Welcome to this series of posts giving a survey of what the early church fathers have written about justification and works of law with reference to Paul. Click this link to go to the first post with the contents of the whole.

In today’s post we look at Cyprian of Carthage (c.e. 200-258). Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education. After converting to Christianity, he became a bishop soon after in 249. A controversial figure during his lifetime, his strong pastoral skills, firm conduct during the Novatianist heresy and outbreak of the plague, and eventual martyrdom at Carthage vindicated his reputation and proved his sanctity in the eyes of the Church. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprian) He quoted Genesis 15.6 several times in conjunction with Gentiles being included in the church.

Blessing belongs to our people

4. Also in the priest Melchizedek we see prefigured the sacrament of the sacrifice of the Lord, according to what divine Scripture testifies, and says,

“And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine.” (Gen 14.18)

Now he was a priest of the most high God, and blessed Abraham. And that Melchizedek bore a type of Christ, the Holy Spirit declares in the Psalms, saying from the person of the Father to the Son:

“Before the morning star I begat Thee; Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek;” (Ps 110.4)

which order is assuredly this coming from that sacrifice and thence descending; that Melchizedek was a priest of the most high God; that he offered wine and bread; that he blessed Abraham.

For who is more a priest of the most high God than our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered a sacrifice to God the Father, and offered that very same thing which Melchizedek had offered, that is, bread and wine, to wit, His body and blood?

And with respect to Abraham, that blessing going before belonged to our people [Christians].

For if Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted unto him for RIGHTEOUSNESS (Gen 15.6; Rom 4.3),

assuredly whosoever believes in God and lives in faith is found RIGHTEOUS, and already is blessed in faithful Abraham, and is set forth as JUSTIFIED; as the blessed Apostle Paul proves, when he says,

“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for RIGHTEOUSNESS. Ye know, then, that they which are of faith, these are the children of Abraham. But the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, pronounced before to Abraham that all nations should be blessed in him; therefore they who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” (Gen 15.6; Gal 3.6-9)

Whence in the Gospel we find that

“children of Abraham are raised from stones, that is, are gathered from the Gentiles.” (Mt 3.9)

And when the Lord praised Zacchæus, He answered and said

“This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” (Lk 19.9)

In Genesis, therefore, that the benediction, in respect of Abraham by Melchizedek the priest, might be duly celebrated, the figure of Christ’s sacrifice precedes, namely, as ordained in bread and wine; which thing the Lord, completing and fulfilling, offered bread and the cup mixed with wine, and so He who is the fulness of truth fulfilled the truth of the image prefigured.

(Cyprian of Carthage. (1886). The Epistles of Cyprian. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), R. E. Wallis (Trans.), Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix (Vol. 5, p. 359). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.)

Cyprian has quoted Gen 15.6 referring to Galatians and the inclusion of the Gentiles. He says ‘whosoever believes in God and lives in faith is found righteous’ applying justification in the sense of identifying the righteous. Not in how sinners become righteous.

Righteousness subsists by faith

Cyprian is explaining in several sections (chapters) what has happened to the Jews. The first few headings will make it clear.

1. That the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath of God because they have forsaken the Lord, and have followed idols.
2. Also because they did not believe the prophets, and put them to death.
3. That it was previously foretold that they would neither know the Lord, nor understand, nor receive Him.
4. That the Jews would not understand the Holy Scriptures, but that they would be intelligible in the last times, after that Christ had come.
5. That the Jews could understand nothing of the Scriptures unless they first believed in Christ.

Cyprian explains the Jews need to believe in Christ. He quotes from a series of Old Testament passages explaining the importance of faith. This is where we pick up;

In Isaiah:

“And if ye will not believe, neither will ye understand.” (Is 7.9)

Also the Lord in the Gospel:

“For if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” (Jn 8.24)

Moreover, that RIGHTEOUSNESS should subsist by faith, and that in it was life, was predicted in Habakkuk:

“Now the JUST shall live by faith of me.” (Hab 2.4)

Hence Abraham, the father of the nations, believed; in Genesis:

“Abraham believed in God, and it was counted unto him for RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Gen 15.6)

In like manner, Paul to the Galatians:

“Abraham believed in God, and it was counted unto him for RIGHTEOUSNESS (Gen 15.6). Ye know, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are children of Abraham. But the Scripture, foreseeing that God JUSTIFIETH the heathens by faith, foretold to Abraham that all nations should be blessed in him. Therefore they who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” (Gal 3.6-9)

(p509–510, ibid)

Cyprian has quoted these verses explaining the necessity for faith and that many Jews still had not come to believe Jesus was the crucified and risen Christ as the Gentiles have.

