02/26/2026

 

Samuel Clifford

 

Holmes, Michael W., editor. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3rd ed., Baker Academic, 2007.

 

Authorship, Purpose, and Date

 

The author of this letter is unknown but the writer writes with skill and perception. The author identifies calls himself “Mathetes” which means disciple. He wrote:

 

“having been a disciple (Mathetes) of apostles, I am now becoming a teacher of the Gentiles.” (Diognetus 11.1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 715)

 

This work was addressed to a man named Diognetus who is also largely unknown but likely was a man of some rank as he was addressed as “His excellency.” The letter is a type of writing called an “apology.” An “apology” is a formal, reasoned speech or writing that defends, justifies, and explains a person’s actions, beliefs, or position against accusations. There are 12 chapters to the work and the author seeks to answer questions regarding the Christian Faith. It was likely written in the middle of the second century. There are estimates, however, of anywhere between 117-310 A.D. 

 

Historical Context

 

Christianity began facing heavy persecution in the second century for multiple reasons. One major reason was the Jewish Revolt against Rome. Because Christianity was largely seen as a Jewish sect in the first century, they were included in the persecution that Rome levied against the Jews. Secondly, Christian beliefs opposed the Greco-Roman gods and values and therefore Rome became more hostile toward them. Finally, there was also a large misunderstanding of the Christian Faith that led people to believe Christians practiced incest, cannibalism, and infant sacrifice. 

 

Many apologists, therefore, began writing apologies in defense of the Christian faith. Notable other apologists in the second century are:

 

-Justin Martyr (165 A.D.)

-Athenagoras (170-180 A.D.)

-Aristides (145 A.D.)

-Theophilus of Antioch (180-185 A.D.)

 

The Epistle to Diognetus joins these other second century apologists in defending the Christian faith. 

 

Text

 

The Epistle to Diognetus first entered modern knowledge in 1592, when the printer Henri Stephens published the editio princeps in Greek and Latin. He gave no explanation of where he obtained the manuscript, but later scholarship identified his source as a 13th‑century codex from Strasbourg. This single manuscript contained the only known text of the epistle, and for centuries it remained the sole witness to the work. Early editors even attributed it to Justin Martyr, though the text itself names no author.

 

Tragically, the only manuscript of the epistle was destroyed in the burning of the Strasbourg Library during the 1870 siege, part of the Franco‑Prussian War. Because the codex was lost, all modern editions depend entirely on the printed copies made from Stephens’s 1592 publication.

 

Commentary

 

Chapter 1: 

 

The writer opens his letter addressing Diognetus and his interest “in learning about the religion of the Christians” (Diognetus 1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 695). Diognetus had been asking orations about the God Christians believed in and how Christian’s worship God. He noticed that Christians are unconcerned with the world and aren’t afraid to die and he wants to know why. He questions their disbelief in the Greek gods and also why they don’t follow Jewish customs. 

 

Furthermore, Diognetus questioned the “nature of the heartfelt love they (Christians) have for one another” (Diognetus 1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 695). Early critics of Christianity often misunderstood the intense affection Christians showed one another, and rumors circulated in the Roman world that their “love feasts” and their habit of calling each other “brother” and “sister” masked immoral behavior, including incest. This cultural background helps explain why Diognetus wanted to know about Christian love. 

 

Finally, Diognetus also questioned why this new “way of life” had just now come into the world and not at a former point in time. He’s asking why Christianity appeared now and not during the ancient time of the Greeks or Jewish tradition. 

 

The writer of the letter doesn’t dismiss or antagonize Diognetus for his questions but instead says, “I gladly welcome this interest of yours” (Diognetus 1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 695). He further asks God to empower both him and Diognetus in their speech and listening. He asks for this so that Diognetus will get the “greatest possible benefit from listening” and so that he (the writer) will has no regrets. 

