This series on Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians was born out of a shared love that Tim and I have for the early church, but also a shared love for the church in our time. If you’ve missed the Polycarp series so far and you’d like to read along with us, you can do so by heading to this link, where you’ll find all of the articles we’ve written so far. Each of these articles is written in the form of a letter, either to Tim or myself . If you want to read more of Tim’s work, which I highly suggest you do, you can do so by heading to nuakh.uk.

Dear Tim,

After almost four months writing to one another, this is my last letter. Or, at least, my last letter about Polycarp. We’ve covered how the letter applied to the early church and the church in the UK today, including what our personal response to false teaching and heresy should be, how to be patient and hopeful in times of great difficulty, and how to remain steadfast through trials. All of this begs the question, why are we writing these letters, and why was Polycarp’s letter written in the first place? It’s a question Polycarp speaks about here at the end of his epistle, and it is a section I have been looking forward to since the start. Of all of the topics he covers, this is perhaps the least theological, but it tells us a lot about the history of writing throughout church history and particularly the legacy of letter writing and sharing.

Here’s our section for today:

Chapter XIII — Concerning the Transmission of Epistles

Both you and Ignatius wrote to me, that if any one went [from here] into Syria, he should carry your letter with him; which request I will attend to if I find a fitting opportunity, either personally, or through some other acting for me, that your desire may be fulfilled. The Epistles of Ignatius written by him to us, and all the rest [of his Epistles] which we have by us, we have sent to you, as you requested. They are subjoined to this Epistle, and by them you may be greatly profited; for they treat of faith and patience, and all things that tend to edification in our Lord. Any more certain information you may have obtained respecting both Ignatius himself, and those that were with him, have the goodness to make known to us.

Imagine the postman knocking on the door, opening it, receiving him with a holy kiss and then inviting him in to rest his weary feet after a long journey. After asking after his family and the church he’s come from, your attention turns to the stack of bound papers he’s been carrying all this way. In it, you find a letter from me, along with a number of others that I’ve recently received, that I’ve had copied out and so that you might be encouraged by them too. Perhaps there’s one by on pastoral ministry and new beginnings or on the importance of discernment when scrolling through social media, or another from about living as both an elect exile and an immigrant. How much more precious would we find these letters if that was how they arrived. What if instead of a morning rush of fresh newsletters in our email inbox, we received stacks of them curated by those who cared about us, and knew both our hearts and our needs.

This is the kind of situation Polycarp speaks of in this passage. Polycarp would endeavour to have Ignatius’ words1 copied and sent further afield to others churches, and no doubt, this letter came bound with a number of others too. Throughout our letters, we’ve touched on the various biblical epistles Polycarp has referenced from Paul, Peter, and his own teacher, John. It’s clear that even from this early time in the church, Polycarp and other teachers like him have not just read, or listened to these epistles, but have studied them in depth. Now, having done so, they’ve already begun the work of expounding upon those letters, and using them to clarify theological and pastoral points in their own writing.

Right up to the present day, writers have continued to do the same. We are immensely blessed that so many of these letters, books, and even poems and hymns have been kept, copied, and in many cases translated, so that we can learn from them today. They might not be bound up like personal parcels, but they are nonetheless meant to be received for our edification.

One of the great blessing of this series for me personally, has been writing with you in mind. You’re well aware that at times I have encoded personal messages of exhortation and encouragement that I believed would be generally helpful to others, but specifically important for you. More than any time in my writing ‘career’ I’ve felt that my writing has been crafted with a purpose, and as a result, I think that the more personal the letters have become, the more generally helpful they‘ve grown too. I’ve heard from others how they’ve been helped by it, and have been encouraged to dive into Polycarp’s own letter too. It’s amazing to see how Polycarp, who was writing with the Philippians buried in his heart, was also speaking to Reading and Birmingham, and no doubt to countless other churches and saints around the world today, and throughout church history. If not, why else would these letters have been transmitted down through the ages.

We have a duty as Christians gifted with the skill of writing, to be biblically sound, personally applicable, and to imitate blessed writers who have come before.

I have learned so much about what this looks like from both Polycarp and yourself, and I cannot wait to see where that wisdom leads me next. I will miss writing to you every fortnight, and spending time with Polycarp. Thank you so much for each of your letters, which contained more personal encouragement than anyone other than the two of us will ever know. I look forward to your last letter too. I pray that in the years to come, these letters, and the letter that inspired them, will continue to teach, instruct, encourage, and admonish every saint that reads them.

Grace, peace, and so much love, in the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ,

Adsum Try Ravenhill

One of the great sorrows I experience with regard to literature is the loss of poetry as a staple of our artistic diet. is a wonderful writer and a spiritual disciple of Wendell Berry, adopting and expounding many of his loves, including the importance of both observing and producing beauty. If your own diet could do with some genre diversification, this is a great place to start:

Over the Field

Anthology From the Field., No.3: Old Towns

Welcome to another Anthology from the Field, this time on the theme of Old Towns. I received some excellent poems from readers and I have included the ‘cream of the crop’ of these in the free section. Thank you to all who submitted. The next theme will be on…

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2 years ago · 11 likes · Hadden Turner

If you’re an artist yourself, whether in the public sphere, as a homeschool teacher, or even simply doodling on the edges of meeting minutes, I think you’ll find this piece from encouraging this week.

Treasuring Christ

Healing Through Art

There used to be an old, rustic picnic table at the edge of my Mamaw’s backyard that made the perfect stage. With permission, I’d dash through the laundry room, out the garage door, and walk past the cherry tree toward the lake at the bottom of the hill where horses and goats would graze. With songs ranging from…

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2 years ago · 15 likes · 5 comments · Brittany Allen

addresses far more about writing and publishing than perhaps even he knows. I wonder if I asked ten writers to read this through, how many different responses I would receive as a result. So to any writers reading this recommendation, take some time to read and contemplate this piece. Whether Timothy’s story mirrors your own; whether it scares you, or excites you; or even if it convinces you once and for all to just make that slight change to the way you write, it will be worth it.

The Beautiful Disruption

Confessions of a Christian Ghostwriter

This post is my contribution to the conversation about the publishing world in general and the Christian publishing world in particular. Here, I quickly sketch what I do for a living as a professional freelance writer, editor, and collaborator. I also tell the story of how I became a writer, how I got my first book deal as a non-platformed writer, and why I decided to walk away from the publishing world for over two years while living in Oxford, England, studying for my Ph.D…

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2 years ago · 30 likes · 7 comments · Timothy Willard

This series on Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians was born out of a shared love that Tim and I have for the early church, but also a shared love for the church in our time. If you’ve missed the Polycarp series so far and you’d like to read along with us, you can do so by heading to this link, where you’ll find all of the articles we’ve written so far. Each of these articles is written in the form of a letter, either to Tim or myself . If you want to read more of Tim’s work, which I highly suggest you do, you can do so by heading to nuakh.uk.

