Introduction
The Didache is an ancient Christian document—possibly even older than some of the New Testament books themselves. The specific author of the Didache is unknown, but its early authorship and wide use by Christians throughout the Greek world makes it an unparalleled look at what early Christians believed, and especially what they practiced. Through reading the Didache, we can get the earliest form of Christianity, most directly handed down by the Apostles—and what we will find is a Christian fatih that is far simpler than what developed in the centuries later.
Overview of the Didache
The overall message of the Didache can be seen in its opening line: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways” [1:1]. The Didache is, by the agreement of most scholars, a discipleship manual. It was written to inform Gentile converts about the basics of Christian life and spiritual disciplines. In many ways, the Didache reads like the Epistle of James, being a book of practical wisdom and direct instruction, and I think its instructions can be of great benefit to us today.
Because of its practical and instructional purposes, however, the Didache does not necessarily give us any unique theological insights. That is not to say that the Didache is without theological tidbits—the instructions it gives do not make sense unless built on top of an established theological framework—but these are merely in passing and not as striking as the various sayings of Clement, Polycarp, or the New Testament authors. Our focus today, then, will be on what these instructions tell us about early Church practices and functions, and where they may comport or differ from ours today.
The Didache on Baptism
The first area that the Didache gives us a very interesting insight is on the topic of baptism. Since the Reformation, the issue of baptism (specifically the debate between paedobaptists and credobaptists) has been divisive, and is possibly the most easily recognizable doctrinal distinctive in American evangelicalism. The question is not “should we practice baptism,” but “whom should we baptize?” More particularly, “should we baptize believers only, or should we baptize believers and babies born to them?” Here’s what the Didache says about baptism:
“But concerning baptism, thus you shall baptize. Having first recited all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in living (running) water. But if you have not living water, then baptize in cold water; and if you are not able in cold, then in warm. But if you have neither, then pour water on the head thrice in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let him that baptizes and him that is baptized fast, and any others also who are able; and you shall order him that is baptized to fast a day or two before.” [Didache 7:1 - 7]
Here’s what we can glean from this passage. First, we see that baptism in the early Church was a very important practice—as it should be. Second, we see that the early Church followed Jesus’s command to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” [Matthew 28:19], which indicates very early acceptance of the Gospel of Matthew (or even a common Trinitarian tradition that predates Matthew) in the early Church.
Third, we see that baptism was originally practiced through immersion—that is, to be baptized was to be lowered into (or immersed) in a body of water. The command to baptize in living (running) water demonstrates this, as it would refer to a stream, river, or lake, which you would have to be lowered into. The provision for pouring (verse 5) also demonstrates this, because it reaffirms that immersion is the normative way of practicing baptism, even if there must be exceptions in certain cases; in this instance, pouring is the exception, and its existence proves the rule of immersion.
Lastly, we can deduce from this passage that the earliest practice of baptism was credo-baptism. Credobaptism is the practice of baptizing only those who can make a credible profession of faith (credo coming directly from the Latin “I believe”), as opposed to paedobaptism, which encourages the baptism of infants along with their believing parents. And while the topic deserves a longer, more theological treatment (for a short statement see our “We Believe” statement on the “About” page), we can deduce from the Didache that early Christians practiced credobaptism.
The first reason we can conclude this is by the normative practice of immersion. Although there are some Christian traditions that “immerse” infants (like certain Orthodox churches), the picture that we get in the Didache—full immersion, in rivers or large bodies of water—is not practiced by any paedobaptist traditions today. The reason should be obvious: it would be quite dangerous to submerge an eight-day-old infant underneath the water of a running river… we don’t think the Apostles were in the business of endangering their convert’s children.
We can also examine the exception of pouring to see that credobaptism was the dominant practice in the early Church. We see that the Church was not entirely opposed to making exceptions in how baptism was administered, depending on the circumstances. It seems obvious that pouring water over an infant’s head is far safer than submerging the infant in a river… and yet the exception of pouring is not made in the case of baptizing infants, but in the case of not having enough water on hand to immerse someone. Why would this be? Well, probably because no one was baptizing infants yet. If in fact exceptions are permittable, and an exception would make the administration of baptism to infants safer, yet no mention of this exception is made, it likely follows that it was not made because the scenario had never occurred.
