A Spirit-Filled Church according to Clement of Rome

“We need revival!”

“We need a God-sized vision!”

“We just need to get back to the Gospel!”

These kinds of statements are not uncommon to hear in the American Evangelical Church. I have already shared my opinion more than once on some of the reasons I believe so many are leaving churches and those staying can’t get along. For this blog, I want to focus more on the desire we have to see the Holy Spirit come upon us and revive our church communities.

Let’s take a look at the beginning of 1st Clement, one of the oldest surviving Christian epistles after the New Testament. Clement of Rome writes a letter to the Corinthians, rebuking them of recent division and pleading for repentance. In the beginning of the letter, Clement praises them for their past conduct before their rebellion. After listing some of the fruit of the church, Clement states, “Thus a profound and abundant peace was given to you all, and you had an insatiable desire for doing good, while a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit was upon you all.” (1st Clement 2.2)

So, what was, according to Clement, the fruit of the Spirit seen in the Corinthians? Here’s some of the examples he gives:

·       Strong faith in Christ, generous hospitality, and sound doctrine (1.2)

·       Obeying God’s commands, submitting to the leaders, showing no favoritism, and families flourishing together (1.3)

·       Being humble, not seeking power, and giving generously (2.1)

After mentioning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Clement continues on with a few more examples:

·       Confessing sins regularly and being held accountable (2.3)

·       Interceding constantly for brothers and sisters as well as those who don’t know Christ (2.4)

·       Holding no grudges against each other in the community and seeking genuine unity (2.5)

·       Caring and mourning for the sins of their neighbors (2.6)

As we read on in 1st Clement, we see this short list is of course not everything that Clement sees as important for the local church to engage in. For example, chapter 38 brings instructions about helping the poor and vulnerable, something that is commonly found in the Bible and the Apostolic Fathers.

But I want to highlight the beginning of this epistle because I find it refreshing and humbling what Clement sees as a Spirit-filled church. Again, what Clement lists may not exhaustively speak for everything a Spirit-filled church shows, but notice what isn’t listed:

·       High attendance

·       Celebrity leaders/members

·       Viral sermons

·       Great music/musicians

·       A nice tax-free building

When money in anyway is mentioned, it’s in regards to generously giving to others in need. When power is mentioned, it’s in regards to not seeking it and instead surrendering it, following the example of Jesus. What Clement shows us is straightforward and aligns with the Scriptures.

So why do we so often seek other methods and goals for our churches to flourish?

In regards to revival, I do not believe a congregation can have genuine, Spirit-anointed revival without genuine repentance. If a church is struggling due to a scandal, hurtful words by a pastor/leader, or a neglect of the needy around them, there needs to be a genuine sorrow and acknowledgement of this. Otherwise, to ignore the elephant in the room and preach that all they need revival is disingenuous.

Many of our local churches are devastated by COVID, political idolatry, and abuse. Our response must be more than vaguely state how divided we are and conclude a need for revival.

1st Clement is actually a great example of this. Clement cares for the Corinthians, and wants them to flourish again in the Spirit. But the Corinthian church had (once again) fallen into a toxic culture, and there had to be accountability and repentance. Reading 1st Clement in its entirety shows a plea for repentance and restoration.

This is also why it can frustrate so many when a church faces controversy and their response is to stop dividing and “get back to Jesus”. Of course we need unity, and Jesus must always be our focus and foundation. But if the division is not explicitly addressed and reconciled, there will never be genuine unity. And while there are many divisions that are petty and just need to stop, there are many that are too serious and damaging to simply agree to disagree with. They have to be fully addressed with humility to all congregants involved.

Once again, turning to Clement, he definitely stresses that Jesus is the solution. However, he partially does this by using Jesus as the prime example of how the Corinthians must move forward in repentance. Looking to Christ as the Suffering Servant, Clement pleads with the Corinthians to repent by imitating Christ in serving others before themselves. (1st Clement 16.17)

In conclusion, what we see mattering to Clement is the character of a church, not the “success” of one. Humility, honesty, repentance, hospitality, accountability, sacrificial generosity, and loyalty to Jesus over ourselves. This is what Clement sees as a church filled with the Holy Spirit. May that be our focus too.

Bibliography

Schaff, P. (2016). The Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Collection of Early Church Fathers. Toronto, Canada.