Articles
Christ's Simplicity
"For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." (2 Cor 11:2-3)
The apostle Paul was understandably frustrated with the situation at Corinth. The Corinthians were "bearing it beautifully" when someone came and preached a different Jesus, or a different spirit, or a different gospel (2 Cor 11:4). They were tolerating the conduct of the so-called "super-apostles" who were enslaving them, devouring them, taking advantage of them, and exalting themselves (2 Cor 11:20). Paul was not so much worried about his own reputation as he was about their devotion to God. In particular, he was worried that the false teachers at Corinth would distract them from the "simplicity" of devotion to Christ.
Why simplicity? Is simplicity even a characteristic that the gospel possesses? One might think that God, the ultimate omnipotent omniscient being would come up with a theology so complex and intricate that only the greatest of the great intellectual elites could understand it. But the reverse is true! In the cross of Christ, God gave a message that was so crazy simple that it seemed like foolishness to the world's "wise" men (1 Cor 1:18-25)! Sure, the message of Jesus is difficult. But this is mainly because of how costly this message is (cf. Luke 14:26-33). The fact that the gospel is costly does not mean it is not simple.
When the answers to the hardest questions are simple, Satan will tempt people to become unsatisfied. Satan will muddy the waters with moral ambiguity and complexity in an effort to negate what is simple. When God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the reason was simple: "In the day that you eat from it you will surely die" (Gen 2:17). The serpent provoked dissatisfaction with this simplicity when he told Eve, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen 3:4-5). In one statement, Satan dispels the simple "You will surely die" in exchange for a cascade of reasons why eating the tree might be okay. He got Eve to make a mental "pros" and "cons" list. She saw the appeal of the tree, and became seduced by it (Gen 3:6).
I have observed that simplicity is a hard thing for mankind to accept. "That's all there is to it? Really?" While there are things in the Bible that are genuinely difficult to interpret, the most fundamental of questions have simple answers. For instance:
"What is marriage?"
God's simple answer from the mouth of Jesus was "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (Matt 19:4-5)
Man likes to make it more complicated than this. (One can read further in Matthew to find the Pharisees pulling out Scriptures that they think constitute an "exception"!) Not satisfied with the simple message of a man and a woman for life, man introduces all sorts of perversions, from claiming that marriage is temporary, to claiming that marriage can involve two men or two women, to claiming that "male and female" aren't even the only two options for a person to be. Once again, these things are a distraction from simplicity
"What do we do with the assembly?"
God's simple answer was "When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." (1 Cor 14:26)
Man likes to make it more complicated than this. He wants to extend the work of the church beyond edification to encompass all kinds of social missions, political crusades, recreational activities, etc. Not satisfied with the simple encouragement offered in a worship assembly, he wants his church to have a sports team, a soup kitchen, a coat closet, a drug rehab program, and a band. These things aren't inherently bad things for individuals to be involved in. But they aren't in the Bible, and they aren't part of the local church's simple mission.
"What must I do to be saved?"
God's simple answer was "Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38)
Man likes to make it more complicated than this. He makes baptism into a thing detached and separated by salvation. He imposes a system of "faith only" / "no works" theology. He reinterprets the passage in light of his preformed ideas about God. But these things are just distraction from simplicity.
Let us strive not to be seduced by Satan's complexity, but rather to remain conformed to Christ's simplicity.
