Tag Archives: Faith

Faith and Love in Ignatius’ Letters

Ignatius (35-108 AD), the disciple of the apostle John and overseer of Antioch, left us a series of letters written during his journey to Rome to face trial and eventually martyrdom. They were written to various churches along the journey to encourage and instruct them in his absence.

As I read through his letters recently, I was struck by the pervasive theme of love and faith. Not held apart, but bound together as a unified response towards God and the gospel. For Ignatius, both love and faith are indispensable for salvation.

Ignatius frames salvation as attaining to God—a goal that requires endurance even unto death. If we are found to be faithful at the end, only then are we true disciples of Jesus. Attaining to God is not a mere matter of intellectual faith alone. It also requires true love towards God and each other.

Direct Quotations of Ignatius
One of the most explicit statements of faith and love by Ignatius is found in his letter to the Ephesian church, the same church we know Paul was deeply involved with. As you can read in the quote below, Ignatius viewed spiritual life as a continuum that requires endurance in both faith and love.

None of these things escape your notice, if you have perfect faith and love toward Jesus Christ. For these are the beginning and the end of life: faith is the beginning and love is the end, and the two, when they exist in unity are God. Everything else that contributes to excellence follows from them. No one professing faith sins, nor does anyone possessing love hate. The tree is known by its fruit; thus those who profess to be Christ’s will be recognized by their actions. For the work is a matter not of what one promises now, but of persevering to the end in the power of faith. (Ignatius, Ephesians 14.1-2)

Earlier in the same letter, Ignatius describes the construction of the church as God’s temple, in which both faith and love play a pivotal role in forming this holy body of believers:

[…] you are stones of a temple, prepared beforehand for the building of God the Father, hoisted up to the heights by the crane of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, using as a rope the Holy Spirit; your faith is what lifts you up, and love is the way that leads up to God. (Ignatius, Ephesians 9.1)

Faith, Love, and the Crucified Christ
The theological closeness that the early church held faith and love together can be seen in a unique parallel Ignatius forms between both faith and love, and the crucified body of Jesus. He associates faith with Jesus’ fleshly body and love with Jesus’ shed blood.

You, therefore, must arm yourselves with gentleness and regain your strength in faith (which is the flesh of the Lord) and in love (which is the blood of Jesus Christ). (Ignatius, Trallians 8.1)

I glorify Jesus Christ, the God who made you so wise, for I observed that you are established in an unshakeable faith, having been nailed as it were, to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ in both body and spirit, and firmly established in love by the blood of Christ […] (Ignatius, Smyrnaeans 1.1)

The Gospel and Our Response of Faith and Love
In explaining the gospel, Ignatius describes both faith and love as our response towards Jesus:

If Jesus Christ, in response to your prayer, should reckon me worthy, and if it is his will, in a second letter that I intend to write to you I will further explain to you the subject about which I have begun to speak, namely, the divine plan with respect to the new man Jesus Christ, involving faith in him and love for him, his suffering and resurrection, especially if the Lord reveals anything to me. (Ignatius, Ephesians 20.1-2)

Again, in response to the gospel, Ignatius instructs his readers to “believe with love.” This is reminiscent of Paul’s statement to the Galatians that “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” (Gal. 5:6)

But the gospel possesses something distinctive, namely, the coming of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, his suffering, and the resurrection. For the beloved prophets preached in anticipation of him, but the gospel in the imperishable finished work. All these things together are good, if you believe with love. (Ignatius, Philadelphians 9.2)

I have too many quotes to list out here. I’ve posted the rest of them below this post if you’re curious.

Final Thoughts from Scripture
This theme of faith and love working together is seen all over scripture as well.

I’ve already mentioned Paul, how he taught that what really matters is “faith working through love.” Paul also writes that love is the fulfillment of the Law. All of the Mosaic Law and the Prophets are summed up in love, in loving God and loving our neighbor. (Romans 13:10) Paul also tells us that of faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. (1 Co. 13:13) Earlier in the same chapter, Paul again emphasizes that without love, faith is nothing. He writes, “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Co. 13:2)

For the apostle John, who apparently taught Ignatius, love is not only important, but a necessity. He writes in 1 John, “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” And conversely, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)

Finally, when we read in James that we are justified by works and not by faith alone, the context is clear that the “works” mentioned are acts of love. (James 2:24) They are not ritualistic religious practices that have no bearing on one’s heart for others, but are manifestations of godly love.

It is this other-focused love that is essential for Ignatius—true love that fulfills the law and looks not to please ourselves, but serve others. To use Ignatius’ own words, “nothing is preferable” to this love and faith working together in our lives to the glory of God.

