Bart Ehrman, Trinity, Barnabas & Diognetus

The quotations referenced here are taken from The Apostolic Fathers, Volume II: Epistle of Barnabas. Papias and Quadratus. Epistle to Diognetus. The Shepherd of Hermas, edited and translated by Bart D. Ehrman, and published in 2003 by Harvard University Press. All emphasis will be mine.

Epistle of Barnabas

5

This is why the Lord allowed his flesh to be given over to corruption, that we might be made holy through the forgiveness of sins, which comes in the sprinkling of his blood. 2. For some of the things written about him concern Israel; others concern us. And so it says: "He was wounded because of our lawless acts and weakened because of our sins. By his bruising we were healed. He was led like a sheep going to slaughter; and like a lamb, silent before the one who shears it."¹⁴ 3. Therefore we ought to give thanks to the Lord even more abundantly, because he revealed to us the things that have taken place and made us wise in the things that are now; and we are not ignorant of the things that are yet to happen. 4. And the Scripture says, "Not unjustly are the nets spread out for the birds."¹⁵ It says this because the person who knows the path of righteousness but keeps himself in the path of darkness deserves to perish. 5. Consider this, my brothers: if the Lord allowed himself to suffer for our sake, even though he was the Lord of the entire world, the one to whom God said at the foundation of the world, "Let us make a human according to our image and likeness,"¹⁶ how then did he allow himself to suffer by the hand of humans? Learn this! 6. Because the prophets received his gracious gift, they prophesied looking ahead to him. He allowed himself to suffer in order to destroy death and to show that there is a resurrection of the dead. For he had to be manifest in the flesh. 7. And he allowed himself to suffer in order to redeem the promise given to the fathers and to show, while he was on earth preparing a new people for himself, that he is to execute judgment after raising the dead. 8. Moreover, while teaching Israel and doing such wonders and signs, he preached to them and loved them deeply. 9. And when he selected his own apostles who were about to preach his gospel, they were altogether lawless beyond all sin. This was to show that he did not come to call the upright but sinners. Then he revealed that he was the Son of God. 10. For if he had not come in the flesh, how would people have been able to look upon him and survive? For they cannot even look intently at the sun, gazing directly into its rays, even though it is the work of his hands and will eventually cease to exist. 11. Therefore, the Son of God came in the flesh for this reason, that he might total up all the sins of those who persecuted his prophets to death. 12. And so this is why he allowed himself to suffer. For God speaks of the blow they delivered against his flesh: "When they smite their own shepherd, then the sheep of the flock will perish."¹⁷ 13. But he wished to suffer in this way, for he had to suffer on a tree. For the one who prophesied about him said, "Spare my life from the sword," and "Nail my flesh, because an assembly [Or: synagogue] of evildoers has risen up against me."¹⁸ 14. Again he says, "See! I have set my back to whips and my cheeks to blows; and I have set my face as a hard rock."¹⁹ 

¹⁴ Isa 53:5, 7.

¹⁵ Prov 1:17.

¹⁶ Gen 1:26.

¹⁷ Cf. Zech 13:7; Matt 26:31.

¹⁸ Ps 22:20, 16.

¹⁹ Isa 50:6-7. (Pp. 25, 27, 29)