Dear Tim,

Thank you again for your encouragement, especially your explanation of why I am, in fact, a cow. I’m grateful to get to cherish brothers and sisters in Christ as you wrote about, something our conversation yesterday illustrated perfectly. I’m praying for you and for Mrs S; thank you for trusting me to do so.

Whenever I talk about this series of letters, I start with our shared love for the early church, and for the church in our day. It pains me then that I have to talk today about a false teacher, Valens, who had recently been excommunicated at the time of Polycarp’s letter. As Polycarp puts it:

I am greatly grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, because he so little understands the place that was given him [in the Church].

Wherever lambs of the Lord are, there are wolves waiting to pounce. There are, of course, some sheep who cry wolf too quickly, but the danger is a very real one nonetheless. Valens wasn’t the first, and you and I know well that he wasn’t the last. Polycarp, true to his training and in step with the Spirit, gives us more than just a description of events to learn from in this passage, though. He once again exhorts the church in Philippi—and by extension the church in the UK—to seek to live virtuously, humbly, and to extend forgiveness even in the face of falsehood and deceit.

I think in this case it would be better for me to break up the passage as we go, and look at each section in detail.

I exhort you, therefore, that you abstain from covetousness, and that you be chaste and truthful. “Abstain from every form of evil.” For if a man cannot govern himself in such matters, how shall he [exhort] others? If a man does not keep himself from covetousness, he shall be defiled by idolatry, and shall be judged as one of the heathen.

The floods came months ago now, but they still haven’t fully dissipated. In fact, it’s like we have ten new ponds behind our house, all vying for territory. Each rainfall changes the landscape a bit more, with no sign of stopping. The floods have changed other things too, the wildlife has changed; the plants are richer and there’s far more of them. Strangest of all, the air smells like the sea.

False teachers come one drop at a time, changing the landscape of the church and as a result—even long after the initial effects have worn off—those who sat under the teaching are bound to have been affected. One effect is the potential for temptation to gain a foothold, and for sin to creep in. For those who sat under Valen’s teaching—and may well have received personal counsel against their own sin from him—they might now be tempted to conform to the flesh, rather than the Spirit.

Polycarp has likely seen this all too often in his capacity as an overseer in the early church, and so for those of us who find ourself in the same place as the Philippians, we’d do well to heed his counsel. These sins and idols that Polycarp warns against can take many forms, but the two that come to mind are pride and envy. Our hearts might make statements like, “thank goodness I’m nothing like Valens” or ask questions like, “why wasn’t I given that position instead?” We’d do well in times like these to remember that righteousness doesn’t come from ourselves, but the Spirit. If we cannot govern ourselves, according to the Spirit, then we have no right to exhort others either, just like Valens.

A few years ago at a conference, I bumped into a friend at the bookstore. He has just made a purchase and so I asked him what he’d bought. This friend is a pastor of some twenty years, and his humility that day showed me why. It was a book on adultery. I don’t remember the exact title, but it wasn’t a theoretical or theological book, it was a pastoral one, aimed at helping pastors not to cheat. He wasn’t hesitant, he didn’t try and hide it from me, he just handed it over. I thanked him for being so honest and asked him some follow up questions. I’ll never forget what he told me.

“I don’t think I’m in any danger of cheating, but that’s the danger in itself. I never want to think I’m above anything, because I still sin, and so I thought I’d buy this to safeguard against it.”

If only we all had such humility, honesty, and awareness of our own depravity.

Lord, make us so.

Polycarp wants us to understand how important this humility is. Judgement is coming, and we can either hide behind excuses and point at the false teachers who gave them to us, or run the to cross and accept the robes that were purchased there.

He says:

But who of us are ignorant of the judgment of the Lord? “Do we not know that the saints shall judge the world?” as Paul teaches. But I have neither seen nor heard of any such thing among you, in the midst of whom the blessed Paul laboured, and who are commended in the beginning of his Epistle. For he boasts of you in all those Churches which alone then knew the Lord; but we [of Smyrna] had not yet known Him.

Polycarp’s people hadn’t come to know the Lord in Paul’s day, and so, Polycarp writes here as a younger brother encouraging his elder brother. Just like that pastor, he knows of no impropriety in the Philippians, but he knows it’s possible.

Our faith and the faithful around us were spiritually born long after this, but still share the same inheritance. Let’s not be ignorant of the judgement of the Lord. False teachers will come and go, but the final judgement isn’t for us to decide, that right belongs only to the Lord1. We don’t know what is yet to come for them, either they will answer for their sins, or they will one day cast their sins and sorrows upon Jesus once and for all. Either way, justice will come. Until then, we are to be watchful. Watchful over our own hearts, and minds, and people, and also watching in hope that those who were once wolves will become lambs one day.

As Polycarp goes on to say:

I am deeply grieved, therefore, brothers, for him (Valens) and his wife; to whom may the Lord grant true repentance! And be you then moderate in regard to this matter, and “do not count such as enemies,” but call them back as suffering and straying members, that you may save your whole body. For by so acting you shall edify yourselves.

This is perhaps the hardest exhortation in the whole letter. The news cycle is full of the accounts of wolves, with their sins written up on banners and left to hang on the wall of the internet forever. I’ve been off of Twitter now for just a few weeks and it was one of the first things I noticed. I haven’t seen any news of yet another fallen leader in the church, and it is refreshing to say the least.

It is right that we hope for justice in the face of these reports, but we should be careful not to pick up pitchforks and selfishly take that justice into our own hands2. We need to trust that the Lord who was able to forgive our sins can forgive theirs too, and we should hope for that outcome. Every sinner who enters the church has hurt people in their past, and yet, we preach forgiveness, that shouldn’t change just because they hurt people within the church.3

This was a heavy passage, and one that I could write far more on, but I will say this. I hope that if Valens truly repented of his sin after this letter arrived, that the Philippians took Polycarp’s advice, humbly forgiving him, and allowing him back into the fold, with wisdom and with care.

I hope the church in our day will do the same.

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Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill

One of my biggest takeaways from the recent Reader Survey I sent out—which you can still fill out by clicking here—was that the majority of respondents read this newsletter in part to be challenged by viewpoints that differ from their own. That is not only personally encouraging to me, but also struck me as a fantastic reason for more Christians to read literature from throughout Church History. This series on Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians was born out of a shared love that Tim and I have for the early church, but also a shared love for the church in our time. We believe that this letter has so much to teach us still, not least because Polycarp isn’t afraid to challenge us. If you’ve missed the Polycarp series so far and you’d like to read along with us, you can do so by heading to this link, where you’ll find all of the articles we’ve written so far. Each of these articles is written in the form of a letter, either to Tim or myself . If you want to read more of Tim’s work, which I highly suggest you do, you can do so by heading to nuakh.uk.