Additional Quotes

For just as their are two coinages, the one of God and the other of the world, and each of them has its own stamp impressed upon it, so the unbelievers bear the stamp of this world, but the faithful in love bear the stamp of God the Father through Jesus Christ, whose life is not in us unless we voluntarily choose to die into his suffering. (Ignatius, Magnesians 5.2)

For inasmuch as I have been judged to bear a most godly name, in these chains that I bear I sing the praises of the churches, and I pray that in them there may be a union of flesh and spirit that comes from Jesus Christ, our never-failing life, and of faith and love, to which nothing is preferable, and–what is more important–of Jesus and the Father. In him we will reach God, if we patiently endure all the abuse of the ruler of this age and escape. (Ignatius, Magnesians 1.2)

Do not let a high position make anyone proud, for faith and love are everything; nothing is preferable to them. (Ignatius, Smyrnaeans 6.1)

I welcomed in God your well-beloved name, which you possess by reason of your righteous nature, characterized by faith in and love of Christ Jesus our Savior. (Ignatius, Ephesians 1.1)

[…] the church beloved and enlightened through the will of the one who willed all things that exist, in accordance with faith in and love for Jesus [Or faith and love of Jesus] Christ our God […] (Ignatius, Romans; Salutation)

Be eager, therefore, to be firmly grounded in the precepts of the Lord and the apostles, in order that in whatever you do, you may prosper, physically and spiritually, in faith and love, in the son and the Father and in the Spirit, in the beginning and at the end, together with your most distinguished bishop and that beautifully woven spiritual crown which is your council of presbyters and the godly deacons. (Ignatius, Magnesians 13.1)

I greet the household of Gavia, and pray that she may be firmly grounded in faith and love both physically and spiritually. (Ignatius, Smyrnaeans 13.2)

Pistis Iesou: “Faith of Jesus” or “Faith in Jesus”

In the scholarly world, a debate has been raging for a while now regarding the proper way to translate the Greek phrase “πίστις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ” (pistis Iēsou Christou), meaning either the “faith of Jesus Christ” or “faith in Jesus Christ.” This would apply to other variations where we have the word pistis (faith) followed by different combinations of the name/title of Jesus in the genitive case.

The reason for the debate revolves around the fact that both options are grammatically possible and significant theological positions are at stake.

In simple terms, one could correctly translate the genitive Iēsou here either as an objective genitive or as a subjective genitive. The terms objective and subjective are simply labels we apply to the genitive, depending on how we believe it is being used. There is no magical magnifying glass we can pull out and peer through to discover a small marking that indicates what type of genitive it is. These are interpretive labels applied to the genitive case in Greek.

Translated subjectively, we would read the phrase pistis Iēsou as the “faith of Jesus”, meaning that Jesus produces the faith (so he is not the recipient of our faith in this scenario). Alternatively, to translate it objectively would yield “faith in Jesus,” meaning Jesus is the recipient of our faith. Both options are within the range of possible meaning grammatically.

Consequently, scholars can argue all day long in sophisticated ways and at the end of the day both sides still hold the same old positions stronger than ever. I’m simplifying, but that is the core of the issue.

The primary verses affected by this debate are mostly in Paul’s letters and would include Rom. 3:22, Rom. 3:26, Gal. 2:16; Gal. 2:20, Gal. 3:22, Eph. 3:12, and Phil. 3:9. Revelations 14:12 also applies, although it is not as commonly debated.

Let’s take a look at a couple examples and decide if a subjective or objective genitive would make more sense based on the context.

²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:21-25 ESV)

In verse 22, we read that the righteousness of God has been revealed through pisteōs Iēsou Christou towards all those believing. Following most modern translations, the righteousness of God is through “faith in Jesus” and is for those believing. If understood this way, the concept of belief in Jesus is repeated twice unnecessarily. Paul would be saying that it’s revealed through believing in Jesus for those believing in Jesus, making it a bit of awkward phrasing.

It also raises an interesting theological dilemma. Is the righteousness of God revealed through our faith? Or is it through the faith of Jesus, Jesus’ faithfulness through death on a cross? I think most would agree that humanity didn’t reveal God’s faithfulness, unless you are referring specifically to God in human flesh, Jesus Christ. God revealed his righteousness through the person Jesus Christ. This was specifically through His faithful obedience and perseverance.

