvent.org, you will find that very few of them "were taught by the apostles."

 

[The Learner]

It's a good exercise to go through, but I am hesitant to conclude that if it isn't found on newadvent.org, it wasn't taught or believed by any of the early church fathers. (Not that the compilation in newadvent.org isn't very good. It is. But anyone who claims to have recovered EVERY SINGLE WRITING BY EVERY CHURCH FATHER is probably deceiving himself. Writings can get lost easily after eighteen or nineteen centuries. Moreover, the staying power of parchment and papyrus wasn't all that good back then.)

Better to use newadvent.org to show what they DID believe, rather than what they didn't. If a doctrine doesn't contradict any early church father writings, newadvent.org won't be much help in determining whether any of them held to a particular doctrine or not.

By the way, if you go through the list of ante-Nicene fathers listed on newadvent.org, you will find that very few of them "were taught by the apostles."

I already brother, friend posted lots of quotes by ECF on the Trinity.

Two Disciples of John: Polycarp

Ligonier Ministries, founded by R.C. Sproul, exists to proclaim, teach, and defend the holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible.

www.ligonier.org

Polycarp-Disciple of the Apostle John - History of the Early Church

Polycarp is a very important figure in the Early Church era, as his Letter to the Philippians is one of the earliest surviving writings

earlychurch.com

Polycarp – Disciple of the Apostle John

T he story of Polycarp (AD 80 – 167) is a fascinating one. Because he was probably the last surviving person to have known an apostle, the life of Polycarp forms a historically documented link...

www.livingwithfaith.org

 

[Spyder]

Bottom line the Didache is a historical source

While it is part of history, the issue is that the one to which you refer has no evidence of it being the original.

The Original Didache

The Didache is widely recognised as a text that has evolved over time. So what did it look like at the start? These videos look beneath the layers of later addition to explore the possibility that...

www.alangarrow.com

Also, Mathew 28:19 had been altered. The verse in Matthew where Jesus instructs His disciples to baptize did not originally use the trinitarian formula. That portion was added by the Catholic church as stated in their own Catholic Encyclopedia, II, p 263 . The original was to "baptize in my name." This is proved in other books as well as in their encyclopedia where people baptized in Jesus' name and NOT in the trinitarian formula.

I see a Bible Lawyer is one that depends on his or her own deductions and assumptions as evidence used to support an incorrect result. Many words are used in eisegesis to make a doctrine appear valid. We are to depend on God to give us conviction of truth. Manipulating and altering scripture is not an act of God, but it has happened so many times. How else would we have thousands of denominations? The end of days will be very surprising for many who believe that they know truth. - not aware that their truth came from man.

Virtually nothing said by any Church Father after the 1st century is worth using to prove doctrines as truth but only as history of the decline of the church that Jesus started.

 

[Big Boy Johnson]

Go to newadvent.org...

No...too much false doctrine at that website...

 

[Augustin56]

I came across a few sites that showed the many doctrines and traditions not sanctioned by the scriptures but here is a few:

• The festival of Easter (It is the Passover/Pasch, not the pagan festival)
• Purgatory, the idea we can change ourselves in hellfire is not of God
• Scriptures for the priesthood only, scripture makes clear its for all
• The rituals and practices of a priesthood to intercede and rule over the laity
• A infallible vicar of Christ
• Rote prayer
• The Rosary or beaded prayer chains
• Scapulars
• Indulgences
• Worship of Mary or any of the 'saints' for that matter
• Holy Rituals
• Sacraments
• Holy water
• The mission, practices, and methods of the Jesuits
• Eucharistic Christ (The bread and wine becoming the body and blood of Christ whenever conjured up by a priest)

All that means is someone comparing doctrines against their personal interpretation of Scripture, which Scripture warns against in 2 Peter 1:20-21. And, it's assuming that everything must be in Scripture, which is the opposite of what Scripture says. It's making oneself one's own Pope and assuming they, themselves, are infallible. Hypocracy at its best.

