A biblical investigation examining warnings about false teachers after the apostles, the early Church Fathers, the development of Trinitarian doctrine, and the importance of testing every teaching against Scripture.
QUICK FACTS: WHO WERE THE FALSE TEACHERS AFTER THE APOSTLES?
DID THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS PRESERVE THE FAITH OF THE APOSTLES — OR DID CHRISTIAN TEACHING BEGIN TO CHANGE?
Research by Simon Brown
WHO WERE THE FALSE TEACHERS AFTER THE APOSTLES?
Jesus and His apostles repeatedly warned that false prophets, false teachers and deceivers would arise.
Jesus warned:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
Matthew 7:15
Peter likewise warned that false teachers would arise among believers and introduce destructive teachings.
2 PETER 2:1 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“But there were also false prophets among the people, as also there will be false teachers among you, who will stealthily introduce destructive heresies…”
John also warned that deceivers had already appeared during the apostolic period.
This raises an extremely important historical question:
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE APOSTLES DIED?
Did Christianity simply preserve exactly what Jesus and His apostles had taught?
Or did theological ideas gradually develop during the generations that followed?
That question becomes especially important when we investigate the identity of Jesus.
WHAT DID JOHN SAY WE MUST BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS?
A detailed biblical illustration of John writing his Gospel, highlighting John 20:31 and its declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing in Him brings life in His name.
Near the conclusion of his Gospel, John explains why he wrote it:
JOHN 20:31 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
Notice John's language carefully.
He does not say:
BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS GOD THE SON.
He does not say:
BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE SECOND PERSON OF A TRIUNE GOD.
He says:
JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD.
Jesus Himself used the same identification:
JOHN 10:36 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“I said, ‘I am Son of God’?”
And Jesus distinguished Himself from the One whom He identified as the only true God:
JOHN 17:3 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
For me, therefore, this is where our investigation must begin.
Not with Nicaea.
Not with later creeds.
Not even with the Church Fathers.
WE MUST BEGIN WITH JESUS AND THE APOSTLES.
JOHN WARNED ABOUT DECEIVERS
A biblical research image showing Jesus and the apostles alongside the warnings of John, Peter and Paul concerning deceivers, false teachers and another Jesus, emphasizing the need to test Christian teachings against Scripture.
John writes:
2 JOHN 1:7
“For many deceivers have entered into the world, those not confessing Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
John's warning was written while Christianity was still young.
Peter likewise warned that false teachers would come among them.
Paul warned:
2 CORINTHIANS 11:4 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“For if indeed the one coming proclaims another Jesus whom we did not proclaim…”
These warnings demonstrate something extremely important:
THE APOSTLES THEMSELVES EXPECTED CHRISTIAN TEACHING TO BE CORRUPTED.
Therefore, simply showing that a doctrine was taught by an early Christian writer does not automatically prove that the doctrine came from Jesus or the apostles.
Age alone does not establish truth.
The teaching must still be tested against Scripture.
ENTER THE “APOSTOLIC FATHERS”
After the apostolic period we encounter writers commonly called the Apostolic Fathers.
These include such figures as:
Clement of Rome,
Ignatius of Antioch,
Polycarp of Smyrna,
and Papias of Hierapolis,
together with early Christian works such as the Didache and Shepherd of Hermas.
This raises a provocative but important question:
Could some of the theological developments appearing after the apostles represent precisely the sort of departure from apostolic teaching that the New Testament warned would occur?
That question deserves serious investigation.
But we must also be fair with the historical evidence.
We cannot simply call every Apostolic Father a false prophet because he lived after the apostles.
Neither can we assume that every surviving writing attributed to an early Christian writer perfectly represents the original apostolic faith.
Instead, we should examine each writer, each document and each statement individually.
TRINITARIANS FREQUENTLY APPEAL TO THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
A detailed biblical history image examining the early Church Fathers frequently quoted in support of the deity of Christ and asking whether their teachings should be accepted as apostolic or tested against Scripture.
