One of the things I mentioned yesterday is that I have spent a lot of time, especially in the last couple of weeks, preparing for a class that I’m teaching at my church. The class is Bible Basics.
For some people the Bible can be an intimidating book. It’s big, it’s old, and it claims to be God’s Holy Word. That leads some to think they have to have an advanced degree to understand it. But the Bible was written in the common language of the times it records, so that the average person could read and understand it.
The idea is to give participants an overview of what the Bible is, how it was put together, the types of literature it contains, and how to read, understand and navigate it for themselves.
During my research I learned something that I don’t think was ever covered in my MDiv. classes. What is particularly amazing is that in this digital age, you don’t necessarily need to depend on an assigned book or a seminary class — it’s easy to discover resources about almost anything you want to know with the click of a mouse.
I was researching how the biblical canon came to be and learned that in about AD 95, Clement, the bishop of Rome, wrote what we know as the Letter to the Corinthians, or the First Epistle of Clement, to the church at Corinth. Although his name does not appear in the letter, long-standing tradition attributes the work to him, and the letter is one of the earliest extant writings we have of the attitude and structure of the very early church.
Clement was a disciple of the apostle Peter and most likely knew Paul, as both apostles are credited with establishing the church at Rome. He was the first “Apostolic Father” of the church—a title given to Christian leaders who personally knew the apostles.
In his letter, Clement is addressing an event in which younger members of the congregation had deposed certain elders from the ministry. Clement references at least 150 scriptural passages, both from the Old Testament and from the New Testament, and early on focuses on Peter’s and Paul’s martyrdoms as apostles.
But not to dwell upon ancient examples, let us come to the most recent spiritual heroes. Let us take the noble examples furnished in our own generation. Through envy and jealousy the greatest and most righteous pillars [of the church] have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labours; and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience.
He also makes a pointed reference to Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth.
Take up the epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul. What did he write to you at the time when the gospel first began to be preached? Truly, under the inspiration of the Spirit, he wrote to you concerning himself, and Cephas, and Apollos, because even then parties had been formed among you. But that inclination for one above another entailed less guilt upon you, inasmuch as your partialities were then shown towards apostles, already of high reputation, and towards a man whom they had approved. But now reflect who those are that have perverted you, and lessened the renown of your far-famed brotherly love. It is disgraceful, beloved, yea, highly disgraceful, and unworthy of your Christian profession, that such a thing should be heard of as that the most steadfast and ancient church of the Corinthians should, on account of one or two persons, engage in sedition against its presbyters. And this rumour has reached not only us, but those also who are unconnected with us; so that, through your infatuation, the name of the Lord is blasphemed, while danger is also brought upon yourselves.
The reason I referenced Clement in my class is that even before the end of the first century, many of the letters that make up our New Testament were already recognized as authoritative and scriptural. Many of the books we read in our Bibles today were already being read regularly in the churches around the Mediterranean region.
Even more intriguing is that Paul mentions a Clement in his letter to the Philippians.
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Philippians 4:2-3)
There is no way to know conclusively if the Clement mentioned by Paul is the same Clement who eventually became the overseer of the church at Rome. But it’s intriguing to think that we might actually have extant writings of a figure mentioned in scripture, who otherwise would simply be a name on a page. It would be like finding the work of Apollos or Nicodemus.
I really wish sometimes that I could spend my days studying and learning things that I never got to in my formal education.