The suppressed Gospels and Epistles of the original New Testament of Jesus the Christ, Complete

Polycarp commends the Philippians for their respect to

those who suffered for the Gospel; and for their own faith.

POLYCARP, and the presbyters

that are with him, to the

church of God which is at Philippi;

mercy unto you, and peace from

God Almighty, and the Lord Jesus

Christ our Saviour, be multiplied.

2 I rejoiced greatly with you

in our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye

received the images of a true love,

and accompanied, as it behoved you,

those who were in bonds, becoming

saints; which are the crowns of

such as are truly chosen by God

and our Lord:

3 As also that the root of the

faith which was preached from

ancient times, remains firm in you

to this day; and brings forth fruit

to our Lord Jesus Christ, who

suffered himself to be brought

even to the death for our sins:

4 Whom God hath raised up, having

loosed the pains of death. Whom

having not seen, ye love; in whom

though now ye see him not, yet

believing, ye rejoice with joy

unspeakable and full of glory.

5 Into which many desire to

enter; I knowing that by grace ye

are saved; not by works, but by

the will of God through Jesus

Christ.

6 Wherefore girding up the

loins of your minds; I serve

the Lord with fear, and in truth;

laying aside all empty and vain

speech, and the errors of many;

believing in him that raised up

our Lord Jesus Christ from the

dead, and hath given him glory

and a throne at his right hand.

7 To whom all things are made

subject, both that are in heaven,

and that are in earth; whom every

living creature shall worship;

who shall come to be the judge of

the quick and dead: whose blood

God shall require of them that

believe not in him.

8 But he that raised up Christ

from the dead, shall also raise up

us in like manner, if we do his

will, and walk according to his

commandments; and love those

things which he loved:

9 Abstaining from all

unrighteousness; inordinate affection,

and love of money; from evil.

speaking; false witness; not

rendering evil for evil, or

railing for railing, or striking

for striking, or cursing

for cursing:

10 But remembering what the

Lord has taught us saying, Judge

not, and ye shall not be judged;

forgive and ye shall be forgiven;

be ye merciful, and ye shall obtain

mercy; for with the same measure

that ye meet withal, it shall be

measured to you again.

11 And again; Blessed are the

poor, and they that are persecuted

for righteousness sake; for theirs

is the kingdom of God.

2 Exhorts to Faith, Hope, and Charity.

5 Against covetousness, and as to the

duties of husbands, wives, widows,

9 deacons, young men, virgins, and presbyters.

THESE things, my brethren,

I took not the liberty of myself

to write unto you concerning

righteousness, but you yourselves

before encouraged me to it.

2 For neither can i, nor any

other such as I am, come up to

the wisdom of the blessed and

renowned Paul; who being himself

in person with those who then

lived, did with all exactness and

soundness teach the word of truth;

and being gone from you wrote an

epistle to you.

3 Into which if you look, you

will be able to edify yourselves in

the faith that has been delivered

unto you, which is the mother of

us all; being followed with hope,

and led on by a general love, both

towards God and towards Christ,

and towards our neighbour.

4 For if any man has these

things, he has fulfilled the law

of righteousness: for he that has

charity is far from all sin.

5 But the love of money is the

root of all evil. Knowing therefore

that as we brought nothing into this

world, so neither may we carry any

thing out; let us arm ourselves

with the armour of righteousness.

6 And teach ourselves first to

walk according to the commandments

of the Lord; and then your wives

to walk likewise according to the

faith that is given to them; in

charity, and in purity; loving

their own husbands, with all

sincerity, and all others alike,

with all temperance; and to bring up

their children in the instruction

and fear of the Lord.

7 The widows likewise teach

that they be sober as to what

concerns the faith of the Lord:

praying always for all men; being far

from all detraction, evil speaking,

false witness; from covetousness,

and from all evil.

8 Knowing that they are the

altars of God, who sees all blemishes,

and from whom nothing is hid; who

searches out the very reasonings,

and thoughts, and secrets of our

hearts.

9 Knowing therefore that God

is not mocked, we ought to walk

worthy both of his command and

of his glory.

10 Also the deacons must be

blameless before him, as the

ministers of God in Christ, and

not of men. Not false mousers, not

double tongued, not lovers of money;

but moderate in all things;

compassionate, careful; walking

according to the truth of the Lord,

who was the servant of all.

