In this post I will quote from a letter attributed to Clement of Rome, which was written to address the Ephesian churches’ deposing their elders. The epistle has been dated to the last three decades of the first century, with the most common date of composition placed at the end of the reign of Domitian, ca. AD 96.

What makes Clement’s witness vitally important is that he was a disciple of the Apostles, and may have even been mentioned by Paul as a fellow laborer whose name was written in heaven:

“I exhort Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. I ask you also, true companion, help those women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with my other fellow laborers, whose names are in the Book of Life.” Philippians 4:2-3 Modern English Version (MEV)

Moreover, Clement eventually became the bishop of the church at Rome, which is why his claims become so valuable.

In his letter reprimanding the Ephesians, Clement writes:

Chapter 58. Submission the Precursor of Salvation.

Let us, therefore, flee from the warning threats pronounced by Wisdom on the disobedient, and yield submission to His all-holy and glorious name, that we may stay our trust upon the most hallowed name of His majesty. Receive our counsel, and you shall be without repentance. For, as God lives, and as the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost live (Ze gar ho Theos kai Ze ho Kyrios ‘Iesous Christos kai to Pneuma to Hagion) — both the faith and hope of the elect, he who in lowliness of mind, with instant gentleness, and without repentance has observed the ordinances and appointments given by God— the same shall obtain a place and name in the number of those who are being saved through Jesus Christ, through whom is glory to Him for ever and ever. Amen. (Clement of Rome, First Epistle)

Here’s another translation:

“… (2) Accept our advice and you will have nothing to regret. For as God lives, and as the Lord Jesus Christ lives, and the Holy Spirit (who are the faith and the hope of the elect)…” (The Apostolic Fathers, Greek Texts And English Translations, edited and revised by Michael W. Holmes [Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 1999], p. 95)

Clement attributes to the Father, Son and Spirit a stereotypical formula that the Old Testament ascribes to no other heavenly Being except Yahweh:  

“Then she said, ‘Please let the king remember Yahweh your God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son.’ He said, ‘As Yahweh lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the earth.’” 2 Samuel 14:11 World English Bible (WEB)  

“Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.’ He said, ‘As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho… Elijah said to him, ‘Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.’ He said, ‘As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.’ Then they both went on.” 2 Kings 2:4, 6 WEB  

“Micaiah said, ‘As Yahweh lives, I will say what my God says.’” 2 Chronicles 18:13 WEB  

“‘Therefore behold, the days come,’ says Yahweh, ‘that it will no more be said, “As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;” but, “As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them.” I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.’” Jeremiah 16:14-15 WEB

“So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, ‘As Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.’” Jeremiah 38:16 WEB

“Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, yet don’t let Judah offend; and don’t come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, ‘As Yahweh lives.’” Hosea 4:15 WEB

Seeing how Clement applied this OT formulaic expression to the Father, Son and Spirit, is strong evidence for his believing in the Trinity. I.e., for Clement, God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are the very Yahweh whom the OT prophets worshiped.

The following citation further cements this fact:

43.… (6) What do you think, dear friends? Did not Moses know beforehand that this would happen? Of course he knew. But in order that disorder might not arise in Israel, he did it anyway, so that the name of the true and only God (to onoma tou alethinou kai monou Theou [variant reading – Kyriou (Lord)]) might be glorified, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Holmes, pp. 75, 77)  

Clement is clear that there is only one true [Lord] God, which in turn demonstrates that he must have believed the Father, Son and Spirit are indeed the true and only Lord God that exists.     

Clement further speaks of the vicarious death of Christ and the need for believers to love the risen Lord by obeying his commandments in order to obtain forgiveness of sins:   

Chapter 49. The Praise of Love.

Let him who has love in Christ keep the commandments of Christ. Who can describe the [blessed] bond of the love of God? What man is able to tell the excellence of its beauty, as it ought to be told? The height to which love exalts is unspeakable. Love unites us to God. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love bears all things, is long-suffering in all things. There is nothing base, nothing arrogant in love. Love admits of no schisms: love gives rise to no seditions: love does all things in harmony. By love have all the elect of God been made perfect; without love nothing is well-pleasing to God. In love has the Lord taken us to Himself. On account of the love He bore us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of God; His flesh for our flesh, and His soul for our souls.

