In Philippians 2:6–11, one of the earliest Christian hymns declares a staggering paradox: that Jesus Christ, “being in very nature God,” humbled himself to become human and die on a cross—only to be exalted and receive divine worship. This exalted Christ Hymn wasn’t a late invention. It shaped the faith of the first Christians and the apostles themselves.
But not everyone accepted that message.
Historical evidence shows that in the first century, only four divergent movements challenged the apostolic view of Christ. Just one of them—the Nazarenes—existed before 70 AD, and they still affirmed Jesus’ divinity. The other three arose later, as responses from Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds that struggled to accept the core paradox of the Christ Hymn: that the eternal God became human and suffered.
A Quick Recap: The Jewish Divergents
The Nazarenes and Ebionites were early Jewish-Christian groups primarily based in Judea and later Pella. While the Nazarenes affirmed Christ’s divinity, the Ebionites denied it completely, rejected Paul, and altered Matthew’s Gospel to support their theology.
But outside Judea, new challenges arose—fueled by Greek philosophy, mystical speculation, and a deep discomfort with a suffering God.
Cerinthus (c. 80 AD): A Divinity Too High to Suffer
Cerinthus lived in Asia Minor and was shaped by Egyptian education, Jewish thought, and Platonic dualism. These influences led him to deny that a divine being could fully enter the material world, let alone suffer on a cross. His solution? Separate the divine “Christ” from the human Jesus.
Irenaeus – Against Heresies 1.26.1 (c. 180 AD):
“He represented Jesus as having not been born of a virgin… while Christ descended upon him at his baptism, and then departed again before the Passion.”
Epiphanius – Panarion 28.2.1–2 (c. 375 AD):
“Cerinthus… opposed the apostles… especially Paul… and said that it was not right to accept the epistles of Paul.”
Cerinthus also rejected the idea that the supreme God created the world:
Irenaeus – Against Heresies 1.26.1:
“He asserted that the world was not made by the primary God, but by a certain Power far separated from Him…”
This idea reflected Platonic thought:
Philo of Alexandria – On the Creation (c. 20 BC–50 AD):
“It is not lawful to suppose that the supreme God comes into contact with any corruptible thing.”
Plutarch – On Isis and Osiris (c. 100 AD):
“Matter… being evil, could not have been made by a good God… The world must have been fashioned by an inferior deity.”
Cerinthus even promoted false writings under apostolic names:
Eusebius – Ecclesiastical History 3.28.2 (c. 310 AD, quoting Caius of Rome):
“Cerinthus… made use of revelations which he pretended were written by a great apostle…”
Epiphanius – Panarion 28.4.1:
“Cerinthus used only the Gospel according to the Hebrews… He rejected the Apostle Paul completely.”
Most memorably, John the Apostle wanted nothing to do with him:
Irenaeus – Against Heresies 3.3.4:
“John… perceiving Cerinthus within [a bathhouse], rushed out… exclaiming, ‘Let us flee, lest even the bath-house fall down!’”
Cerinthus didn’t simply interpret Jesus differently—he broke entirely from the apostolic tradition, rejected Paul, replaced the Gospels, and rewrote the story. His system preserved a lofty divinity but could not accept that God became flesh—as the Christ Hymn declares.
Docetism (Rooted in the 80s, Expanding in the 2nd Century): Too Divine to Be Human
Where Cerinthus separated Christ from Jesus, Docetism denied Jesus’ humanity altogether. The name comes from dokein (“to seem”)—Jesus only appeared to suffer, appear in the flesh, or die.
John’s letters refute this directly:
1 John 4:2–3:
“Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God…”
2 John 7:
“Many deceivers… do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
Docetists didn’t just reinterpret Jesus—they created new documents to promote their view. Here are three major examples:
🔹 Gospel of Peter (late 1st–early 2nd century)
“[Jesus] kept silent as feeling no pain… The Lord cried aloud, ‘My Power, my Power, you have forsaken me!’ And having said it, He was taken up.”
In this account, Jesus’ suffering is denied and his death portrayed as a moment of spiritual release. The body remains, but the divine presence departs—typical of Docetic theology.
Serapion of Antioch – Ecclesiastical History 6.12.6 (c. 190 AD):
“The writings which falsely bear their names we reject, knowing that such were not handed down to us.”
🔹 Acts of John (late 2nd century)
“Sometimes when I walked with him, I would try to touch his body, but it was immaterial… he left no footprints on the ground.”
This portrayal of Jesus as ghostlike reinforces Docetism’s core claim: Jesus’ physicality was a divine illusion.
🔹 Gospel of Judas (late 2nd century)
Though it bears the name of one of Jesus’ disciples, the Gospel of Judas radically reimagines the story of Jesus from a Gnostic and Docetic perspective. In this account, Jesus laughs at the ignorance of his disciples, praises Judas for helping him escape his fleshly prison, and teaches a cosmic creation myth where the true God is utterly separate from the material world.
Gospel of Judas 33.10–11:
“Often he did not appear to his disciples as himself, but he was found among them as a child.”
Here, Jesus is portrayed as a shapeshifter, one whose form is unstable and deceptive. This aligns with Docetic views that Jesus’ physical appearance was an illusion—not essential to his being.
Jesus then teaches that the world was created not by the high God, but by rebellious lower angels:
Gospel of Judas 47.1–9:
“Come, that I may teach you about the [secrets] no person has ever seen. For there exists a great and boundless realm… A luminous cloud appeared there. He said, ‘Let an angel come into being as my attendant.’”
Gospel of Judas 51.1–8:
“Let twelve angels come into being to rule over chaos… An angel appeared whose face flashed with fire… His name was Nebro, which means ‘rebel’; others call him Yaldabaoth. Another angel, Saklas, also came from the cloud.”
Then comes a twisted echo of Genesis:
Gospel of Judas 52.10–11:
“Saklas said to his angels, ‘Let us create a human being after the likeness and the image.’”
Here, the creation of humanity is attributed to fallen or ignorant beings—echoing Cerinthus’s own view that the world was created by a lesser, ignorant power.
Finally, Jesus tells Judas:
Gospel of Judas 56.18–20:
“You will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.”
The crucifixion isn’t seen as atonement but escape from a fleshly shell. This is Docetism to its core.
Ignatius – Smyrnaeans 2.1 (c. 110 AD):
“He truly suffered… not as certain unbelievers say, that he suffered in appearance only.”
Ignatius – Trallians 10.1:
“Be deaf… to anyone who speaks apart from Jesus Christ… who was truly born… truly crucified…”
Conclusion: Rewriting the Story
The Nazarenes, Ebionites, Cerinthians, and Docetists are the only four divergent groups we have clear evidence for in the first century. Only the Nazarenes remained loyal to the divine Jesus of the Christ Hymn.
The other three:
- Couldn’t accept the full mystery of Christ as fully divine and fully human.
- Rejected the apostolic witness—especially Paul—and altered or replaced canonical texts.
- Wrote their own “gospels” and “acts” to support their alternative visions of Jesus.
They didn’t represent equal versions of early Christianity. They were reactions to it—distortions of the message that had already been “handed down” and “received.”
“Who, being in the form of God… emptied Himself… became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him…”
(Philippians 2:6–9)
That is the Jesus the apostles preached. That is the Jesus the earliest believers worshiped.
Living the Bible 