Why Study the Pre-Nicene Christian Writings? (Full Script)

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The Pre-Nicene Christians were Christian writers who lived from about AD 75 to AD 325.  This 250-year period immediately follows the time of the apostles and ends at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325.  The Council of Nicaea was the first event that brought major changes in Christianity.  It marked the beginning of a union between church and state--the kingdom of God and the Roman Empire.  This period before the Council of Nicaea, that is, the Pre-Nicene period, was a time when the Christian church was still handing down the teachings and traditions of the apostles.  It was a time when the church was not being influenced by the surrounding government and culture.  Therefore, the Christian writings from this time are extremely valuable to us today.  They give us a window into primitive Christianity after the time of the apostles.

Many people are surprised when they hear how many Christian writings from the Pre-Nicene period have survived over 1700 years and can be read today.  The writings that have survived fill about nine encyclopedia-sized volumes.  These have been translated and compiled into what is called the Ante-Nicene Fathers.  Ante-Nicene simply means before the Council of Nicaea.  The full set of the Ante-Nicene Fathers costs over $100.  Or, you could subscribe to this channel for free.  With this amount of material, it may take a person a few years to fully grasp what Christianity was like during the first 250 years after the apostles.  The goal of this channel, the Post-Apostolic Church, is to bring the Pre-Nicene writings to life for another generation.  For the rest of this video, let's go into more detail about the Pre-Nicene Christians and why it is valuable to learn from them.

The Pre-Nicene Christians have many advantages over Christian historians today.  First, the Pre-Nicene writings are a primary source which allows us to determine which writings belong in the New Testament canon, that is, which works are believed to be inspired by God.  During the Pre-Nicene period, many books and letters were being circulated among the Christians.  But which ones were truly from God and which ones were the work of men?  Today's New Testament canon of 27 books was first listed by Athanasius in AD 367.  How do we know which books were used by the Christians and which one were not?  This can be learned from the Pre-Nicene Christians who supported or rejected certain writings.  For example, Irenaeus, who was a student of Polycarp, who was a student of the apostle John, said in AD 180 that there are exactly four gospels.  Therefore, we know writings like the Gospel of Thomas are not Scripture.  In fact, we can know that this gospel was written by the Gnostics.  Lord willing, videos will be posted later which will address various early century writings.  Please subscribe so you do not miss them.

Second, the Pre-Nicene Christians had the Scriptures as the source of their beliefs and practices.  The Scriptures were in the forms of gospels, books, and letters which were handed down from the apostles themselves.  In some cases, the Pre-Nicene Christians received God's teaching from apostles directly.  For example, Peter and Paul instructed Clement of Rome.  Today, we can read Clement's letter to the Corinthians which we call 1 Clement.  The apostle John, who lived much longer than any of the other apostles, had these three Pre-Nicene writers as his students: Ignatius, Papias, and Polycarp.  We can read Ignatius' seven letters to various churches while he was on his way to die in Rome.  We can read Polycarp's letter to the Philippians as well as a detailed account of his martyrdom written by the Christians of Smyrna where he was a bishop.  The fact that we can read the very writings of those who saw the apostles face to face should be such an incredible encouragement and excitement for Christians today!  Though the rest of the Pre-Nicene Christians did not see the apostles face to face, they still have advantages over Christian historians today.  For example, Irenaeus was a student of Polycarp, so there are only two degrees of separation between Irenaeus and the apostle John.  And there are many, many writings by Irenaeus that have survived to this day.  About the Scriptures and traditions that the apostles handed down, Irenaeus wrote,

Suppose there arise a dispute relative to some important question among us, should we not have recourse to the most ancient Churches with which the apostles held constant intercourse, and learn from them what is certain and clear in regard to the present question?  For how should it be if the apostles themselves had not left us writings? Would it not be necessary, [in that case,] to follow the course of the tradition which they handed down to those to whom they did commit the Churches?  (Irenaeus.  AD 180.  ANF, vol 1, page 417.)

Today, we are about 2000 years removed from the apostles.  The Pre-Nicene Christians, on the other hand, were removed from the apostles 250 years at the most.  To the Pre-Nicene Christians, the time of Christ and His apostles was not ancient history.  There was just 10 generations between the apostles and the last Pre-Nicene writer.  Eusebius lived at the end of the Pre-Nicene period.  For him to look back on all the things that Jesus Christ did would be like Americans looking back on the events of the American Revolutionary War.  Just as there is a wealth of information today on the Revolutionary War, the Pre-Nicene Christians had enough historical information on Jesus Christ and His apostles.