 

[Spyder]

All that means is someone comparing doctrines against their personal interpretation of Scripture, which Scripture warns against in 2 Peter 1:20-21. And, it's assuming that everything must be in Scripture, which is the opposite of what Scripture says. It's making oneself one's own Pope and assuming they, themselves, are infallible. Hypocracy at its best.

Brother, should we not avoid mud-slinging among we fallible humans?

 

[Ronald Nolette]

I came across a few sites that showed the many doctrines and traditions not sanctioned by the scriptures but here is a few:

• The festival of Easter (It is the Passover/Pasch, not the pagan festival)
• Purgatory, the idea we can change ourselves in hellfire is not of God
• Scriptures for the priesthood only, scripture makes clear its for all
• The rituals and practices of a priesthood to intercede and rule over the laity
• A infallible vicar of Christ
• Rote prayer
• The Rosary or beaded prayer chains
• Scapulars
• Indulgences
• Worship of Mary or any of the 'saints' for that matter
• Holy Rituals
• Sacraments
• Holy water
• The mission, practices, and methods of the Jesuits
• Eucharistic Christ (The bread and wine becoming the body and blood of Christ whenever conjured up by a priest)

You are hot on pointing out the errors of the RCC, but seem to miss the many found in non-Catholic churches.

But we celebrate Easter as the resurrection of Jesus. Many churches I know now call it resurrection Sunday. but When you ask a Christian what easter means they will tell you Jesus lives! The word itself is innocuous, especially in light of the fact that 99.999999% of the world no longer openly worships Asherah or Aster.

 

[The Learner]

While it is part of history, the issue is that the one to which you refer has no evidence of it being the original.

The Original Didache

The Didache is widely recognised as a text that has evolved over time. So what did it look like at the start? These videos look beneath the layers of later addition to explore the possibility that...

www.alangarrow.com

Also, Mathew 28:19 had been altered. The verse in Matthew where Jesus instructs His disciples to baptize did not originally use the trinitarian formula. That portion was added by the Catholic church as stated in their own Catholic Encyclopedia, II, p 263 . The original was to "baptize in my name." This is proved in other books as well as in their encyclopedia where people baptized in Jesus' name and NOT in the trinitarian formula.

I see a Bible Lawyer is one that depends on his or her own deductions and assumptions as evidence used to support an incorrect result. Many words are used in eisegesis to make a doctrine appear valid. We are to depend on God to give us conviction of truth. Manipulating and altering scripture is not an act of God, but it has happened so many times. How else would we have thousands of denominations? The end of days will be very surprising for many who believe that they know truth. - not aware that their truth came from man.

Virtually nothing said by any Church Father after the 1st century is worth using to prove doctrines as truth but only as history of the decline of the church that Jesus started.

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Baptism No sign of being changed.
The Manuscript Evidence
There are no known ancient manuscripts of Matthew which contain the ending of Matthew but lack this final episode or that contain it without the Trinitarian formula. Our earliest manuscripts are, of course, fragmentary in places and are missing portions of thMatthewe text due to damage, but every ancient manuscript where the final pages of Matthew have survived contains the account of Jesus giving the great commission and includes the command to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not only true of the Greek manuscripts, but also of the translations of Matthew into other ancient languages. So the manuscript evidence is 100% unanimously in agreement on the ending of Matthew and on the Trinitarian formula. Any theory that wishes to assert that these words are not part of the original has to go outside of and against the actual physical evidence.

The Early Church Writings
There is secondary evidence in the earliest church writings. Our copies of such writings are typically fewer and later than our copies of actual biblical manuscripts, so the manuscripts are far more important to consider when determining the original text, but quotations from early Christian sources are still worth noting and can often provide additional insight. The Didache, considered to be one of the earliest Christian documents outside the New Testament itself, contains instructions on baptism, stating:

“Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in flowing water,” (Didache Chapter 7).