11 Whom if we please in this

present world, we shall also be

made partakers of that which is

to come, according as he has

promised to us, that he will raise

us from the dead; and that if we

shall walk worthy of him, we shall

also reign together with him, if

we believe.

12 In like manner the younger

men must be unblameable in all

things; above all, taking care of

their purity, and to restrain

themselves from all evil. For it is

good to be cut off from the lusts that

are in the world; because every

such lust warreth against the

spirit: and neither fornicators,

nor effeminate, nor abusers of

themselves with mankind, shall

inherit the kingdom of God; nor

they who do such things as are

foolish and unreasonable.

13 Wherefore ye must needs

abstain from all these things,

being subject to the priests and

deacons, as unto God and Christ.

14 The virgins admonish to

walk in a spotless and pure

conscience.

15 And let the elders be

compassionate and merciful towards

all; turning them from their errors;

seeking out those that are weak;

not forgetting the widows, the

fatherless, and the poor; but

always providing what is good

both in the sight of God and man.

16 Abstaining from all wrath,

respect of persons, and unrighteous

judgment; and especially being

free from all covetousness.

17 Not easy to believe anything

against any; not severe in judgment;

knowing that we are all debtors

in point of sin.

18 If therefore we pray to the

Lord that he would forgive us, we

ought also to forgive others; for

we are all in the sight of our Lord

and God; a and must all stand before

the judgment-seat of Christ;

and shall every one give an

account of himself.

19 Let us therefore serve him in

fear, and with all reverence as

both himself hath commanded;

and as the Apostles who have

preached the Gospel unto us, and

the prophets who have foretold

the coming of our Lord have

taught us:

20 Being zealous of what is

good; abstaining from all offence,

and from false brethren; and

from those who bear the name of

Christ in hypocrisy; who deceive

vain men.

1 As to faith in our Saviour Christ;

his nature and sufferings, the resurrection and judgment.

3 Exhorts to prayer

5 and steadfastness in the faith, from the examples of Christ,

7 and Apostles and saints, and exhorts to carefulness

in all well-doing.

FOR whosoever does not confess

that Jesus Christ is come in

the flesh, he is Antichrist: and

whoever does not confess his

suffering upon the cross, is

from the devil.

2 And whosoever perverts the

oracles of the Lord to his own

lusts, and says that there shall.

neither be any resurrection, nor

judgment, he is the first-born of

Satan.

3 Wherefore leaving the vanity

of many, and their false doctrines;

let us return to the word that was

delivered to us from the beginning:

Watching unto prayer; and

persevering in fasting;

4 With supplication beseeching

the all seeing God not to lead us

into temptation; as the Lord hath

said, The spirit is truly willing,

but the flesh is weak.

5 Let us therefore without ceasing

hold steadfastly to him who is our

hope, and the earnest of our

righteousness, even Jesus Christ;

Who, his own self, bare our sins

in his own body on the tree: who

did no sin, neither was guile found

in his mouth; but suffered all for

us that we might live through

him.

6 Let us therefore imitate his

patience; and if we suffer for his

name, let us glorify him; for this

example he has given us by himself,

and so have we believed.

7 Wherefore I exhort all

of you that ye obey the word of

righteousness, and exercise all

patience; which ye have seen set

forth before your eyes, not only

in the blessed Ignatius, and Zozimus,

and Rufus; but in others among

yourselves; and in Paul himself,

and the rest of the Apostles:

8 Being confident of this, that

all these have not run in vain, but

in faith and righteousness; and

are gone to the place that was due

to them from the Lord; with

whom also they suffered.

9 For they loved not this

present world; but him who died,

and was raised again by God for

us.

10 Stand therefore in these

things, and follow the example of

the Lord; being firm and immutable

in the faith, lovers of the

brotherhood, lovers of one

another: companions together

in the truth, being kind and

gentle towards each other,

despising none.

11 When it is in your power to

do good defer it not, for charity

delivered from death.

12 Be all of you subject one to

another, having your conversation

honest among the Gentiles; that

by your good works, both ye

yourselves may receive praise, and

the Lord may not be blasphemed

through you. But woe be to him

by whom the name of the Lord is

blasphemed.

13 Therefore teach all men

sobriety; in which do ye also

exercise yourselves.