Dear Tim,

Thank you so much for your gracious letter, it will come as no shock that your reminder of Jesus’ example of faithful suffering struck my heart. This exhortation has stayed with me ever since I read your letter, “[Jesus] gave us an example of how to suffer, so let’s apprentice ourselves to him in this too.”

Thank you for challenging me to imitate him again.

Here is our passage for today:

“I exhort you all, therefore, to yield obedience to the word of righteousness, and to exercise all patience, such as you have seen before your eyes, not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus, but also in others among yourselves, and in Paul himself, and the rest of the apostles. [Do this] in the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead.”

“I exhort you all, therefore, to yield obedience to the
word of righteousness, and to exercise all patience”

The title in the translator gave to this passage was “Patience Inculcated.” Inculcated isn’t a word that we hear used very much in common parlance, but I think in this case it’s a very poignant one. The has a kind of dual meaning; it evokes a sense of a parent instilling virtues in their children that they’ll indwell for life, but it also has an element of repetition. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and is therefore something that believers, both young and old, should expect to possess in some measure, however in order for that fruit to grow it needs to be constantly fed and watered.

I have gotten in the habit, when people have come to me for advice during times of particular personal or relational stress, of asking whether they have recently asked God to give them more patience. I have about a 90% hit rate. One of the best ways for us to grow in patience isn’t simply by being told, but rather to have regular “system updates” by meeting difficult people and situations. This inculcates the kind of patience fitting of those obedient to the word of righteousness.

It’s no wonder then that Polycarp’s passage on patience is written within the context of relation, both to the broader family of the saints, but also more specifically to those in our personal spheres. This gives us people to be patient with, and people to patiently imitate.

“[Righteousness and patience] such as you have seen before your eyes,
not only in the case of the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus,
but also in others among yourselves, and in Paul himself, and the rest of the apostles.”

I’d love to hear about the people you’ve learned patience from. As a married man, my guess is that your wife is a prime example. If not, perhaps you’re less frustrating than I am! I’ve seen Mrs R grow in this the longer we’ve been together, not only towards me, but to those around her. In her work, as well as her training as a counsellor, she’s grown more Christlike, so when I think of patience such as I have seen before my eyes she’s the image my mind conjures.

In the case of the Philippians, Polycarp suggests Bishops such as Ignatius, the testimony of the apostles, but also just the other members of the church in Philippi. Who have you learned patience from amongst your congregation? In my case I’ve seen children wrestling with this in our midst. One boy in particular has grown immensely in patience, but in the growth period, he struggled against a sense of personal justice, as well as a struggle against his own anger. Learning to give each of these up to God was vital to him being able to approach difficult situations with love, seeking peace, and exercising patience.

[Do this] in the assurance that all these have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness,
and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For they loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead.”

Ultimately, the first and final portrait to imitate is the Lord, and though next week’s passage speaks to this more specifically, I didn’t want to end without mentioning that. When Jesus commands us to render unto Caesar (Mark 12:17) what is due to him, he uses Caesar’s image upon the coin as proof. God’s image is upon us. His image denotes both our value and the end to we all hope in and for, and therefore we ought to give him our whole selves, because we belong to him. Beyond this, as Christians God image is complemented by the Spirit that indwells us, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:29 ESV) Each of us is growing to be more like him, however slowly, and that gives us imitable members of the body of Christ to follow. We should seek to imitate them as they imitate Christ1.

We are called to love the church, but also the specific people in the church that he has given us to enjoy closer relationship with. When that gets hard, we need to remember the God dwells among us. We were each saved by the blood of Christ, given faith by the Father, and have been indwelled by the Spirit. This means that even in the darkest of times, even when separation or distance might be called for, that we do so prayerfully and patiently considering God’s call upon our lives to love his people.

We will not get this perfect until heaven and earth are made new, but we can do this in the assurance that [those who have gone before us] have not run in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are [now] in their due place in the presence of the Lord.” What’s more, they knew how difficult this world can be, having suffered for the sake of Christ, and most certainly at the hands of brothers and sisters in Christ, but let us look to the end of time, when y the grace of God it will be said that we “loved not this present world, but Him who died for us, and for our sakes was raised again by God from the dead.”

Grace and Peace,

Adsum

From Glory to Ordinary

The First Few Rows Are the Worst

This year my daughter and I decided to crochet a temperature blanket. Basically this means we will assign colors to the temperature in increments of ten and will crochet one row a day in the colored yarn for that day’s temperature. Because neither of us are that consistent, we've been doing it once a week or so and just catch up on the previous days…

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2 years ago · 5 likes · 2 comments · Brianna Lambert

That GirlBoss Theologian

The Church and its "Useful" Singles

As I clicked on the link to this recent TGC article on singleness, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean, these days I’m never quite sure what to expect from any article on singleness! Even the ones that come with what looks like a promising headline have the potential to be a total bait-and-switch dumpster fire …

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2 years ago · 15 likes · 5 comments · Dani Treweek

The Raven's Writing Desk

Fighting my Sin of Least Resistance

I had just sworn—much to my wife’s surprise. What’s worse was I didn’t know why. Growing up in South London, swearing was regular feature of my life until I’d been convinced and convicted that my careless tongue was to come under God’s reign and rule just like the rest of me. It had been years though, I had slipped up here and there, but always in the mo…

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2 years ago · 11 likes · 2 comments · Adsum Try Ravenhill

This series on Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians was born out of a shared love that Tim and I have for the early church, but also a love for the church in our time. We believe that this letter has so much to teach us still, not least because Polycarp isn’t afraid to challenge us. Each of these articles is written in the form of a letter, either to Tim or myself. If you want to read more of Tim’s work, which I highly suggest you do, you can do so by heading to nuakh.uk.

Part I

Part II - Prepare for Action

Tim Suffield - December 7, 2023

Dear Adsum

Thank you for your letter and for suggesting this little endeavour in the first place. I’m always encouraged by your joy in God. Every time we speak you ask how you can pray for me, which is a great kindness.

Your call to be prepared to suffer for the sake of Jesus is timely. I’m stirred to see chains as a crown.

Continue Reading

Part III

Part IV - Money, Chastity, and Authority

Tim Suffield - December 21, 2023

Dear Adsum

Thank you for your letter. You are kinder than I deserve.

