1

2

Gospel so replete with richness and depth of thought, and which, like his first epistle, is the very model of profound contemplation and the expression of true mysticism (evarréhov лVEUμаTIZÓν, the spiritual Gospel). An ancient account. avevμatizóv, says that he combated the Ebionites, Cerinthians, and the Nicolaitanes. We shall, however, look in vain through the writings of St. John for an open attack upon heretics, his object having been to refute error, not so much by controverting false principles as by clearly expounding the truth, and thus directly establishing positive doctrine. Thus viewing the subject in an historical light, as in the prologue to his Gospel, he triumphantly refutes a host of errors, of which we shall have occasion to speak later on. He makes the Logos, or Word, who manifests Himself in Creation and Redemption,3 and by whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made, a Being neither purely human, as the Ebionites asserted, nor inferior to the Supreme God, as the Cerinthians affirmed, but a God coëternal and consubstantial with the Father. He taught that this Word did not descend upon Jesus at the moment of His baptism, but had already assumed in true sense a body of flesh (oáps), and that, contrary to the teachings of the Cerinthians and the Docetae, the Word became man; that John the Baptist was only man, and not the Light of the World; that he was not the true

4

1Iren. contr. haer. III. 11, n. 1.

5

2Neander very pointedly remarks: "His polemics is of a positive character, so much so that he bears testimony with all the energy of his soul to what he considers the foundation of salvation as certain beyond all manner of doubt, and, on many occasions, rejects with supreme aversion everything contrary to it, without troubling himself about entering into a lengthy refutation of such errors." History of the Foundation and Guidance of the Christian Church by the Apostles, pt. II., p. 483. St. Ignatius, the pupil of St. John, followed his method of disputation. Cf. ep. ad Smyrn., c. 5, rà Sè óvóμatα aνT☎V, ὄντα ἄπιστα, οὐκ ἔδοξε μοι ἐγγράψαι. I have not chosen to write down their names, since these are not well authenticated.

3 Concerning the Logos of St. John and the difference between it and that fabricated by Philo, see Döllinger, The Jew and the Gentile, p. 843. Staudenmaier, Genius of Christianity, Vol. I., p. 440-463. †Lutterbeck, Doctrinal Systems of the N. T., Vol. II., p. 262 sq. Freibg. Eccl. Cyclopedia, Vol. VI., p. 575-581. Herzog's Encyclopedia, Vol. XI., p. 591 sq.

4 John i. 1-3.

5 John i. 14.

Light, as his disciples maintained, but that his office had been simply to bear witness to the Light that became visible. through the Incarnation;1 that the Mosaic Law was not, as the Judaizing Christians taught, a means of obtaining the fellowship of the Word or of becoming of the children of God; and that faith in the mission of Christ,' through the grace and truth3 that came into the world when the Word was made flesh, are the only conditions to the enjoyment of these gracious privileges.

St. John, with a vision equally penetrating and far-reaching, and a flight of thought equally majestic, foretells, in the prophetic words of the Apocalypse, the future destiny of the Church, and predicts that, though tossed to and fro amid the violence of revolutions, she will survive them all, and endure until the day of final victory, when she will be transformed into a celestial city. Some persons have been led into all manner of absurdities by attempting to interpret certain images and visions of this book in a sense which would make them applicable to particular persons, periods, and circumstances of the Church.

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4

The Apostolic zeal which is so characteristic of the Gospel and epistles of St. John did not cool as youth departed, but rather grew more ardent as years went on. Clement of Alexandria relates that, heedless of all danger, he on one occasion followed a party of brigands into a lonely retreat, and brought back one of their number whom he had known and tenderly loved as a youth, and restored him again to the bosom of the Church. Inspired with the same burning zeal, though no longer able to engage in active missionary duty, he gathered his people about him, and constantly repeated

1 John i. 6-8.

2 John i. 12.

3 John i. 17.

4

Hug, Introduction to the N. T., pt. II. †Maier, Introd. to N. T., p. 438476, Stern, Commentary on the Apoc. of St. John, Schaffh. 1854. Bossuet, too, interpreted this mysterious book. Cf. Boost, Explanation of St. John's Apoc., Darmst. 1835. (He finds in the Apocalypse the contents of the history of the Cristian Church.)

5 In tl work rís ỏ σwsóμevos tλovσios, c. 42.—What rich man will be saved.

these words, which embody the very soul of a spiritual life, "My children, love one another."1

Many began to see in the extreme old age of St. John the fulfillment of the report that had gone "abroad among the brethren, that that disciple dieth not," when, during the reign of Trajan, the Apostle, filled with joy because the Church of Christ had spread over the whole face of the earth, and surrounded by those dearest to him, peacefully and tranquilly gave back his pure soul to God (A. D. 100).3

§ 61. Summary of the Doctrines of the Apostles—Their Mode of Teaching.

Döllinger treats the subject at length in his work entitled Christianity and the Church, p. 142–290.