Christian apologists defending the deity of Christ frequently quote early Church Fathers as evidence that Christians believed Jesus was God long before the Council of Nicaea.
For example, statements attributed to Ignatius include expressions translated:
“Jesus Christ, our God.”
Other passages attributed to him contain language such as:
“our God Jesus Christ.”
Justin Martyr likewise used extraordinarily elevated language about Christ.
Therefore Trinitarian apologists argue:
“LOOK — CHRISTIANS CALLED JESUS GOD LONG BEFORE NICAEA.”
There is an important point here that should honestly be acknowledged:
Some surviving pre-Nicene Christian writings really do contain very high language about Jesus.
We should not hide that evidence.
But the real question is:
WHAT DOES THAT EVIDENCE ACTUALLY PROVE?
DID THESE EARLY WRITERS TEACH THE FULL TRINITY?
Finding an early writer calling Jesus “God” or using exalted language about Christ does not by itself demonstrate the complete later doctrine of the Trinity.
The doctrine eventually formulated through the theological controversies surrounding Nicaea in AD 325 and subsequent fourth-century councils involved highly specific questions concerning:
The Father,
the Son,
the Holy Spirit,
divine substance,
eternal generation,
and the relationship between the three Persons.
These formulations did not simply appear in their complete later form immediately after the apostles.
Christian theology developed through generations of controversy and debate.
Therefore two extreme claims should both be avoided.
It would be historically too simplistic to say:
“NOBODY BELIEVED JESUS WAS DIVINE BEFORE NICAEA.”
Some very early Christian writings clearly use extraordinarily exalted language concerning Jesus.
But it is equally misleading to claim:
“THE COMPLETE NICENE TRINITY WAS TAUGHT EXACTLY AS LATER DEFINED BY ALL CHRISTIANS FROM THE DAYS OF THE APOSTLES.”
The surviving historical evidence presents a considerably more complicated development.
IGNATIUS DESERVES PARTICULAR ATTENTION
Ignatius of Antioch is especially important because several writings attributed to him contain striking language about Jesus.
But there is another historical issue that serious research must acknowledge:
THE LETTERS OF IGNATIUS HAVE THEIR OWN TEXTUAL HISTORY.
Different recensions of the Ignatian letters circulated.
Some later forms contain expansions.
Therefore, whenever a quotation from Ignatius is being used to establish doctrine, we should ask:
Which letter?
Which recension?
What Greek wording survives?
How early is the manuscript evidence?
Is the quotation accepted as belonging to the authentic shorter recension?
These questions are far stronger than simply accepting a quotation because it appears on a Christian apologetics website.
If manuscript evidence matters when studying the Bible, then manuscript evidence should also matter when studying the Church Fathers.
POLYCARP PRESENTS AN INTERESTING CONTRAST
Polycarp is another extremely early Christian writer.
Notice the distinction contained in this passage attributed to Polycarp:
“Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal high priest himself, the Son of God Jesus Christ…”
That is significant.
Here we have:
THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST
and
JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD.
That sounds remarkably similar to language repeatedly found throughout the New Testament.
And that is precisely why these writings should be examined individually rather than simply lumped together under the general label:
“THE CHURCH FATHERS.”
THE TEACHINGS DID NOT END WITH THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
This brings us to one of the most important points of this investigation.
The writings and theological ideas of the early Church Fathers are not merely ancient documents gathering dust in libraries.
Their theological ideas became part of the developing traditions of Christianity.
Over the centuries, debates concerning God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit continued until increasingly precise doctrines and creeds were formulated.
The doctrine known today as the Trinity did not suddenly appear in its complete later form immediately after Jesus and the apostles.
It developed through centuries of theological controversy.
Terms, philosophical concepts and increasingly precise theological definitions were introduced as Christians attempted to explain the relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Eventually, the doctrine developed into the familiar Trinitarian formulation:
THE FATHER IS GOD.
THE SON IS GOD.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD.
THE FATHER IS NOT THE SON.
THE SON IS NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT THE FATHER.