I greatly appreciate your challenge to be challenged. I don’t have as much of this in my life as I could do with, particularly not from brothers who are for me. I do have a close friend who texts me when my writing, or preaching, is too close to the bone, but I’m sure I need more. I’d love for you to become one of them.

As to your question: am I seeking to accurately and steadfastly preach the word of truth? I dearly hope so. I’ve often wondered if the nature of preaching is seeking without arriving. The goal is to speak the words of God, and it’s lofty.

Continue Reading

Part V

Part VI - 5 Instructions for Elders

Tim Suffield - January 25, 2024

Dear Adsum,

This is in some ways a strange one for me to write to you. I am a presbyter (Pastor, or Elder, in our modern parlance) and you aren’t. I think it’s true, nevertheless, that the Church’s Elders are not ‘super-Christians’ but just ‘faithful Christians’ so we can all aspire to their requirements.

Polycarp lists five categories of things that elders should be. His context is a church where elders have not always been these things. Firstly, we are meant to be ‘dispensers of grace,’ when he calls elders to be compassionate and merciful to all.

I’m still learning this. I’ve served as a Pastor in two churches for around ten years now, which makes me still ‘inexperienced,’ but I was appointed much too young with much too much arrogance—in exactly the sort of church environment you alluded to in your last letter. I was not a man of compassion or mercy.

Thank the Lord that he broke me.

Continue Reading

Part VII

Part VIII - Hold on to Hope

Tim Suffield - February 8, 2024

Hope is a tricky thing. I think we can misunderstand how it works. Polycarp tells them to ‘persevere in hope,’ to keep going in hoping. Hope is a thing that you do, and that you have to keep on doing. Paul says something very similar in the opening lines of 1 Thessalonians, where faith was to be worked at, love laboured at, and hope persevered in. These virtues need verbs.

I think we often get that backwards—with faith and love too—imagining that hope is an emotion that we work up either through an intensity of prayer or some sort of dramatic worship experience. Or, perhaps, we simply decide we’re not a very hopeful person. I have a tendency towards the cynical, but thankfully that doesn’t mean I can’t hope because hope is a thing we do. It’s an action.

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Part IX

Part X - Stand Fast

Tim Suffield - February 29, 2024

Dear Adsum

Thank you for your last letter, particularly your guidance to ask God for patience in the midst of trials. Though, I must admit, this is a “thanks, I hate it” sort of thank you. Who wants more patience? People who want to be more like Jesus.

I am not a patient man. My wife is much more patient than me, as are many others I know. I think of the dear patience of a close friend whose debilitating illness has not been healed by the Lord and his desire to keep pressing in to follow Jesus anyway. It’s an inspiration to me.

Of course, I don’t think he’ll recognise himself in that sentence, because I don’t think he thinks he’s a patient man.

Continue Reading

Part XII - Learning to be Angry Well

Tim Suffield - March 14, 2024

Dear Adsum

Thank you for your last letter, sobering though it was. I am particularly struck by your desire to react as Christians to those leaders who fall; we should restore them. Not, in the vast majority of cases, to the pastorate or to other prominence, but to the church in line with their repentance.

I’ve been reflecting on my own desires for ‘justice’ or ‘revenge’ that have little to do with the gospel. Equally, in most of the cases I’ve had the misfortune of seeing up close, as well as many I watched from a distance, repentance seems slow to come.

Your careful love for Jesus’ church is a hallmark of your writing; it’s always an encouragement to me.

Continue Reading

Part XIV - Final Words

Tim Suffield - March 28, 2024

…

I’ve been thinking about how to summarise the letter and our writing on it. The nature of summaries is that they miss things out, but in the context of leadership failure I think Polycarp would commend three things to his readers.

Firstly, in the face of others not living like Christians, live like Christians.

Secondly, we should teach others to live like Christians too.

Thirdly, the most important thing is our virtue or character.

Easy to say, difficult to do, but worth pursuing in all things. Would you pray for me that these three charges would characterise my own life?

…

Read the Final Article in the Series

This is the seventh article in a series of articles in partnership with Tim Suffield from Nuakh.uk. We’re looking at Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians. Polycarp was a disciple of John, who was martyred for his faith not long after he wrote this letter. As we’re looking at a letter from, and for, the church, we’re writing these articles in a similar fashion. Each article is addressed to either Tim or myself, but we invite you to listen in, and to read Polycarp’s letter along with us.

For those of you who’ve missed the series so far, you can read the previous articles in the series at these links: I; II; III; IV; V; VI. Each article can be read independently of the others, however.

Dear Tim,

Thank you so much for your letter and for your prayers, it is always an encouragement to hear from you, and to learn from your wise words. You asked me to thank God that he broke you, and I am truly thankful for that, but I am also thankful for the man he has repaired by his Spirit, and continues to sanctify. I will keep your prayer requests top of mind, especially during this next season.

I spoke with someone recently who felt convicted that they needed to pray for their Pastor more, and I think many people could do with similar convictions. I hope others reading these letters would take up your call to pray; not only for you, but also for the pastors in their churches.

Today I’ll be looking at the seventh part of Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians, which means we’re almost halfway through the letter!

Here’s today’s reading:

“For whoever does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist1” and whoever does not confess the testimony of the cross, is of the devil; and whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts, and says that there is neither a resurrection nor a judgment, he is the first-born of Satan.

Wherefore, forsaking the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from* the beginning; “watching unto prayer,” and persevering in fasting; beseeching in our supplications the all-seeing God “not to lead us into temptation,” as the Lord has said: “The spirit truly is willing, but the flesh is weak.”!

Recently Mrs R asked me to teach her some kickboxing. Although it has been a number of years since I last practiced—not to mention my physical limitations—I happily agreed.

I began by teaching her how to stand.

As most people have gotten used to a certain way of standing by the time they're fully grown, this lesson is often far harder than it sounds. A fighter needs to fall into her “stance” at the drop of a hat, and the strength of that stance can often determine the outcome of an altercation2. To illustrate the importance of this skill, I had Anna stand normally, and then lightly tested her strength by pushing on her shoulders, and then again by pulling her arm as she attempted to punch me. In a normal standing position, this would ordinarily lead to the fighter falling backwards, either onto their favoured foot, or simply onto their rear-end. For obvious reasons, I didn’t push or pull Mrs R nearly hard enough to trigger such a reaction, but just enough for the exercise to hit home. Later, after she’d begun to place her feet correctly, her punches grew more powerful, she became much harder to budge, and since then she has even learned to kick without pushing herself over!

In this passage, Polycarp takes a similar approach, pushing on our spiritual shoulders, to make sure that we’re standing firmly on solid ground. In the face of false teachers who would love to push us back, or have us fall head over heels for their lies, we ought first to be certain our stance is sure.