6

And so, when he issued the commandment, what did he say? "Who is the one who takes me to court? Let him oppose me! Or who acquits himself before me? Let him approach the servant of the Lord! 2. Woe to you, for you will all grow old like a garment and a moth will devour you."²⁰ And again, since he was set in place as a strong stone used for crushing, the prophet says, "See, I will cast into Zion s foundation a precious stone that is chosen, a cornerstone, one to be valued." 3. Then what does he say? "The one who believes in him will live forever."²¹ Is our hope then built on a stone? May it never be! But he says this because the Lord has set his flesh up in strength. For he says, "He set me up as a hard rock."²² 4. And again the prophet says, "A stone that the builders rejected has become the very cornerstone." And again he says, "This is the great and marvelous day the Lord has made."²³ 5. I am writing to you in very simple terms, that you may understand. I am a lowly scapegoat for your love. 6. And so what again does the prophet say? "An assembly [Or: synagogue] of evildoers surrounded me, they swarmed about me like bees around a honeycomb,"²⁴ and, "They cast lots for my clothing."²⁵ 7. And so, because he was about to be revealed and suffer in the flesh, his suffering was revealed in advance. For the prophet says about Israel, "Woe to their souls, because they hatched an evil plot against themselves, saying, 'Let us bind the upright one, because he is trouble for us.'"²⁶ 8. What does the other prophet, Moses, say to them? "See, this is what the Lord God says, 'Enter into the good land, which the Lord swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and receive it as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.'"²⁷ 9. Learn what knowledge says. "Hope," it says, "in Jesus, who is about to be revealed to you in the flesh." For a human is earth that suffers. For Adam was formed out of the face of the earth. 10. Why then does he say, "Into the good land, a land flowing with milk and honey"? Blessed is our Lord, brothers, who placed the wisdom and knowledge of his secrets within us. For the prophet is speaking a parable of the Lord. Who will understand it, except one who is wise and learned, who loves his Lord? 11. Since, then, he renewed us through the forgiveness of our sins, he made us into a different type of person, that we might have the soul of children, as if he were indeed forming us all over again. 12. For the Scripture speaks about us when he says to his Son, "Let us make humans according to our image and likeness, and let them rule over the wild beasts of the land and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea."²⁸ Once the Lord saw our beautiful form, he said "Increase and multiply and fill the earth."²⁹ He said these things to the Son. 13. Again I will show you how he speaks to us. He made yet a second human form in the final days. And the Lord says, "See! I am making the final things like the first."³⁰ This is why the prophet proclaimed, "Enter into a land flowing with milk and honey, and rule over it."³¹ 14. See, then, that we have been formed anew, just as he again says in another prophet, "See, says the Lord, I will remove from these people their hearts of stone" (that is to say, from those whom the Spirit of the Lord foresaw) "and cast into them hearts of flesh."³² For he was about to be revealed in the flesh and to dwell among us. 15. For the dwelling place of our heart, my brothers, is a temple holy to the Lord. 16. For again the Lord says, "And how will I appear before the Lord my God and be glorified?"³³ He answers: "I will praise you in the assembly [Or: church] of my brothers, and sing your praise in the midst of the assembly [Or: church] of saints."³⁴ And so we are the ones he has brought into the good land. 17. Why then does he speak of milk and honey? Because the child is first nourished by honey and then milk. So also, when we are nourished by faith in the promise and then by the word, we will live as masters over the earth. 18. For he already said above, "Let them increase and multiply and rule over the fish."³⁵ Who can now rule over wild beasts and fish and birds of the sky? For we ought to realize that ruling is a matter of authority, so that the one who issues commands is the master. 19. Since this is not happening now, he has told us when it will happen—when we have ourselves been perfected so as to become heirs of the Lord’s covenant.

²⁰ Isa 50:8-9.

²¹ Isa 28:16.

²² Isa 50:7.

²³ Ps 118:22, 24; cf. 1 Pet 2:7.

²⁴ Ps 22:16; 118:12.

²⁵ Ps 22:18.

²⁶ Isa 3:9-10.

²⁷ Exod 33:1,3.

²⁸ Gen 1:26.

²⁹ Gen 1:28.

³⁰ Source unknown.

³¹ Exod 33:3.

³² Ezek 11:19.

³³ Ps 42:4.

³⁴ Ps 22:22, 25.

³⁵ Gen 1:28. (Pp. 31, 33, 35)

9

For he speaks again about the ears, indicating how he has circumcised our hearts. The Lord says in the prophet, "They obeyed me because of what they heard with their ears."⁴¹ Again he says, "Those who are far off will clearly hear; they will know what I have done."⁴² And, "Circumcise your hearts,"⁴³ says the Lord. 2. Again he says, "Hear Ο Israel, for thus says the Lord your God."⁴⁴ And again the Spirit of the Lord prophesies, "Who is the one who wants to live forever? Let him clearly hear the voice of my servant."⁴⁵ 3. Again he says, "Hear, Ο heaven, and give ear, Ο earth, for the Lord has said these things as a witness."⁴⁶ And again he says, "Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of this people."⁴⁷ And again he says, "Hear, Ο children, the voice of one crying in the wilderness."⁴⁸ Thus he circumcised our hearing, that once we heard the word we might believe. 4. But even the circumcision in which they trusted has been nullified. For he has said that circumcision is not a matter of the flesh. But they violated his law, because an evil angel instructed them. 5. He says to them, "Thus says the Lord your God" (here is where I find a commandment) "Do not sow among the thorns; be circumcised to your Lord."⁴⁹ And what does he say? "Circumcise your hardened hearts and do not harden your necks."⁵⁰ Or consider again, "See, says the Lord, all the nations are uncircumcised in their foreskins, but this people is uncircumcised in their hearts."⁵¹ 6. But you will say, "Yet surely the people have been circumcised as a seal [of the covenant]." But every Syrian and Arab and all the priests of the idols are circumcised as well. So then, do those belong to their covenant? Even the people of Egypt are circumcised! 7. Thus learn about the whole matter fully, children of love. For Abraham, the first to perform circumcision, was looking ahead in the Spirit to Jesus when he circumcised. For he received the firm teachings of the three letters. 8. For it says, "Abraham circumcised eighteen and three hundred men from his household."⁵² What knowledge, then, was given to him? Notice that first he mentions the eighteen and then, after a pause, the three hundred. The number eighteen [in Greek] consists of an Iota [J], 10, and an Eta [E], 8. There you have Jesus.⁵³ And because the cross was about to have grace in the letter Tau [T], he next gives the three hundred, Tau. And so he shows the name Jesus by the first two letters, and the cross by the other. 9. For the one who has placed the implanted gift of his covenant in us knew these things. No one has learned a more reliable lesson from me. But I know that you are worthy.  

