St. Irenaeus, Gnosticism, And The Rule Of Faith

Last updated on: February 28, 2020 at 9:24 pm by William Hemsworth

St. Irenaeus, Gnosticism, And The Rule Of Faith 2020-02-28T21:24:00-07:00 William Hemsworth

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In the second century Gnosticism threatened to tear the young Christian Church apart. It was a heresy that taught that all matter was evil, Jesus was spirit, and that true salvific doctrine was passed down through a secret oral tradition. To combat this growing problem the early Church father St. Irenaeus wrote a lengthy treatise titled Against Heresies.

Foundations Of The Creed

One of the methods used by the great Church Father was the rule of faith. In describing the rule of faith Irenaeus writes, “The Church, though dispersed through our the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: [She believes] in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation.”

This rule of faith would lay the groundwork for what would become the Apostles’ Creed. St. Irenaeus argues that the faith was given by Christ to the Apostles, and then to the bishops to whom the disciples appointed. Which is exactly what the Catholic church teaches today.

The Historic Faith

The rule of faith also shows that Christ was truly incarnate, and that matter was created by an eternal God and not evil. The rule of faith was a vital part in combating gnostic teaching because it showed that they had no historical, scriptural, or apostolic support for the claims that they were making.

It helped expose their schismatic and anti-scriptural view of Christianity. Irenaeus also appealed to Ephesians 1:9-10 in his refutation of Gnosticism. That passage of scripture states, “he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (NRSV).” The great saint used this to show that, contrary to the gnostic view, not all matter is bad.

One Faith Given By Christ

The Church was to be a unified body of believers with Jesus Christ as its head. However the gnostic heresy was causing division. It is linked with the rule of faith in that there was only one faith handed down from Christ. There was not one faith for one group, and a special secret faith for a select few. The faith in Christ is available to all people and in that we should be unified.

The rule of faith previously cited is a great tool in confronting false doctrines in our own times There is no shortage of false doctrine and some of these groups out there are great at evangelization. This is impressive given how low their numbers are compared to Catholics. The rule of faith is a great tool because it shows that the faith is not a new invention, but was passed down by Christ himself.

It shows that Christ is God incarnate, and firmly teaching that the Trinity is one being with three distinct persons. Many of these groups deny the Trinity and claim scriptural support. Many of these passages were used in the days of Irenaeus and he corrected false usage.

Whether it be in person, phone, or email. A dialogue about the truth can mean a lot to someone caught in false doctrine. It gives them someone to ask questions to and the Holy Spirit can plant a seed. Many great saints came to faith in just that way.

Previous Post

February 26, 2020

3 Practical Steps You Can Take to Grow Closer to The Lord This Lent

Next Post

March 1, 2020 Sin and the Gift of Grace: A Reflection on Psalm 51

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz