Texts in Conversation
In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says whoever drinks from his mouth will become like him, and he will become that person. Irenaeus reports a teacher named Marcus telling women he wants them to be what he is, and himself to be what they are.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Gospel of Thomas 1:108
Nag Hammadi
107 Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, wandered off. He left the ninety-nine and sought the one until he found it. After he had labored, he said to the sheep, ‘I love you more than the ninety-nine.’” 108 Jesus said, “Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that one, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to him.” 109 Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a man who had a treasure hidden in his field and did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his son. The son did not know; he took possession of the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, discovered the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished.”
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.13
Early Christian
3 It appears probable enough that this man possesses a demon as his familiar spirit, by means of whom he seems able to prophesy, and also enables as many as he counts worthy to be partakers of his Charis themselves to prophesy. He devotes himself especially to women, and those such as are well-bred, and elegantly attired, and of great wealth, whom he frequently seeks to draw after him, by addressing them in such seductive words as these: I am eager to make you a partaker of my Charis, since the Father of all does continually behold your angel before His face. Now the place of your angel is among us: it behooves us to become one. Receive first from me and by me [the gift of] Charis. Adorn yourself as a bride who is expecting her bridegroom, that you may be what I am, and I what you are. Establish the germ of light in your nuptial chamber. Receive from me a spouse, and become receptive of him, while you are received by him. Behold Charis has descended upon you; open your mouth and prophesy. On the woman replying, I have never at any time prophesied, nor do I know how to prophesy; then engaging, for the second time, in certain invocations, so as to astound his deluded victim, he says to her, Open your mouth, speak whatsoever occurs to you, and you shall prophesy. She then, vainly puffed up and elated by these words, and greatly excited in soul by the expectation that it is herself who is to prophesy, her heart beating violently [from emotion], reaches the requisite pitch of audacity, and idly as well as impudently utters some nonsense as it happens to occur to her, such as might be expected from one heated by an empty spirit. (Referring to this, one superior to me has observed, that the soul is both audacious and impudent when heated with empty air.) Henceforth she reckons herself a prophetess, and expresses her thanks to Marcus for having imparted to her of his own Charis. She then makes the effort to reward him, not only by the gift of her possessions (in which way he has collected a very large fortune), but also by yielding up to him her person, desiring in every way to be united to him, that she may become altogether one with him.
Date: 175-190 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Alongside the commonplace of the revelation of the hidden in GTh 108.3 (cf. GTh 5, 6), the dominant motif here is that of the disciple becoming like, or even sharing in the identity of the revealer. This idea is attributed by Irenaeus to Marcus Magus, who allegedly said—in particular to his female adherents: ‘Adorn yourself as a bride expecting her bridegroom, so that you may be what I am, and I what you are’ (ut sis quod ego et ego quod tu). Similarly, the Gospel of Eve is cited by Epiphanius as follows: I stood upon a high mountain and saw a tall man, and another who was short. And I heard something like the sound of thunder. I went nearer to hear, and he spoke to me and said: ‘I am you and you are me (ἐγὼ σὺ καὶ σὺ ἐγώ). And wherever you are, I am there, and I am sown in all things …’ ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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