⁴¹ Ps 18:44.

⁴² cf. Isa 33:13.

⁴³ Isa 33:13; Jer 4:4.

⁴⁴ Cf. Jer 7:2-3; Ps 34:12-13.

⁴⁵ Cf. Ps 34:12-13; Isa 50:10; Exod 15:26.

⁴⁶ Cf. Isa 1:2.

⁴⁷ cf. Isa 1:10; 28:14.

⁴⁸ Cf. Isa 40:3.

⁴⁹ Jer 4:3-4.

⁵⁰ cf. Deut 10:16.

⁵¹ Jer 9:26.

⁵² Cf. Gen 14:14; 17:23.

⁵³ I.e., the number eighteen in Greek is JE, taken here as an abbreviation for the name "Jesus." (Pp. 43, 45, 47)

12

In a similar way he makes another declaration about the cross in another prophet, who says, "'When will these things be fulfilled?' says the Lord. 'When a tree falls and rises up, and when blood flows from a tree.’"⁶⁷ Again you have a message about the cross and the one who was about to be crucified. 2. And he again tells Moses, when Israel was attacked by a foreign people, to remind those under assault that they were being handed over to death because of their sins. The Spirit speaks to the heart of Moses that he should make a type of the cross and of the one who was about to suffer, that they might realize, he says, that if they refused to hope in him, they would be attacked forever. And so Moses stacked weapons one on the other in the midst of the battle, and standing high above all the people he began stretching out his hands; and so Israel again gained the victory. But then, when he lowered his hands, they began to be killed.⁶⁸ 3. Why was that? So that they may know that they cannot be saved unless they hope in him. 4. And again in another prophet he says, "All day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient people that opposes my upright path."⁶⁹ 5. Again Moses makes a type of Jesus, showing that he had to suffer and that he will again give life—this one whom they will think they have destroyed. This type came in a sign given when Israel was falling. For the Lord made every serpent bite them and they were dying (since the act of transgression came by Eve through the serpent). This was to convince them that they will be handed over to the affliction of death because of their transgression. 6. Moreover, even though Moses himself issued this command—"You will have no molten or carved image as your god"⁷⁰—he himself made one, that he might show forth a type of Jesus. And so Moses made a bronze serpent and displayed it prominently, and he called the people through a proclamation. 7. And when they came together they begged Moses to offer up a prayer on their behalf, that they might be healed. But Moses said to them, “When any of you is bitten, come to the serpent that is displayed on the tree and hope, in faith, that even though dead, it can restore a person to life; and you will then immediately be saved [or healed].” And they did this.⁷¹ Again you have the glory of Jesus in these things, for everything is in him and for him. 8. Again, why does Moses say to Jesus the son of Naue [Or: Joshua the son of Nun; Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua], when he gave this name to him who was a prophet, that all the people should listen to him alone? Because the Father reveals everything about his Son Jesus. 9. And so, after Moses gave Jesus the son of Naue this name, he sent him as a reconnaissance scout over the land and said, "Take a small book in your hands and record what the Lord says, that in the last days the Son of God will chop down the entire house of Amalek at its roots."⁷² 10. Again you see Jesus, not as son of man but as Son of God, manifest here in the flesh as a type. And so, since they are about to say that the Christ is the son of David, David himself speaks a prophecy in reverential awe, understanding the error of the sinners, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right side until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'"⁷³ 11. And again Isaiah says the following: "The Lord said to Christ my Lord, Ί have grasped his right hand that the nations will obey him, and I will shatter the power of kings.'"⁷⁴ See how David calls him Lord; he does not call him son.

⁶⁷ 4 Ezra 4:33; 5:5.

⁶⁸ Cf. Exod 17:8-13.

⁶⁹ Cf. Isa 65:2.

⁷⁰ Cf. Lev 26:1; Deut 27:15.

⁷¹ Cf. Num 21:4-8.

⁷² Cf. Exod 17:14.

⁷³ Ps 110:1.

