Early Christian Beliefs About Church Membership

Justin Martyr, The First Apology Direct teaching

...erson who has been convinced and agreed to our teaching, bring them to the place where those called brethren are assembled, so that we may offer heartfelt prayers together for ourselves, for the baptized person, and for everyone else everywhere. We pray that we may be deemed worthy, having learned the truth, to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments by our works so that we may be saved with everlasting salvation. After finishing the prayers, we greet one another with a kiss. Then, bread and a cup of wine mixed with water are brought to the leader of the brethren. He takes them and gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and the Holy Ghost, offering thanks at length for our being deemed worthy to receive these things from His hands. When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present express their agreement by saying "Amen." This word "Amen" corresponds to [so be it] in the Hebrew language. After the leader has given thanks and all the people have expressed their agreement, those called deacons by us give each person present a portion of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was prono

Justin Martyr, The First Apology Supporting witness

But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized [illuminated] person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation.

Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Direct teaching

Now about the Thanksgiving, or Eucharist, give thanks in this way. First, about the cup: "We thank You, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your Servant, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant. To You be the glory forever." And about the broken bread: "We thank You, our Father, for the life and knowledge that You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant. To You be the glory forever." Just as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and then was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom. For Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever. But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving, or Eucharist, except those who have been baptized into the name of the Lord. For about this also the Lord has said, "Do not give what is holy to dogs." Matthew 7:6

Acts 2:47 Background

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42 Background

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

1 John 1:3 Background

that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Clement of Rome, Second Epistle (attributed) Direct teaching

So then, brothers, if we do the will of God our Father, we will be members of the first church, the spiritual church, the one that was created before the sun and moon. But if we do not do the will of the Lord, we will fall under the Scripture that says, "My house became a den of robbers," Jeremiah 7:11. So then, let us choose to belong to the church of life, so that we may be saved. I do not think you are unaware that the living church is the body of Christ. For the Scripture says, "God created man male and female," Genesis 1:27; compare Ephesians 5:22-23. The male is Christ, and the female is the church. And the Books and the Apostles teach that the church is not from the present time, but from the beginning. For it was spiritual, just as our Jesus also was, and it was made manifest at the end of the days in order to save you, 1 Peter 1:20. Since the church was spiritual, it was made manifest in the flesh of Christ. This shows us that if any one of us keeps it in the flesh and does not corrupt it, he will receive it in the Holy Spirit. For this flesh is the pattern of the spirit. Therefore, no one who has corrupted the pattern will afterward receive the reality. Therefore, this is

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

When, therefore, the mixed cup and the made bread receive the Word of God, and the Eucharist of the blood and body of Christ is formed, from which the substance of our flesh is grown and sustained, how can they claim that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God, which is eternal life, when this flesh is nourished from the body and blood of the Lord and is a part of Him? Just as the blessed Paul states in his letter to the Ephesians, that “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” He does not speak of some spiritual and invisible person, for a spirit does not have bones or flesh; but he is referring to the arrangement by which the Lord became an actual man, consisting of flesh, and nerves, and bones,—that flesh which is nourished by the cup that is His blood, and grows from the bread that is His body. And just as a branch from the vine planted in the ground bears fruit in its season, or as a grain of wheat falling into the earth and breaking down, rises with abundant growth by the Spirit of God, who holds all things, and then, through the wisdom of God, serves human use, and having received the Word of God, becomes the Eucharist, which is the body and

Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness

But that we may win over to the reception of our views those who are willing to accept the inferences which flow from our doctrines, and to be benefited thereby, we say that the holy Scriptures declare the body of Christ, animated by the Son of God, to be the whole Church of God, and the members of this body — considered as a whole — to consist of those who are believers;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness

of which all those are not partakers who do not join themselves to the Church, but defraud themselves of life through their perverse opinions and infamous behaviour.

1 Corinthians 12:12 Background

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Romans 12:5 Background

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

1 Corinthians 12:27 Background

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

Ephesians 5:30 Background

because we are members of his body.

Ignatius, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians (Long Version) Direct teaching

... says [the Scripture], “If I have returned evil to those who returned evil to me.” Let us make them brethren by our kindness. For say to those who hate you, You are our brethren, that the name of the Lord may be glorified. And let us imitate the Lord, “who, when He was reviled, reviled not again;” when He was crucified, He answered not; “when He suffered, He threatened not;” but prayed for His enemies, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” If anyone, the more he is injured, displays more patience, blessed is he. If anyone is defrauded, if anyone is despised, for the name of the Lord, he truly is the servant of Christ. Take heed that no plant of the devil is found among you, for such a plant is bitter and salty. “Watch, and be sober,” in Christ Jesus.

Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans (Long Version) Supporting witness

The love of your brethren at Troas greets you; from where I also write to you by Burgus, whom you sent with me, together with the Ephesians, your brethren, and who has refreshed me in all things. I wish that all may imitate him, as he is a model of a minister of God. The grace of the Lord will reward him in all things. I greet your most worthy bishop Polycarp, and your venerable presbytery, and your Christ-bearing deacons, my fellow-servants, and each of you individually, as well as collectively, in the name of Christ Jesus, and in His flesh and blood, in His passion and resurrection, both physical and spiritual, in union with God and you. Grace, mercy, peace, and patience be with you in Christ forevermore!

Ignatius, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians (Short Version) Direct teaching

Do ye all come together in common, and individually, through grace, in one faith of God the Father, and of Jesus Christ His only-begotten Son, and “the first-born of every creature,” but of the seed of David according to the flesh, being under the guidance of the Comforter, in obedience to the bishop and the presbytery with an undivided mind, breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote which prevents us from dying, but a cleansing remedy driving away evil, [which causes] that we should live in God through Jesus Christ.

Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Supporting witness

...l possess the kingdom of God, fixing his attention here on the holy gathering of love, the heavenly Church. Love, then, is something pure and worthy of God, and its work is sharing. And the care of discipline is love, as Wisdom says, and "love is the keeping of the law," Wisdom 6:17-18. And these joys receive an impulse of love from the common nourishment, which trains us for everlasting delicacies. Love, agape, then, is not a supper. But let the meal depend on love. For it is said, "Let the children whom You have loved, O Lord, learn that it is not the products of fruits that nourish man, but it is Your word which preserves those who believe in You," Wisdom 16:26. "For the righteous shall not live by bread," Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4. But let our food be light and easy to digest, and fit for wakefulness, not mixed with many different varieties. This is not outside the area of discipline. For love is a good nurse for sharing. Its rich supply is enough, and this, guiding a diet measured in proper amount and treating the body in a healthy way, gives something from its resources to those near us. But the diet that goes beyond what is enough harms a man, ruins his spirit, and mak

Dionysius of Alexandria, Epistles and Epistolary Fragments Supporting witness

...eir sincerity, and received them, and brought them together again, and assembled with them, and had fellowship with them in their prayers and at their festivals. What advice then, brothers, do you give us regarding these people? What should we do? Are we to stand forth and act with the decision and judgment that those martyrs formed, and to observe the same graciousness with them, and to deal so kindly with those toward whom they showed such compassion? Or are we to treat their decision as an unrighteous one, and to make ourselves judges of their opinion on such subjects, and to throw clemency into tears, and to overturn the established order?

1 Corinthians 10:17 Background

For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

Psalms 133:1 Background

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Philippians 2:1 Background

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

Acts 4:32 Background

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

1 Corinthians 11:33 Background

Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.

1 Corinthians 11:26 Background

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Hebrews 12:23 Background

to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians (Long Version) Direct teaching

... devil, and becoming worthy of Jesus Christ, may obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of Christ. Brethren, do not be deceived. If any man follows him that separates from the truth, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and if any man does not stay away from the preacher of falsehood, he shall be condemned to hell. For it is obligatory neither to separate from the godly, nor to associate with the ungodly. If anyone walks according to a strange opinion, he is not of Christ, nor a partaker of His passion; but is a fox, a destroyer of the vineyard of Christ. Have no fellowship with such a man, lest you perish along with him, even should he be your father, your son, your brother, or a member of your family. For says [the Scripture], “Your eye shall not spare him.” You ought therefore to “hate those that hate God, and to waste away [with grief] on account of His enemies.” I do not mean that you should beat them or persecute them, as do the Gentiles “that know not the Lord and God;” but that you should regard them as your enemies, and separate yourselves from them, while yet you admonish them, and exhort them to repentance, if it may be they will hear, if it may be they will subm

