The apostles first preached the gospel, but later, by the will of God, they handed it down to us in the Holy Scripture, so that it could become a foundation and a pillar of our faith.

— Irenaeus of Lyon (135–202), Bischof von Lugdunum, Kirchenvater, Kirchenlehrer und Theologe

Topics: The Bible & the Word of God, Church & Congregation

Irenaeus of Lyon

Irenäus von Lyon (um 135–202) stammte aus Kleinasien und wirkte im zweiten Jahrhundert als Bischof von Lugdunum im Römischen Reich. Er ist vor allem für sein Werk gegen die Gnosis bekannt, in dem er die Lehre von der Zusammenfassung der Schöpfung in Christus entfaltete und früh die Vierzahl der kanonischen Evangelien verteidigte. Für Bibellesende gilt er als zentraler Zeuge der frühen Kanonbildung und der untrennbaren Einheit von Altem und Neuem Testament.

All quotes by Irenaeus of Lyon (5)

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The law is divine and holy. Let the law have its glory, but yet no law, be it never so divine and holy, ought to teach me that I am justified, and shall live through it. I grant it may teach me that I ought to love God and my neighbor; also to live in love, soberness, patience, etc., but it ought not to show me how I should be delivered from sin, the devil, death, and hell. Here I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teaches me, not what I ought to do but what Jesus Christ the Son of God hath done for me: that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel wills me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.

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All quotes · lumen.bible