Ignatius knew the Bible before it was a bible. His letters read like a Sunday School lesson!

The more I study the letter of Ignatius to the church in Ephesus, the more I see the teachings of the apostles and the teachings of Christ. In this next excerpt, we see the teachings of both Christ and John,

Wherefore none of the devices of the devil shall be hidden from you, if, like Paul, ye perfectly possess that faith and love towards Christ which are the beginning and the end of life. The beginning of life is faith, and the end is love. And these two being inseparably connected together, do perfect the man of God; while all other things which are requisite to a holy life follow after them. No man making a profession of faith ought to sin, nor one possessed of love to hate his brother. For He that said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” said also, “and thy neighbour as thyself.” Those that profess themselves to be Christ’s are known not only by what they say, but by what they practice. “For the tree is known by its fruit.”

What can we learn from this excerpt?

• Traps and devices seen in the light of Jesus Christ are not hidden, “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” 2 Corinthians 2:11
• The New Testament word for perfect (Matthew 5:48) is teleios, which means “having reached it’s end,” “full grown,” “mature,” and, “complete.” It’s not that we must first have these in order to possess faith and love towards Christ, but that we receive faith and love, and then learn by going through the necessary stages to become mature or “perfect” in both, “And these two being inseparably connected together, do perfect the man of God.”
• Our walk with Christ begins with faith: Faith in His love and His promise that He did what He said He did and will do for us what He said He would do. Our walk ends with the surety of His love as we walk into eternity with Him.
• Our faith in God and His love for us is why we follow Him. All other aspects of our lives fall under these inseparable truths. Because of our faith in His love for us, we walk in His ways with Him all the way. Along the way, He teaches us how to live holy, righteous, and godly lives, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,“ Titus 2:11-12
• When we come to Christ, our desires change; we now want to please God. Learning how to avoid sin is Holiness 101 in Christ’s School of Divinity, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1
• “No man making a profession of faith ought to sin, nor one possessed of love to hate his brother” comes straight from John the Apostle’s teaching, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” 1 John 3:10. Remember, we may not “feel loving” toward someone, but we are to still demonstrate love to them, which holds true for demonstrating respect and forgiveness whether we “feel” those things or not. Many times, the feeling comes with or after the action!
• Ignatius applied the teaching of Christ about loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:36-40) with another of Christ’s teachings, “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil” (Matthew 12:33-37). It is important for us to remember that, “Those that profess themselves to be Christ’s are known not only by what they say, but by what they practice.”

As Ignatius headed for the arena and certain death, he took the time to remind his brothers and sisters in Christ of that which was most important to him. We would do well to make them important to us, as well.

Abba, reading Ignatius is like listening to him teach in Sunday School. He certainly took the words of the apostles about the life and teachings of Christ and the apostolic letters and “accurately handled them” (2 Timothy 2:15). May we learn to do the same and to teach others the way of righteousness through faith and love. Amen.