Using the words of his own teacher, John, Polycarp enjoins us to:

“forsak[e] the vanity of many, and their false doctrines, [and] let us return to the word which has been handed down to us from the beginning;”

With our feet firmly planted, then, what should we then go onto to do?

How do we fight, and armed with what weapons?

In the Philippians case, the false teachers in question were teaching the false doctrine of Docetism, which holds that Jesus never truly took on flesh, but was instead simply a spirit. We could get into the many ways that undermines the beauty of the gospel, but that reaction would, in many cases, be the wrong first step. Having first checked our own footing, we should carefully consider Polycarp’s advice about what it looks like to fight against things. The answer may surprise us, but I don’t think it should.

How often do we think that we are the answer to God’s problems, when in fact he is always the answer to ours. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints3” but that we should do so according to the strength of the Spirit, and the wisdom of the word of God.

We’d do well to remember Jesus’ words to Simon Peter—as Polycarp reminds us—when he said:

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:41 ESV

Our flesh, including our tongues, our ever ready keyboard-trained-hands, our racing hearts, our clenched fists, it is all weak. It is unsurprising then that Polycarp, having set the foundation, then has us “watching in prayer.”

If we’re at all tempted to view that as inaction, or perhaps a lesser action, then we’re deluding ourselves. What’s more powerful, a prayer to the creator of the universe, or a strongly-worded tweet? How much more important are the prayers of the saints than their quick-witted rebukes?

I’m writing this whilst Twitter is in the throes of the latest controversy, which has led to an unseemly number of people rebuking a man who is about as far from a wolf as one could imagine. He’s sinner, I think he probably erred in what he said, but the speed with which some have begun to cast aspersions on his character and wisdom is shocking. I wonder how much of that might have been prevented if more people were kneeling on solid ground, inspecting their own shortcomings, praying for forgiveness, for patience, and for wisdom. I might be wrong, but I suspect not.

To clear, I’m not suggesting that there is no occasion for standing up against false teaching, but we have to be cautious about the weapons we use. In this passage, Polycarp has strong words to say about these false teachers, and makes a clear delineation between true and heretical doctrines. Since the conception of the church, packs of wolves have sought to usurp scripture’s authority and replace it with extra-biblical “wisdom.”

Thankfully though, we needn’t fear any permanent or universal abolishment of the church, or our of our eternal inheritance. Peter tells us:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you”

1 Peter 1:3-4

What is kept in heaven for you, cannot be shaken by any earthly power, or spiritual principality. Equally, for those false teachers who do not repent, their inheritance4 through Christ’s death is equally sure. The yeast of heresy proves here on earth simply to be cast into the fire. Sadly, some still pursue the enemy’s path, and by doing so will join the enemy in his death, just as we will join our Saviour in eternal life.

That’s a heavy statement to make, but one that we need to remember. The severity of sin deserves this consequence, whether it is their sin, or ours. If we can cast our sins before the cross, and trust in the justice that was secured there, then we ought the trust that justice will be done in these cases too. If we can trust God to deal with the eternal consequences of sin—which we can—how much more can we trust him through the temporary consequences of false teaching happening right now.

Therefore, returning to Polycarp’s point, we don’t only need to “watch unto prayer” but also, “persevering in fasting” and bring “our supplications the all-seeing God not to lead us into temptation.” Our weapons are prayer, fasting, perseverance, and more prayer. Only then can we build upon that.

There’s a quote from Klaas Schilder that has arrested me ever since I first read it—which you can read more about here—which he wrote whilst under Nazi occupation, under a Pseudonym that essentially meant, “the hunter of hitler.”

What did this hunter suggest the saints do?

In this occupied land, they will not place the matter in their own hands, but in God’s hands. To the extent they pray, they will want to see weapons used in this time, but only those weapons that we know from Revelation 11, namely, the weapons of prayer. We realize that others think such weapons blunt and laugh at them. At any rate, people who think so will deem these weapons completely harmless.

Klaas Schilder, The Klaas Schilder Reader: The Essential Theological Writings, eds. George Harinck, Marinus De Jong, and Richard Mouw, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2022), 515.

It’s about eighty years later, and the Nazi’s have returned to the dust. Some repented, some didn’t, regardless justice is secure. Prayer, however, still persists, and is going nowhere fast. The weapons of this world will continue to grow ever more powerful, but never so powerful as the preserving prayer of the very least of our number.

There’s a big part of me that wants to write more about all the other ways that we can then go on to protect flocks, to prevent deconstruction, to combat heresy, but I want to faithfully constraint myself to the text.

Perhaps one day I’ll write more about preaching, and discipleship, and writing, and persevering in those things too, but now isn’t the time.

Let’s pray, and then fast, and persevere, and bid God not to let us fall into temptation.

Once we’ve got that down, perhaps he’ll have some next steps for us.

Grace and Peace Brother,

Adsum

This is the fifth in a series of articles in partnership with Tim Suffield from Nuakh.uk. We’re looking at Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians. Polycarp was a disciple of John, who was martyred for his faith not long after he wrote this letter. As we’re looking at a letter from, and for, the church, we’re writing these articles in a similar fashion. Each article is addressed to either Tim or myself, but we invite you to listen in, and to read Polycarp’s letter along with us.

For those of you who’ve missed the series so far, you can read the previous articles in the series at these links: I; II; III; IV. Each article can be read independently of the others, however.

Dear Tim,

Thank you for your words on money last month, it’s never an easy subject, but I’m convinced that by having such uncomfortable subjects thrust upon us by the shape of this letter, we’ll find the endeavour all the more fruitful. It’s true that, “Money makes the world go ‘round, we hear. It can certainly make us go in circles.” I feel the pressure to turn that grindstone over and over, each time expecting a different result. I’m grateful that last year was a season of plenty for us, but this year we’re starting off on a much tighter budget. In both circumstances, we’ve seen and we trust that God is in control. Money wasn’t your only subject last month, but let me encourage you that though money and leadership of one’s household might have seemed unconnected to you, the two are currently intrinsically linked for me personally, and I thank you for your exhortations with regard to them both.

Here’s the portion of the epistle I’ll be looking at today:

“Knowing, then, that “God is not mocked,” we ought to walk worthy of His commandment and glory. In like manner should the deacons be blameless before the face of His righteousness, as being the servants of God and Christ, and not of men. They must not be slanderers, double-tongued, or lovers of money, but temperate in all things, compassionate, industrious, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who was the servant of all.

