Article December 18, 1965 Issue

"The simplicity that is in Christ"

JESSE B. LOEB

Purity and simplicity are always attacked by empirical beliefs and human philosophy. As the Apostle Paul was faithfully spreading Christian teachings to the Gentile world, he encountered many obstacles from false teachers, who sought both ignorantly and maliciously to distort and misinterpret the words and works of Christ Jesus. Paul, knowing that he was dealing with intellectualism based on groundless theories, wrote the Corinthians (II Cor. 11:3), "I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

The plain and forthright "simplicity that is in Christ" expresses harmonious existence without assistance from material means or methods. Yet how often, like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day, do we question truth merely because it is unaffected by the embellishments of human philosophy or backed by erudite theology.

The Pharisee Nicodemus must have viewed with high esteem the Godlike qualities of Christ Jesus, for he sought out the Master by night in order to learn of his teachings. The Pharisee showed his respect when he said (John 3:2), "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."

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