Melito of Sardis ( A.D. 169)

“For born as a son, and led forth as a lamb, sacrificed as a sheep, buried as a man, he rose from the dead as God, being by nature God and man. Who is all things: in that he judges, Law; in that he teaches, Word; in that he saves, Grace; in that he begets, Father; in that he is begotten, Son; in that he suffers, the sacrificial sheep; in that he is buried, Man; in that he arises, God. This is Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory to the ages of ages.” (from a sermon in 169 A.D., possibly the earliest preserved sermon we have outside the N.T. Melito was the pastor of the Church in Sardis, where we are reminded that John wrote that they had the appearance of being alive, but were really dead - so they needed to make alive the things that remained. I wonder if this is an example of new life being breathed into this church, at least for this generation).