I will continue quoting the section headings to give an understanding of his train of thought.

6. That the Jews should lose Jerusalem, and should leave the land which they had received.
7. Also that they should lose the Light of the Lord.

The next section speaks about a particular sign.

The sign of the Lord

8. That the first circumcision of the flesh is made void, and the second circumcision of the spirit is promised instead.

Here is another relevant quote from section 8.

In Jeremiah:

“Thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah, and to them who inhabit Jerusalem, Renew newness among you, and do not sow among thorns: circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart; lest my anger go forth like fire, and burn you up, and there be none to extinguish it.” (Jer 4.3-4)

Also Moses says:

“In the last days God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God.” (Dt 30.6)

Also in Jesus the son of Nave:

“And the Lord said unto Jesus, Make thee small knives of stone, very sharp, and set about to circumcise the children of Israel for the second time.” (Josh 5.2)

Paul also, to the Colossians:

“Ye are circumcised with the circumcision not made with hands in the putting off of the flesh, but with the circumcision of Christ.” (Col 2.11)

Also, because Adam was first made by God uncircumcised,

and RIGHTEOUS Abel,

and Enoch, who pleased God and was translated;

and Noah, who, when the world and men were perishing on account of transgressions, was chosen alone, that in him the human race might be preserved;

and Melchizedek, the priest according to whose order Christ was promised.

Then, because that sign did not avail women, but all are sealed by the sign of the Lord.

(Cyprian of Carthage, 1886. Three Books of Testimonies against the Jews. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe, eds. Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix. The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, p. 510.)

This last collection of named before the law was given is similar to Justin Martyrs which he gave to Trypho the Jew showing from the scriptures people without circumcision of the law of Moses were considered righteous in God’s sight.

Cyprian commends the need for circumcision of the heart contrasting it with physical circumcision. Circumcision of course is a covenant sign marking off the people of God (Gen 17.11).

Regarding signs which mark off the people of God, it is significant then that Cyprian refers to the ‘sign of the Lord’. In the context of Cyprian’s argument I suggest he is referring to faith as the new sign which marks off God’s people from the other nations.

Cyprian continues with his lengthy argument. Here are the section headings.

9. That the former law which was given by Moses was to cease.
10. That a new law was to be given.
11. That another dispensation and a new covenant was to be given.
12. That the old baptism should cease, and a new one should begin.
13. That the old yoke should be made void, and a new yoke should be given.
14. That the old pastors should cease and new ones begin.
15. That Christ should be the house and temple of God, and that the old temple should cease, and the new one should begin.
16. That the ancient sacrifice should be made void, and a new one should be celebrated.
17. That the old priesthood should cease, and a new priest should come, who should be for ever.
18. That another Prophet such as Moses was promised, to wit, one who should give a new testament, and who rather ought to be heard.
19. That two peoples were foretold, the eider and the younger; that is, the old people of the Jews, and the new one which should consist of us [Christians, Gentiles].
20. That the Church which before had been barren should have more children from among the Gentiles than what the synagogue had had before.

Gentiles believe in Christ

Cyprian is about to give a massive brain dump of passages from Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Psalms, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Acts to demonstrate the Gentiles coming to faith was prophesied way in advance.