Here’s another example to analyze from Galatians:

“We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

This is similar to the previous example from Romans, but is even clearer in my opinion. The bold portions could also be translated as a subjective genitive, the “faith/faithfulness of Jesus.” Translated this way, Paul would be saying that we are justified by Christ’s death (the implied reference of the “faith of Christ”) and not by ritual observance of the Mosaic Law. Because we have been justified by Jesus’ sacrificial death, we have put our trust in Christ Jesus, so that we are justified by Jesus’ death and not by works of the Mosaic Law. Paul would not be denying the need to put our trust in Jesus, but rather puts greater focus on Jesus’ faithfulness as the paschal lamb.

If we took both instances in Galatians 2:16 as objective genitives, it would follow Protestant tradition nicely, but would make Paul repeat himself three times. Paul essentially would be writing that we are justified by believing in Jesus, so we believe in Jesus, in order that we be justified by believing in Jesus. Suffice to say, it lacks the theological depth the alternative interpretation communicates so nicely.

Let’s move on to a non-Pauline example, one I find interesting and is probably less discussed.

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. (Revelations 14:12 ESV)

As I’ve discussed, “faith in Jesus” is a grammatically possible translation, but so is “faith of Jesus” or “Jesus’ faith.” So we could instead read this verse as:

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keeping the commandments of God and the faithfulness of Jesus.

This would change the definition of the saints to those who keep the commands of God and also the faithful perseverance of Jesus. The “faithfulness of Jesus” puts emphasis on the endurance of faith displayed throughout Jesus’ entire life. The saints are those who have not only believe in Jesus (which is expressed elsewhere in scripture), but those who live by the same obedient faith Jesus lived by.

Although one can’t grammatically prove the correctness of one translation over the other, understanding the alternate possibilities provide a new (or quite old) perspective that could be easily overlooked otherwise.

One word of caution, not every instance where we read about our faith in Jesus is applicable to this discussion. For example, Paul writes in Ephesians 1:15, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus.” The “Lord Jesus” here is in the dative and is preceded by the preposition “in” (en) in the Greek (unlike the examples discussed previously in this post). So any discussion of objective versus subjective genitives does not apply in this verse. There are a number of other verses like this. I would encourage you to use an interlinear or bible program accurately determine what grammatical construction is being used in the Greek.

Unless Found Perfect: A Parallel Passage in the Didache and Epistle of Barnabas

There is a strong parallel phrase between the Didache (50-70 AD) and the Epistle of Barnabas (90-131 AD), two very early Christian writings found in the modern collection known as the Apostolic Fathers.

In anticipation of the last days and the return of Jesus, the Didache emphasizes the necessity of being found perfect or complete in the last days, otherwise our past faith will “be of no use.”

Watch over your life: do not let your lamps go out, and do not be unprepared, but be ready, for you do not know the hour when our Lord is coming. Gather together frequently, seeking the things that benefit your souls, for all the time you have believed will be of no use to you if you are not found perfect in the last time. (Didache 16. 1,2; Holmes, 3rd Ed.)

In the 1912 Loeb edition, Kirsopp Lake translates the last passage as, “for the whole time of your faith shall not profit you except ye be found perfect at the last time.”

Similar language is used in the Epistle of Barnabas when talking of the last days:

Consequently, let us be on guard in the last days, for the whole time of our faith will do us no good unless now, in the age of lawlessness, we also resist, as befits God’s children, the coming stumbling blocks, lest the black one find an opportunity to sneak in. (Barnabas 4. 9b; Holmes, 3rd Ed.)

Both are directly speaking of the importance of continued spiritual soberness in the last days. The Greek has almost identical wording in both passages where it says “for the whole time of your/our faith will do you/us no good unless [now] in the last/lawless time […].”

Didache: οὐ γὰρ ὠφελήσει ὑμᾶς ὁ πᾶς χρόνος τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, ἐὰν μὴ ἐν τῷ ἐσχάτῳ καιρῷ […]
Barnabas: οὐδὲν γὰρ ὠφελήσει ἡμᾶς ὁ πᾶς χρόνος τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν, ἐὰν μὴ νῦν ἐν τῷ ἀνόμῳ καιρῷ […]

There is no doubt that there either was a common source that both quoted from, or Barnabas borrowed here from the Didache. Regardless, the teaching that we need to be found faithful at the end was a common teaching present among the earliest believers. The eternal state of a Christian was not strictly viewed only as a simple profession of past faith, but in terms of continued faithfulness and endurance up until the end of our life.

Eventually I may take the time and effort to complete a comprehensive survey of this teaching in the earliest non-canonical Christian writings, but until then this is just one morsel of early Christian thought to chew on.