Eph. 1:4 …even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
Pope St. Clement fl. ca. 80-102
And I do not suppose ye are ignorant that the living Church is the body of Christ: for the scripture saith, God made man, male and female. The male is Christ and the female is the Church. And the Books and the Apostles plainly declare that the Church existeth not now for the first time, but hath been from the beginning: for she was spiritual, as our Jesus also was spiritual, but was manifested in the last days that He might save us. (2nd Clement 14.2)
Hermas ca. 90
Now a revelation was given to me, my brethren, while I slept, by a young man of comely appearance, who said to me, Who do you think that old woman is from whom you received the book?
And I said, The Sibyl.
You are in a mistake,
says he; it is not the Sibyl.
Who is it then?
say I. And he said, It is the Church.
And I said to him, Why then is she an old woman?
Because,
said he, she was created first of all. On this account is she old. And for her sake was the world made.
(The Shepherd of Hermas Bk. 1:Vision 2.4)
