Jesus said He would build His Church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Church has faced many attacks from the beginning, and here are some of the greatest heresies in Church history.
Read part one of Heresy Through the Ages here!
1. Gnosticism
Gnosticism was a movement that claimed salvation came by secret knowledge or special revelation. It comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means knowledge. Gnostics believed they had extra-biblical knowledge about God that gave them a unique understanding of the world and humanity. And this hidden knowledge, only available to an elite few, was the way to salvation.
The teachings of Gnosticism differ from biblical orthodoxy. The Bible doesn’t say we are saved by knowing. It says we are saved by grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” And God’s salvific offer is available to the entire world (John 3:16), not a select few.
As for extra-biblical revelation, God’s final revelation is in the Bible, and He doesn’t give special revelation since the canon of Scripture closed. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” The Bible is the final and authoritative source of truth (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
2. Marcionism
Marcionism is a second-century heresy named after the teachings of Marcion of Sinope. He believed the Old Testament God differed from the New Testament God—OT God is evil and oppressing, while NT God is good and loving. Marcion also rejected the authority of the OT and apostolic writings that contradicted his teachings. As a result, he affirmed only eleven NT books: ten Pauline letters and an edited version of the Gospel of Luke (He removed all OT references.)
The early Church condemned Marcionism as heresy and excommunicated Marcion, but there are still some forms of Marcionism in the Church today. A popular pastor even said Christians need to “unhinge from the Old Testament.” But Jesus declared the Old Testament testified of Him (John 5:39), He existed before Abraham was (John 8:58) and He and God are one (John 10:30).
The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
3. Docetism
Docetism is a heresy that denies the humanity of Jesus Christ. It comes from the Greek word dokeō, which means to seem or appear. Adherents of this movement believed Jesus didn’t come in the flesh but seemed or appeared to have a human body. Some even thought He was a ghost or an illusion.
This false teaching was a significant threat to the faith because the humanity of Christ is of first importance to the Gospel. Without a physical body, Jesus couldn’t have died and resurrected. And without His death and bodily resurrection, we are still dead in our sins and have no hope for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).
The apostle John, who lived long enough to witness the rise of Gnosticism and Docetism, refuted it repeatedly. John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 1 John 4:2 says, “By this, you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Every Spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the Spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and now is in the world already.” 2 John 1:7 says, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
Jesus himself confirmed He was fully human. He said in Luke 24:39, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
Docetism persisted in the early Church for centuries, and Church fathers like Ignatius and Irenaeus opposed it. The Council of Chalcedon condemned it as heresy in 451.
4. Adoptionism
Adoptionism is a heretical teaching, which denied the deity and preexistence of Jesus Christ. It claimed Jesus was a mere human who lived sinlessly. Consequently, God adopted Him as a son and made him God.
The Bible says Jesus was begotten—same divine nature—by the Father, not adopted (John 3:16). Jesus has always existed and has always been God. John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” And Jesus said in John 8:58, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Furthermore, if Jesus were only human, He could not have lived sinlessly since all men sin (Romans 3:10-12; 23, 5:12-14).
It is we, sinful humans, who have been adopted by the Father through the atoning work of the Son on the cross. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.”
Pope Victor condemned Adoptionism as heresy in the second century. It resurfaced temporally in the eighth century in Spain but was also declared a heresy by Pope Leo III in Rome.
5. Modalism / Sabellianism / Patripassianism
Sabellianism is a false teaching against the holy trinity that began in the third century by a presbyter named Sabellius. He believed God was one being and one person who manifested himself differently throughout history for different purposes. That is, He was the Father in creation, the Son in redemption, and now He is the Spirit in sanctification.
Modalism also teaches that God is one person who expresses Himself in different modes; however, He can switch modes any time and can be all at once.
Patripassianism, which means “Father’s suffering,” is the belief that God the Father became the Son and suffered on the cross. Like Sabellianism and Modalism, Patripassianism denies the distinct persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
All these teachings are heresies. Several Scriptures affirm the Godhead and show them acting together at the same time (Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19, John 14:26; 15:26, 2 Corinthians 13:14. Ephesians 4:4-6, Luke 22:42, Hebrews 1:3). God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are individual persons, not modes or expressions. They are one God, co-equal, and co-eternal with different roles.
Though the early Church condemned all forms of Modalism as heresies, it’s still present in the Church today in Oneness Pentecostalism. The popular book The Shack even teaches Patripassianism.
6. Arianism
Arianism is a heresy named after the teachings of Arius, a fourth-century priest from Egypt. Arius didn’t believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. He claimed Jesus was a created being, and although he was supernatural (God’s first creation before time began), He didn’t share the divine nature of God the Father.