 

Chapter 2:

 

Chapter 2 is almost extensively about the faults of pagan idolatry. The author calls for his reader to “clear your mind of all its prejudices and cast aside the custom that deceives you, and become a new person” (Diognetus 2:1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 695). He wants Diognetus to put away his preconceived notions and listen as if he knows nothing of Christianity and religion. He continues this line of thinking by telling Diognetus to consider the substance or form of the pagan idols. He gives six substances that idols are made of:

 

1. Stone

 

He states that some idols are made of stones just like the ones we walk on. The weight of such a statement should not be lost on the reader. If these pagan idols are gods then why are they made of the same material that we walk on. The same material below our feet. Surely a god should not be made out of such a material.

 

2. Bronze

 

He then states some idols are made out of bronze and that this bronze is no better than the bronze that has been forged to make their utensils. Once again the author is seeking to diminish the false gods that showing the material they are made of is not fitting for a god. Why would a god be made of the same material we use daily for eating?

 

3. Wood

 

Some idols were made of wood which rots away. Why would a god be made of a material that rots quickly and turns to nothingness? This is similar to the argument made by Isaiah in Isaiah 44:9-20.

 

4. Silver

 

He states some idols are made of silver but that these idols need guards lest they be stolen. Silver had a lot of purchasing power and was highly valuable in the second century. Therefore, it was often targeted for theft. The writer points out that silver idols need a guard or they will be stolen. Yet, why would a god need a guard? These gods are meant to be powerful, so why would they need a guard to protect them?

 

5. Iron

 

The author points out that iron, which makes up some idols, becomes corroded. These gods are meant to be everlasting and powerful. Why would they be susceptible to corrosion?

 

6. Pottery

 

Finally, some idols were made of pottery. The writer says the pottery made of gods is “not a bit more attractive than that made for the most unmentionable use?” (Diognetus 2:2, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 697). These gods are meant to be attractive and elegant. Yet there are made of the same material vases and other objects are made of. 

 

In each case, the author exposes the contradiction between what a god is supposed to be: powerful, eternal, self‑existent, and what these idols actually are: fragile, corruptible, and dependent on human craftsmen and guards. He continues his undermining of the idols by stating that the craftsmen who made these idols (sculptor, coppersmith, silversmith, potter) could have made the gods into a different form. They could have used the material to make utensils. It just so happened that they made gods out of them. He’s showing the arbitrariness and contingency of the idols’ very existence. He emphasizes this statement when he says “[a]re they not all deaf and blind, without souls, without feelings, without movement?” (Diognetus 2:4, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 697).

 

The writer then makes a shocking and almost harsh remark by standing “…and in the end you become like them” (Diognetus 2:5, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 697). He is saying that idolatry is not just wrong, it is deforming. Worshiping powerless, senseless, man‑made idols gradually makes the worshiper powerless, senseless, and spiritually dead in the same way. The writer states this is why he (Diognetus but also likely most of Rome) hates Christians, because they don’t believe in their gods.

 

He then shows that the pagan worshippers don’t even realize they themselves despise their gods and dishonor them. He states that when they lock up the silver and gold ones at night with guards but leave the stone and pottery gods unguarded they are mocking and insulting the pottery and stone gods. They are not showing the same care and dedication they do for the silver and gold gods. Gold also provides the seventh material the writer states these idols are made of. He states that if their gods are real and can feel then they are insulting them with this behavior. However, if they are not real then the idol worshippers must admit they are lifeless, senseless, and incapable of both pain and honor. 

 

He then challenges the reader to let one of them undergo the treatment they bestow to the gods. They should allow these things to be done to you! No human being, who has reason, dignity, and feeling, would tolerate being smeared with sacrificial fat, locked up or left unguarded, and treated like an object. 

 

He concludes by stating that Christians are not enslaved to such gods. He states that if the arguments against idolatry he has provided thus far seem insufficient, then it is useless to argue further. This is because the absurdity of idolatry is already obvious. If someone cannot see the emptiness of idol worship after this, further argument is pointless.

 

Chapter 3 and 4:

 

The writer shifts from the pagan practices of the Greeks and Romans to the Jewish practices and superstitions. He states, “Jews…as they abstain from the kind of worship described above, rightly claim to worship the one God of the universe and to think of him as Master” (Diognetus 3.2, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 699). Unlike the Greeks, the Jews do not worship idols; they recognize the Creator of all things. 

