Dr. Bruce Shelley (1927-2010) was the long-time professor of church history and historical theology at Denver Seminary.
The
second-century witnesses speak of the Holy Spirit in three connections: 1) as
the Voice of prophecy, 2) as the Inspirer of the Scriptures, and 3) as the Witness
to divine truth within the heart of the believer. . . .1) the gift of prophecy,
familiar to students of the New Testament, continued to influence the thinking
of second-century saints. Ignatius believes himself moved by the Spirit (Phila.
7), while the Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas give
instructions for distinguishing the false prophet from the true. Apparently
this problem was becoming increasingly acute. Hermas teaches that any
man who claims to have the Spirit must be proved by “his life and his works.” He
who has the Spirit of God is “quiet and humble-minded, and refrains from all
wickedness, and the vain desire of this present world.” but the pretender “exalts
himself and desires to take the first place.” He is “at once impudent, shameless
and talkative, and surrounds himself with luxuries and many other deceits” (Mand.
XI, 8,12). The Didache agrees. If a prophet can pass the test of
character he merits the esteem of the church. Otherwise he is to be rejected.
This
prophetic gift continued to appear in the church until Irenaeus’ time (A.H.
V,6,1), and some expected it to persist until the return of Christ (Eusebius, H.E.
V,17). The movement called Montanism revived the early emphasis upon the
gift in a dramatic way. It seems that Montanus, the founder of the sect in Asia
Minor, would suddenly be seized by an ecstatic frenzy. He would rave and utter
strange sounds. “I am the Lord God Almighty, dwelling in man,” he would shout. “It
is neither angel nor ambassador, but I, God the Father, who am come”
(Epiphanius, Refutation XLVIII,11) (Bruce Shelley, By What Authority?
The Standards of Truth in the Early Church [Exeter: The Paternoster Press,
1966], 152, 153)