YET THERE ARE NOT THREE GODS, BUT ONE GOD.
And this raises a very serious question:
IS THIS REALLY WHAT JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES TAUGHT?
DO CHRISTIANS TODAY STILL FOLLOW THE THEOLOGY THAT DEVELOPED AFTER THE APOSTLES?
Much of Christianity today has inherited theological traditions that were developed, debated and formulated during the centuries following the apostles.
Millions of sincere Christians today believe the Trinity because they have been taught that the Trinity represents biblical Christianity.
But how many have actually stopped and asked:
WHERE DID THIS DOCTRINE COME FROM?
WHEN WAS IT FORMULATED?
DID JESUS TEACH IT?
DID PETER TEACH IT?
DID PAUL TEACH IT?
DID JOHN TEACH IT?
DOES THE BIBLE EVER SAY THAT THE ONE GOD IS THREE PERSONS?
These questions should not frighten Christians.
If a doctrine is true, investigation cannot destroy it.
Truth should withstand examination.
ARE CHRISTIANS TODAY FOLLOWING JESUS — OR LATER THEOLOGICAL TRADITION?
Jesus never instructed His disciples to wait several centuries for theologians and church councils to explain who God is.
When asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus answered:
MARK 12:29 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“The foremost is, ‘Hear this, O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord.’”
Jesus also prayed to His Father:
JOHN 17:3 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Paul likewise wrote:
1 CORINTHIANS 8:6 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“Yet to us there is one God, the Father…”
And John tells us exactly what his Gospel was written to establish:
JOHN 20:31 — BEREAN LITERAL BIBLE
“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God…”
These are remarkably straightforward statements.
Therefore, if theological concepts concerning God developed during the generations after the apostles, Christians should ask whether those concepts genuinely represent what Jesus and His apostles taught.
THE WARNING OF THE APOSTLES STILL MATTERS TODAY
Peter warned:
2 PETER 2:1
“There will be false teachers among you…”
Paul warned about people proclaiming:
2 CORINTHIANS 11:4
“another Jesus whom we did not proclaim…”
And John warned that deceivers had already entered the world.
Therefore Christians cannot simply reason:
“MY CHURCH HAS TAUGHT THIS FOR CENTURIES, THEREFORE IT MUST BE TRUE.”
Nor can we say:
“THE CHURCH FATHERS TAUGHT IT, THEREFORE THE APOSTLES MUST HAVE TAUGHT IT.”
That is exactly what must be demonstrated rather than assumed.
This gives us an extremely important question:
IF A DOCTRINE DEVELOPED AFTER THE APOSTLES, WHY SHOULD WE AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME THAT DOCTRINE CAME FROM THE APOSTLES?
THE BIBLE MUST REMAIN THE STANDARD
Even if we could prove beyond doubt that Ignatius, Justin Martyr or another second-century Christian called Jesus God, another question remains:
DOES THAT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE THEIR TEACHING TRUE?
No.
An ancient Christian writer is still not Jesus.
He is not Paul.
He is not Peter.
He is not John.
And his writings are not Scripture.
The apostles themselves warned that false teaching was already developing.
Therefore the argument:
“AN EARLY CHURCH FATHER BELIEVED IT, THEREFORE THE APOSTLES TAUGHT IT”
does not logically follow.
Every teaching must still be tested against the Biblical evidence.
That was the Berean approach.
ACTS 17:11
They examined the Scriptures daily to determine whether the things they were being taught were true.
That same test must be applied to everyone:
Catholics,
Protestants,
Trinitarians,
Unitarians,
Church Fathers,
Bible scholars,
pastors,
teachers,
and certainly to my own research.
THE QUESTION IS NOT “HOW OLD IS THE TEACHING?”
A doctrine being ancient does not automatically make it apostolic.
False teaching is ancient too.
John tells us that deceivers were already operating during his lifetime.
Therefore, the important question is not:
HOW EARLY CAN WE FIND SOMEONE SAYING IT?
The important question is:
DID JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES TEACH IT?
That distinction changes the entire investigation.
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