The second reason we can conclude that credobaptism was the practice of the early Church is the commandment to fast before being baptized (verses 6 - 7). Rather simply, it would be incredibly unwise to deny an infant food before he is baptized… like, really unwise. And note, there is no exception provided that says, “everyone who gets baptized should fast, unless it’s a baby.” Why is there no exception provided? Is it because the early Church was to dumb or careless to know that infants shouldn’t be denied food, or is it because there were no infants being baptized? One seems to be a much more reasonable conclusion.
The Didache on Communion
The other place where the Didache gives us an interesting insight is the second sacrament of the Church: communion. Communion has also become a quite controversial topic since the Reformation, with perspectives ranging from transubstantiation (the Roman Catholic view, where the bread and wine become the very substance of Christ’s body and blood) to memorialism (the perspective of most Baptists and non-denominational Christians, where the bread and wine are simply representations of the body and blood of Christ), with every possible nit-picking distinction in between. But what the Didache gives us is a rather simple view of the Lord’s Supper:
“But as touching the eucharistic thanksgiving, give thanks thus. First, as regards that cup: We give you thanks, O our Father, for the holy vine of Your son David, which You made known unto us through You Son Jesus; Yours is the glory forever and ever. Then as regards the broken bread: We give You thanks, O our Father, for the life and knowledge which You made known unto us through Your Son Jesus: Yours is the glory forever and ever. As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being gathered together became one, so may Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever and ever. But let no one eat or drink of this eucharistic thanksgiving but those that have been baptized into the name of the Lord.” [9:1 - 10]
The most clear thing we can learn from this passage comes from the last sentence: the early Church guarded the table. What “guarding the table” means is that communion is given only to those who can make a credible profession of faith and have been baptized. This is a common belief among most Christian traditions, as it follows rather clearly from Paul’s teaching that,
“Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must test himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.” [1st Corinthians 11:27 - 29]
And, while some traditions are very lax on the “they must be baptized” instruction of the Didache, most are in straight agreement that only believers are to partake of the bread and cup—any unbelievers who take the sacrament (or even believers who take it without properly confessing sin) become hypocrites and bring judgment upon themselves. With this, the Didache agrees.
Second, it may be insightful to make a passing observation: nowhere in the Didache’s exposition of the Lord’s Supper does it make any indication that the sacrament is more than a memorial. Of course, it says that it is “holy,” and places it in the central place of Christian worship (amen!). But in regards to the nature of the elements themselves, it refers to them only as “bread” and “cup,” and does not intimate that they are anything more. Most importantly, although it does call the Lord’s Supper a “sacrifice,” nowhere indicate this sacrifice to be of atoning value, where Christ sacrifices Himself again to God—rather, the Lord’s Supper is seen as a sacrifice on our part as an act of “thanksgiving” and of worship, not a propitiatory sacrifice, as Rome errantly believes.
A Great Prayer in the Didache
Although I have noted that there is very little theological content in the Didache, we do get a rather lofty and beautiful prayer imbedded in the text, which I find notable enough to record here for your enjoyment:
“We give You thanks, Holy Father, for Your holy name, which You have made to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You have made known unto us through You Son Jesus; Yours is the glory forever and ever.
You, Almighty Master, did create all things for Your name’s sake, and did five food and drink unto men for enjoyment, that they might render thanks to You; but did bestow upon us spiritual food and drink and eternal life through Your Son. Before all things we give You thanks that You are powerful; Yours is the glory forever and ever.
Remember, Lord, Your Church to deliver it from all evil and to perfect is in Your love; and gather it together from the four winds—even the Church which You have sanctified—into Your kingdom which You have prepared for it; for Yours is the power and the glory forever and ever.
May grace come and may this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If any man is holy, let him come; if any man is not, let him repent. Our Lord come, Amen.” [10:2 - 14]
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