As with Docetism, this teaching posed a severe problem to the Church because the deity of Jesus Christ is essential to the Gospel. If Jesus is not divine, His life couldn’t satisfy God’s wrath and atone for the sins of the world. It’s His divine nature that could offer a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:11-12 says, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
Moreover, Jesus confirmed sharing God’s nature (John 10:30), does things only God can do such as forgiving sins (Acts 5:31, Colossians 3:13) and judge the world (2 Timothy 4:1), and many Scriptures affirm His deity (John 1:1, Philippians 2:5-6, Colossians 2:9-10, 1 John 5:20, Hebrews 1:3, Revelation 1:8).
During the first ecumenical council in Nicaea, 300 church bishops, including Athanasius, condemned Arianism as heresy. They wrote the Nicene Creed that says, “begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.” Arianism, however, continued to grow, and traces of its teaching appear in Jehovah’s Witness and Mormons.
7. Apollinarianism
Apollinarianism (that’s a mouthful!) is a belief based on the false teachings of Apollinaris the Younger, a bishop of Laodicea in the fourth century. Apollinaris claimed Jesus’ human and divine nature couldn’t coexist in one person. Jesus, as a human, had to be sinful and hence could not share a body with His divine self. The remedy was to lessen the human nature of Christ. So Apollinaris believed the Logos of God replaced the rational human mind of Jesus to repress his sinful nature. In other words, Jesus had a human body but a divine mind.
Apollinarianism is heresy as it denies the deity and humanity of Jesus (see Docetism and Arianism above.) Jesus had to be fully man to be a substitute for men (Hebrews 2:17), and he had to be divine to offer a pure and sufficient sacrifice that would atone for our sins (Hebrews 9:11-12). Colossians 2:9 says, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
The second council of Constantinople condemned Apollinarianism as heresy in 381, and it’s mostly gone from the Church today.
8. Pelagianism
Pelagianism claims that man is not inherently sinful. It was started by Pelagius, a monk who lived between the fourth and fifth centuries. He didn’t believe all men inherited Adam’s sinful nature and are totally depraved. Instead, God created everyone innocent, and we are all capable of choosing good over evil. Pelagius also taught salvation by works. He believed a man could stop sinning by his strength and didn’t need God’s grace.
The Bible begs to differ. Romans 5:12-19 says sin entered the world through Adam, and that because of him, all men are born spiritually dead and under condemnation. The Bible also affirms the total depravity of man. Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together, they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” And Psalm 51:5 says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
It’s only by God’s grace in Christ Jesus that men can get saved from the bondage of sin. Romans 3:23 settles the matter perfectly. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Augustine fought Pelagianism, and the Council of Carthage condemned it as heresy in 418.
9. Semi-Pelagianism
Semi-Pelagianism is a compromise between Pelagius’s teaching of no depravity and Augustine’s total depravity. John Cassian advanced it in the fifth century and claimed we are indeed born in sin, but can still repent and believe in Christ on our own. Semi-Pelagianism acknowledges God’s grace in salvation, but also acknowledges man’s work; we initiate our salvation by seeking God, and God responds to our effort with His grace.
But as mentioned earlier, man is totally depraved, and salvation is by grace alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
In our natural state, we are dead in our sin and cannot seek God (Romans 3:10). It is the Holy Spirit who awakens us spiritually and grants us repentance and faith in Christ. John 6:44 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
The Council of Orange condemned Semi-Pelagianism as heresy in 529.
10. Nestorianism
Nestorianism is another heretical teaching that undermined Jesus’ dual natures or what theologians call the Hypostatic union. Nestorius, an Archbishop of Constantinople, advanced it. He claimed Jesus was two distinct persons in one body; one divine and one human. He contradicted the biblical doctrine, which states Jesus has two inseparable natures in one person (see Apollinarianism). He believed Mary was the mother of the human person of Christ only, while God begot the divine, hence their separation.
The Council of Ephesus met in 431 and affirmed Jesus’ two distinct and inseparable natures. They deposed Nestorius for his heresies and exiled him to Antioch.
11. Eutychianism
Eutychianism is a heresy that initially began as a response to Nestorianism. Eutyches, a monk in Constantinople, refuted the notion of Christ having two persons. Instead, His divine nature swallowed His humanity. Eutyches described it as being “dissolved like a drop of honey in the sea.” Essentially, Christ’s two natures mixed in a way that formed a third nature. This heresy undermines the doctrine of the penal substitutionary atonement and the Gospel (see Apollinarianism).
The 451 Council of Chalcedon condemned Eutychianism as heresy and exiled Eutychus.
Heresy in our age
Most of the heresies of the early Church have been defeated, and the few surviving have a small following. But the heresy beast is still alive and has grown new heads that devour many professing Christians today. In my upcoming series, “Spirit of the Age,” I will examine the destructive heresies thriving in our age and how we can contend earnestly for the faith.