The Didache does not explicitly claim to be quoting the Gospel of Matthew, but it contains numerous striking parallels with Matthew that have led many scholars to suspect that Matthew’s Gospel was a primary source for the Didache. For example, the Didache contains the Lord’s Prayer almost word for word from Matthew (Didache Chapter 8, Matthew 6:9-13) and concludes with warnings about the end times (Didache Chapter 16) remarkably similar to those in Matthew 24. Even if one argues that the Didache is not citing Matthew and instead preserves the same words of Jesus independently of Matthew, it then provides us an additional witness that Jesus really did teach these things, including the Trinitarian formula in His command to baptize.

Justin Martyr, a Christian living in the region of Samaria in the early second century, also affirms that baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was the practice of the earliest churches.1 Again, Justin does not explicitly cite Matthew as his source, but this additional very early testimony of the Trinitarian formula at baptism is striking. It is also worthy of note that Justin’s student, Tatian, produced a harmony of the four Gospels into one narrative called the Diatessaron which contains the words of Matthew 28:19-20, including the Trinitarian formula.2 Thus, not only is Tatian another early witness that the words were authentically part of Matthew’s gospel, he gives us good reason to think that this is where Justin and his contemporaries derived their practice.

Even the sub-orthodox and often outright heretical “Clementine Homilies” affirm that baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was the teaching of Jesus and the practice of the early church, and do so through mixing together quotations from the canonical gospels, including Mattew 28:19.3

Irenaeus of Lyons, another important Christian writer of the second century, quotes Jesus as saying:

“Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” (Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 17, Section 1).

Irenaeus, again, does not directly mention deriving this quote from Matthew’s gospel, but he does explicitly say that these were the words of Jesus. Irenaeus acknowledges only the four canonical gospels, and indeed defends the exclusivity of these four gospels a little earlier in the very same book,4 so there is no other plausible source for this quote.

Origen, a writer of the early third century, wrote probably the earliest commentary on Matthew. In it, he cites and expounds on Matthew 28, including the Trinitarian formula.5 He makes a passing reference to the passage as the “words recorded in Matthew” in his Commentary on the Book of John,6 though there he is not specific on the passage’s wording. Taken together, Origen supplies ample evidence that this text was originally part of the Gospel, and cites the passage as containing the Trinitarian formula.

Tertullian, a writer of the late second and early third centuries and the first major theologian to write in Latin rather than Greek, said:

“Accordingly, after one of these [the twelve apostles] had been struck off, He commanded the eleven others, on His departure to the Father, to ‘go and teach all nations, who were to be baptized into the Father, and into the Son, and into the Holy Ghost,'” (A Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter 20).

And elsewhere he writes:

“For the law of baptizing has been imposed, and the formula prescribed: ‘Go,’ He saith, ‘teach the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, (Tertullian, On Baptism, Chapter 8)

So, the early church was filled with references to these words, always attributed to Jesus and often explicitly said to be from the Gospel of Matthew. This only reaffirms what we find in the unanimous manuscript tradition.

 

[The Learner]

Eusebius
There is one source to which those wishing to expunge Jesus’ words from Matthew 28:19 will inevitably run, and that is the 4th-century Historian, Eusebius. In some of His writings, Eusebius paraphrases the Great Commission as “Go ye and make disciples of all nations in my name,” such as where he writes:

“after his victory over death, he spoke the word to his followers, and fulfilled it by the event, saying to them, ‘Go ye, and make disciples of all nations in my name.’ He it was who gave the distinct assurance, that his gospel must be preached in all the world for a testimony to all nations, and immediately verified his word: for within a little time the world itself was filled with his doctrine,” (Oration of Eusebius, Chapter 16, Section 8).

And:

“But the rest of the apostles, who had been incessantly plotted against with a view to their destruction, and had been driven out of the land of Judea, went unto all nations to preach the Gospel, relying upon the power of Christ, who had said to them, ‘Go ye and make disciples of all the nations in my name,” (Church History, Book 3, Chapter 5, Section 2).