If you look in your Bible and it has a page or two devoted to an introduction to each book of the New Testament, how did the Bible publishers get this information--especially the date or the author?  The authors, dates, and other interesting information about the New Testament books are known to us today because of the Pre-Nicene Christians.  For example, the author of the fourth gospel does not identify himself.  How do we know that the apostle John wrote it?  The only reason we know John wrote the fourth gospel is because the Pre-Nicene writers told us he wrote it.  Another example is the abrupt ending of the book of Acts.  What happened to Paul after he was under house arrest in Rome and when he wrote his later letters such as 2 Timothy?  The Pre-Nicene Christians tell us what happened to him.  Subscribe so you don't miss any of this fascinating information.

Third, the Pre-Nicene Christians give us more details about the commandments, instructions, and traditions the apostles taught.  Paul said,

Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, either by our message or by our letter.  (2Thes 2:15)

Paul says there was authority from God in what the apostles taught as well as what they wrote down.  What if the apostles gave traditions from God that were not written down in their letters?  How would we know what those traditions were?  We would learn about them from the Pre-Nicene Christians.  If the Pre-Nicene Christians go into more detail about a tradition that has been referred to in the Scriptures, then we can know that this tradition was given by the apostles.

As previously showed, the Pre-Nicene Christians either knew the apostles personally, or at least were separated from them by 250 years or ten generations.  Since Christians today are separated from the apostles by 1900+ years or 78 generations, it is hard for us to fathom how close these Christian writers were to the apostles.  Perhaps the next couple quotes from Tertullian about Paul's letters will help us grasp the advantage the Pre-Nicene Christians had.  Tertullian wrote from Carthage,

Run over [to] the apostolic churches, in which the very thrones of the apostles are still pre-eminent in their places, in which their own authentic writings are read, uttering the voice and representing the face of each of them severally[, or individually].  Achaia is very near you, (in which) you find Corinth.  Since you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi; (and there too) you have the Thessalonians.  Since you are able to cross to Asia, you get Ephesus.  Since, moreover, you are close upon Italy, you have Rome, from which there comes even into our own hands the very authority (of apostles themselves).  (Tertullian.  AD 197.  ANF, vol 3, page 260.)

Tertullian also wrote,

If that is from the beginning which has the apostles for its authors, then it will certainly be quite as evident, that that comes down from the apostles, which has been kept as a sacred deposit in the churches of the apostles.  Let us see what milk the Corinthians drank from Paul; to what rule the Galatians were brought for correction; what the Philippians, the Thessalonians, the Ephesians read; what utterance also the Romans give, so very near (to the apostles), to whom Peter and Paul conjointly bequeathed the gospel even sealed with their own blood.  We have also John’s foster churches.  (Tertullian.  AD 207.  ANF, vol 3, page 349-350.)

Today, no original manuscripts written by Paul, John, or any other NT writer exist.  However, Tertullian says that if anyone wants to go to the very churches to which Paul and John wrote, they can!  They can travel there and read Paul's and John's writings for themselves.  So even 150 years after the apostles, the Pre-Nicene Christians were still able to do this.

When Tertullian refers to "John's foster churches," he means the churches of 1, 2, and 3 John.  Also, you will notice in this quote from Tertullian that he says both Peter and Paul were in Rome.  Lord willing, there will be a video posted about what happened to the apostles after Acts, so please subscribe.

