#8--Beliefs of the Church Fathers
The early Church Fathers accepted the Old Testament Scriptures based upon the testimony of Jesus. Jesus had revealed to His disciples that His life and ministry fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [Mt. 5:17-19, KJV]
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. [Luke 24:25-27, NJKV]
But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4: 4, NKJV]
The early church fathers were outspoken in their support of the Scriptures, although their perceptions of it were not always the same. Their perspectives grew from their familiarity with the apostolic witness and their understanding of the Jewish attitude toward the inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures.
These early fathers [that is, church leaders living from about 90 AD to 500 AD] agreed with the declaration of 2 Peter 1:21 that the Scriptures came to be written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They viewed the Scriptures as being verbally and plenarily inspired (see earlier blogs for definition). They believed the Scriptures were infallible and without error because of the Holy Spirit. Clement of Rome declared, “. . . the Scriptures. Are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit.” Justin Martyr commented that “Moses wrote. . . by divine inspiration.” Martyr later explained what he meant by “divine inspiration” by saying,
We must not suppose the language proceeds from the men who are inspired, but the divine word which moves them. For neither by nature or human conception is it possible for men to know the things so great and divine.
Irenaeus also declared that Scriptures “were spoken by the Word of God.” and St. Augustine later wrote,
But the true religion was not instituted by any earthly state, . . . It, however, is inspired and taught by the true God, the giver of eternal life to His true worshippers.
However, the early church fathers did not believe God merely gave humanity the Scriptures to provide knowledge. Irenaeus called the Scriptures “the ground and pillars of our faith.” Clement of Rome exhorted believers to act accordingly to what was written in the Scriptures. Tertullian believed that “the very letters [of Scripture—insert mine] are our glue.”
Thus, one can see the attitude of the early fathers toward Scripture. The early fathers strongly believed that Scripture “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy. 3:16). Since these fathers viewed the Bible as the “infallible word of God,” they accepted the Bible as authoritative. As such, the early fathers believed that the Scriptures were not just to be studied but to be obeyed as God’s authoritative Word to man.
