The Gospel of Phillip
The
Gospel of Phillip.
translation by Wesley W.Isenberg
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"A Hebrew makes another Hebrew, and such a person
is called
proselyte. But a proselyte does not make another
proselyte. Some both exist just as they are and make others like themselves,
while others simply exist. The slave seeks only to be free, but he does not
hope to acquire the estate of his master. But the son is not only a son but
lays claim to the inheritance of the father. Those who are heirs to the
dead are themselves dead, and they inherit the dead. Those who are heirs to
what is living are alive, and they are heirs to both what is living and the
dead. The dead are heirs to nothing. For how can he who is dead inherit? If
he who is dead inherits what is living he will not die, but he who is dead
will live even more.
A Gentile does not die, for he has never lived in
order that he may die. He who has believed in the truth has found life, and
this one is in danger of dying, for he is alive. Ever since Chirst came the
world is created, the cities adorned, the dead carried out. When we were
Hebrews we were orphans and had only our mother, but when we became
Christians we had both father and mother.
Those who sow in winter reap in summer. The winter is
the world, the summer the other Aeon. Let us sow in the world that we may
reap in the summer. Because it is not fitting for us not to pray in the
winter. Summer follows winter. But if any man reap in the winter hw will
not actually reap but pluck out, since this sort of thing will not provide
him a harvest. It is not only noe that the fruit will not come forth, but
also on the Sabbath his field will be barren.
Christ came to ransom some, to save others, to redeem
others. He ransomed those who were strangers and made them his own. And he set
his own apart, those whom he gave as a pledge in his will. It was not only
when he appeared that he voluntarily laid down his life, but he voluntarily
laid down his life from the very day the world came into being. Then he
came forth in order to take it, since it has been given as a pledge. It
fell into the hands of robbers and was taken captive , but he saved it. He
redeemed the good people in the world as well as the evil.
Light and Darkness, life and death, right and left,
are brothers of one another. They are inseparable.Because of this neither
are the good good, nor evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death. For
this reason each one will dissolve into its original nature. But those who
are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal.
Names given to worldly things are very deceptive for
they divert our thoughts from what is correct to what is incorrect. Thus
one who hears the word God does not perceive what is correct, but perceives
what is incorrect.So also with the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit and
life and light and ressurrection and the Church(Ekklesia) and all the rest
- people do not perceive what is correct. The names which are heard in the
world to deceive. If they were in the Aeon, they would at no time be used
as names in the world.Nor were they set among worldly things. They have an
end in the Aeon.
One single name is not uttered in the world, the name
which the Father gave to the Son, the name above all things; the name of
the Father. For the Son would not become Father unless he wears the name of
the Father. Thos who have this name know it, buut they do not speak it. But
those who do not have it do not know it.
But truth brought names into existennce in the world
because it is not possible to teach without names. Truth is one single
thing and it is also many things for our sakes who learn this one thing in
love through many things. The powers wanted to deceive man, since they saw
that he had kinship with those that are truly good. They took the name of
those that are good and gave it to those who are not good, so that through
the names they might deceive him and bind them to those that are not good.
And afterward, if they do them a favor, they will be made to remove them
from those that are not good and place them among those that are good.
These things they knew, for they wanted to take the free man and make him a
slave to them forever.
These are the powers which contend against man, not
wishing him to be saved. For if man is saved, there will not be any
sacrifices and animals will not be offered to the powers. They were indeed
offering them up alive, but then they offered them up they died. As for
(the Son of?) man, they offered him up to God dead, and he lived.
Before Christ came there was no bread in the world,
just as Paradise, the place were Adam was, had many trees to nourish the
animals but no wheat to sustain man. Man used to feed like the animals, but
when Christ came, the perfect man, he brought bread from heaven in order
that man might be nourished with the food of man. The powers thought that
it was by their own power and will they were doing what they did ,but the
Holy Spirit in secret accomplished everything through them as it wished.
Truth, which existed since the beginning, is sown everywhere. And many see
it as it is sown, but few are they who see it as it is reaped.
Some said,Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, they are in error.
They do not know what they are saying.When did a woman ever conceive by a
woman? Mary is the virgin whom no power defiled. She is a great anathema to
the Hebrews, who are the apostles and apostolic men. This virgin whom no
power defiled; the powers defiled themselves. And the Lord would not have
said My Father who is in Heaven[Matt16:17] unless he had had another
father, but he would have said simply My father.
The Lord said to the disciples Bring out from every
other hourse Bring into the house of the Father. But do not take anything
in the house of the Father nor carry it off.
Jesus is a hidden name; Christ is a revealed name for
this reason:Jesus does not exist in any other language, but his name is
always Jesus as he is called. Christ is also his name; in Syriac it is
Messiah, in Greek it is Christ. Certainly all the others have it according
to their own language.The Nazarene is he who reveals what is hidden. Christ
has everything in himself - man, angel, mystery, and the Father.