Chapter 50. Let Us Pray to Be Thought Worthy of Love.

You see, beloved, how great and wonderful a thing is love, and that there is no declaring its perfection. Who is fit to be found in it, except such as God has vouchsafed to render so? Let us pray, therefore, and implore of His mercy, that we may live blameless in love, free from all human partialities for one above another. All the generations from Adam even unto this day have passed away; but those who, through the grace of God, have been made perfect in love, now possess a place among the godly, and shall be made manifest at the revelation of the kingdom of Christ. For it is written, Enter into your secret chambers for a little time, until my wrath and fury pass away; and I will remember a propitious day, and will raise you up out of your graves. Isaiah 26:20 Blessed are we, beloved, if we keep the commandments of God in the harmony of love; that so through love our sins may be forgiven us. For it is written, Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not impute to him, and in whose mouth there is no guile. This blessedness comes upon those who have been chosen by God through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Clement even quotes Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 as prophesying Christ’s crucifixion, death, resurrection and glorification. He even describes Jesus as the majestic Scepter of God, i.e., the One through Whom God rules over creation:

Chapter 16. Christ as an Example of Humility.

For Christ is of those who are humble-minded, and not of those who exalt themselves over His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sceptre of the majesty of God (to skeptron tes megalosynes tou Theou, ho Kyrios hemon Christos ‘Iesous), did not come in the pomp of pride or arrogance, although He might have done so, but in a lowly condition, as the Holy Spirit had declared regarding Him. For He says, Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have declared [our message] in His presence: He is, as it were, a child, and like a root in thirsty ground; He has no form nor glory, yea, we saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness; but His form was without eminence, yea, deficient in comparison with the [ordinary] form of men. He is a man exposed to stripes and suffering, and acquainted with the endurance of grief: for His countenance was turned away; He was despised, and not esteemed. He bears our iniquities, and is in sorrow for our sakes; yet we supposed that [on His own account] He was exposed to labour, and stripes, and affliction. But He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; [every] man has wandered in his own way; and the Lord has delivered Him up for our sins, while He in the midst of His sufferings opens not His mouth. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before her shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. For the transgressions of my people was He brought down to death. And I will give the wicked for His sepulchre, and the rich for His death, because He did no iniquity, neither was guile found in His mouth. And the Lord is pleased to purify him by stripes. If you make an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. And the Lord is pleased to relieve Him of the affliction of His soul, to show Him light, and to form Him with understanding, to justify the Just One who ministers well to many; and He Himself shall carry their sins. On this account He shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoil of the strong; because His soul was delivered to death, and He was reckoned among the transgressors, and He bare the sins of many, and for their sins was He delivered. And again He says, I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All that see me have derided me; they have spoken with their lips; they have wagged their head, [saying] He hoped in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him, since He delights in Him. You see, beloved, what is the example which has been given us; for if the Lord thus humbled Himself, what shall we do who have through Him come under the yoke of His grace?

Here’s Holmes again:

“… (2) The majestic scepter of God, our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ibid., p. 45)

Clement mentions Jesus’ high priestly role where he mediates the offerings made by Christians, being the Defender/Guard and Helper of believers:

Chapter 36. All Blessings are Given to Us Through Christ.

This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Saviour, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and helper of our infirmity. By Him we look up to the heights of heaven. By Him we behold, as in a glass, His immaculate and most excellent visage. By Him are the eyes of our hearts opened. By Him our foolish and darkened understanding blossoms up anew towards His marvellous light. By Him the Lord has willed that we should taste of immortal knowledge, who, being the brightness of His majesty, is by so much greater than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:3-4 For it is thus written, Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But concerning His Son the Lord spoke thus: You are my Son, today have I begotten You. Ask of me, and I will give You the heathen for Your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession. And again He says to Him, Sit at my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool. But who are His enemies? All the wicked, and those who set themselves to oppose the will of God.

Here’s Holmes’ rendering:

36.… Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our offerings, the Guardian and Helper of our weakness… through him we see as in a mirror his faultless and transcendent face… (Ibid., p. 69; emphasis mine)

Finally, and remarkably, Clement states that Christ spoke the words of Psalm 34 through the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to record the words of Scripture:  

Chapter 22. These Exhortations are Confirmed by the Christian Faith, Which Proclaims the Misery of Sinful Conduct.

