The Apostolic Fathers are the church leaders who sit in a direct line as followers of the Apostles themselves at the end of the first century and early second century. These include authors such as Ignatius, Polycarp, and Clement of Rome as well as other, non-canonical writings such as the Didache. Like Paul, these authors maintained belief in a bodily resurrection and show continuity in thought from the Apostles to the early church.
It is important to keep in mind that the Roman world had no concept of dying and rising bodily - this is the major point in the second chapter of N.T. Wright's book The Resurrection of the Son of God - such a notion would have appeared as absurd. It was believed that the dead stay dead and their souls go to Hades where they are wraiths or shades. For the Platonists, it was thought they rejoined the immaterial world of the perfect Forms. Either way, bodily resurrection was out of the question. Thus, when considering the Apostolic Fathers and their comments on this, it becomes clear that they are maintaining a tradition from Paul and the Apostles themselves.
Clement of Rome
Clement of Rome is often considered the first Apostolic Father, taking on the role of Bishop of Rome in 88 and traces his lineage to Peter. Contrary to the cultural milieu of the time, Clement teaches the bodily resurrection of Christ and believers drawing an analogy in 1 Clement 25:1-26:1 between the mythical phoenix which dies every 500 years, only to rise again, which is, "a great and marvelous thing...the Creator of the universe shall bring about the resurrection of them that have served Him with holiness in the assurance of a good faith, seeing that He showeth to us even by a bird the magnificence of His promise." Clement also draws parallels between the Psalms where lying down and rising are analogous to the resurrection. He writes in 1 Clement 26:2-3, "For He saith in a certain place 'And Thou shalt raise me up, and I will praise Thee;' and; 'I went to rest and slept, I was awaked, for Thou art with me. 'And again Job saith, 'And Thou shall raise this my flesh which hath endured all these things.'"1
The passages that Clement quotes display some interpretive inventiveness, which Wright cites as evidence that Clement was working hard to teach the resurrection and find it in scriptures because of the absurdity of the doctrine in the Greco-Roman world.2 Despite the strangeness of this doctrine to his Hellenized audience, Clement ultimately models this position on Christ's death and resurrection (1 Clement 42:2-3). In 2 Clement 9:1, he writes, "And let not any one of you say that this flesh is not judged neither riseth again," and later in verse 4, "for in like manner as ye were called in the flesh, ye shall come also in the flesh," demonstrating again belief in the resurrection and continuity between the current body and the resurrected body of believers.
Ignatius
Similarly to Clement of Rome, Ignatius makes clear his belief in the bodily resurrection writing in his Epistle to the Smyrneans Chapters 2-3:
For He suffered all these things for our sakes [that we might be saved]; and He suffered truly, as also He raised Himself truly; not as certain unbelievers say, that He suffered in semblance, being themselves mere semblance. And according as their opinions are, so shall it happen to them, for they are without body and demon-like. For I know and believe that He was in the flesh even after the resurrection; and when He came to Peter and his company, He said to them, "Lay hold and handle me, and see that I am not a demon without body." And straightway they touched Him, and they believed, being joined unto His flesh and His blood. Wherefore also they despised death, nay they were found superior to death. And after His resurrection He ate with them and drank with them as one in the flesh, though spiritually He was united with the Father.
Ignatius emphasizes the bodily nature of Christ's resurrection recounting the Gospel reports of touching Jesus' resurrected body and contrasting that to body-less demons. Ignatius maintains tight continuity to the Apostles and their belief in the bodily resurrection.
Polycarp
Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna living in the early second century until his martyrdom in 155. Iraeneus mentions his length of life and that he, "always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true." Moreover, Polycarp himself wrote strongly of the importance of the belief in the resurrection in his Epistle to the Philippians 7:1:
For every one who shall not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is antichrist: and whosoever shall not confess the testimony of the Cross, is of the devil; and whosoever shall pervert the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts and say that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, that man is the firstborn of Satan.
Here, Polycarp does not mince words comparing those who deny that, "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" comes from the devil. Likewise, denial of the resurrection and judgment are spoken of with equal gravity. This strong language may be aimed at docetists, or those who deny Jesus' incarnation. Regardless, it shows that Polycarp maintained belief in the resurrection and taught its bodily nature.
Conclusion
The earliest Christian authors clearly held to belief in the bodily resurrection and taught it, despite the cultural background they operated in. Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, and others whom we have not surveyed, take their cues from the Apostles and form a consistent and continuous lineage of belief in the resurrection. Yes, there were heretics and other groups that denied the resurrection, the incarnation, nature of Christ, and other key points, however, they did not have the same pedigree or lineage from the Apostles and back to Jesus himself. In a later post, I hope to delve into these other movements, however it ought to be clear from Paul's kerygma through the Apostolic Fathers, that Jesus' bodily resurrection made up the core of Christian doctrine.
- C.f. Psalm 41:10, 28:7, 88:11, 3:5, 23:4 for the combined quotes and Job 19:26.
- N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God p. 482