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

... whose commands and warnings we ought to keep, describes the honor of a bishop and the order of His Church in the Gospel. He says to Peter: “I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” From there, through the changes of times and successions, the ordering of bishops and the arrangement of the Church continues on. So the Church is founded upon the bishops, and every act of the Church is directed by these same rulers. Since this is founded on divine law, I am amazed that some, with reckless boldness, have chosen to write to me as if they were writing in the name of the Church, when the Church is established in the bishop and the clergy, and in all who stand firm in the faith. Far be it from the mercy of God and His unlimited power to allow the number of the lapsed to be called the Church, since it is written, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,” Matthew 22:32. For we do indeed desire that all may be made alive, a

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

...e forever, it is clear that those who partake of His body and receive the Eucharist by the right of communion are living. So, on the other hand, we must fear and pray lest anyone who is kept from communion, and is separated from Christ’s body, should remain far from salvation, as He Himself threatens and says, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall have no life in you.” John 6:53 And therefore we ask that our bread—that is, Christ—may be given to us daily, so that we who remain and live in Christ may not depart from His sanctification and body.

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

as it is manifest that those who partake of His body and receive the Eucharist by the right of communion are living, so, on the other hand, we must fear and pray lest any one who, being withheld from communion, is separate from Christ's body should remain at a distance from salvation;

Peter of Alexandria, Canonical Epistle Supporting witness

For communion is sufficient for them, that the faithful should communicate with them, and pray with them, and that they should participate in the sacred mysteries.

Peter of Alexandria, Canonical Epistle Supporting witness

and we shall cause others also, who may have lapsed, and wish to return to what is right, to be negligent and remiss in this respect, having as a pretext, that they will not be admitted to communicate with the faithful, even though after their fall they should confess the faith, who, if they are not converted, will undergo more shame and ignominy than others, even as he who laid the foundation, and did not finish the building.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

... He must free it from its offenses and give hope. In this way he must restore it in strength to the Church, bringing it back into the flock. Bring back what has been driven away. That is, do not allow the one who remains in sins and has been cast out as punishment to stay excluded. Instead, receive that one, bring him back, and restore him to the flock, that is, to the people of the undefiled Church. Seek what is lost. That is, do not allow the one who has despaired of salvation because of the great number of offenses to perish completely. Search for the one who has grown sleepy, drowsy, and sluggish, and who is careless about his own life because of the depth of his sleep, and who is far from his own flock, so that he is in danger of falling among the wolves and being devoured by them. Bring him back by admonition. Urge him to be watchful, and plant hope in him. Do not allow him to say what some have said: “Our impieties are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then shall we live?” Therefore, as much as possible, let the bishop make the offense his own, and say to the sinner, “Only return, and I will undertake to suffer death for you, as our Lord suffered death for me and for

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...lts out of a contentious spirit, cast him out as a harmful person, so that he may not lay waste the Church of God. For such a man stirs up disturbances in cities. Even though he is inside, he does not become the Church, but is an unnecessary and useless member, casting a stain, as far as he can, on the body of Christ. For if people who are born with extra parts on their body, hanging from them like fingers or lumps of flesh, cut them off because of their ugliness, so that the deformity disappears and the man recovers his natural good shape by the surgeon's work, how much more ought you, the pastors of the Church, to do the same. For the Church is a perfect body, with sound members, made up of those who believe in God, in the fear of the Lord, and in love. So when an unnecessary member is found in it, with wicked intentions, making the rest of the body ugly, and disturbing it with sedition, war, and evil-speaking, causing fears, disturbances, stains, evil-speaking, accusations, disorders, and doing the same works as the devil, as if he were appointed by the devil to bring reproach on the Church by slanders, great disorders, strife, and division, then you should act. Therefore, wh

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Background

of such as believe in God, in the fear of the Lord, and in love), to do the like when there is found in it a superfluous member with wicked designs, and rendering the rest of the body unseemly, and disturbing it with sedition, and war, and evil-speaking;

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Background

Matthew 12:30 Do not you therefore scatter yourselves abroad, who are the members of Christ, by not assembling together, since you have Christ your head, according to His promise, present, and communicating to you.

Ignatius, Epistle to the Philadelphians (Short Version) Background

And as many as shall, in the exercise of repentance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ.