Those who say that the Lord died first and then rose up are in
error, for he rose up first and then died. If one does not first attain the
ressurrection will he not die? As God lives, he would already be dead.
No one will hide a large valuable objectin something
large, but many a time one has tossed countless thousands into a thing
worth a penny. Compare the Soul. It is a precious thing and it came to be in
a contemptible body.
Some are afraid lest they rise naked. Because of this
they wish to rise in the flesh, and they do not know that it is those who
wear the flesh who are naked. It is those who [...] to unclothe themselves
who are not naked.Flesh and Blood shall not be able to inherit the kingdom
of God[1Cor15:50] What is this which will not inherit? This which is on us.
But what is this very thing which will inherit? It is that which belongs to
Jesus and his blood. Because of this he said He who shall not eat my flesh
and drink my blood has not life in him[John6:53] What is it? His flesh is
the word, and his blood is the Holy Spirit. He who have received these has
food and he has drink and clothing. I find fault with the others who say
that it will not rise. Then both of them are at fault. You say that the
flesh will not rise. But tell me what will rise, that we may honour you.
You say the Spirit in the flesh, and it is also this light in the flesh.
But this too is a matter which is in the flesh, for whatever you shall say,
you say nothing outside the flesh.It is necessary to rise in this flesh,
since everything exists in it.In this world those who put on garments are
better than the garments. In the Kingdom of Heaven the garments are better
than those that put them on.
It is through water and fire that the whole place is
purified - the visible by the visible, the hidden by the hidden. There are
some things hidden through those visible. There is water in the water,
there is fire in the chrism. Jesus took them all by stealth, for he did not
reveal himself in the manner in which he was, but it was in the manner in
which they would be able to see him that he revealed himself. He revealed
himself to them all. He revealed himself as great to the great. He revealed
himself as small to the small. He revealed himself to the angels as an
angel. Because of this his word hid itself from everyone. Some indeed saw
him, thinking that they were seeing themselves, but when he appeared to his
disciples in glory on the mount he was not small. He became great, but he
made the disciples great,that they might be able to see his greatness. He
said on that day in the Thanksgiving You who have joined the perfect, the
light, with the Holy Spirit, unite the angels with us also, the images. Do
not despise the lamb, for without it, it is not possible to see the king.No
one will be able to go in to the king if he is naked.
The heavenly man has many more sons than the earthly
man.If the sons if Adam are many, although they die, how much more the sons
of the perfect manm they who do not die but are always begotten. The father
makes a son, and the son has not the power to make a son. For he who has
been begotten has not the power to beget, but the sons gets brothers for
himself, not sons. All who are begotten in the world in a natural way, and
the others in a spiritual way. Those who are begotten by him cry out from
that place to the perfect man, because they are nourished on the promise
concerning the heavenly place. If the word has gone out from that place it
would become perfect. For it is by a kiss that the perfect conceive and
give birth. For this reason we also kiss one another. We receive conception
from the grace which is in each other.
There were three who always walked with the Lord; Mary, his
mother, and his sister and Magdalene, the one who was his companion. His
sister and his mother and his companion were each a Mary.
The Father and the Son is both single names, the Holy
Spirit is a double name. For they are everywhere: they are in the
concealed, they are in the revealed. The Holy Spirit is the revealed: it is
below. It is in the concealed: it is above.
The saints are served by evil powers, for they are
blinded by the Holy Spirit into thinking that they are serving an ordinary man
whenever they do something for the saints. Because of this a disciple asked
the Lord one day for something of this world. He said to him: Ask your
mother, and she will give you of the things which are another`s.
The apostles said to the disciples:May our offering
obtain salt They called Sophia salt. Without it no offering is acceptable.
But Sophia is without child. For this reason she is called a trace of salt
. But where they will be in their own way, the Holy Spirit will also be,
and her children are many.
What the father possesses belongs to the son, and the
son himself, so long as he is small, is not entrusted with what is his. But
when he becomes a man his father give him all that he possesses. Those who
have gone astray, whom the spirit itself begets, usaully go astray because
of the Spirit. Thus, by this one and the same breath, the fire blazes and
is put out.
Echamoth is one thing and Echmoth, another. Echamoth
is Wisdom simply, but Echmoth is the Wisdom of death which is the one who
knows death [called The little wisdom]. There are domestic animals like the
bull and the ass and others of this kind. Others are wild and live apart in
the deserts. Man ploughs the field by means of the domestic animals, and
from this he feeds both himself and the animals, wether tame or wild.
Compare the perfect man. It is through powers which are submissive that he
ploughs, prepairing for everything to come into being. For it is because of
this that the whole place stands, wether good or evil, the right and the left.