Now the faith which is in Christ confirms all these [admonitions]. For He Himself by the Holy Ghost (dia tou Pneumatos tou Hagiou) thus addresses us: Come, you children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desires life, and loves to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are [open] unto their prayers. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him out of all his troubles. Many are the stripes [appointed for] the wicked; but mercy shall compass those about who hope in the Lord.

Clement was merely echoing what the Apostles who taught him stated in the God-breathed writings:

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that should come to you have inquired and searched diligently, seeking the events and time the Spirit of Christ, who was within them, signified when He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, concerning the things which are now reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you through the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven—things into which the angels desire to look.” 1 Peter 1:10-12 MEV

This shows that Clement, in complete agreement with the risen Lord’s Jewish disciples, not only affirmed Christ’s prehuman existence but also taught that Jesus is the human incarnation of YHWH.

We know this to be the case since the Holy Bible, particularly the Old Testament, emphatically teaches that it was the Holy Spirit of YHWH Almighty who spoke in and through the holy prophets:

“Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse says, the man who was raised on high says, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel: “Yahweh’s Spirit spoke by me. His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘One who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God,” 2 Samuel 23:1-3 WEB

“You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them, and didn’t withhold your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst… Yet many years you put up with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not listen. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.” Nehemiah 9:20, 30 WEB

“But as for me, I am full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit, and of judgment, and of might, to declare to Jacob his disobedience, and to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8 WEB

“Yes, they made their hearts as hard as flint, lest they might hear the law, and the words which Yahweh of Armies had sent by his Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of Armies.” Zechariah 7:12 WEB

“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of the Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.For no prophecy at any time was produced by the will of man, but holy men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 MEV

Hence, since it was YHWH’S Spirit that inspired the prophets, with Clement and the Apostles teaching that it was actually Jesus’ Spirit that did so, then this conclusively shows that both Clement and Christ’s inspired emissaries believed that the Son is none other than YHWH God Almighty in the flesh.

To top it off, Clement offers doxologies through Christ to the Father, and personally invokes the risen Lord to bestow his grace upon the recipients of the letter:

Chapter 61. Prayer Continued — For Rulers and Governors. Conclusion.

To our rulers and governors on the earth — to them You, Lord, gave the power of the kingdom by Your glorious and ineffable might, to the end that we may know the glory and honour given to them by You and be subject to them, in nought resisting Your will; to them, Lord, give health, peace, concord, stability, that they may exercise the authority given to them without offense. For You, O heavenly Lord and King eternal, givest to the sons of men glory and honour and power over the things that are on the earth; do Thou, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which is good and well-pleasing in Your sight, that, devoutly in peace and meekness exercising the power given them by You, they may find You propitious. O Thou, who only has power to do these things and more abundant good with us, we praise You through the High Priest and Guardian of our souls Jesus Christ, through whom be glory and majesty to You both now and from generation to generation and for evermore. Amen.

Chapter 64. Blessings Sought for All that Call Upon God.

May God, who sees all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and the Lord of all flesh — who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to be a peculiar Titus 2:14 people — grant to every soul that calls upon His glorious and holy name, faith, fear, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity, and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His name, through our High Priest and Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and honour, both now and for evermore. Amen.

Chapter 65. The Corinthians are Exhorted Speedily to Send Back Word that Peace Has Been Restored. The Benediction.

Send back speedily to us in peace and with joy these our messengers to you: Claudius Ephebus and Valerius Bito, with Fortunatus; that they may the sooner announce to us the peace and harmony we so earnestly desire and long for [among you], and that we may the more quickly rejoice over the good order re-established among you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, and with all everywhere that are the called of God through Him, by whom be to Him glory, honour, power, majesty, and eternal dominion, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.

2 CLEMENT

I will now be quoting from 2 Clement, which is the oldest extant Christian sermon. What makes this work so valuable is that, not only is it the earliest surviving sermon, but also because it is attached to 1 Clement in all the surviving manuscripts containing it, and hence its attribution to Clement.

As the following source indicates:

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE

TO THE HOMILY KNOWN AS

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF CLEMENT.