They note that, in these instances, Eusebius quotes Jesus as saying “in my name,” rather than “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” They take this to mean that Eusebius’ copy of Matthew must have contained this shorter version without the Trinitarian formula. Even if this were true, it would not provide any evidence that this was the original reading, and over against the more certain manuscript tradition and the words of the earlier church writers, it would be a difficult case to make. But the situation for the anti-Trinitarian revisionists is even worse. When discussing the history of the gospel going forth to the world, Eusebius paraphrases the passage as above, keeping the focus on the command to preach to all nations. However, when discussing matters of theology, he quotes the passage more fully:

“We believe in One God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, God from God, Light from Light, Life from Life, Son Only-begotten, first-born of every creature, before all the ages, begotten from the Father, by whom also all things were made; who for our salvation was made flesh, and lived among men, and suffered, and rose again the third day, and ascended to the Father, and will come again in glory to judge quick and dead. And we believe also in One Holy Ghost; believing each of These to be and to exist, the Father truly Father, and the Son truly Son, and the Holy Ghost truly Holy Ghost, as also our Lord, sending forth His disciples for the preaching, said, ‘Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,'” (Eusebius’ Letter to the Church in Caesarea).

So even Eusebius knew and used the full form of the text we have today, he simply felt free to paraphrase it at times when his purpose did not require a full citation.

 

[The Learner]

References
References
1↑ Justin Martyr, First Apology, Chapter 61
2↑ Allan Menzies, The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Volume 9 (Hendrickson Publishing, 1994) 128
3↑ Clementine Homilies, Homily 11, Chapter 26
4↑ Irenaeus Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 11
5↑ Origen, Commentary on Matthew, Book 7, Chapter 20
6↑ Origen, Commentary on John, Book 10, Chapter 7

Is Matthew 28:19 a later addition to Matthew's Gospel?

Critics of Christianity and members of various cults have recently called into question the ending of Matthew and especially the Trinitarian formula there.

carm.org

 

[The Learner]

Historical Evidence in favour of Matthew 28:19 and Response to Claims of Inauthenticity - As It Reads

This article examines the historical evidence regarding Matthew 28:19 and provides extensive evidence against claims of inauthenticity often been leveled against this verse.

asitreads.com

https://tr-pdf.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/articles/matt-28-19-a-text-critical-investigation.pdf

Note: 3rd century is the 200's

 

[The Learner]

Manuscript evidence does not support the claim that Matthew 28 was changed.

71. But who can separate what is incapable of separation? Who can divide that association which Christ shows to be inseparable? Go, says He, baptize all nations in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 Has He changed either a word or a syllable here concerning the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit? Certainly not. But He says, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The expression is the same for the Spirit as for the Father and for Himself. From which is inferred not any office of the Holy Spirit, but rather a sharing of honour or of working when we say in the Spirit.

CHURCH FATHERS: On the Holy Spirit, Book II (Ambrose)

Featuring the Church Fathers, Catholic Encyclopedia, Summa Theologica and more.

www.newadvent.org

 

[The Learner]

CHURCH FATHERS: On the Holy Spirit, Book I (Ambrose)
www.newadvent.org › fathers

Romans 5:5 And as he who is blessed in Christ is blessed in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, because the Name is one and the ...

CHURCH FATHERS: On the Holy Spirit, Book III (Ambrose)
www.newadvent.org › fathers

Let us consider whether the Spirit has this Name. But it is written Go, baptize the nations in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

CHURCH FATHERS: On the Trinity, Book XV (St. Augustine)
www.newadvent.org › fathers

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, where this Trinity is especially commended to us. It is therefore He who was also given ...

Epistle 74 (Cyprian of Carthage) - CHURCH FATHERS
www.newadvent.org › fathers

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Among them, no doubt, there is the same error— it is the very deceitfulness of devils ...

CHURCH FATHERS: On the Holy Spirit, Book II (Ambrose)
www.newadvent.org › fathers

Certainly not. But He says, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The expression is the same for the Spirit as for ...

CHURCH FATHERS: Divine Liturgy of St. James
www.newadvent.org › fathers

It has been made one, and sanctified, and perfected, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever. And when he makes the ...

CHURCH FATHERS: Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book I ...
www.newadvent.org › fathers

Christ Himself, indeed, says: Go, baptize the nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 In the name, mark you ...

