Patristics

“For it was not merely for those who believed on Him in time of Tiberius Caesar that Christ came, nor did the Father exercise His providence for the men only who are now alive, but for all men altogether, who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have both feared and loved God, and practiced justice and piety towards their neighbors, and have earnestly desire to see Christ, and to hear His voice.” Irenaeus, Against Heresies, IV, 22:2, ANF, 1:494