 

Yet, according to the author, their error lies not in the object of their worship but in the manner of it. He wrote, “the Jews, thinking that they are offering these things to God as if he were in need of them, should rightly consider it folly rather than worship.” (Diognetus 3.3, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 699). He argues that the One who created the heavens and the earth and everything contained in them, and the Person who gives us all that we need, does not need any of the things that He already provided to us. He’s arguing that God isn’t in need of anything we give as He is the one who provided it. He likens it to the idol worship discussed before as he says, “the latter (pagan idol worship) make offerings to things unable to receive the honor, while the former think the offer something to the one who is in need of nothing” (Diognetus 3.5, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 699).

 

He continues by stating that four Jewish practices are ridiculous:

 

1. Dietary Restrictions:

 

2. Sabbath Regulations 

 

3. Circumcision

 

4. Fasting and New Moon Observations

 

He states that these are not worth discussing and yet does take some time to discuss them. These practices were already discussed in the scriptures many times as not being necessary for worship of God:

 

“Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—”

Colossians 2:16 NASB

 

“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.”

1 Corinthians 7:19 NASB

 

He says it’s absurd to accept some foods God created as good while rejecting others as if they were defective. Furthermore, he claims it is “impious” to say God forbids doing good on the sabbath. This mirrors Jesus statement in Mark 3:4:

 

“And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.”

Mark 3:4 NASB

 

He argues that circumcision is not a sign of election but a physical mutilation that Jews wrongly boast in. He says Jewish calendar observances show a lack of understanding. He criticizes watching the stars and moon, marking months and days, and treating people as impious based on calendar rules To him, this is not piety but fussiness and confusion. He says Christians rightly keep their distance from “silliness, “deception, “fussiness, and “pride” This is the climax of his critique. He believes Judaism is better than paganism, but still fundamentally misguided.

 

Chapter 5 and 6:

 

The writer shifts from discussing the practices of other groups to the distinctiveness of Christians among them. He states that Christian aren’t distinct due to country, language, or custom. They don’t live in cities of their own or have their own specific dialect or culture. The teachings of Christians don’t come from human invention or philosophy. 

 

Instead, Christians live among them (“Greek and barbarian cities”) and follow the same customs in both clothing and food and other parts of the world’s culture. Yet, even though Christians live among the world, they are not of the world (John 17:16). This distinction is what the writer focuses on next. Christians inhabit their native lands fully, participating in civic life, yet they do so with the self‑understanding of people who ultimately belong elsewhere. Their manner of life quietly reveals this “other” citizenship, making them simultaneously at home in every place and strangers in all of them.

 

The author gives pieces of evidence that show Christians are distinct especially in the culture of Rome in the second to third century. Firstly, they marry and have children like everyone else. However, they do not “expose their offspring” (Diognetus 5.6, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 703). In this context, “expose” refers to the ancient Greco‑Roman common practice of abandoning an unwanted infant outdoors, leaving the child to die from the elements or to be taken by strangers for slavery or exploitation. It wasn’t considered immoral or shocking in that culture. Instead it was a socially accepted method of family limitation. The author of Diognetus highlights that Christians refuse to do this, marking a profound ethical break from the surrounding culture. Secondly, Christians share their food but not their wives. In the ancient world, shared meals were a sign of fellowship, generosity, and social openness, but sexual boundaries were often fluid, especially for men; the author flips this expectation by saying Christians are radically open with what should be shared (food, fellowship, resources) and radically faithful with what must never be shared (their spouses). He summarizes these arguments with the statement “[t]hey are in the flesh, but they do not live according to the flesh.” (Diognetus 5.8, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 703). 

 

He continues by acknowledging that Christians live on the earth and yet their citizenship is of heaven. The details he provides afterward seem to prove his point that Christians are not a part of this world. He states that Christians follow the established laws, and therefore are not threats to society, but they also exceed what the law requires. Christians love everyone and yet they are also persecuted by everyone. Christians are judged without being understood. Their condemnation is based on ignorance, rumor, and fear. Yet even when they are executed, they experience “life,” both in the sense of resurrection hope and in the sense that martyrdom reveals the vitality of their faith. Christians often lacked wealth or social power, but their presence enriched others spiritually and morally. Society treats them shamefully, but their endurance turns dishonor into glory. Their integrity exposes slander as false, and their steadfastness becomes its own vindication. 