On the Mysteries (St. Ambrose) - CHURCH FATHERS
www.newadvent.org › fathers

... in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, he cannot receive remission of sins nor gain the gift of spiritual grace. 21. So that ...

CHURCH FATHERS: An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV ...
www.newadvent.org › fathers

Isaiah 61:1 Christ, however, taught His own disciples the invocation and said, Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

CHURCH FATHERS: Supplement to De Viris Illustribus (Gennadius)
www.newadvent.org › fathers

... in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, though the formula has been used in a vitiated sense. He considers that after the simple ...

CHURCH FATHERS: From the Teaching of Addaeus the Apostle
www.newadvent.org › fathers

And all those who believed in Christ did Addæus receive, and baptized them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And those who ...
CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book II (Socrates Scholasticus)
www.newadvent.org › fathers

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit'; that is to say of the Father who is truly the Father, of the Son who is truly the Son ...

CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book I (Socrates Scholasticus)
www.newadvent.org › fathers

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.' Concerning these doctrines we steadfastly maintain their truth, and avow our full ...

 

[The Learner]

Whoever told you Matthew 28:19 was added is a false dishonest teacher. In fact, the Dicache dates to 90-110 AD.

 

[The Learner]

Jesus made it very clear that His Name is the key to all authority: “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may beglorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).

 

[The Learner]

From an Hostile Witness to the Trinity,

"

Manuscript Evidence​

Even though there is absolutely no textual variation whatsoever for Matthew 28.19 in the manuscripts, some allege these manuscripts are ALL wrong and a corruption entered into the picture during or after the Council of Nicea in a.d. 325 when the Trinity became accepted. "

Is Matthew 28:19 A Forgery? - BiblicalUnitarian.com

Tucked away at the end of the Gospel of Matthew is the great commission. It reads, “Therefore...

www.biblicalunitarian.com

 

[The Learner]

The Didache, AD 80-160​

And concerning baptism, thus baptize: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in flowing water. But if you do not have flowing water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot in cold, in warm. But if you do not have either, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whichever others can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before. (ch. 7)

Irenaeus, c. A.D. 185​

And again, giving to the disciples the power of regeneration into God, he said to them, "Go and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Against Heresies III:17:1)

Tertullian, c. A.D. 200​

In the next quote, the argument being addressed is that while Christians should seek and study within the faith, it is inappropriate to research outside the teachings of the apostles. That teaching was given from God to Jesus to the apostles to the church by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, not by research. It was an argument against gnosticism and its bizarre doctrines.

It is only at the last that he instructs [the apostles] to "go and disciple all nations, and baptize them," when they were so soon to receive "the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who would guide them into all the truth" [Jn. 16:13]. And this, too, leads to the same conclusion. If the apostles, who were ordained to be teachers to the Gentiles, were themselves to have the Comforter for their teacher, far more needless was it to say to us, "Seek, and ye shall find," to whom was to come, without research, our instruction by the apostles, and to the apostles themselves by the Holy Spirit. (Prescription Against Heretics 8)
Christ Jesus our Lord ... did, while he lived on earth, himself declare what he was, what he had been, what the Father’s will was which he was administering, [and] what the duty of man was which he was prescribing, either openly to the people or privately to his disciples, of whom He had chosen the twelve chief ones to be at His side, and whom he destined to be the teachers of the nations. Accordingly, after one of these had been struck off [Judas], he commanded the eleven others, on his departure to the Father, to "go and disciple all nations," who were to be baptized into "the Father, and into the Son, and into the Holy Spirit." Immediately, therefore, that is what the apostles did, whom this designation ["apostle"] indicates as "the sent." (Prescription Against Heretics 20)
We have set forth Jesus Christ as none other than the Christ of the Creator. Our proofs we have drawn from his doctrines, maxims, affections, feelings, miracles, sufferings, and even resurrection—as foretold by the prophets. Even to the last he taught us, when he sent forth his apostles to preach his gospel "among all nations," for he thus fulfilled the Psalm: "Their sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." [Ps. 19:4] (Against Marcion IV:43)
For the law of baptizing has been imposed, and the formula prescribed: "Go," he says, "disciple the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The comparison with this law of that definition, "Unless a man have been reborn of water and Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of the heavens" (Jn. 3:5) has tied faith to the necessity of baptism. (On Baptism 13)