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The Apostles, in obedience to the command of Christ, "Go and teach all nations," began their work by proclaiming to the world the three great fundamental truths of the Christian religion the Incarnation of the Son of God, His Death and Resurrection, to which they added instructions on the necessity of faith in God, penance for sin, and justification by faith," and gave explanations of baptism conferred in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,' and of the meaning of the laying on of hands. They followed these up with a clear statement of the doctrine relative to the forgiveness of sin,3 the resurrection of the dead, and final judgment. In these doctrines were essentially and formally contained all the articles of belief embodied in the Symbol of Faith, known as the Apostles' Creed, and which, based upon apostolic tradition, was given to the world at a later date.

1

10

Hieronym. comment. ad Galat. (Opp. ed. Martianay, T. III., p. 314.)

2 John xxi. 22 sq.

3 Euseb. h. e. III. 1, 31. Hieronym. de viris illustr., c. 9.

41 John iv. 2, 3

51 Cor. xv. 3, 4, and 12-14; Rom. iv. 25.

6 Gal. iii. 8, 9; Rom. iii. 28.

'Matt. xxviii. 19.

Jas. v. 16; 1 John i. 9.

"Heb. vi. 1, 2.

1o One of the oldest reads thus, according to Roman form: Credo in Deum

1

The doctrine of the Trinity, so explicitly set forth in the form for baptism, though spoken of in the sense of an economy, or as showing how man's salvation is due to the coöperation of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is, nevertheless, based on the essential relations which the unity of substance in the three divine persons of the Trinity necessarily implies. Hence, it is constantly to be borne in mind that when the Apostles speak simply of the Lord or of the Holy Ghost as dispensing grace, they understand by this form of expression the united power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That this is the meaning of the Apostles is evident from many passages of their writings. St. Peter, for instance, in his first epistle, connects the three persons of the Blessed Trinity with the economy of grace: "To the strangers elect according to the preknowledge of God the Father, unto the sanctification of the Spirit, unto the obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." Again: St. Paul speaks of the "grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God (the Father), and the communication of the Holy Ghost." The same Apostle, in another place,3 in making mention of the diversity of graces communicated by the Spirit, the diversity of ministries conferred by the Son, and the diversity of operations proceeding from the Father, is careful to add that the "same God worketh all in all." Justification is also represented as the effect of a Father's love, who, to give proof of it, sent His Son, who in turn became incarnate and satisfied for the sins of the world, and made man's justification possible through the Holy Ghost. There is no question but that the method followed by St. Paul in

2

Patrem omnipotentem, et in Jesum Christum Filium ejus unicum Dominum nostrum, qui natus est de Spiritu Sancto et (ex) Maria Virgine, sub Pontio Pilato crucifixus et sepultus, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris, inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos. Et in Spiritum Sanctum; Sanctam Ecclesiam; Remissionem peccatorum; Carnis resurrectionem. To this was added, by the formulary of the Church of Ravenna, Vitam aeternam, and the Spanish form, Amen. Cf. Denzinger, enchiridion symbolorum, etc., p. 1–8.

11 Petr. i. 2.

22 Cor. xiii. 13.

31 Cor. xii. 4-6.

expounding Christian doctrine is superior to that of any of the other Apostles in clearness of arrangement and thoroughness of handling.

1

The Gospels and various Epistles of the Apostles were written with the purpose of giving permanence and vitality to their oral instructions, for such are easily forgotten, and their injunctions, unless constantly brought before the mind, would have been soon neglected.

The different forms under which the same truths are put forward afford examples of the three distinct types of Christian theology, and supply an inexhaustible source from which Christian theologians of every age have drawn materials for scientific demonstration. The first three Gospels and the Epistles of SS. James and Peter are specimens of the historical or practical and positive type. The writings of St. Paul are examples of the dialectical method; while St. John, as studied in his Gospel, is the best representative of a contemplative life.

The writings of the Apostolic Fathers, namely, the immediate disciples of the Apostles, abundantly show that, while preserving the mode of teaching adopted by the latter, every effort was made to give the widest extension to their doctrines. In proof of this, it is sufficient to refer to the Catholic Epistles of Barnabas; the two epistles of Clement, Bishop of Rome, to the Corinthians; the seven epistles of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch († 107 or 114), to various Christian communities and to Polycarp; the epistle of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna († 168), to the Philippians; and the epistle to Diognetus, the author of which is unknown. The Explanations of our Lord's Discourses (3yrjoux), of which only a few fragments are extant, written by Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, and the work of Hermas, known as the Pastor, under the various

1

1 Cf. 2 Thess. ii. 14; 1 Cor. xi. 2; 2 Tim. i. 13, 14, ii. 2, with John xx. 30, and 2 John v. 12. Concerning the object of the composition of St. Matthew's Gospel, Euseb. h. e. iii. 24, writes as follows: "Matthew, who had originally taught among the Hebrews, when he was on the point of departure to carry the truths of the Gospel also to others, composed his Gospel in the vernacular tongue of those with whom he was about to part, that thus might be supplied the want of further instruction during his absence."

2+Lutterbeck, Doctrinal Systems of N. T., Vol. II., p. 138 sq.