 

The author wrote, “They are cursed, yet they bless; they are insulted, yet they offer respect” Diognetus 5.15, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 703). This is the ethical center of the passage. Christians respond to hostility with benevolence, echoing Jesus’ command to bless those who curse. Their refusal to retaliate reveals a moral power not derived from the world. Their respect toward those who insult them demonstrates a dignity that cannot be taken away. The suffering of Christians is unjust as they are punished for doing good. Yet they interpret persecution as participation in Christ’s own path. 

 

Finally, at the end of chapter 5 the author wrote, “By the Jews they are persecuted, and by the Greeks they are assaulted; yet those who hate them are unable to give a reason for their hostility.” (Diognetus 5.17, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 703). The author did not assign blame to one group of people and not another. Instead, the author universalizes the opposition. Christians face hostility from every cultural group, yet the hatred is irrational and unprovoked. Neither the Jews nor Greeks are able to articulate a coherent reason for their hostility toward Christians. This lack of explanation exposes the spiritual nature of the conflict and reinforces the innocence of Christians.

 

In chapter 6 the author explains how Christian’s are in the world but not a part of the world by comparing them to the soul in the body. The soul is dispersed throughout the entire body, just as Christians are spread out all over the world. Yet, though the soul dwells in the body it is not of the body. The author emphasized the hiddenness of Christian life as, like the soul, Christians’ deepest reality is invisible (their worship, their inner transformation, their true citizenship). Outsiders see their bodies and actions but not the source of their life. 

 

He writes, “The flesh hates the soul and wars against it, though it has suffered no wrong, because it is hindered from indulging in pleasures.” (Diognetus 6.5, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 705). The body resists the soul because the soul restrains its impulses. Likewise, the world resents Christians not because Christians harm it, but because their presence exposes and limits the world’s moral excesses. Christians are persecuted not for wrongdoing but for their refusal to join the world’s corrupt practices. The soul continues to give life to the body even though the body resists. Likewise, Christians continue to love the world despite persecution. Furthermore, Christians may feel confined or oppressed just as the soul is encased in the body. Yet the presence of Christians stabilizes society. Their moral and spiritual influence sustains the world even when the world rejects them.

 

The analogy turns eschatological in 6.8 with the phrase “waiting for the imperishable in heaven”. The soul’s immortality mirrors the Christian hope of eternal life. Christians live in temporary, fragile circumstances but orient themselves toward what is eternal. The author argues that mistreatment of the body strengthens the soul’s clarity and discipline and in a similar manner persecution strengthens the Christian community. The author is making the claim that oppression does not weaken Christianity but instead it multiplies it. This is evident by the early church around writer's day which received much persecution from Rome and yet still expanded beyond Jerusalem to across the world. The analogy concludes with vocation. Christians have been divinely placed in the world as its animating soul, and they cannot abandon this role. Their presence is not accidental but assigned by God.

 

Chapter 7:

 

The author returns to a statement he made before and states that the Christian message is not a human invention or earthly mystery. It is a divine revelation entrusted to them that was sent by “the omnipotent Creator of all, the invisible God himself” (Diognetus 7.2, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 705). God did not send a messenger or angelic being but instead the “Designer and Creator of the universe himself” (Diognetus 7.2, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 705). The writer anticipates an objection that perhaps God sent this One to rule humanity through tyranny, fear or coercion. However, the writer fully rejects this idea and states that God sent Him in gentleness and meekness. He was sent as God, as a Savior, not as a tyrant. The manner of His sending was not one of compulsion, as found under tyranny, but of persuasion. It was an act of love without threats or judgment but instead mercy.

 

The author does warn, however, that God will come in the future as a Judge. No one will be able to endure His arrival. The author appeals to visible Christian Martyrdom as evidence of God’s divine power. Christians were being thrown to beasts in an attempt to make them deny Christ. However, the Christians were unwavering and the persecutors did not conquer them. The writer returns to a point made before that persecution actually produces growth in Christianity. He concludes that the endurance of martyrs and growth of the Church cannot be human works but instead are the works and proof of the power of God. 

