The Early Church’s Witness of Love

From the series “The Love of God: Revealed, Received, and Radiated”

The Roman Empire didn’t fall to a revolution.
It wasn’t conquered by swords or silenced by riots.
It was pierced by love.

Long before Christianity became legal—before cathedrals rose, before councils met—the love of God spread from house to house, street to street, soul to soul.

It was not their arguments that made the early Church unstoppable.
It was their love.

They loved when hated.
They served when mocked.
They forgave when betrayed.
And they endured with joy, even when that love cost them their lives.

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“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
— John 13:35

This is how they lived—not because it was easy, but because it was the only way. They had no power, no political influence, no protected status. But they had the Holy Spirit. And the fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22).

Their enemies saw it.
Their neighbors felt it.
Their persecutors couldn’t understand it.

Love didn’t make them weak—it made them unshakable.
They loved each other with radical generosity.
They loved outsiders with self-sacrifice.
They loved their enemies with unexplainable compassion.

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Tertullian (Apology, Ch. 39):
“It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. ‘See how they love one another,’ they say… ‘how they are ready even to die for one another.’”

In a world full of self-preservation, this kind of love was a threat.
In a society built on status and conquest, self-giving love disrupted the order.

They didn’t gather in stadiums. They met in homes.
They didn’t publish books. They memorized Scripture.
They didn’t fight back. They knelt down.

Their unity was not organizational—it was spiritual.
Their love was not emotional—it was cruciform.

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During plagues, when the wealthy fled the cities, the Christians stayed behind. They cared for the dying—often catching the same illnesses that would kill them. And when their own bodies failed, they were remembered not for their protests, but for their love.

Even Rome’s enemies took note. The Emperor Julian (a pagan who tried to revive paganism and discredit Christianity) wrote with frustration:

“The impious Galileans support not only their poor, but ours as well. Everyone can see that our people lack aid from us.”
— Letter to Arsacius, c. AD 362

The Church did not grow because it aligned with power.
It grew because it radiated the love of a crucified King.

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The Epistle to Diognetus (2nd century):
“Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown, and yet condemned; they are put to death, and yet restored to life.”
— Epistle to Diognetus, Ch. 5–6

This was their witness. Not through debate or dominance, but through visible, supernatural love. A love that came from above. A love that had no worldly explanation.

They were not moved by the fear of man.
They were moved by the love of Christ.

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The question is not whether this kind of love is possible.
The question is whether we believe in the same gospel they did.
Do we believe that the same Spirit who filled them fills us?

Because if we do, our love will not be optional.
It will be the evidence that Christ lives in us.
And the world will take notice—not because we demand it, but because they won’t be able to explain it.

This is the love that turned the world upside down.
And it’s still the only kind that can.

Sources & References

The Early Church’s Witness of Love

Scripture (NASB 1995):

• John 13:35 – “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
• Galatians 5:22 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…”

Ante-Nicene & Historical Sources:

• Tertullian, Apology, Chapter 39.
  “See how they love one another… how they are ready even to die for one another.”
  [Available at: NewAdvent.org/fathers/0301.htm]
• The Epistle to Diognetus, Chapters 5–6.
  “They love all men, and are persecuted by all…”
  [Available at: EarlyChristianWritings.com/diognetus.html]
• Emperor Julian (Julian the Apostate), Letter to Arsacius (c. AD 362).
  “The impious Galileans support not only their poor, but ours as well…”
  [Referenced in: Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity, and other historical collections on late Roman correspondence.]