The Holy Spirit shepherds everyone and rules all the powers, the tame ones
and the wild ones, as well as those which are unique. For indeed she
gathers them and shuts them inn, in order that these, even if they wish,
will not be able to escape. He who has been created us beautiful, and you
would find his sons noble creations. If he was not created, but begotten,
you would find that his seed was noble. But now he was created and he
begot. What nobility is this? First, adultery came into being, afterward murder.
And he was begotten in adultery, for he was the child of the Serpent. So he
became a murderer, just like his father, and he killed his brother. Indeed,
every act of sexual intercourse which has accured between those who are
unlike one another is adultery.
God is a dyer. As the good dyes which are called true,
dissolve with the things dyed in them, so it is with those whom God has
dyed.Since the dyes is immortal, they are immortal by means of his co,ors.
Now God dips what he dips in water. It is not possible for anyone to see
anything of the things that actually exist unless he becomes like them.
This is not the way with man in the world: he sees the sun without being a
sun; and he sees the heaven and the earth and all other things, but he is
not these things. You saw the Spirit, and you became spirit. You saw Christ
and you became Christ [a christian]. You saw the Father and you shall
become Father. So in this place you see everything and do not see yourself;
but in that place you do see yourself - and what you see you shall become.
Faith receives, Love gives. No one will be able to
receive without faith.No one will be able to give without love. Because of
this, in order that we may indeed receive, we believe; but it is so that we
may love and give, since if one does not give in love, he has no profit
from what he has given. He who has not received the Lord is still a Hebrew.
The apostles who were before us had these names for
him: Jesus,the Nazorean, Messiah, that is , Jesus, the Nazorean, Christ The
last name is Christ, the first is Jesus, that in the middle is the Nazarne
Messiah has two meanings, both the Christ and the measured. Jesus in Hebrew
is the redemption Nazara is the Truth. The Nazarene then, is the
Truth.Christ has been measured. The Nazarene and Jesus are they who have
been measured.
When the pearl is cast down into the mud it does not
become greatly despised, nor if it is anointed with balsam oil will it
become more precious. But it always has value in the eyes of the owner.
Compare the Sons of God, whatever they may be. They still have value in the
eyes of their Father.
God is a man-eater. For this reason men are sacrificed
to him. Before men were sacrificed animals were being sacrificed, since
those to whom they were sacrificed were not gods. Glass decanters and
earthenware jugs are both made by means of fire. But if glass decanters
break they are done over, for they came into being through a breath. If
earthenware jugs break, however, they are destroyed, for they came into
being without breath.
An ass which turns a millstone did a hundred miles of
walking. When it was loosened, it found that it was still at the same
place. There are men who make many journeys, but make no progress towards a
destination. When evening came upon them, they saw neither city nor
village, neither creation nor nature, power nor angel. In vain have the
wretches labored.
The eucharist is Jesus. For he is called in Syriac
Pharisatha which is the one who is spread out for Jesus came crucifying the
world. The Lord went into the dye works of Levi. He took seventy-two
different colors and threw them into the vat. He took them out all white.
And he said, Even so the Son of Man come as a dyer
As for the Wisdom who is called the barren she is the mother of the
angels.And the companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene. But
Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on
the mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it
and expressed disapproval. They said to him Why do you love her more than
all of us? The Saviour answered and said to them,Why do I not love you like
her?.When a blind man and one who sees are together in the darkness, they
are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees
will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in the darkness. The
Lord said Blessed is he who is before he came into being. For he who is,
has been and shall be The superiority of man is not obvious to the eye but
lies in what is hidden from view. Consequently, he has mastery over the
animals which are stronger than he is and great in terms of the obvious and
the hidden. This enables them to survive. But if man is separated from
them, they slay one another and bite one another. They ate one another
because they did not find any food. But now they have found food because
man tilled the soil.
If one goes down into the water and comes up again
without having received anything, and says I am a Chr¡stian he has borrowed
the name at interest. But if he receives the Holy Spirit, he has the name
as a gift. He who has received a gift does not have to give it back, but of
him who has borrowed it at interest, payment is demanded. This is the way
it happens to one when one experiences a mystery. Great is the mystery of
marriage! For without it the world would not have existed. Now the
existence of the world depends on man, and the existence of man on
marriage. Think of the undefiled relationship, for it possesses a great
power. Its image consists of a defilement of the form.
As for the unclean spirits, there are males among them
and there are females. The males are they which unite with the souls which
inhabit a female form, but the females are they which are mingled with
those in a male form, through one who was disobedient. And none shall be
able to escape them, since they detain him if he does not receive a male
power or a female power - the bridegroom and the bride.One receives them
from the mirrored bridal chamber. When the wanton women see a male sitting
alone, they leap down on him and play with him and defile him. So also the
lecherous men, when they see a beautiful woman sitting alone, they persuade
her and comple her, wishing to defile her. But if they see the man and his
wife sitting beside one another, the female cannot come into the man, nor
can the male come into a woman. So if the image and the angel are united
with one another, neither can any venture to go into the man or the woman.