 

Chapter 8:

 

The writer then begins to speak on the incarnation of the Son and how He revealed God to humanity. He opens this chapter with a question: 

 

“For what person had any knowledge at all of what God was before he came?” (Diognetus 8.1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 707). The author makes the epistemological claim that no human being possessed true knowledge of God prior to the coming of the Son. Humans, as finite creatures, lack the capacity to ascend to God by their own powers. The incarnation of the son is therefore not optional; it is the only means by which God becomes knowable.  This line echoes the Johannine theme of John 1:18:

 

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” John 1:18 KJV

 

The author then turns to the philosophers and what they claim God to be. Some claim that God is fire. The author remarks that what these philosophers claim God to be is what they are headed for, indicating that the author believed in a literal hell. Others believed God to be water, and others any of the other elements that God created. The author refutes this idea by saying that if one element can be called divine, then every created thing could be called divine, which collapses the distinction between Creator and creation. He is refuting all materialist identifications of God with any part of creation, which includes certain forms of pantheism, but also other ancient cosmologies. In verse 4 the author dismisses pagan religious claims as sleight of hand, not genuine revelation.

 

The author argues that revelation comes only from God, and only through faith. 

 

“No one has either seen or known him, but he has revealed himself.” (Diognetus 8.5, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 709)

 

This is the theological center of the passage.

 

Two claims stand together:

 

1. Human beings cannot see or know God on their own.

2. God has freely chosen to reveal Himself.

 

Faith is not a psychological state but instead is the God‑given capacity to perceive divine revelation. This is anthropological inability, which overlaps with one of the pillars of total depravity. 

 

In 8.7-8.8 The author now shifts from epistemology to theology proper by stating that God, the Master and Creator of the universe, who has made all things and brought order, is “tenderhearted,” “patient,” “kind,” “good,” “without anger,” “true.” The phrase “He alone is good” (Diognetus 8.8, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 709) mirrors Jesus’ statement in Mark 10:18:

 

“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

Mark 10:18 KJV

 

“After conceiving a great and marvelous plan, he communicated it to his child alone.” (Diognetus 8.9, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 709)

 

This is a high Christology as the author claims that the Son is not a messenger who discovers God’s will but instead He is the unique recipient of the Father’s eternal counsel. This statement from Diognetus shows His belief in the Eternal Sonship of Christ. The “plan” (βουλή, though the Greek is lost) refers to the eternal purpose of salvation, hidden in God until the appointed time. This is Pauline in tone (cf. Eph 1:9–10; Col 1:26).

 

While God kept His plan secret, it could appear as though He neglected humanity, though this was only an appearance, not a reality. The moment He revealed the plan through His beloved Son, everything changed at once. Revelation is not gradual but decisive as God grants both participation in His benefits and understanding of realities previously unimaginable. The unveiling of the mystery is simultaneously salvific and epistemic because God gave Himself and gives knowledge of Himself.

 

Chapter 9: 

 

The writer states that God had this plan in mind with the Son and permitted humanity to be carried away by impulses, pleasures, and lust. Not because He delights in our sins, but because He is patient. God allowed the “former season” (the age before Christ) to run its course, not because He approved of it, but because He was preparing something better. Before Christ, humanity’s own actions proved that we did not deserve eternal life. Humanity was unworthy by its own deeds, but is now made worthy by God’s goodness. 

 

“Having clearly demonstrated our inability to enter the kingdom of God on our own” (Diognetus 9.1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 709). The writer is saying that humanity’s failure wasn’t just accidental or unfortunate, instead it was revealing. God allowed human beings to try to live righteously by their own strength, and the result was a public demonstration of human inability. The author insists that our entrance into the kingdom of God is not something we achieve through our own strength, moral effort, or personal merit. Humanity had already demonstrated its inability to attain righteousness on its own, so God intervenes, not only to forgive, but to empower. For the writer, salvation is entirely God’s work from start to finish. It is God who makes people worthy by His own goodness, and God who gives them the power to live in ways they never could before. Salvation is not a joint project in which humans supply part and God supplies the rest. Rather, it is a wholly divine initiative: God provides the worthiness, the transformation, and the very ability to enter His kingdom. The author clearly assumes human inability because he describes humanity as completely incapable of attaining righteousness or entering God’s kingdom by its own effort. The very fact that God must supply both the worthiness and the power to live righteously shows that humans, left to themselves, could not do any of it.