If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, “we shall also reign together with Him,” provided only we believe. In like manner, let the young men also be blameless in all things, being especially careful to preserve purity, and reining themselves in, as with a bridle, from every kind of evil. For it is well that they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since “every lust wars against the spirit;” and “neither fornicators, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God,” nor those who do things inconsistent and unbecoming. Wherefore, it is needful to abstain from all these things, being subject to the presbyters and deacons, as unto God and Christ. The virgins also must walk in a blameless and pure conscience.”

I discovered the power of verbs in Germany. The German language has adjectives, but they’re invariably rather basic, and therefore aren’t used in the same fashion as in English. To evoke a response in a listener, or a reader, one would often use verbs to bring the item, event, or person to life. Sometimes when I’m reading a passage in English, I’ll look at certain nouns and adjectives, and think about the verbs they could be replaced with.

Side-Note: I know what you’re thinking, “Mrs R is a lucky girl if she gets to have conversations like this all the time.”

You have no idea.

When Polycarp talks about “slanderers, [the] double-tongued, or lovers of money” and the “temperate in all things, compassionate, industrious” or the “fornicators, effeminate, [or] abusers,” he might be using nouns, but he’s suggesting actions. Just as a lawyer practices law, or a fighter fights, or a husband loves; slanderers slander! Given that the subject of this portion of the letter is “mocking God,” we mustn’t fall into the trap of thinking that because we wouldn’t describe ourselves as “a slanderer” that we’re in no danger of this egregious sin.

We might also struggle to describe ourselves as “temperate in all things,” or to call ourselves “compassionate, [and] industrious.” Abstaining from sin, and attaining righteousness are only possible by the power of the Spirit, but should nonetheless mean that our lives are punctuated with a neglect of sin and a love of righteous actions.

Let’s look at what Polycarp says about this.

Previously I’ve talked about how Polycarp sees himself as simply a member of the body of Christ, not as a final word, or a writer of Scripture. He has built his own letters on a foundation of the word of God, but now he looks to other members of Christ’s body to support the hearers as they endeavour to follow the way of the Lord.

Wherefore, it is needful to abstain from all these things, being subject to the presbyters and deacons, as unto God and Christ.

We are not lone rangers. I remember meeting a a man who called himself a missionary about a decade ago. His model was to go from town to town, city to city, and preach in the open air and evangelise to anyone who would listen. Over the following weeks he would try and help his newfound disciples to know the way to God and how to be a good christian, and then he would leave to go to the next destination. I met him on his second roundtrip. He’d already visited a few of the previous cities and found that none of his would-be-disciples were still following the Lord, and he was incredibly discouraged. I asked if he’d kept in contact with them after he left, he said he hadn’t. I asked whether he’d gotten them connected to a local church, and that’s when everything began to make sense. It turned out that he didn’t believe in “churches” and didn’t even attend services in any of the cities he visited. He would worship God by himself or with his wife, but rarely with others, and he believed others should do the same.

We need others around us who will help to mould and to strengthen us, to teach us, to correct us, and to train us in righteousness according to the word of God and the power of the Spirit. (see 2 Tim 3:16-17)

Recently, I began to struggle with a sense of impending loss. The idea that certain things would be taken away from me and that I had no power to stop it. I’ve been in a period in which I’ve had things I deemed important taken away due to things completely outside of my control, and in my mind I’d begun to spiral. I contacted one of my Elders. Once I began to talk, the power of the worry began to diminish immediately and peace quickly to replaced it. Sharing the weight with another member of the body of Christ was all it took, and it shouldn’t be any surprise to us when that happens. God has given us his church to be the body of Christ on earth, and so we should expect him to bring us comfort through it.

Worry isn’t our only struggle though, sometimes it is slander. Sometimes we have been slandered, and sometimes we’ve been the ones sewing discord and need to “[rein our]selves in, as with a bridle, from every kind of evil”. Whether sinning, or being sinned against, we ought not wait until we’re brought by others before our Elders, but go to them with haste. In larger churches this may not be possible, but deacons and even just brother and sisters are there for us to run to. Who can you go to when things are tough, when you’re stuck in your sin, and when you’ve been hurt by the sin of others mate?

In the account of Joseph’s “run in” with Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39) he rails against the idea of lying with her by saying, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Sinning against man is wicked, but as Christians we need to go a step further. Sinning, despite knowing that our sin is what nailed Jesus to the cross makes a mockery of God, and that should grieve us.

Christians have done this throughout the past 2000 years, and will sadly do this till Jesus returns. Though the church will never fall, it does sometimes fail us. More than that though, it fails God.

I’ve been in difficult churches, some have hurt me and those whom I love.

Many have left church, or the idea of church behind entirely, because of experiences like mine, or worse. The truth is, that in this age, the church will never achieve glorification, and no christian will attain perfection, but I still believe that the gates of hell will never prevail against the church (see Matt 16:18-19), not because it is subject to perfect earthly leaders, but because at it’s head is a perfect and holy Lord.

We should take Polycarp’s adjuration seriously when he says:

In like manner should the deacons be blameless before the face of His righteousness, as being the servants of God and Christ, and not of men.

Deacons were first called to serve bread to widows (see Acts 7), but from the beginning this calling was first to God, and then to man. If we do good to anyone, we do it for God, by the Spirit; if we do not, we are sinning not simply against our brothers and sisters, our enemies and allies, but first and foremost against God.

If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, “we shall also reign together with Him,” provided only we believe

Finally, before I sign off, I’d like to finish with this.

If we please God, according to his promises, living worthy of him by the power of the Spirit, the support of the church, and ultimately through our belief in Jesus, we will live eternally in the age where there is no more sin or suffering. I said earlier that the church has not yet been glorified, but she will be, and that we had not yet been perfected, but we can have hope that we will be. Provided that you believe in Jesus, which I know you do, you will rise, reign, and reap the eternal harvest of heaven. As far as it rests on you, do what you can then to do what he pleases more than what pleases you, and pray that I would do the same.

Bless you brother. I feel like my letter this week is a little all over the place, but I hope it blesses you all the same. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum

This is the third in a series of articles in partnership with Tim Suffield from Nuakh.uk. We’re looking at the Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians. Polycarp was a disciple of John, who was martyred for his faith not long after he wrote this letter. As we’re looking at a letter from and for the church, we’re writing these articles in a similar fashion. Each article is addressed to either Tim or myself, but we invite you to listen in, and to read Polycarp’s letter along with us.

For those of you who’ve missed the series so far, you can find pt.I here, and pt.II over on Tim’s blog Nuakh.uk or by clicking here.

Dear Tim,

Thank you for your letter. It encouraged me to “go again”—to serve God and his people, and to do so seriously and joyfully. I also loved this line, “the Fathers…speak all the louder to our day by not being concerned with our concerns at all.”

I’ll keep that in mind as I write.