21. That the Gentiles should rather believe in Christ.

In Genesis:

“And the Lord God said unto Abraham, Go out from thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, and go into that land which I shall show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and I will magnify thy name; and thou shalt be blessed: and I will bless him that blesseth thee, and I will curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.” (Gen 12.1-3)

On this same point in Genesis:

“And Isaac blessed Jacob. Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field which the Lord hath blessed: and God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fertility of the earth, abundance of corn, and wine, and oil: and peoples shall obey thee, and princes shall worship thee: and thou shalt be lord over thy brother, and the sons of thy father shall worship thee: and he that curseth thee shall be cursed, and he that blesseth thee shall be blessed.” (Gen 27.27-29)

On this matter too in Genesis:

“But when Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it seemed displeasing to him: and Joseph laid hold of his father’s hand, to lift it from the head of Ephraim on to the head of Manasseh. Moreover, Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: this is my first-born; place thy right hand upon his head. But he would not, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: and he also shall be a people, and he shall be exalted; but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.” (Gen 48.17-19)

Moreover in Genesis:

“Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee: thine hand shall be upon the back of thine enemies; the sons of thy father shall worship thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the slender twig, my son, thou hast ascended: thou layedst down and sleepedst as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp. Who shall stir him up? There shalt not fail a prince from Judah, and a leader from his loins, until those things entrusted to him shall come; and he is the hope of the nations: binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the branch of the vine;7 he shall wash his garments in wine, and his clothing in the blood of the grape: terrible are his eyes with wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk,” (Gen 49.8-12)

Hence in Numbers it is written concerning our people:

“Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion-like people.”(Num 23.14)

In Deuteronomy:

“Ye Gentiles shall be for the head; but this unbelieving people shall be for the tail.” (Dt 28.44)

Also in Jeremiah:

“Hear the sound of the trumpet. And they said, We will not hear: for this cause the nations shall hear, and they who shall feed their cattle among them.” (Jer 6.18)

In the seventeenth Psalm:

“Thou shalt establish me the head of the nations: a people whom I have not known have served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me.” (Ps 18.33-34)

Concerning this very thing the Lord says in Jeremiah:

“Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou wentest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee, and established thee as a prophet among the nations.” (Jer 1.5)

Also in Isaiah:

“Behold, I have manifested him for a witness to the nations, a prince and a commander to the peoples.” (Isa 55.4)

Also in the same:

“Nations which have not known Thee shall call upon Thee; and peoples which were ignorant of Thee shall flee to Thee.” (Isa 55.5)

In the same, moreover:

“And in that  day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall rise to rule in all the nations; in Him shall the Gentiles hope: and His rest shall be honour.” (Isa 11.10)

In the same again:

“The land of Zebulon, and the land of Nephtalim, by the way of the sea, and ye others who inhabit the maritime places, and beyond Jordan of the nations. People that walk in darkness, behold ye a great light; ye who dwell in the region of the shadow of death, the light shall shine upon you.” (Isa 9.1-2)

Also in the same:

“Thus saith the Lord God to Christ my Lord, whose right hand I hold, that the nations may hear Him; and I will break asunder the strength of kings, I will open before Him gates; and cities shall not be shut.” (Isa 45.1)

Also in the same:

“I come to gather together all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. And I will send out over them a standard, and I will send those that are preserved among them to the nations which are afar off, which have not heard my name nor seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory to the nations.” (Isa 66.18-19)

Also in the same:

“And in all these things they are not converted; therefore He shall lift up a standard to the nations which are afar, and He will draw them from the end of the earth.” (Isa 5.25-26)

Also in the same:

“Those who had not been told of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.” (Isa 52.15)

Also in the same:

“I have been made manifest to those who seek me not: I have been formal of those who asked not after me. I said, Lo, here am I, to a nation that has not called upon my name.” (Isa 65.1)

Of this same thing, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul says:

“It was necessary that the word of God should first be shown to you; but since ye put it from you, and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles: for thus said the Lord by the Scriptures, Behold, I have set Thee a light among the nations, that Thou shouldest be for salvation even to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13.46-47)

(Cyprian of Carthage, 1886. Three Books of Testimonies against the Jews. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe, eds. Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix. The Ante-Nicene Fathers. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, pp. 513–514.)

This is the end of the post. Hopefully it gave you a greater understanding of how the early church saw themselves and their faith in light of Christ, the scriptures and the response of the Jews.

In the next post we look at Eusebius of Caesarea (c.e. 260-340). He also writes about the Jews and Gentile believers, speaking about the covenants, the law of Moses and faith in Christ.

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