 

When humanity’s wickedness had run its course and that consequence was punishment and death, God sent His Son to reveal His goodness and power. The writer remarks, “oh, the surpassing kindness and love of God” (Diognetus 9.2, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 711). He did not hate, reject, or hold a grudge against humanity but was instead patient and forebearing. God “in his mercy took upon himself our sin; he himself gave up his own Son as a ransom for us, the holy one for the lawless, the guiltless for the guilty, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal” (Diognetus 9.2, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 711). Diognetus 9 presents a substitutionary exchange in which Christ takes the place of sinners, bears what belongs to them, and gives them His righteousness. While the author does not use later technical vocabulary, the logic of penal substitution is clearly present: the innocent suffers in the place of the guilty so that the guilty may be declared righteous.

 

Diognetus 9 presents one of the clearest early Christian affirmations of penal substitution, because the author explicitly describes Christ taking the place of sinners and bearing what properly belonged to them. He speaks of “the righteous for the unrighteous, the guiltless for the guilty, the holy for the unholy,” language that unmistakably reflects an exchange in which the innocent suffers on behalf of the guilty. Humanity had “filled up its unrighteousness,” and God responds not by overlooking sin but by sending His Son to deal with it directly, covering our sins and giving us His righteousness in return. This is the essential structure of penal substitution: the guilty deserve judgment, the innocent takes their place, and God declares the guilty righteous on the basis of that substitution. While the author does not use later technical terminology, the logic and substance of penal substitution are plainly present.

 

The author then asks a rhetorical question:

 

“For what else but his righteousness could have covered our sins? (Diognetus 9.3, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 711). This is not speculative but it is a logical deduction. Human righteousness is insufficient so only divine righteousness can cover sin. Therefore, justification must occur in the Son of God alone. In 9.5, the author reaches the emotional high point of the whole treatise. He marvels at the “sweet exchange,” the stunning act in which God gathers the sin of many into the one righteous Christ, and then pours Christ’s righteousness onto countless sinners. Then, in 9.6, he explains why God saved in this way. God first let humanity discover its own inability to find life, exposing the emptiness of relying on human strength. Then He revealed the Savior who can rescue those who have no power at all. Because God has shown Himself to be the source of life, wisdom, and strength, Christians can look to Him as everything they need and let go of anxiety about material things.

 

Chapter 10:

 

The author begins with a conditional: “If this faith is what you long for…” (Diognetus 10.1, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 711). Faith is not treated as blind assent by the author but as a longing for true knowledge of the Father. That knowledge is grounded in a sweeping rehearsal of divine generosity:

 

• God loved humanity

• God made the world for them

• God subjected creation to them

• God gave reason and mind

• God alone allowed them to look upward

• God made them in His image

• God sent His Son

• God promised the kingdom

 

This is a cascade of gifts. The point is that God’s posture toward humanity is benevolent from beginning to end. Once you grasp this, how could you not love Him?

 

The author dismantles the pagan model of “happiness” through dominating neighbors, accumulating more than the weak, and using wealth to coerce inferiors. These are the very things Greco‑Roman society celebrated as signs of virtue, strength, and honor. The author states that no one can imitate God in these things because they are alien to His greatness. 

 

“One who takes up a neighbor’s burden… one who provides to those in need things received from God… becomes a god to those who receive them.” (Diognetus 10.6, in Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 713). To imitate God is to mirror His giving. To act like God is to reveal God. 