⁷⁴ Cf. Isa 45:1. (Pp. 57, 59, 61)

Epistle to Diognetus

7

For, as I have said, this is no earthly discovery that has been handed over to them, nor is it a mortal idea that, in their judgment, merits such diligent oversight. Nor have they been entrusted with the administration of merely human mysteries. 2. But the truly all-powerful God himself, creator of all and invisible, set up and established in their hearts the truth and the holy word from heaven, which cannot be comprehended by humans. To do so, he did not, as one might suppose, send them one of his servants or an angel or a ruler or any of those who administer earthly activities or who are entrusted with heavenly affairs, but he sent the craftsman and maker of all things himself, by whom he created the heavens, by whom he enclosed the sea within its own boundaries, whose mysteries all the elements of creation guard faithfully, from whom the sun was appointed to guard the courses that it runs during the day, whom the moon obeys when he commands it to shine at night, whom the stars obey by following the course of the moon, by whom all things are set in order and arranged and put into subjection, the heavens and the things in the heavens, the earth and the things in the earth, the sea and the things in the sea, fire, air, the abyss, creatures in the heights, creatures in the depths, and creatures in between—this is the one he sent to them. 3. So then, did he, as one might suppose, send him to rule in tyranny, fear, and terror? 4. Not at all. But with gentleness and meekness, as a king sending his own son, he sent him as a king; he sent him as a god (hos theon); he sent him as a human to humans. So that he might bring salvation and persuasion he sent him, not to coerce—for God does not work through coercion. 5. He sent him to issue his call, not to persecute. He sent him to show forth his love, not to judge. 6. For later he will send him in judgment—and who will withstand his coming?… 7. Do you not see² how they are cast to the wild beasts that they might deny the Lord, and yet they are not overcome? 8. Do you not see that the more the multitude is punished, the more others increase their numbers? 9. These things do not appear to be human works. These are the power of God; these are proofs of his coming.

8

For what person formerly had any idea what God was like, before he came? 2. Or do you accept the vain and ridiculous teachings of those specious philosophers, some of whom asserted that God was fire (where they themselves are about to go, this is what they call God!), and others water, and others one of the other elements created by God? 3. And if any of these teachings was acceptable, then every one of the other things created by God could also appear to be God. 4. But these ideas are illusions and the deception of tricksters. 5. For no one either saw him or made him known, but he revealed himself. 6. And he revealed himself through faith, through which alone is one permitted to see God. 7. For God, the Master and Creator of all, the one who created all things and set them in order, was not only benevolent but also patient. 8. Indeed, he was always this way, and is and will be: kind and good and without anger and true. He alone is good. 9. And when he had a great and inexpressible thought, he communicated it to his child alone. 10. And so, as long as he enshrouded it in a mystery and kept his wise plan to himself, he seemed not to care for us or give us any heed. 11. But when he revealed it through his beloved child and showed the things prepared from the beginning, he shared all things with us at once, that we might participate in and see and understand his kindly acts. Who among us would have ever expected these things?

9

And so, having arranged all things by himself, along with his child, he permitted us—while it was still the former time—to be borne along by disorderly passions, as we wished, carried off by our pleasures and desires. He took no delight at all in our sins, but he endured them. Nor did he approve of the former time of unrighteousness, but he was creating the present age of righteousness, so that even though at that time our works proved that we were unworthy of life, we might in the present be made worthy by the kindness of God. And when we had demonstrated that we were powerless to enter the kingdom of God on our own, we were enabled by the power of God. 2. For our unrighteous way of life came to fruition and it became perfectly clear that it could expect only punishment and death as its ultimate reward. But then, when the time arrived that God had planned to reveal at last his goodness and power (Oh, the supreme beneficence and love of God!), he did not hate us, destroy us, or hold a grudge against us. But he was patient, he bore with us, and out of pity for us he took our sins upon himself. He gave up his own Son as a ransom for us, the holy one for the lawless, the innocent one for the wicked, the righteous one for the unrighteous, the imperishable one for the perishable, the immortal one for the mortal. 3. For what else could hide our sins but the righteousness of that one? 4. How could we who were lawless and impious be made upright except by the Son of God alone? 5. Oh, the sweet exchange! Oh, the inexpressible creation! Oh, the unexpected acts of beneficence! That the lawless deeds of many should be hidden by the one who was upright, and the righteousness of one should make upright the many who were lawless! 6. Since he clearly demonstrated in the former time that we could not possibly, by our very nature, obtain life, and since he now revealed the savior who has the power to save even what is powerless— for both reasons he has wanted us to believe in his kindness, to consider him our nurse, father, teacher, counselor, physician, mind, light, honor, glory, strength, and life, and to have no concern over what to wear or eat. (Pp. 143, 145, 147, 149, 151)

Further Reading

Insights from the Epistle of Barnabas

Athenagoras, Theophilus, Diognetus on the Trinity

MORE ANCIENT WITNESSES TO CHRIST’S DEITY