Charity= Christ

In our class discussion last Wednesday in Honors New Testament, we discussed 1 Corinthians, and the multiple ways in which it can be interpreted. Paul says that even if we have the tongues of angels it will not be sufficient if we do not have charity. Even if you could know, understand, and predict everything, without charity, that would be nothing. I love how Paul that faith to move mountains is nothing with out charity. We know from (James 2:20) that “faith without works is dead.” The bible dictionary defines faith as a hope for things which are not seen, but which are true. Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Faith is an action action, but without charity it is nothing.

If charity is more important than knowledge, faith, and prophecy it begs the question: What is Charity? Paul said that charity, “suffereth long, and is kind, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemingly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth.” Paul continues the list of the traits of charity saying that it “bearith all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” It “never faileth.”

If charity is the pure love of Christ, it is the highest type of love. Without Christ we cannot experience charity-his love for us. Therefore this chapter can also be read by replacing the word “charity” with “Christ.” Christ is perfect. Without Christ, there is no need for faith or hope. Christ “suffereth long, and is kind, vaunteth not [Himself], [Christ] is not puffed up, doth not behave [Himself] unseemingly, seeketh not [His] own, is not easily provoked, [Christ] thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth.” Paul continues the list of the traits of [Christ] saying that He “bearith all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and [Christ] endureth all things.” Christ “never faileth.” Christ is our Savior and Reedemer. Without Christ we would be overcome with the consequences of our sins. No imperfect thing can dwell with God. Without Christ we are all sinners, and we cannot return to live with our Heavenly Father. Because Christ chose to be our Savior he was able to suffer all things, and he chose to endure all things. He was able to undergo the great atoning scacrifice which frees us from our sins. He was able to endure every pain and heartache. Charity, the love of Christ is the reason that he came to earth as our Reedmer; it is the reason we worship him today and know him as brother, Savior, and friend. As the apostles of today have said “God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

Paul's Views of the Second Coming

Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians were written in place of a personal visit, from Corinth. In these letters even though we can only read Paul’s dialogue, however the Thesalonian’s concerns are easy to discern though Paul’s council. The Thessalonians, from a previous encounter with Paul, have learned about the second coming and this is a main concern. It seems as if the people in Thessaloniki have become over zealous with prophecies concerning the second coming. Some have stopped working anticipating the return of the Savior. Others have taken it to another extreme where they have begun to commit many sins because they believe that Christ will soon come to redeem them. The books first and second Thessalonians are letters from Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus to the Thessalonians. Paul reminds the people the “the Lord cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Here he tells them that no one knows the time when the Savior will return, and that no one will be expecting it. This is the council that he gives to those who have put away their regular lives, who have quit working and supporting them selves, with the foolish belief that nothing mattered anymore because the Savior was soon to come. To the other group of people who had begun to commit sins, Paul gave a different piece of advise. He said unto them “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (Thessalonians 5:6). Paul advises the people not to sleep, or to stray away from the gospel principles, but to keep the commandments. When Paul refers to the ‘last days’ he is actually referring to the end of the first century church, the apostasy. Although Paul wasn’t talking about the last days before Christ would return, we can apply his teachings to us in the latter-days. In these days, some say that because of things like natural disasters or the crumbling economy that the time of Christ’s coming is at hand. Many refuse to buy insurance, or don’t live within their means because they think that the time of the Saviors coming is on the horizon. These people can also learn from Paul’s letters that “the Lord cometh as a thief in the night”. No one knows when he is coming, only that he is. For those who are living an “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” lifestyle, Paul’s letters also ring true to to the truth that we need to be constantly preparing at all times for the second coming of the Savior. Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, remind us in the latter-days that although we may not know the exact time of his coming, we must prepare ourselves that we may be ready to meet him.

Bible Seminar

Last week instead of having our Honors New Testament class with Dr. Holzapfel we went to a Bible seminar in the bottom of the Herald B. Lee Library. The speaker at the seminar worked in the special collections section of the library and specialized in ancient writings. I have never taken into deep consideration all that has happened to get the Bible to this generation. The speaker talked the many different writing materials such as clay tablets, bronze plates, and papyri that have been used throughout the different time periods. I was fascinated with the clay tablets, the sample was so much smaller than I would have expected and it amazed me that something like that, which would surely break if it was dropped had lasted that long. The brass plates also interested me, I examined the characters on it and the way that they were written made it obvious that it was no small task to write on these plates. Papyri, the seemingly earliest forms of paper, was just reeds matted together in two different directions. The fragility of them surprised me. Knowing that some of these papyri, which predated Christ, have been found intact in the latter-days amazed me.

The speaker then began to talk about the monks copying down the Bible first on to books with pages made with the hide of calfs. This then evolved into paper. The flawlessness of these books amazed me. We learned that erasing was done using a knife, and for larger sections a piece of pumice. The process that the monks and nuns went through to duplicate these books amazed me. When making copies of the Bible, each monk would take a different section and copy it. They would unify their handwriting to make sure that the entire book looked like it had been written by the same person. The books that we were shown were beautiful. The pages had elaborate art work with paint and gold leafing. However, the parchment was the most expensive part of the book, even more expensive than gold leafing and colorful writing. The Papyrus was so precious, that even when it was damaged they used it, sometimes writing around holes.

The people who owned books had to be wealthy, and even if they were wealthy they could only afford a few books. Cairo had papyrus before Europe, but Spain was the first place that had paper within Europe. Gutenburg, a goldsmith in Germany 1440 created a printing press. Gutenburg was not trying to change the appearance of books, he was merely trying to make it faster, easier and more reliable. Sadly, he eventually became bankrupt. Learning about the history of the Bible and books in general gave me a greater appreciation for the many wonderful books that are so easily accessible for me.

In Galatians we read about Paul’s passionate opinion concerning the law of circumcision. After Christ death it appeared to the apostles that there were two ways to convert a gentile into christianity. One way being, first converting the gentile to Judaism and then to Christianity. Paul had a different, and to some a controversial, view on the matter. He felt that the conversion to Judaism was unnecessary and a a gentile could bypass becoming a Jew to become a Christian. Peter, on the other hand, was an apostle who believed in the Jewish conversion, and therefore circumcision, of all gentiles was necessary to convert to Christianity. In Gal 2: 16 Paul states that salvation is brought to pass “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.” Paul asks the Galatians, “received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Gal 3:2). Paul is criticizing the Galatians saying that the way to receive the Spirit is not simply by following a prescribed set of laws, but by seeking after Christ through faith. He also tells that those who seek Christ, having faith, are the children of Abraham. Here Paul is describing the higher law. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Gal. 3:13). Paul is announcing that it is no longer requisite to follow all of the Jewish traditions. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, the people are now required to show their faith. “No man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:11). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3: 28). Paul likens the law unto a school master. He points out that as teachers are required at a certain stage, so is the law. However, after the schoolmaster faith is developed, and once faith is developed there is no more need for a schoolmaster. In all reality, Paul wasn't concerned with the actual procedure of circumcision itself. Paul had a more serious matter on his mind, the matter of salvation. “For Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love” (Gal 5:6).