 

A changed perspective is the result of the transformation into mirroring God. You see your life on earth differently and admire the martyrs who gave their life for their faith. You will condemn the deceit of the world and recognize that your true life is in heaven. You will fear the “real death” of judgment and consider the righteous who endure fire to be blessed. Apparent death is those of the martyrs but real death is final judgment. The “eternal fire” functions as a foil to the “transitory fire” of martyrdom. He clearly believes in a real, literal hell, because he contrasts the martyr’s temporary, physical fire with a divine “eternal fire” that represents an actual judgment awaiting the wicked. His entire exhortation depends on the reality of that punishment. If the fire were merely symbolic, the contrast with martyrdom’s literal suffering would collapse and the warning would lose all force.

 

Chapter 11:

 

The writer begins by insisting that his teaching is neither speculative nor esoteric. He is distinguishing himself from the gnostic teachers who taught around the same time of the early church and believed a “secret knowledge.” His teaching is grounded in what he has received, describing himself as a “disciple of apostles” who now serves as a teacher of Gentiles. This is not a claim to institutional apostolic succession but to the more basic and earlier idea of apostolic continuity. He transmits what the apostles taught him, offering not innovations but faithfully handed‑down instruction.

 

He argues that anyone who has truly been taught and has come to love the Word naturally desires to understand what the Word has openly revealed, for revelation is plain to disciples even if hidden from unbelievers. He summarizes salvation history by stating that the Father sent the Word, who appeared to the world, was dishonored by the chosen people, preached by the apostles, and believed in by the Gentiles. He describes the Word as the One who was from the beginning, who appeared as new yet proved ancient, and who remains ever young as he is continually born in the hearts of the saints. This Eternal One, now confessed as Son, enriches the church and multiplies grace, which in turn grants understanding, reveals mysteries, announces the proper seasons, and rejoices over the faithful.

 

Diognetus teaches that grace is given to people who keep seeking God and stay faithful to what they’ve received, without breaking their commitments or stepping outside the teachings handed down. When this happens, everything in God’s revelation comes together: the law is honored, the prophets are understood, the gospels are confirmed, the apostles’ teaching is kept, and the church rejoices. The author says that if the reader doesn’t resist this grace, they’ll be able to understand whatever the Word wants to reveal, through any person he chooses and at any time he chooses. He ends by saying he’s only passing on what the Word has urged him to say, speaking with effort but also with love for the truths God has shown him.

 

Chapter 12: 

 

As the writer begins to close his writings he states that once the reader understands and absorbs the writings they will understand the gifts God gives to those who love Him. They become like a restored paradise where an inner tree flourishes and grows fruit. A life that loves God becomes fertile, beautiful, and spiritually productive. God has planted both the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. He insists that the tree of knowledge is not what kills; rather, it is disobedience that brings death. The author explains that Scripture intentionally records the planting of both trees to show that life is connected to knowledge. Adam and Eve misused knowledge as they did not approach it purely and so the serpent’s deceit left them exposed and vulnerable. Their nakedness symbolizes the loss that comes from misdirected knowledge.

 

He states that life cannot exist without knowledge. Knowledge also cannot be sound without life. This is why the two trees stand together. They represent realities that must remain united: knowledge must be lived, and life must be informed by truth. Separating them leads to distortion. The author says Paul criticized knowledge that is exercised apart from the truth that leads to life. When Paul says “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up,” he is warning against knowledge that is detached from obedience and love. Knowledge without love becomes prideful and empty. Anyone who claims to know something but lacks the true knowledge that is confirmed by a life of obedience actually knows nothing

 

The author urges the reader to let their heart become a place of knowledge and their life a reflection of true teaching. When knowledge shapes the inner person and teaching shapes the outward life, the believer becomes like a cultivated tree that bears good fruit. If this is the tree a person tends and harvests, they will always produce what God desires, fruit untouched by the serpent and uncorrupted by deceit. In this renewed state, Eve is no longer the symbol of corruption; instead, the believer becomes like a pure virgin who can be trusted with the Word.

 

Finally, the author describes the results of this restored life: salvation is revealed, apostles are instructed, the Lord’s Passover continues, congregations gather, and everything is set in proper order. In this ordered community, the Word rejoices as He teaches the saints, the same Word through whom the Father is glorified forever.