The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
WOFOYO SHORT: Knowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds: Wisdom from Ancient Church History
Have you ever wondered if today's church challenges are actually new? The answer might surprise you. Drawing from Eusebius's seminal work "The Church History," this episode dives deep into ecclesiastical patterns that have repeated throughout centuries, echoing Solomon's ancient wisdom that "there is nothing new under the sun."
We examine how the early church transitioned from the apostolic power-focused gospel to an increasingly doctrine-centered approach—a shift with profound implications for authentic spiritual expression. The most sobering segment confronts our modern misunderstanding of "martyrdom." While many today claim persecution over hurt feelings or minor inconveniences, Eusebius documents believers who endured unimaginable tortures for their faith. Their stories provide perspective that should humble contemporary Christians.
The episode also tackles the perennial challenge of discerning genuine spiritual manifestations from manufactured religious experiences. Jesus addressed this very tension when observing how people rejected both John the Baptist's asceticism and his own more socially engaged ministry. Through history's lens, we see that authentic power sometimes appears disorganized yet bears fruit that glorifies Christ, while polished performances may be spiritually empty.
Throughout this exploration, we're reminded of Paul's warning that "knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." While historical understanding enriches our faith, it must never supersede our relationship with Christ or expressions of genuine love. As Eusebius himself observed, periods of persecution often followed times when the church grew comfortable and complacent—a sobering pattern worth considering in our current cultural moment. Join us as we learn from the past to better navigate our present spiritual journey. What ancient wisdom might be most relevant to your walk with Christ today?
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everybody. Welcome to another woeful yo short. This is c-dub. Been reading a book called the church history by a guy named eusebius and interesting things. It's not gospel but bones and I talk about. You know how do we get to where we're at? And it's a good book to let you know how we got to where we're at and there's a couple things in it. It reminds me of the book of ecclesiastes, which starts out ecclesiastes one as we get in the word for ourselves.
Speaker 1:The words of the preacher, the son of david, the king of jerusalem, talk about solomon here. Vanity of vanity, says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. And he talks about the cycles that happen. And, going down to verse 9, that which has been is what will be and that which is done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said? See, is this new? It has already been in ancient times. Before us, there's no remembrance of the former things, nor will there be any remembrance of the things that are to come by those who will come after. Solomon here is talking about human nature is very repetitive, one of the things.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to give the whole thing because I haven't completed it Probably finish it up tomorrow at the reading pace I'm going but it starts out with the verification of Mary and Joseph and the Gospels and the birth of Jesus Christ and the death of Jesus Christ, the setup, if you will, of what was going on governmentally over there, why certain things were the way they were, certain details that had come into question and were points of dispute, and all of these other things which are still points of dispute today. If you get into the Bible scholar world, which, again, a lot of it is vanity, of vanities, all is vanity because it don't matter, don't amount to a hill of beans. Tell you the truth on a lot of these things. When it comes to personal faith, bones and I often quote a Benny Hinn statement that a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. That being said, it gets into what happens immediately after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It gets to talking about how things were set up and what happened in certain areas.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of Roman politics, because that affects things. There's a lot of Jerusalem politics, politics that were going on in Israel or, as it was known Palestine by the Romans. There's a lot of things going on that all affect what's happening. It also lets you know that there is nothing new under the sun, because a lot of the same issues that we address today you will find out that they were being addressed back then, and one of the things that I see is that it goes from being a power gospel at times to being so worried about people's doctrine. That doctrine becomes the main focal point quite often, rather than the relationship with Christ and the power. The power is demonstrated very, very differently in these books and what is considered the power of the gospel versus what Jesus was doing and versus what the apostles were doing in the book of Acts. So there's a different flavor.
Speaker 1:I will tell you this I don't want to hear anybody, just because you get your feelings hurt, talk about martyrdom and you're suffering for Jesus bullshit. Read this. You have no idea what martyrdom looks like until you read books like this, books like Fox's Book of Martyrs, and then you see what true martyrdom looks like Hurt feelings, that's not martyrdom. You losing your job because you're a Christian. Now you're starting to get into it. Still, compared to what those people went through, compared to what our predecessors went through early on in the first century and then by the time you get to the late 200s, early 300s, it gets real. It gets very, very real.
Speaker 1:I would encourage you all to read the book Bones and I have bought a copy that parts of it are condensed because Eusebius in the original gets repetitive. So there are some statements that are streamlined to be a little bit more coherent. But I have lots of photos where all this stuff happened. But it lets you know that there's a lot of things that happen that are cyclical. So one of the things that could get you kicked out real quick was bad doctrine. But the other thing which I would like to point out that a lot of times followed the bad doctrine was bad behavior and people being in charge that wanted to puff up their ego. People being in charge that, just because you got a bunch of hysteria going on, want to pretend like that was the Holy Spirit. That was very, very much frowned upon.
Speaker 1:And again, let's go back to the words of Jesus. He said you know, what shall I liken to this generation? What shall I compare them? They're the children in the marketplace saying we played the flute and you didn't dance. We played the dirge and you didn't mourn, for John the Baptist came, neither eating nor drinking, and you say he has a demon. And here comes a son of man, eating and drinking. You say, behold, a glutton and a winebibber and a friend of sinners. But know this that wisdom is justified of all our children.
Speaker 1:So the thing is, if you're going to have some demonstration of spiritual power, then it doesn't always look organized, but the fruit will bear witness to if Jesus is in it or because I've seen both. I've seen some stuff that offended my intellect and people got set free and delivered Time to swallow my pride. The ego had it wrong. But I've also seen some things that looked very similar at times and it was a hot mess. Yes, so again, how do you know? There's all these things. But I would caution us to be very, very careful, even as we read things like this.
Speaker 1:Learning is great, but Paul said that knowledge puffs up but love edifies. So I would encourage you all yes, increase your knowledge, increase your knowledge of the word, you know. Another thing that comes out in this is how governmental things affect the church and affect your lives as believers, and for those, well, there needs to be a separation of church and state. There needs to be a separation of church and state Okay, not necessarily arguing that, but that doesn't mean that, as believers, we shouldn't be engaged, because these things directly affect our walk as believers, and there's times that even Eusebius talks about. One of the reasons that the Lord allowed certain persecutions is because the church got content and lazy. Sound familiar. So again, with all the knowledge, know that knowledge puffs up but love edifies. So walk in love more so than you increase your knowledge. Make sure you don't let that bring you into vain repetition and pride, but even more so, grow in the Holy Spirit, grow in that relationship with Christ and get in the word for yourself. Love your fellow man, demonstrate the love of Christ, demonstrate the integrity of Christ. That'll speak volumes and then, as you do, power show up.
Speaker 1:Hey everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you and causes you to grow. You can always check us out at woefoyoorg Find out how to contact us there, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, spotify or Audible. Or check us out at woefoyoorg Find out how to contact us there, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, spotify or Audible, or check us out on YouTube. For Bones and myself, this is CDub reminding you that if you're going to grow, you've got to woefoyo? Get in the word for yourself.