He who comes out of the world can no longer be
detained, because he was in the world. It is evident that he is above
desire and fear. He is master over nature. He is superior to envy. If
anyone else comes, they seize him and throttle him. And how will this one
be able to escape the great grasping powers? How will he be able to hide from
them? Often some come and say We are faithful in order that they may be
able to escape the unclean spirits and the demons. For if they had the Holy
Spirit no unclean spirit would cleave to them. Fear not the flesh nor love
it. If you fear it, it will gain mastery over you. If you love it, it will
swallow and paralyzr you. Either will he be in this world or in the
ressurrection ot in the places of the middle.God forbid that I be found in
them! In this world there is good and evil.Its good is not good, and its
evil not evil. But there is evil after this world which is truly evil -
what is called the Middle,It is death. While we are in this world it is
fitting for us to acquire the ressurrection for ourselves, so that when we
strip off the flesh we may be found in rest and not walk in the Middle.For
many go astray on the way. For it is good to come forth from the world
before one has sinned.
Some neither desire to sin nor are able to sin.
Others, even if they desire to sin, are not better off for not having done
it, for this desire makes them sinners. But even if some do not desire to
sin, rightousness will be concealed for them both - those who desire not
and do not. An apostolic man in a vision saw some people shut up in a house
afire and bound with fiery chains, lying in flaming ointment. And he said
to them Why are they not able to be saved? They answered They did not
desire it. They received this place as punishment,what is called the outer
darkness, because he is thrown out into it. It is from water and fire that
the soul and the spirit came into being. It is from water and fire and
light that the son of the bridal chamber came into being. The fire is the
chrism, the light is the fire. I am not referring to that fire which has no
form, but the other fire whose for are white, which is bright and
beautiful, and which gives beauty.
Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came
in types and images. One will receive the truth in any other way. There is
a rebirth and an image of rebirth.It is certainly necessary that they
should be born again through the image. The bridegroom and the image must
enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration. It is
appropiate that those who do not have it only acquire the name of the
Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but that the have acquired it on
their own. If one does not acquire the name for himself, the name Christian
will also be taken from him. But one receives them in the aromatic unction
of the power of the cross.This power the apostles called the right and the
left For this person is no longer a Christian but a Christ.
The Lord did everything in a mystery, a baptism and a
chrism and a eucharist and a redemption and a bridal chamber. The Lord
said,I came to make the things below like the things above, and the things
outside like the inside. I came to unite them in that place He revealed
himself in this place through types and images. Those who say, There is a
heavenly man and there is one above him are wrong.For he who is revealed in
Heaven is that heavenly man, the one who is called the one who is below,
and he to whom the hidden belongs is that one who is above him. For it is
good that they should say, The inner and outer, with what is outside the
outer. Because of this the Lord called destruction the the outer darkness;
there is not another outside of it. He said,My Father who is secret. He
said , Go into your chamber and shut the door behind you, and pray to your
Father who is secret[Matt6:6], the one who is within them all. But that
which is within them all is the fullness. Beyond it there is nothing else
within it. This is that of which they say, That which is above them.
Before Christ some came from a place they were no
longer able to enter, and they went where they were no longer able to come
out. The Christ came. Those who went in he brought out, and those whowent
out, he brought in. When Eve was still with Adam, death did not exist. When
she was separated from him, death came into being. If he again becomes
complete and attains his former self, death will be no more.
My God, my God, why, O Lord, have you forsaken me?
[Mark15:23].It was on the cross that he said these words, for it was there
he was divided.
Everyone who has been begotten through him who
destroys did not emanate from God.
The Lord rose from the dead. He became as he used to
be, but now his body was perfect. He did indeed possess flesh, but this
flesh is true flesh. Our flesh is not true, but we only possess an image of
that which is true. A bridal chamber is not for the animals, nor is it for
the slaves, nor for the defiled women, but it is for free men and virgins.
Through the Holy Spirit we are indeed begotten again, but we are begotten
through Christ in the two. We are anointed through the Spirit. When we were
begotten by we were united. None shall be able to see himself either in the
water or in a mirror without the light. Nor again will you be able to see
in light without mirror or water. For this reason it is fitting to baptize
in the two, in the light and in the water. Now the light is the chrism.
There were three buildings specifically for sacrifice
in Jerusalem. The one facing the west was called The Holy. Another facing
the South was called The Holy of the Holy. The third facing the East was
called The Holy of the Holies, the place where only the high priest enters.
Baptism is the Holy building. Redemption is the Holy of the Holy building.
