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2 Clement

About this book
Chapter 12

1 Let us therefore look for the kingdom of God without delay in love and righteousness, since we do not know the day of God’s appearing. 2 For the Lord Himself, being asked by a certain person when His kingdom would come, said, “When the two shall be one, and the outside as the inside, and the male with the female, neither male nor female.”⁠ 3 Now the two are one when we speak truth among ourselves, and in two bodies there shall be one soul without hypocrisy. 4 And by ‘the outside as the inside’ He means this: by the inside He means the soul, and by the outside the body. Therefore, in the same way that your body is visible, let your soul be manifest by its good works. 5 And ‘the male with the female, neither male nor female,’ means this: that a brother seeing a sister should have no thought of her as female, and a sister seeing a brother should not think of him as male. 6 “If you do these things,” He says, “the kingdom of my Father shall come.”

Texts in conversation

Compare 2 Clement 12:2 and Gospel of Philip 8:14

Early Christian · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

In 2 Clement, the preacher interprets outer and inner unity as showing the soul through good deeds. In the Gospel of Philip, the author places a similar saying beside baptism and the bridal chamber to connect this unity with ritual.

Passages

2 Clement 12:2

Early Christian
2 For the Lord Himself, being asked by a certain person when His kingdom would come, said, “When the two shall be one, and the outside as the inside, and the male with the female, neither male nor female.” 3 Now the two are one when we speak truth among ourselves, and in two bodies there shall be one soul without hypocrisy. 4 And by ‘the outside as the inside’ He means this: by the inside He means the soul, and by the outside the body. Therefore, in the same way that your body is visible, let your soul be manifest by its good works. 5 And ‘the male with the female, neither male nor female,’ means this: that a brother seeing a sister should have no thought of her as female, and a sister seeing a brother should not think of him as male.
130–160 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Clement

Gospel of Philip 8:14

Nag Hammadi
The Lord [performed] all things with a symbolic meaning, (including) baptism, and chrismation, and Eucharist, and redemption, and bridal chamber. [...] he [said]: “I have come to make [what is below] like what is [above, and what is outside] like what is [inside, and to unite] them together in the place [...] here with [types ...].” Those who say, “[...] one is above [...,” they] are mistaken, [because] what is revealed is what [..., what] is called “what is below,” and what is secret pertains to what is above it, because it is good, and they say “inside” and “what is outside” and “what is the outermost.” This is why the Lord called perdition, “the outer darkness,” and there is nothing further outside than it.
180–250 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Philip

References

“... 68. The Lord [did] everything in a mystery: baptism, chrism, eucharist, redemption and bridal chamber. 69a. [Because of this] he said: 'I am come to make [the lo]wer like the up[per and the ou]ter like the in[ner] [and to] unite them at th[at] place.' [But he spoke in these] places through sym[bols and images]. 69b. Those who say: '[There is a heavenly one, and] there is one above [her]' are in error. - F[or] so far as the visible is concerned, that (p. 68) heav[enly] one is the one who [is] called 'the lower'; and the one to whom the hidden realm belongs, he is the one who is above him. [...] 43. Cf. Gospel of Thomas, logion 22; 2 Clem. 12.2; Acts of Philip 34 (cf. also above, p. 120, and below, pp. 212f.). ...”
Hans-Martin Schenke, “The Gospel of Philip,” in New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 1: Gospels and Related Writings, ed. Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R. McL. Wilson (Cambridge: James Clarke, 1991), 196–197, 208.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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2 Clement 12:2 and Gospel of Philip 8:14

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