Ignatius calls for us to live lives that “sing to God.” What was he talking about?

We began yesterday a study of Ignatius, the disciple of St. John the Apostle. As Ignatius was on his way to his execution, he wrote seven letters to congregations. Today, we will look into his letter to the Ephesians.

Ignatius began his letter in true Pauline fashion according to letter-writing of that day. He spoke of enduring and unchangeable glory, passion, happiness, love and grace found in Jesus Christ. Then, he made this statement,

For, on hearing that I came bound from Syria for the common name and hope, trusting through your prayers to be permitted to fight with beasts at Rome, that so by martyrdom [suffering] I may indeed become the disciple of Him who gave Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God, Ephesians 5:2 [you hastened to see me ]. earlychristianwritings.com

We learn from this statement that:

1. He was bound from Antioch in Syria where he was pastor (bishop);
2. The “common name and hope” is Jesus Christ;
3. The “beasts at Rome” were lions in the arena to which Caesar Trajan sentenced him (Christianity.com);
4. Ignatius believed that suffering helped him become (as in achieving the fullness of) a disciple of Christ, and martyrdom was the ultimate fulfillment of discipleship. Peter said something similar in his letter, “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:20-21).
5. We find that a delegation hastened to see him on his trip, who encouraged him greatly.

Ignatius then speaks of the pastor’s priestly role in the church and worthy of honor and respect as God’s appointed leaders of the churches. He uses an interesting analogy, one of which I am partial:

14 For your famous presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted as exactly to the bishop, as the strings are to the harp.
15 Therefore in your concord [agreement] and agreeing charity [love], Jesus Christ is sung; and every single person among you makes up the chorus:
16 That so being all consonant [agreeing together] in love, and taking up the song of God, ye may in a perfect unity with one voice, sing to the Father by Jesus Christ; to the end that he may both hear you, and perceive by your works, that ye are indeed the members of his son.

Ignatius’ imagery of us taking up the song of God being linked with our agreeing together in love takes our worship to a whole, new level. It implies that to be in a service together with disharmony going on negates our “song of God,” thus hindering our worship of the Savior. May we learn to set our petty differences aside and join in the song to the Father by uniting our hearts–if not our preferences–together as one song to the Lord.

Abba, my prayer is that we may, indeed, focus on loving each other in fellowship and friendship. Remembering that we are all Your children and we are all on a journey with You to become like Jesus helps us have grace for others and for ourselves. The type of suffering that Ignatius experienced is not something that most of us have had to endure. We pray to be able to live in peace with everyone, so far as it depends on us (Romans 12:18), but teach us to “bless those who persecute us; bless and do not curse them” (Romans 12:14). In the words of Ignatius, that we “may become indeed the disciple of him who gave himself to God,” that is, Jesus Christ. Amen.

More from his letter to the Ephesians tomorrow…