The Holy of the Holies is the bridal chamber. Baptism includes
ressurrection and the redemption; the redemption takes place in the bridal
chamber. But the bridal chamber is in that which is superior to it and the
others, because you will not find anything like it. Those who are familiar
with it are those who prays in the Holy in Jerusalem. There are some in
Jerusalem, awaiting the Kingdom of Heaven. These are called the Holy of the
Holies because before the veil was rent we had no other bridal chamber
except for the image of the bridal chamber which is above. Because of this,
its veil was rent from top to bottom. For it was fitting for some from
below to go upward.
The powers do not see those who are clothed in the
perfect light, and consequently are not able to detain them. One will
clothe himself in this light sacramentally in the union.
If the woman had not separated from the man, she would
not die with the man. His separation became the beginning of death. Because
of this Christ came to repair the separation which was from the beginning
and to again unite the two, to give life to those who died as a result of
the separation and unite them. But the woman is united to her husband in
the bridal chamber. Indeed, those who have united in the bridal chamber
will no longer be separated. Thus Eve separated from Adam because she was
never united with him in the bridal chamber.
The soul of Adam came into being by means of a
breath(pneuma), which is a synonym for spirit(Pneuma). The Spirit given him
is his mother. His soul was replaced by a spirit. When he was united to the
spirit, he spoke words incomprehensible to the powers. They envied him
because they were separated from the spiritual union. This separation
afforded them the opportunity to fashion for themselves the symbolic bridal
chamber so that men would be defiled.
Jesus revealed himself at the Jordan: it was the
fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven.He who was begotten before everything was
begotten anew. He who was once anointed was anointed anew. He who was
redeemed in turn redeemed others.
Is it permitted to utter a mystery? The Father of
everything united with the virgin who came down, and a fire shone for him
on that day. He appeared in the great bridal chamber. Therefore his body
cameinto being on that very day.It left the bridal chamber as one who came
into being from the bridegroom and the bride. So Jesus established everything
in it through these. It is fitting for each of the disciplesto enter into
his rest.
Adam came into being from two virgins, from the Spirit
and from the virgin of earth.Christ therefore, was born from a virgin to
rectify the Fall which occured in the beginning.
There are two trees growing in Paradise. One bears
animals, the other bears men. Adam ate from the tree which bore animals. He
became an animal and he brought forth animals. For this reason the children
of Adam worship animals. The tree whose gifte Adam ate is the Tree of
Knowledge.That is why sins increased. If he ate the fruit of the other
tree, that is to say, the Tree of Life, the one which bears men, then the
gods would worship man. For in the beginning God created man. But now men
create God. That is the way it is in the world - men make gods and worship
their creation. It would be fitting for the gods to worship men!
Surely what a man accomplishes depends on his
abilities. We even refer to one`s accomplishments as abilities. Among his
accomplishments are his children. They originate in a moment of ease. Thus
his abilities determine what he may accomplish,, but this ease is clearly
evident in the children.You will find that this applies directly to the
image. Here is the man made after the image, accomplishing things with his
physical strenght but produving his children with ease. In this world
slaves serve the free. In the Kingdom of Heaven the free will minister to
the slaves: the children of the bridal chamber will minister to the children
of the marriage. The children of the bridal chamber have just one name.
Together they shall share rest. They need take no other form because they
have contemplation, comprehending by insight. They are numorous because
they do not put their treasure in the things below, which are despised, but
in the glories which are above, though they did not yet know them.
Those who will be baptized go down into the water. But
Christ, by coming out of the water, will consecrate it, so that they who
have received the baptism in his name may be perfect. For he said,Thus we
should fulfill all righteousness[Matt3:15]
Those who say they will die first and then rise are in
error. If they do not first receive the ressurrection while they live, when
they die they will receive nothing. So also when speaking about baptism
they say Baptism is a great thing because if people receive it it they will
live. Phillip the apostle said, Joseph the carpenter planted a garden
because he needed wood for his trade. it was he who made the cross from the
trees which he planted. His own offspring hung on that which he planted.
His offspring was Jesus and the planting was the cross. But the Tree of
Life is in the middle of the Garden.However,it is from the olive tree that
we got the chrism, and from the chrism, the ressurrection.
This world is a corpse-eater. All the things eaten in
it themselves die also. Truth is a life-eater. Therefore no one nourished
by truth will die. It was from that place that Jesus came and brought
food.To those who so desired he gave life, that they might not die.
God planted a Garden. Man was put into the Garden.
There were many trees there for him, and man lived in this place with the
blessing of the image of God.The things which are in it I will eat as I
wish. This garden is the place where they will say to me, O man , eat this
or do not eat that, just as you wish This is the place where I will eat all
things, since the Tree of Knowledge is there. That one killed Adam, but
here the Tree of Knowledge made men alive. The law was the tree. It has
power to give the knowledge of good and evil. It neither removed him from
evil, nor did it set him in the good, but it created death for those who
ate it, For when he said, Eat this, do not eat that, it became the
beginning of death.