It is gratifying that our series is marked by tokens of critical progress, and not less cheering tokens of scientific research. The clearing-up of much that has perplexed us about Hermas; the Bryennios discovery; and, not least, the completion of this fragment, which has long been a scandal to patristic inquiry,—are surely such tokens. They enrich the reader with definite ideas on many collateral subjects. May they not stimulate American scholarship and American affluence to fresh enterprises of the same character for the advancement of learning, and the glory of the world’s Redeemer and Illuminator?  

The very early date to which this homily is now assigned makes its slightest allusions to the New-Testament canon of very great importance. I have ventured to indicate a few such, even where they may be mere allusions, not textual quotations: as, e.g., on p. 517, at notes 20 and 22, slight indications of a reference to the Second Epistle of St. Peter and to the Apocalypse.³⁸³⁸  

I shall have occasion to refer to this work in the elucidation of the Liturgies which are to follow. If it be, as Bishop Lightfoot supposes, a homily of the second century, it may lend important retrospective aid to the student of these volumes in other particulars; but, having entrusted this interesting relic to the editorial care of a most competent scholar, I shall not presume to anticipate his judgment in any matter.

³⁸³⁸ If this reference to 2 Pet. iii. 9 be probable, it is one of the earliest testimonies to the genuine character of that Epistle. The true Clement has two references to the same (pp. 8 and 11, vol. i., this series), and Justin also (vol. i. p. 240) is credited with a similar reference to 2 Peter and the Apocalypse. See Lardner, Credib., vol. ii. p. 123 et seq. (Ancient Homilies, https://ccel.org/ccel/clement_rome/homily/anf07.x.i.html; emphasis mine)  

Patristic scholar Michael L. Holmes writes:

The so-called second letter of Clement is not a letter, nor is it by Clement. It is, in fact, a sermon or “word of exhortation” composed by an anonymous presbyter (17.3). It is the OLDEST COMPLETE CHRISTIAN SERMON that has survived. Based upon a text from Isaiah (54:1 see 2.1 below), it presents a call to repentance, purity, and steadfastness in the face of persecution. The “reader” (19.1) of the sermon, addressing a primarily Gentile congregation (1.6; 3.1), may also be reacting against Gnostic influences (10.5; cf. the stress on the deity of Jesus [1.1] and the resurrection and judgment [9.1-5]). Beyond this, however, almost nothing is known about its author, date, or occasion…  

In the manuscripts in which it is preserved, 2 Clement immediately follows 1 Clement, the letter addressed to the Corinthians by Clement of Rome, to whom it is attributed. This suggests that 2 Clement must have either been preached in Corinth or sent there for some purpose, and any attempt to reconstruct a possible setting for the document must take this into account. Among the more plausible explanations that have been put forward are the following.

W. H. C. Frend places it in Rome, perhaps around A.D. 100. E. J. Goodspeed has adopted the view that 2 Clement is really the lost letter of Bishop Soter of Rome mentioned by Bishop Dionysius of Corinth (ca. 170), but this ingenious suggestion faces the difficulty that the document in question is certainly not a letter…     

Lightfoot long ago noted that the reference in 7.1 to people “coming to enter the contests,” without any identification of the location, implies that the speaker was near the site of the contests, in this case Corinth, home of the well-known Isthmian games. He suggests that 2 Clement was a sermon read to the Corinthian congregation sometime between A.D. 120 AND 140 that was for some reason particularly notable and therefore preserved, along with other important documents such as the letter from Bishop Soter mentioned by Bishop Dionysius and the earlier letter from the Roman church written by Clement, whose name was eventually attached to the anonymous sermon. This general hypothesis has been advanced further by K. P. Donald, who has argued well the case that the intervention of the Roman church into the affairs of the Corinthian congregation via 1 Clement and the mediators who conveyed it to Corinth was successful, the deposed elders were reinstated, and that 2 Clement is nothing other than a hortatory address preached by one of these elders to the congregation on the occasion of the successful resolution of the crisis. On this reading of the evidence the letter must be dated about A.D. 98-100.

Helmut Koester has suggested that 2 Clement is an anti-Gnostic sermon from Egypt prior to the middle of the second century, and that it thus may be “the first tangible evidence for the existence of anti-Gnostic Christianity in Egypt before the middle of II C.E.” But he forthrightly acknowledges that his hypothesis “is by no means certain.” The date and occasion of 2 Clement, then, remain open questions. (Ibid., pp. 102-104; emphasis mine)  

With the foregoing in view, I now cite from the work itself:

CHAP. I.—WE OUGHT TO THINK HIGHLY OF CHRIST.