I’ve been looking into Chapter III over past couple of weeks:

“These things, brothers, I write to you concerning righteousness, not because I take anything upon myself, but because you have invited me to do so. For neither I, nor any other such one, can come up to the wisdom of the blessed and glorified Paul. He, when among you, accurately and steadfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of those who were then alive. And when absent from you, he wrote you a letter, which, if you carefully study, you will find to be the means of building you up in that faith which has been given you, and which, being followed by hope, and preceded by love towards God, and Christ, and our neighbour, “is the mother of us all.” For if anyone be inwardly possessed of these graces, he has fulfilled the command of righteousness, since he that has love is far from all sin.”

Given that I asked you to write these letters, I found it ironic that this passage fell upon me given that Polycarp explains that he wrote this letter, “Not because I take anything upon myself, but because you have invited me to.” With that said, this is a good opportunity for me explain why I asked you to join me on this project, and why I’m glad that your letters are being shared with the world.

We have letters from throughout Church History because blessed brother and sisters who have gone before us have preserved letters that served their souls. We’re now blessed with correspondences from trusted advisors, friends, pastors, spouses, and strangers, most of which are freely available online. I think, for instance, of the many people who wrote to C.S.Lewis in hope of a response, because they knew that such a letter would be a blessing to them, and how over the years these have been shared to bless others too.

When I asked you to write this series of letters with—and to me—I did so because of your character; because I trust in your theological understanding; because I value your counsel; and because I consider you a friend.

With that said, one of the reasons Polycarp makes this declaration is to make clear that neither he, nor anyone else, can write with the authority of his forebear Paul (note: we should assume by extension that he would include the rest of the canon of Scripture too.)

If his writing—and our writing!—falls into this s category then, why write at all?

Polycarp compares himself to Paul in two ways. Firstly, to make clear that he is isn’t Paul and his words aren’t, therefore, Spiritually inspired. Then, having done this, he explains that like Paul—who had preached to the Philippians’ forefathers and had written to them thereafter—Polycarp had now been called upon to write to the church in Philippi in a similar, but distinct way. I’ll look at preaching in a moment, but let’s take a look at what he says about writing first.

“…when absent from you, [Paul] wrote you a letter, which, if you carefully study, you will find to be the means of building you up in that faith which has been given you.”

He breaks down the use of Paul’s letter in three ways:

Receive. Study. Be built up in the faith.

None of these actions were intended to merely be done alone, but with others. The letter would be corporately received, and was then reproduced for the good of others. Study was done with, or supported by, those who knew how to get the most out of the letter (i.e. Preachers/Pastors), and we need only look to Paul’s own words in his letter to the Phillipians to understand what “the means of building you up in that faith” were.

In his first chapter, Paul says:

“…I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ….so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ”

Philippians 1:6,10

Paul trusts in the enduring and final work of Jesus Christ to perfect his work in the Philippians on the final day, but in the mean time, they are to “approve what is excellent.” How will they do this? By building one another up, as he goes on to say:

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”

Philippians 1:27

Standing firm with one spirit, one mind, side by side.

Why write? Polycarp’s letter is not a new message or a rallying cry to “try a fresh ministry this winter!” His message is that this new generation needs to receive those old scriptures afresh, to learn how to study the word of God, and follow in their forebears footsteps by standing together by the Spirit, with one mind, united in union with Christ.

I don’t know about you, but I feel the weight of Polycarp’s example here.

Do we follow that example, you and I? Do we write as though we’re speaking old truths anew, or do we try and expound the novel knowledge of our age? I think in your case the answer is that you do a tremendous job trying to keep within those guardrails. Your commitment to publishing “Cold Takes” is commendable. Why so? Because, you’ve said yourself that you have a temptation to, “respond to whatever the newest thing is in the zeitgeist.”

I share that temptation.

I’ll add another, which I outlined in my recent article “Silence,” in which I said:

“as a writer, my natural inclination would be to give [my] anger an outlet. I’m tempted to write fast, to write well, but to write unrighteously, as it says in James, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.””

As a result of my temptation, I’ve made my own commitment, a parallel to your “Cold Takes” stance to make sure that I never write from a place of anger, even if in the moment I think it’s righteous anger? Why? Because the source would spoil the well. Whether it’s anger, or the zeitgeist, or folly, or worldly passion, when we let motivations other than the gospel drive our writing—whatever the subject may be—it surely cannot produce the righteousness of God.

I say all of this not particularly to benefit of others—though I certainly hope it does—and certainly not to lift either of us up as examples, but rather to place Polycarp’s example and our commitments before us on the table so that we can challenge ourselves—and challenge each other—to keep going.

We have received and studied the word of God, therefore, let’s make sure our writing builds up the bride of Christ as opposed to tearing her down.

“He, when among you, accurately and steadfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of those who were then alive.”

In addition to writing, Polycarp talks of preaching. I think we can safely assume that Polycarp preached himself and, therefore, was also seeking to follow this example. One of the reasons he shares it here though is surely because he was presenting it as a guide for the preachers present as the letter was being read.

I haven’t preached in a while now, but I know that you’ve been preaching more regularly, and so (perhaps cheekily) I’ll pose this question to you.

Are you, Tim, seeking to accurately and steadfastly teach the word of truth?

I am sure the answer is yes, but I wonder how often we ask ourselves questions like this. I think it’s important that we do, and that we allow others to ask these kinds of questions of us too.

I’ve spoken to many preachers in the circles we run in who say that they're never challenged by friends, but only by those who actively oppose them. Is it any wonder then that we’ve seen multiple leaders fall as of late, who it seems fell into this category of being “unchallengeable”.

Polycarp ends this chapter saying:

[Your Faith,] followed by hope, and preceded by love towards God, and Christ, and our neighbour, “is the mother of us all.” For if anyone be inwardly possessed of these graces, he has fulfilled the command of righteousness, since he that has love is far from all sin.”

Therefore, with faith, and hope, and love for God and my neighbour, I challenge you. Similar to what I said about writing, this challenge isn’t because my love begets confrontation, but because it musters up a desire to build you up. How can I build you up as a preacher? As “he that has love is far from all sin” it stands to reason that my love for you would compel me to guard you from temptation to sin too, by exhorting you in the same manner as Polycarp.

In addition, I do this to love not only you, but my neighbour, including those under your teaching.1 We both believe that faith is received through hearing the word of God preached, if that is so, then we can’t undervalue Polycarp’s challenge to preachers.