The chrism is superior to the baptism, for it is from
the word Chrism that we have been called Christians certainly not because
of the word baptism. And it is because of the chrism that the Christ has
his name. For the Father anointed the Son, and the Son anointed the
apostles, and the apostles anointed us. He who has been anointed possesses
everything, he possesses the ressurrection, the light, the cross, the Holy
Spirit. The Father gave him this in the bridal chamber; he merely accepted
the gift. The Father was in the Son and the Son in the Father. This is the
Kingdom of Heaven.
The Lord have said it well, Some have entered the
Kingdom of Heaven laughing and they have come out.. They do not remain
there - the one because he is not a Christian, the other because he regrets
his action afterward. And as soon as Christ went down into the water, he
came out laughing at everything of this world, not because he considers it
a trifle, but because he is full of contempt for it. He who wants to enter
the Kingdom of Heaven will attain it. If he despises everything of this
world and scorrns it as a trifle, he will come out laughing. So it is also
with the bread and the cup and the oil, even though there is another one
superior to these.
The world came about through a mistake. For he who
created it wanted to create it imperishable and immortal. He fell short of
attaining his desire. For the world never was imperishable, but sons are.
Nothing will be able to receive imperishability if it does not first become
a son.But he who has not the ability to receive, how much more will he be
unable to give?
The Cup of prayer contains wine and water, since it is
appointed as the type of the blood for which thanks is given. And it is
full of the Holy Spirit, and it belongs to the wholly perfect man. When we
drink this, we shall receive for ourselves the perfect man. The living
water is a body. It is neccessary that we put on the living man. Therefore,
when he is about to go down into the water, he unclothes himself, in order
that he may put on the living man.
A horse sires a horse, a man begets man, a god brings
forth a god. Compare the bridegroom and the bride. Their children were
conceived in the bridal chamber.No Jew was ever born to Greek parents as
long as the world has existed. And, as a Christian people. we ourselves do
not descend from the Jews.There was another people and these blessed ones
are referred to as The chosen people of the Living God and The true man and
Son of Man and the seed of the Son of Man. In the world it is called this
true people. Where they are, there are the sons of the bridal chamber.
Whereas in this world the union is one of husband with
wife - a case of strenght complemented with weakness - in the Aeon the form
of the union is different, although we refer to them by the same
names.There are other names,however, they are superior to every other name
that is named and are stronger than the strong. For where there is a show
of strenght, there those who excel in strenght appear.These are not
separate things, but both of them are this one single thing.This is the one
which will not be able to rise above the heart of flesh.
Is it not necessary for all those who possess
everything to know themselves? Some indeed, if they do not know themselves,
will not enjoy their possessions. Not only will they be unable to detain
the perfect man, but they will not be able to see him, for if they see him
they will detain him. There is no other way for a person to acquire this
quality except by putting on the perfect light and become perfect oneself.
Everyone who has put this on will enter the kingdom. This is the perfect
light, and it is necessary that we, by all means, become perfect men before
we leave the world. He who has received everything and has not rid himself
of these places will not be able ti share in that place, but will go to the
Middle as imperfect. Only Jesus knows the end of this person.
The priest is completely holy, down to his very body.
For if he has taken the bread, will he consecrate it? Or the cup or
anything else that he gets, does he consecrate them? Then how will he not
consecrate the body also? By perfecting the water of baptism, Jesus emptied
it of death. Thus we do go down into the water, but we do not go down into
death in order that we may not be poured out into the spirit of the world.
When this spirit blows, it brings the winter. When the Holy Spirit
breathes, the summer comes.
He who has knowledge of the truth is a free man, but
the free man does not sin, for He who sins is the slave of sin[John8:34]
Truth is the mother, knowledge the father. Those who think that sinning
does not apply for them are called free by the world. Knowledge of the
truth merely makes such people arrogant, which is what the words, it makes
them free mean. It even gives them a sense of superiority over the whole
world. But Love builds up [1Cor8:1].In fact, he who is really free through
knowledge is a slave because of love for those who have not yet been able
to attain the freedom which comes from knowledge. Knowledge makes them
capable of becoming free. Love never calls somethings its own, and yet it
may actually possess that very thing.It never says,This is mine but All
these are yours. Spiritual love is wine and fragrance. All those who
anoints themselves with it take pleasure in it. While those who are
anointed are present, those nearby profit from the fragrance. If those
anointed with ointment withdraw from them and leave, then those anointed,
who merely stand nearby, still remain in their bad odor.The samaritan gave
nothing but wine and oil to the wounded man. It is nothing other than the
ointment. It healed the wounds, for love covers a multitude of
sins[1Pet4:8]
The children a woman bears resemble the man who loves
her. If her husband loves her, then they resemble her husband. If it is an
adulterer, then they resemble the adulterer. Frequently, if a woman sleep
with her husband out of necessity, while her heart is with the adulterer
with whim she usually has intercourse , the child she will bear is born
resembling the adulterer. Now you who live together with the Son of God,
love not the world, but love the Lord.