​

 

[The Learner]

Hippolytus, c. A.D. 225​

The Father’s Word, therefore, knowing the economy [the "order" or "plan"] and the will of the Father, to wit, that the Father seeks to be worshipped in none other way than this, gave this charge to the disciples after He rose from the dead: "Go, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." And by this He showed, that whosoever omitted any one of these, failed in glorifying God perfectly. For it is through this Trinity that the Father is glorified. For the Father willed, the Son did, the Spirit manifested. ("Against the Heresy of One Noetus." par. 14. In Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. V. American Ed. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1885.)

Cyprian, AD 249-258​

The Lord, when, after his resurrection, he sent forth His apostles, charges them, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." And the Apostle John, remembering this charge, subsequently lays it down in his epistle: "Hereby," says he, "we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that says he knows him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" [1 Jn. 2:3-4]. You prompt the keeping of these precepts; you observe the divine and heavenly commands. This is to be a confessor of the Lord; this is to be a martyr of Christ,—to keep the firmness of one’s profession inviolate among all evils, and secure. (Epistle 24:2)
Lest therefore we should walk in darkness, we ought to follow Christ, and to observe his precepts, because he himself told his apostles in another place, as he sent them forth, All power is given to me in heaven and earth. Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Therefore, if we wish to walk in the light of Christ, let us not depart from his precepts and admonitions, giving thanks that, while he instructs for the future what we ought to do, he pardons for the past where we in our simplicity have erred. (Epistle 62:18)
For the Lord after his resurrection, sending his disciples, instructed and taught them in what manner they ought to baptize, saying, “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." He suggests the Trinity, in whose sacrament the nations were to be baptized. (Epistle 72:5)

Lucius of Castra Galbae, A.D. 257​

And again, after his resurrection, sending his apostles, he charged them, saying, "All power is given to me, in heaven and in earth. Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Since, therefore, it is obvious that heretics—that is, the enemies of Christ—have not the sound confession of the sacrament; moreover, that schismatics cannot season others with spiritual wisdom, since they themselves, by departing from the Church, which is one, having lost the savor, have become contrary to it,—let it be done as it is written, "The house of those that are contrary to the law owes a cleansing" [Prov. 14:9. LXX.]. And it is a consequence that those who, having been baptized by people who are contrary to the Church, are polluted, must first be cleansed, and then at length be baptized. ("The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian")

Vincentius of Thibaris, AD 257​

We know that heretics are worse than Gentiles. If, therefore, being converted, they should wish to come to the Lord, we have assuredly the rule of truth which the Lord by his divine precept commanded to His apostles, saying, "Go, lay on hands in my name, expel demons" [Mk. 16:17-18]. And in another place: "Go and teach the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Therefore first of all by imposition of hands in exorcism, secondly by the regeneration of baptism, they may then come to the promise of Christ. ("The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian")

Anonymous, c. AD 255​

Whence also the Lord Christ charges upon Peter, and moreover also upon the rest of His disciples, "Go and preach the Gospel to the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." That is, that that same Trinity which operated figuratively in Noah’s days through the dove, now operates in the Church spiritually through the disciples. ("A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop")

Victorinus, d. 304​

He calls the apostles his feet, who, being wrought by suffering, preached his word in the whole world; for he rightly named those by whose means the preaching went forth, "feet." Whence also the prophet anticipated this, and said: "We will worship in the place where His feet have stood" [Ps. 132:7]. Because where they first of all stood and confirmed the Church, that is, in Judea, all the saints shall assemble together, and will worship their Lord. ... The many waters are understood to be many peoples, or the gift of baptism that he sent forth by the apostles, saying: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." ("Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John")

Quotes About the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)

Early Christian and modern quotes about the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20.

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