Sunday of the Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council The Church in Ephesus June 13, 2021 7th Sunday of Pascha Revision E Gospel: John 17:1-13 Epistle: Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 Today’s Gospel lesson is used in the West also today, the Seventh Sunday after Easter. Today’s Epistle lesson is used in some Western Churches on the 8th Sunday after Trinity (July). The theme of the last five Sundays has been the development of the Early Church. This continues by focusing on what the Twelve Apostles and their successors did to establish their churches on a correct doctrinal foundation. The Reading from John 17 speaks of Who Jesus is in relation to the Father. The Reading from Acts 20 addresses the Apostle Paul’s prophecy that people would come into the church in Ephesus after Paul left and challenge the statements in John 17. This was a major issue for the Church in the second half of the 1st century. The Gospel writer John, the son of Zebedee, spent the latter part of his life in and around Ephesus combating the heretics that Paul warned everyone about. The Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council did the same thing later on in the 4th Century. In the 1st century the leader of heretical opinions was the Arch-Heretic Simon Magus1, who tried to purchase the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Apostle Peter (Acts 8). He also claimed to be the Christ, stating that he only appeared to be crucified, but wasn’t really. As a master of illusions, he demonstrated his “powers” by bodily flying through the air, and by having plates and dishes fly through the air to serve him at dinner. He impressed some Christians so much that four of the original Seventy Apostles apostatized to follow him. He impressed Emperor Claudius and the Roman Senate so much that they commissioned a statue of Simon with the inscription: “To Simon, the Holy God”. Especially vocal regarding the heresies of Simon were Irenaeus of Lyons and Justin Martyr in the mid-2nd century, where the statue of Simon was still there. In the 4th century the leader of heretical opinions was the priest Arius of Alexandria, who claimed that Christ was not equal with the Father, but was some kind of a lesser god. Arius quoted the Scriptures very authoritatively taking statements that refer to Christ’s human nature and applying them as if they referred to His Deity. The Arians used force and bloodshed to suppress the voice of the Orthodox and they hounded and hunted down anyone who dissented with them. The Arians were blindsided at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, not expecting such a clear and powerful argument against them from the Scriptures, especially by Athanasius of Alexandria and others. Especially vocal against the Arians in the 4th century were Athanasius of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, Hilary of Poitiers and Ambrose of Milan. Copyright Mark Kern 2016 1 For more details, see Mark Kern, Simon Magus the Heresiarch, St Athanasius Press, 2004. 322 Table of Contents Gospel: John 17:1-13 ................................................................................................................................................ 323 Looking Forward to the Cross (John 17:1-2) ....................................................................................................... 325 We Glorify the Son ........................................................................................................................................ 325 My Hour Has Come ....................................................................................................................................... 331 Christ Was Given Authority over All Flesh ................................................................................................... 334 One God and Father; the Only True God (John 17:3) .......................................................................................... 336 Christ Finished His Work (John 17:4) ................................................................................................................. 339 Christ before the Incarnation (John 17:5) ............................................................................................................ 339 The Father’s Love for Us (John 17:6-7) .............................................................................................................. 342 The Father Sent the Son (John 17:8) .................................................................................................................... 344 The Effect of Christ’s Flesh ........................................................................................................................... 347 Christ Prays for Us (John 17:9, 20) ...................................................................................................................... 350 The Reward of the Faithful (John 17:24) ....................................................................................................... 350 The Father in the Son (John 17:10, 25) ................................................................................................................ 356 The Shallow Arian Arguments ....................................................................................................................... 362 Oneness like the Father and the Son (John 17:11, 21-23, 26) .............................................................................. 370 The Importance of Christian Unity ................................................................................................................ 377 Judas, the Son of Perdition (John 17:12) ............................................................................................................. 380 We Have Joy and We Are Not of the World (John 17:13-16) ............................................................................. 381 Christ Sanctified Himself for Us (John 17:17-19) ............................................................................................... 384 Epistle: Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 .................................................................................................................................... 390 Remember My Life and Imitate Me .................................................................................................................... 392 Paul Warned the Ephesians Night and Day ......................................................................................................... 394 It Is Better to Give Than to Receive ............................................................................................................... 396 Grievous Wolves Speaking Perverse Things ....................................................................................................... 400 Appendix A: Simon the Heresiarch and His Followers ............................................................................................. 405 Simon Magus’ Teachings .................................................................................................................................... 406 Four of the Seventy Apostles Apostatized to Follow Simon ............................................................................... 408 Jesus Warned the Twelve That Simon’s Heresies Were Coming .................................................................. 408 False Apostles from Among the Seventy and from Paul’s Associates ........................................................... 409 Appendix B: Some details about the Council of Nicaea ............................................................................................ 411 Appendix C: Scriptures Used by the Arians and the Orthodox at the Council of Nicaea .......................................... 413 Gospel: John 17:1-13 Most of the major heresies in the history of the Church seem to revolve around Who Jesus is. For example, the Arian heresy dealt with by the First Ecumenical Council claimed that Jesus was not really God but was a lesser being created by God. The heresies of the 1st Century, on the other hand, denied the Incarnation and claimed Jesus was not really a man. Today’s Gospel lesson can be used as a theological treatise to answer many of these mistaken beliefs. A brief outline of John 17, where Jesus was speaking to the Father is: 1. Glorify the Son (i.e. by crucifixion) that the Son may glorify the Father. The Father gave the Son authority over all flesh (John 17:1-2) 2. There is One God and Father, the only True God (John 17:3) 3. The Son glorified the Father on earth and finished the work He was given to do; i.e. Incarnation, Cross, etc. (John 17:4) 4. The Son will return to the glory He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5, 13, 24) 5. The Father gave the Son the Twelve; the Twelve know the Father’s love for us (John 17:6) 6. The Twelve know that: 323 i. All the Son was given came from the Father (John 17:7) ii. The Son’s Words came from the Father (John 17:8, 14) iii. The Father sent the Son (John 17:8) iv. The Twelve are the Father’s (John 17:9, 20) v. The Son is glorified in them (John 17:10) 7. No one knows the Father but Christ (John 17:10, 25) 8. The Son asked the Father to keep the Twelve as one as the Father and the Son are one (John 17:11, 21-23, 26). The oneness in the Church parallels the oneness in the Trinity. 9. The Son kept the Twelve in the Father’s Name. None of the Twelve were lost except Judas (John 17:12) 10. The World hated the Twelve because they, like the Son, were not of the world (John 17:13- 16). This aspect of the Christian life was repeated many