02.02.08 Didache

02.02.08 Didache

Bill Heinrich  -  Jan 18, 2016  -  Comments Off on 02.02.08 Didache

02.02.08 Didache. The Didache, meaning The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles[1]is a small book that describes the church rule of order.  It was written about the time John wrote the book of Revelation, or possibly a decade or two later (A.D. 95-120).  It begins with the statement “There are two ways, one of life and one of death.”[2]  It describes the basic instruction of the early church[3] with a focus on how converts need to change their lives in order to belong to a Jewish-Christian fellowship; what responsibilities were expected of them.  Scholars believe that since baptism (Ch. 7) is followed by communion (Ch. 9 & 10), this underscores the point that the book was intended only for the full membership of the congregation.

  1. Chapters 1 through 6 explain the two ways of life and death, and that there is a huge difference between them.
  2. Chapter 7 is on baptism
  3. Chapter 8 discusses prayer and fasting, and includes the direct quotation of the Lord’s Prayer. The Jewish people already had a ritual of praying three times a day,[4] now they replaced their traditional prayers with the Lord’s Prayer. Since the Pharisees fasted on Mondays and Tuesdays, early Christians fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays – the fasting tradition continued but they did not want to be identified with the Pharisees.
  4. Chapters 9 and 10 discusses the Communion service, and
  5. Chapters 11 through 15 discuss church organization and administrative issues as well as discipline of those who violated the biblical commands of a Christ-like life described in chapters 1 through 6.

 

[1]. Cate, A History of the New Testament and its Times. 40.

 

[2]. Didache 1:1a.

 

[3]. One minority view argues for a date as early as A.D. 60, and another for a late date of mid-second century.

 

[4]. See 08.03.04; Acts 3:1; 10:3, 30; Didache 8:3.

 



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