Lampe on Church History: The Apostolic Church, Part 1

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I.  On the tenth day after the ascension of Christ, which fell upon the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon His Apostles and disciples, with a visible sign, and thus completely renewed the Face of the Church of God on earth.  With Prophecy going before, we distinguish its eras, so that we might make all the more memorable, not by years, but by more notable periods, in the sixth of which we now live.

The First contains the time of the Apostles:

The Second extends all the way to Constantine the Great:

The Third, unto the beginnings of Antichristianism:

The Fourth, unto the commencement of the Reformation:

The Fifth, unto the religious peace of Passau:

The Sixth, unto our times.

It will be helpful to divide the greater Periods into lesser portions of time.  But, with respect to each, attention is chiefly to be given to four things:  I.  To doctrine:  II.  To both the internal and external state and form of the Church:  III.  To heresies and the councils held because of them:  IV.  To the open enemies of the Church.  The former two heads will exhibit to us the face of the Kingdom of Christ on earth, but the latter two the face of the Kingdom of the Devil.

The Doctrine of the Apostolic Church.

II.  The principal Doctors in the nascent Church were the Apostles, twelve in number, with respect to just so many tribes of Israel:  I.  Simon, called Peter:  II.  Andrew, his brother:  III.  James, the son of Zebedee:  IV.  John, his brother:  V.  Philip:  VI.  Bartholomew:  VII.  Thomas or Didymus:  VIII.  Matthew the publican:  IX.  James of Alphæus, the same who is elsewhere called the Brother of the Lord, because he was born of Mary, sister of the mater of the Lord, wife of Alphæus or Cleophas:  X.  Lebbæus, called Thaddæus, who was also Judas:  XI.  Simon the Canaanite:  XII.  Matthias, by lot put in the place of Judas Iscariot, the traitor.  Paul was added, again supplying the duodenary of the Apostles diminished a second time by the death of James.[1]  Treading in their footsteps were Apostolical Men, Stephen,[2] Philip,[3] Barnabas,[4] Mark,[5] Silvanus,[6] Silas,[7] Luke, Epaphroditus,[8] Apollos,[9] Timothy, Titus, Clement of Rome,[10] Sosthenes,[11] Crescens,[12] Dionysius the Areopagite,[13] Theophilus to whom Luke wrote,[14] Zenas,[15] and others.

III.  Some of them set forth the doctrine of the faith, not only in speech, but in writings, and that not immediately from the beginning, but in the succession of time, since the growing extent of the Church, and heresies secretly springing up, require a norm of the faith.  Those writings are either Canonical or Ecclesiastical.

IV.  Those that are contained in the Canon of the New Testament are Canonical, which Canon was composed in the last times of John the Evangelist, and confirmed by the common consent of the Churches.

V.  Occupying the first place among them are the four Evangelists, who committed the history of our Savior to writing, in such a way that by it the world, especially the Jewish, might be convinced concerning Christ’s Deity and mediatorial office.  But of the Greek language all, with Matthew indeed excepted, made use, so that they might be read by Jews and Gentiles.  Luke added a second book to his Gospel, which is entitled, the Acts of the Apostles.

VI.  The Apostolic epistles of Paul follow, which each have the name of the Author inscribed, besides that to the Hebrews, the writer of which is nevertheless probably Paul also.  Certain Epistles of the remaining Apostles were added, Catholic Epistles for the most part.  Concerning certain of their number, that is, the Epistle of James, of Jude, the second of Peter, the second and third of John, it was sometimes doubted, yet for no valid reason.  The same happened to the Apocalypse of John, who is without reason distinguished from the Apostle.  The Apocalypse closes the Canon, not only of the New Testament, but also of the whole Scripture.

VII.  Ecclesiastical writings from that age, if you except the one former Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, even itself mutilated, do not come down to us genuine and whole, in such a way that honor would all the more certainly belong to the writings divinely delivered.

VIII.  But a greater accumulation of spurious Writers arose, with many in the following age seeking authority for their books by a feigned antiquity.  To this pertain first the writing attributed to sacred authors and composing a pseudepigraphal codex of the New Testament, Epistles of Christ sent down from heaven; an Epistle of the Bless Mary to Saint Ignatius, to the Messinans, to the inhabitants of Florence; pseudo-apostolic Gospels, Acts, and Apocalypses; Epistles of Paul to the Laodiceans, to Seneca; and others.  Books attributed to ecclesiastical authors are added, the trustworthiness of which is likewise troubled or mistaken, the second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians; the Epistle of Barnabas; and the Gospel of the same, recently unhappily placed among the canonical books by Toland;[16] Eighty-five Canons of the Apostles; eight books of Apostolic Constitutions; ten books of Clementine Recognitions; nineteen Clementine Homilies; the works of Dionysius the Areopagite; the Shepherd of Hermas; the Gospel of Nicodemas; ten books of Abdias of Babylon concerning the History of the Apostolic Contest; two books of Linus concerning Peter and Paul; Prochorus’ Life of Saint John; Fragment of Marcellus the Martyr concerning the Conflict of Saint Peter and Simon Magus.

IX.  The true Doctrine contained in the undoubted writings of the Apostles and their συνεργῶν/fellow-workers is κυρὶως/legitimately called Gospel.  Its sum with respect to essentials coincides with the doctrine of Moses and the Prophets,[17] except what was to be demonstrated to the Jews separately, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of God, etc.;[18] and that with Him the Mosaic Economy, together with the μεσότοιχον, the middle wall of partition,[19] was removed;[20] and that righteousness before God was to be sought, not in the works of the Law, but solely in the obedience of Christ:  but the Gentiles had to be more closely informed concerning the one God,[21] and concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment:[22]  both Jews and Gentiles had to be drawn to repentance, faith, and sacramental union.

X.  That from the beginning this doctrine consisted in a few heads, in the explanation of which holy Men made use of agreeable simplicity.  Its rudiments are referred to six articles, Hebrews 6:1, 2.  But whether those were already at that time comprehended in certain symbols and formulæ, is uncertain.  In any event, that the Apostles’ Creed was composed by the Apostles themselves before their dispersion, as the stamp of Apostolic doctrine, is for good reason held to be a fiction.

[1] Acts 12:1, 2.

[2] Acts 7.

[3] Acts 8.

[4] Acts 11-15.

[5] Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37-39; 2 Timothy 4:11

[6] 2 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Peter 5:12.

[7] Acts 15-17.

[8] Philippians 2:25; 4:18.

[9] Acts 18:24-19:1; 1 Corinthians 1:12; Titus 3:13.

[10] Philippians 4:3.

[11] 1 Corinthians 1:1.

[12] 2 Timothy 4:10.

[13] Acts 17:34.

[14] Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1.

[15] Titus 3:13.

[16] John Toland (1670-1722) was an Irish Enlightenment philosopher and freethinker.  Toland discusses this Gospel in his Nazarenus:  or, Jewish, gentile, and Mahometan Christianity:  Containing the history of the antient Gospel of Barnabas, and the modern Gospel of the Mahometans, attributed to the same Apostle:  this last Gospel being now first made known among Christians.

[17] See Acts 26:22, 23.

[18] See Acts 17:2, 3; 28:23.

[19] Ephesians 2:14.

[20] See Acts 10.

[21] See Acts 17:16-34.

[22] See John 16:4.