Brethren, it is fitting that you should think of Jesus Christ AS OF GOD (peri Iesou Christou, hos peri Theou),—as the Judge of the living and the dead. And it does not become us³⁸⁴⁹ to think lightly³⁸⁵⁰ of our salvation; for if we think little³⁸⁵¹ of Him, we shall also hope but to obtain little from Him. And those of us³⁸⁵² who hear carelessly of these things, as if they were of small importance, commit sin, not knowing whence we have been called, and by whom, and to what place, and how much Jesus Christ submitted to suffer for our sakes…

CHAP. XIII.—DISOBEDIENCE CAUSETH GOD’S NAME TO BE BLASPHEMED.³⁹³²

Therefore, brethren,³⁹³³ let us now at length repent; let us be sober unto what is good; for we are full of much folly and wickedness. Let us blot out from us our former sins, and repenting from the soul let us be saved; and let us not become³⁹³⁴ men-pleasers, nor let us desire to please only one another,³⁹³⁵ but also the men that are without, by our righteousness, that the Name³⁹³⁶ be not blasphemed on account of us.³⁹³⁷ For the Lord also saith “Continually³⁹³⁸ My name is blasphemed among all the Gentiles,”³⁹³⁹ and again, “Woe³⁹⁴⁰ to him on account of whom My name is blasphemed.” Wherein is it blasphemed? In your not doing what I desire.³⁹⁴¹ For the Gentiles, when they hear from our mouth the oracles of God,³⁹⁴² marvel at them as beautiful and great; afterwards, when they have learned that our works are not worthy of the words we speak, they then turn themselves to blasphemy, saying that it is some fable and delusion. For when they hear from us THAT GOD SAITH,³⁹⁴³ “There is no thank unto you, if ye love them that love you; but there is thank unto you, if ye love your enemies and them that hate you;”³⁹⁴⁴ when they hear these things, they marvel at the excellency of the goodness; but when they see that we not only do not love them that hate us, but not even them that love us, they laugh us to scorn, and the Name is blasphemed…

³⁹⁴³ In view of the connection, this must mean “God in His oracles;” a significant testimony to the early belief in the inspiration of the Gospels.  

³⁹⁴⁴ Luke vi. 27, 32, freely combined; comp. Matt. v. 44, 46. The use of χάρις υἠμιν shows that the quotation is from the former Gospel. (Second Epistle  https://ccel.org/ccel/clement_rome/homily/anf07.x.iii.html)

We have here another early attestation from sources outside of the NT canon for the widespread Christian belief in Jesus’ absolute Deity. Not only are believers exhorted to think of Jesus as God, but also the work attributes the Lord’s statements in Luke’s Gospel to the words spoken by God himself!

Note how Holmes renders these particular sections:   

1. Brothers, we ought to think of Jesus Christ, as we do of God, as “Judge of the living and the dead.”¹…

¹ Acts 10:42; cf. 1 Pet. 4:5. (Holmes, p. 107)

13.… (4) For when they hear from us THAT GOD SAYS, “It is no credit to you if you love those who love you, but it is credit to you if you love your enemies and those who hate you,”²⁸ when they hear these things, they marvel at such extraordinary goodness…

²⁸ Cf. Luke 6:32, 35. (Holmes, p. 119)

Hence, Christ’s speaking is none other than God speaking, which makes sense in light of the exhortation found earlier in this same work that Christians are to view Jesus as God.

FURTHER READING

Ignatius of Antioch’s Proclamation of the Essential Deity of Christ

LET EVERY THING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE JAH JESUS!

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS: REFUTING THE HERETICS

Justin Martyr’s Witness to Christ’s essential and eternal Deity

IRENAEUS AND THE DEITY OF CHRIST

MORE FROM IRENAEUS ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST

Tertullian and the Doctrine of the Trinity

Were the Early Church Fathers Trinitarians?

Did the Ante-Nicene Fathers Worship the Holy Spirit as God Almighty?

The Early Church’s Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible’s Use of Plural Pronouns for God

Origen’s Christology

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