Whether in our writing, or our preaching, we are to follow the example of the Apostle Paul, imitating him as he imitated Christ. As high a call as that is, we should come to it not with boyish bravado, but with Christ-like humility.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Chapter IV next week.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill

Dear Reader,

This is the first of a number of articles in partnership with Tim Suffield from Nuakh.uk (Update: pt.II is now live over at Nuakh). Over the course of the next few months, we’ll be looking at the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philipians. For those of you who don’t know, Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John, a Bishop from Smyrna in the Early Church, who was martyred for his faith not long after he wrote this letter. We thought that as we’re looking at a letter from and for the church, that we would write these articles in a similar fashion. Whilst each article will be addressed officially to either Tim or myself, we invite you to listen in, and to read Polycarp’s letter along with us. For those of you who would like to check out the full letter first, here’s a recorded version you can listen to in your own time, and here’s a link to the letter in full.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum

Dear Tim,

I hope this finds you and your wife well—Anna likewise sends her blessings. As always I’m encouraged by your diligence in studying God’s word and serving his bride and I’m thankful for the opportunity to partner with you in studying this wonderful letter.

Here’s the portion of Polycarp I’ll be writing to you about today:

“Mercy to you, and peace from God Almighty, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, be multiplied.

Chapter I — Praise of the Philippians

I have greatly rejoiced with you in our Lord Jesus Christ, because you have followed the example of true love [as displayed by God], and have accompanied, as became you, those who were bound in chains, the fitting ornaments of saints, and which are indeed the diadems of the true elect of God and our Lord; and because the strong root of your faith, spoken of in days long gone by, endures even until now, and brings forth fruit to our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sins suffered even unto death, [but] “whom God raised from the dead, having loosed the bands of the grave.” “In whom, though now you see Him not, you believe, and believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;” into which joy many desire to enter, knowing that “by grace you are saved, not of works,” but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.”1

Before I say anything else, I should introduce Polycarp, an early church father, and a martyr for the sake of the gospel. Aside from this letter, which was written by Polycarp himself, we also have another letter outlining the context and and detail of Polycarp’s martyrdom, as well as a letter from a fellow church father Ignatius, who—before his own martyrdom—entreated Polycarp,

“…bear all things for the sake of God, that He also may bear with us. Be ever becoming more zealous than you currently are. Weigh the times with care. Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible, yet who became visible for our sakes; who could not be touched and could not suffer, yet who [took on flesh] on our account; and who in every kind of way suffered for our sakes.”

Ignatius of Antioch, The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus2

Weighing the times as his brother exhorted had him, Polycarp saw persecution fast approaching, and responded the only way he could. Polycarp, knowing the danger that could await him if he stayed, devoted himself not to fleeing, but to prayer. One night as he was praying for his own churches and for others, he was granted a prophetic vision in which his pillow seemed to him to catch alight beneath his head and burn fiercely. It is reported that, “turning to those that were with him, he said to them prophetically, “I must be burnt alive.”

In the letter reporting of his death, the author commands the hearers “to ascribe the authority over all things to God.” In the face of such a loss, losing their beloved bishop, how encouraging must Polycarp’s example of faith have been.

He was given an opportunity to repent of his faith in the name of Caesar of Rome, and he responded by stating, “I am a Christian” and offering to teach his judge the doctrines of the gospel if he would simply appoint a day. He was threatened with wild beasts, and responded that he could not “repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil.” The judge, echoing Polycarp’s vision, commanded that he be consumed by fire. I can only imagine the smile on his face as he spoke the last words we have recorded:

“You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little while is extinguished, but you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. Why the delay? Bring forth what you will.”

The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus

I love that his last words were, in effect, “bring it.”

What we see in Polycarp’s letter to the Ephesians is that this mindset predated his vision and subsequent martyrdom. His life and teaching bore out in his final response and so how better can we repay that faithfulness than to read, study, and imbibe his teachings in so far as they accord with scripture. As we’ll see over the course of our letters, we have many great reasons to do so.

The Place of Scripture in Polycarp’s Epistle

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

ESV John 20:28–29

While Paul, Peter, and the other writers in the New Testament were writing to audiences and churches who hadn’t seen Jesus during his life, Polycarp represents the first generation after the Apostles of teachers who would have been speaking directly to audiences who weren’t even alive during that time. Polycarp, therefore, had his work cut out for him to teach about the tenants of the faith. It’s encouraging then to see that even at this stage in the early church, Polycarp does so by leaning not only on the Old Testament—as we’ll see later in the letter—but also on the New Testament. It gives us some insight into not only the high view of the importance of scripture as early as the first century, but also its usage.

In this passage, speaking as someone who would go on to be bound by chains, encouraged by those who already had been, to people who might very well find themselves chained in the future, Polycarp describes those chains as a fitting crown for the saints of the church—including you and me. Although we might feel like we’re sitting pretty here in the UK, we should never be tempted to think that we are beyond the possibility of persecution. Jesus taught us that, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:10 ESV). Polycarp, believing that to be true—which hopefully both of us also do!—he goes on to help give his readers a strong biblical understanding of why and how that is the case.

It’s worth saying, before I begin to explain how he does so from scripture, to remind us and those reading along that chapters and verses are not infallible, and therefore we shouldn’t expect him to rigidly follow them as we might today. With that said, he begins his explanation with words from Acts 2:24, which says, “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it”

Why fear death when our saviour has already faced it down and defeated it? He goes on to explain, with Peter words: “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Pet. 1:8 ESV) So, Jesus, having died and risen again, has granted his disciples—both the twelve and the saints to come—with faith that leads to rejoicing, glory, and, present in the verse, but not in Polycarp’s letter3, obtaining the outcome of their faith, the salvation of their souls. Though this last part of verse 1 Peter 1:8 isn’t explicitly mentioned, he goes on to complete his argument with words from Ephesians 2:8:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

which Polycarp summarises by saying:

“by grace you are saved, not of works,” but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.”

In summary, Polycarp’s encouragement to us, as saints who will likely face persecution in this life, is that having been bestowed with the gift of faith, by the same God that rose Jesus from the dead, our chains ought to cause us not to feel dread or failure but, rather, inexpressible joy brought on by a full understanding of the grace of God. Though our chains might look like shackles to the world, to the saint, they form a saintly crown of righteousness.

Chapter I serves as a fitting preface, not only to the letter we’re about to read, but also for our understanding of the early church. Whilst Acts tells us about her founding and foundation, this letter helps to illustrate how those doctrines and churches continued on in the faith past the direct influence and oversight of the apostles. Finally, whilst not intended to serve as scripture, this letter is nonetheless intended for use by the church, and has been replicated and translated to that end ever since. Thanks be to God that you and I have the ability to write one another letters, but also to read and be encouraged by those who have done so throughout church history.

I look forward to hearing from you about Chapter II, may the Lord bless you and keep you brother.

Grace and Peace,

Adsum Try Ravenhill

Read pt.II by Tim Suffield