Fourth, the Pre-Nicene Christians had a cultural advantage over us.  In the west, Americans have their way of thinking which differs from the way Mexicans or Canadians think, let alone the way the Mediterranean world thinks, let alone how the Mediterranean world thought 1800 years ago.  Not only did the Pre-Nicene Christians live in the same area of the world as Jesus Christ and the apostles, they also lived in the same culture.  They understood the same cultural references, experienced the same persecution, and chose the same life of poverty.  At the same time, the Pre-Nicene Christians opposed the enemy religions of their day.  Though the Pre-Nicene Christians lived in a completely different culture, this does not mean they dealt with different social issues than the social issues of today.  So many people today mistakenly believe that the social issues Christians deal with today are nothing like the social issues early Christianity had to deal with.  This is not the case.  Today's social issues are not unique to us!  The Pre-Nicene Christians spoke on important issues such as Christians in the military, involvement in politics, abortion, racism, homosexuality, materialism, pornography, alcohol, suicide, capital punishment, atomic particles, and even evolution!  The Pre-Nicene Christians addressed all these topics!  But not only did they address social issues, they also addressed doctrinal issues such as the nature of the Trinity, the problem of evil in the world, predestination, gifts of the Spirit, church government, miracles, who wrote Hebrews, faith-only salvation, and once saved always saved.  The list of doctrinal issues like these goes on and on.  Therefore, when it comes to issues of society or religion, the Pre-Nicene Christians have no disadvantages over us today; they only had advantages.  As Solomon said,

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.  Can one say about anything, "Look, this is new"?  It has already existed in the ages before us.  (Ecc 1:9-10)

Videos will be posted on these issues in the future, so please subscribe to learn about what the Pre-Nicene Christians believed about these things.

Fifth, the Pre-Nicene Christians had an idiomatic advantage over us, that is, an advantage in language.  The Pre-Nicene writers wrote and spoke the very same language of the apostles, Koine Greek.  Because of this, they would have known the true meanings of the words, the figures of speech, and the meanings of symbolic images--everything the apostles wrote about.  Some writers such as Tertullian wrote in Latin as well as in Greek.  At times, Tertullian had to bring concepts from the Greek into Latin that may not have existed in Latin before.  So even Latin during the Pre-Nicene period had a disadvantage to the Koine Greek of the same period.

Sixth, the Pre-Nicene Christians had a theological advantage.  Today, Christianity is split into so many denominations that disagree with each other on so many matters of doctrine.  During the Pre-Nicene period, there was one universal church which was completely and fully united in theology, doctrine, Christian living, and fellowship.  The church was not united because of some hierarchy of church government.  The Pre-Nicene Christians lived before the times of the ecumenical councils, before the times of episcopal structures with one bishop at the top, and before the times of presbyterian structures with their assemblies of presbyters.  Their unity was based on the Scriptures and the traditions handed down to them by the apostles.  Whether one lived in modern-day France like Irenaeus and Lactantius, Carthage like Tertullian and Cyprian, Rome like Justin Martyr and Hippolytus, Alexandria like Clement and Origen, Athens like Athenagoras, Asia Minor like Polycarp and Methodius and Melito and Papias and Firmilian and Archelaus, or Anitoch like Ignatius and Theophilus, all these writers were fully united in their theology, doctrine, practice, and fellowship.  During the Pre-Nicene period, Christians were neither Catholic nor Protestant.  In fact, out of the 9 volumes of the compiled works by the Pre-Nicene Christians, less than 5% of their beliefs differed.  This 5% was due to a couple third-century schisms from the church.  These were the Montanists and the Novatianists.  These groups chose to separate themselves from the rest of the church which, according to them, was becoming too lax in its dealings with sin.  Lord willing, there will be future videos on these groups.  Yet during the first 250 years of the church after the time of the apostles, 95% of the Christians were fully united in every way.  Ever since the 4th century, Christianity has never been able to claim unity of this kind.

We have looked at seven major reasons why Christians should study the Pre-Nicene Christian writings.  When Christians study the Pre-Nicene writings, they should find beliefs they agree with.  Along with that, they will probably find things they disagree with.  In short, the writings of the Pre-Nicene Christians will challenge you.  It is a good thing to have our religious beliefs challenged.  As Paul said,

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith.  Examine yourselves.  Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless you fail the test.  (2Cor 13:5)

May the writings of the Pre-Nicene Christians drive you to go deeper into the Scriptures, so that like the Bereans, you will see if what they say is true.

Honestly, Christians should not need the writings of the Pre-Nicene Christians to help fine-tune their faith.  If Christians would read the New Testament and followed the teachings of Jesus Christ very simply and very purely, they would learn God's truth.  The Pre-Nicene writings are not Scripture--and they did not claim to be.  Yet because of all the advantages Pre-Nicene Christians have over Christians today, their writings comprise the greatest Biblical and historical commentary you will ever read.  And that is why today’s Christians should study the Pre-Nicene Christian writings.