# To the Philippians 7.1

- Author: [Polycarp of Smyrna](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/polycarp-of-smyrna/)
- Work: [To the Philippians](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/pol-philippians/) (*Epistula ad Philippenses*)
- Date: ca. 110–135 (disputed)
- Source: Lake, LCL 24:292; Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 282–301 (Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26
- Canonical URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/pol-philippians/7/1/

Summary: Polycarp condemns those who deny that Christ came in the flesh, who deny the witness of the cross, and who twist the Lord's words to deny resurrection and judgment.

## Greek text

Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθέναι, ἀντιχριστός ἐστιν· καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν· καὶ ὃς ἂν μεθοδεύῃ τὰ λόγια τοῦ κυρίου πρὸς τὰς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας καὶ λέγῃ μήτε ἀνάστασιν μήτε κρίσιν, οὗτος πρωτότοκος ἐστι τοῦ σατανᾶ.

## English translation (Claude)

For “everyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is antichrist”; and whoever does not confess the testimony of the cross “is of the devil”; and whoever twists the sayings of the Lord to suit his own desires and says there is neither resurrection nor judgment, this one is the firstborn of Satan.

## Scripture references

- 1 John 4:2–3: quotation, high confidence
- 2 John 1:7: allusion, high confidence
- 1 John 3:8: quotation, high confidence

## Translation notes

- “The testimony of the cross” (τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ σταυροῦ): either the witness the cross gives, or the fact of Christ's real suffering on it.
- “Twists” (μεθοδεύῃ): handles craftily, manipulates.
- Irenaeus reports that Polycarp called Marcion “the firstborn of Satan” when they met (Irenaeus, Haer. 3.3.4).

## Citation (SBL)

Pol. Phil. 7.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/pol-philippians/7/1/).