“... Within the larger discussion of how the freedom of the knowledge of the truth relates to moral purity, the author appears to quote Matt 3:10 in 83.11–13 (‘That is why the word says, “Already the axe is laid at the root of the tree”’) to show the importance of exposing the root of evil so that it will no longer produce its fruit, and so the fruits of truth will be found within us. The correlation of Matt 3:10 with ‘knowledge of the truth’ and the production of good fruit is also found in a fragment of Irenaeus: ‘“The axe unto the root,” he says, urging us to the knowledge of the truth, and purifying us by means of fear, as well as preparing [us] to bring forth fruit in due season.’30 Similar to Irenaeus, the Gos. Phil. makes the same progression from a quotation of Matt 3:10 to an ethical exhortation based on ‘knowledge of the truth,’ but a parallel with John 8:32 in the Irenaeus’ fragment is not explicit. The use of John 8:32 as an ethical exhortation to moral purity is already apparent in its opposition to the ‘slave of sin’ in John 8:34. However, the church fathers do not appear to have used John 8:32 in this way. In his quotations of John 8:31–32, Cyprian emphasizes the conditional clause in 8:31 (‘if you remain in my word’) as an exhortation to persevere in the midst of temptations and persecution (Pat. 15; Fort. 8), and Origen quotes these same passages to contrast belief and knowledge (Comm. Matt., 12.15). It is somewhat surprising that, apart from the Gos. Phil., it does not appear that the axiom in John 8:32 was specifically quoted in Christian literature from the first four centuries CE as an exhortation to moral purity. 29 It is unclear whether ⲡⲗⲟⲅⲟⲥ in 84.8 refers to Jesus, the divine Logos, or Scripture. A speaking role is attributed to the ⲗⲟⲅⲟⲥ in 80.5, 83.11, and 84.8. The antecedent in 80.5 is not clarified, so it could refer to any of the three options. The quotation of the words of John the Baptist in Matt 3:10 is introduced in 83.11 in the present tense, ‘the word says (ⲡⲗⲟⲅⲟⲥ ϫⲱ ⲙⲟⲥ),’ which may be a reference to Matt, although it is possible that the author thought these were the words of Jesus (a similar error is found in Origen, Comm. Jo. 13.400). The introduction of the words of Jesus in 84.8 in the past tense, ‘the word said (ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ϭⲓ ⲡⲗⲟⲅⲟⲥ),’ may be an appeal to traditional words of Jesus, but the author’s knowledge of the NT makes it likely that this is a reference to the words of Jesus known from Scripture. If the author is being consistent, ‘the word says’ in 84.8 is a reference to Matt 3:10, while ‘the word said’ is a reference to Jesus’ words in John 8:32 (see Painchaud, «Composition,» 48; Lundhaug, Images, 171). However, this should not imply that the author is appropriating a Logos-Christology from John 1:1–18 (see Nagel, Rezeption, 401). 30 ~H avxi,nh pro.j th.n r`i,zan( fhsi,\ diegei,rwn pro.j evpi,gnwsin th/j avlhqei,aj( kai. tw/| fo,bw| kaqai,rwn( kai. paraskeua,zwn karpo.n w[rimon fe,rein) Irenaeus, “Fragment 28,” in W.W. Harvey, ed., Sancti Irenaei episcope Lugdunensis Libros quinque adversus Haereses (Ridgewood: Gregg Press, 1965), 493–494. ...”