The human being has intercourse with the human being.
The horse has intercourse with the horse, the ass with the ass. Members of
a race usually have associated with those of like race. So spirit mingles
with spirit, and thought consorts with thought, and light shares with
light. If you are born a human being, it is the human being which will love
you.If you become a spirit, it is the spirit which will be joined to you.
If you become thought, it is thought which will mingle with you. If you
become light, it is light which will share with you. If you become one of
those who belong above,it is those who belong above who will rest in you.
If you become horse or ass or bull or dog or sheep or another of the
animals which are outside and below, then neither human bein nor spirit nor
thought nor light will be able to love you. Neither those who belong above
nor those who belong within will be able to rest in you, and you have no
part in them. He who is a slave against his will, will be able to become
free.
Farming in the world requires the cooperation of four
essential elements.A harvest is gathered into the barn only as a result of
the natural action of water, earth, wind and light. God`s farming likewise
has four elements - faith, hope, love, and knowledge. Faith is our earth,
that in which we take root.And hope is the water through which we are
nourished.Love is the wind through which we grow.Knowledge is the light
through which we ripen. Grace exists in four ways; it is earthborn, it is
heavenly; it comes from the highest heaven; and it resides in truth.
Blessed is the one who on no occasion caused a soul
distress. That person is Jesus Christ.He came to the whole place and did
not burden anyone.Therefore the blessed is the one who is like this,
because he is a perfect man.This indeed is the Word.Tell us about it, since
it is difficult to define.How shall we be able to accomplish such a great
thing? How whill he give everyone comfort? Above all, it is not proper to
cause anyone distress - whether the person is great or small, unbeliever or
believer - and then give comfort only to those who take satisfaction in
good deeds.Some find it advantageous to give comfort to the one who has
fared well.He who does good deeds cannot give comfort to such people, for
it goes against his will. He is unable to cause distress, however, since he
does not afflict them.To be sure, the one who fares well sometimes causes
people distress . not that he intends to do so; rather, it is their own
wickedness which is responsible for their distress.He who possesses the
qualities of the perfect man rejoice in the good.Some, however, are
terribly distressed by all this.
There was a householder who had every conceiveable
thing, be it son or slave or cattle or dog or pig or corn or barley or
chaff or gress or castor oil or meat and acorn.Now he was a sensible fellow
and he knew what the food of each one was.He himself served the children
bread and meat.He served the slaves castor oil and meal. Anf he threw
barley and chaff and grass to the cattle. He threw bones to the dogs, and
to the pigs he threw acorns and scraps of bread. Compare the disciple of
God: if he is a sensible fellow he understands what discipleship is all
about.The bodily forms will not deceive him, but he will look at the
condition of the soul of each one and speak with him.There are many animals
in the world which are in a human form.When he identifies them, to the
swine he will throw acorns, to the cattle he will throw barley and chaff
and grass, to the dogs he will throw bones.To the slaves he will give only
the elementary lessons, but to the children he will give the complete
instruction.
There is the Son of man and there is the son of the
Son of man. The Lord is the Son of man, and the son of the Son of man is he
who created through the Son of man.The Son of man received from God the
capacity to create.He also has the ability to beget.He who has received the
ability to create is a creature.He who has received the ability to beget is
an offspring.He who creates cannot beget. He who begets also has the
ability to create.Now they say, He who creates begets.But his so-called
offspring is merely a creature.Therefore his children are not offspring but
creatures.He who create works openly; he himself is visible. He who begets,
begets in private; he is himself hidden, since he is superior to every
image.He who creates, creates openly. But one who begets, begets children
in private.No one will be able to know when the husband and the wife have
intercourse with one another, except the two in them.Indeed, marriage in
the world is a mystery for those who have taken a wife.If there is a hidden
quality to the marriage of defilement, how much more is the undefiled
marriage a true mystery!It is not fleshly but pure.It belongs not to desire
but to the will.It belongs not to the darkness or the night but to the day
and the light.If a marriage is open to the public, it has become
prostitution, and the bride plays the harlot not only when she is
impregnated by another man but even if she slips out of her bedroom and is
seen.Let her show herself only to the father and her mother and the friend
of the bridegroom and the sons of the bridegroom. There are permitted to
enter every day into the bridal chamber. But let the others yearn to listen
to her voice and to enjoy her ointment, and let them feed from the crumbs
that fall from the table, like dogs.Bridegrooms and brides belong to the
bridal chamber. No one shall be able to see the bridegroom with the bride
unless one becomes one.