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

...ointing, he may be anointed by God and have in himself the grace of Christ. Further, it is from the Eucharist that the baptized are anointed with the oil sanctified on the altar. But one who has neither an altar nor a church cannot sanctify the created thing of oil. Therefore there also can be no spiritual anointing among heretics, since it is clear that among them the oil cannot be sanctified nor the Eucharist celebrated at all. But we ought to know and remember that it is written, “Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head,” which the Holy Spirit warned about beforehand in the Psalms, lest anyone who has gone out of the way and wandered from the path of truth should be anointed by heretics and adversaries of Christ. Besides, what prayer can a priest who is impious and a sinner offer for a baptized person? Since it is written, “God does not hear a sinner; but if any man is a worshiper of God and does His will, him He hears.” John 9:31 Moreover, who can give what he himself does not have? Or how can he carry out spiritual acts when he himself has lost the Holy Spirit? And therefore, the one who comes inexperienced to the Church must be baptized and renewed, so that he may be sa

Cyprian, Epistles Direct teaching

...-baptize those whom they lure away from us. It does not matter to us at all what the enemies of the Church do, as long as we ourselves keep respect for our authority and for the firmness of reason and truth. For Novatian, like apes, which are not men and yet imitate human actions, wants to claim for himself the authority and truth of the Catholic Church, though he himself is not in the Church. No, more than that, up to now he has come forward as a rebel and enemy against the Church. For although he knows that there is one baptism, he claims this one for himself, so that he may say that the Church is with him and make us heretics. But we, who hold to the head and root of the one Church, know and confidently trust that nothing is lawful there outside the Church, and that the one baptism is among us, where he himself also was formerly baptized, when he still held to both the wisdom and truth of divine unity. But if Novatian thinks that those who have been baptized in the Church must be re-baptized outside the Church, he ought to begin with himself, so that he might first be re-baptized with a foreign and heretical baptism, since he thinks that after the Church, yes, and against the

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

...nce, that is, those involved in heresies, "I enjoin," Wisdom remarks, saying, "Touch sweetly stolen bread and the sweet water of theft," Proverbs 9:17. The Scripture plainly applies the terms bread and water to nothing else but those heresies which employ bread and water in the oblation, not according to the canon of the Church. For there are those who celebrate the Eucharist with mere water. But begone. Do not stay in her place. Place is the synagogue, not the Church. He calls it by the equivocal name, place. Then He subjoins, "For so shall you pass through the water of another," reckoning heretical baptism not proper and true water. "And you shall pass over another's river, that rushes along and sweeps down to the sea." Into this he is cast who, having diverged from the stability that is according to truth, rushes back into the heathenish and tumultuous waves of life.

Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Sectional Confession of Faith Supporting witness

... the movement of flesh received from a virgin, and did not merely work in a man. And those who have fellowship with people who reject consubstantiality as a teaching foreign to the Scriptures, and who speak of any of the persons in the Trinity as created, and separate that person from the one natural divinity, we regard as aliens, and we have fellowship with no such people. There is one God, the Father, and there is only one divinity. But the Son also is God, as the true image of the one and only divinity, according to His generation and the nature He has from the Father. There is one Lord, the Son. But in the same way there is also the Spirit, who carries the Son's lordship over to the creature that is sanctified. The Son lived in the world, having received flesh from the Virgin, which He filled with the Holy Spirit for the sanctification of us all. And after giving up the flesh to death, He destroyed death through the resurrection, which looked to the resurrection of us all. And He ascended to heaven, exalting and glorifying men in Himself. And He comes a second time to bring us eternal life again.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

But because this heresy then seemed more able to deceive people, and the whole Church was in danger, we twelve gathered together in Jerusalem. Matthias had been chosen as an apostle in place of the betrayer and had taken the lot of Judas, as it is said, "Let another take his bishopric." We discussed, together with James the Lord's brother, what should be done. And it seemed good to him and to the elders to speak words of teaching to the people. For some men had also come down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers there, saying, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, and live according to the other customs he appointed, you cannot be saved." Acts 15:1 Therefore, when there had been no small dispute and debate, the brothers at Antioch, after learning that we were all gathered together about this question, sent to us men who were faithful and understood the Scriptures, to learn about this matter. When they came to Jerusalem, they told us what questions had arisen in the church of Antioch. Some were saying that men ought to be circumcised and keep the other purifications. And while some said one thing and some another, I, Peter, stood up and said t

Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics Supporting witness

Marcion, indeed, [went] with the two hundred sesterces which he had brought into the church, and, when banished at last to a permanent excommunication, they scattered abroad the poisons of their doctrines.