How can St. Justin say some in the past were Christians long before Christ?
Justin says also that the Divine Word is in all - not aspatial
presence. He writes the law on hearts (Rom 2:15), i.e., makes known what
morality requires. If a person obeyed that, he was following the Spirit
of Christ, without knowing what he was following. And also, in view of Rom
8:9, he belonged to Christ, and so was a member of Christ = member of the
Church, without external adherence of course.