When Abraham rejoiced that he was to see what he was
to see, he circumcised the flesh of the foreskin, teaching us that it is
proper to destroy the flesh.
Most things in the world, as long as their inner parts
are hidden, stand upright and live. If they are revealed they die, as is
illustrated by the visible man: as long as the intestines of the man are
hidden, the man is alive; when his intestines are exposed and come out of
him, the man will die. So also with the tree: while its root is hidden it
sprouts and grows. If its root is exposed, the tree dries up.So it is with
every birth that is in the world, not only with the revealed but with the
hidden.For so long as the root of wickedness is hidden, it is strong.But
when it is recognized, it is dissolved.When it is revealed, it
perishes.That is why the word say, Already the axe is laid at the root of
the tree[Matt3:10] It will not merely cut - what is cut sprouts again - but
the ax penetrates deeply until it brings up the root.Jesus pulled out the
root of the whole place, while others only did it partially. As for
ourselves, let each one of us dig down after the root of evil which is
within one, and let one pluck it out of one`s heart from the root.It will
be plucked out if we recognize it. But if we are ignorant of it, it takes
root in us and produces its fruit in our heart.It masters us.We are its
slaves.It takes us captive, to make us do what we do not want; and what we
do want we do not do. It is powerful because we have not recognized it.
While it exists it is active.Ignorance is the mother of all evil.Ignorance
will eventuate in death, because thos who come from ignorance neither were
nor are nor shall be.But those who are in the truth will be perfect when
all the truth is revealed.For truth is like ignorance: while it is hidden
it rests in itself, but when it is revealed and is recognized, it is
praised inasmuch as it is stronger than ignorance and the error. It gives
freedom.The word said, If you know the truth, the truth will make you
free[John8:32] Ignorance is a slave.Knowledge is freedom.If we know the
truth, we shall find the fruits of the truth within us.If we are joined to
it, it will bring fulfillment.
At the present time we have the manifest things of
creation. We say, The strong are they who are held in high regard.And the
obscure are the weak who are despised. Contrast the manifest things of
truth: they are weak and despised, while the hidden things are strong and
held in high regard. The mysteries of truth are revealed, though in type
and image. The bridal chamber, however, remains hidden.It is the Holy in
the Holy.The veil at first concealed how God controlled the creation, but
when the veil is rent and the things inside are revealed, this house will
be left desolate, or rather - it will be destroyed. But the whole inferior
godhead will flee from these places into the holy of holies, for it wil not
be able to mix with the unmixed light and the flawless fullness, but will
be under the wings of the cross and its arms.This asrk will be its
salvation when the flood of water(?) surges over them.If some belong to the
order of the priesthood, they will be able to go within the veil with the
high priest. For this reason the veil was not rent at the top only since it
would have been revealed only to those below. But it was rent from the top
to bottom.Those above opened to us who are below, in order that we may go
into the secret of truth. This truly is what is held in high regard, since
it is strong! But we shall go into there by means of lowly types and forms
of weakness.They are lowly indeed when compared with the perfect glory.
There is glory which surpasses glory.There is power which surpasses
power.Therefore, the perfect things have opened to us, together with the
hidden things of truth.The holies of the holies were revealed, and the
bridal chamber invited us in.
As long as it is hidden, wickedness is indeed
ineffectual, but it has not been removed from the midst of the seed of the
Holy Spirit. They are slaves of evil.But when it is revealed, then the
perfect light will flow out on everyone.And all those who are in it will
receive the chrism. Then the slaves will be free and the captives
ransomed.Every plant which my father in heaven has not planted will be
plucked out[Matt15:13]. Those who are seperated will be united and will be
filled.Every one who will enter the bridal chamber will kindle the light,
for it burns just as in the marriages which are observed, though they happen
at night.That fire burns only at night and is put out.But the mysteries of
this marriage are perfected rather in the day and the light. Neither that
day nor its light ever sets.If anyone becomes a son of the bridal chamber,
he will receive the light.If anyone does not receive it while he is in
these places, he will not be able to receive it in the other place.He who
will receive the light will not be seen, nor can he be detained. And none
shall be able to torment a person like this even while he dwells in the
world.And again, when he leaves the world he has allready received the
truth in the images.The world has become the Aeon, for the Aeon if fullness
for him.This is the way it is: it is revealed to him alone, not hidden in
the darkness and the night, but hidden in a perfect day and a holy
light."
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selection made from James M.Robinson(ed): The Nag
Hammadi Library, revised edition.
HarperCollins, San Fransisco 1990.ISBN 0-06066935-7.
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