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Gospel of Philip

About this book

Names-Labels; Truth and Error

Chapter 2

The names assigned to what pertains to the world include a great error. This is because they cause the mind to stray from what is right to what is not right. Even he who hears “God” does not think of what is right, but he thinks of what is not right. The same is even the case with “the Father,” and “the Son,” and “the holy Spirit,” and “the life,” and “the light,” and “the resurrection,” and “the church,” and everything else. It is not the case that [what is right] is thought of, but what is [not] right is thought of, unless they have thought the right way. The [names that are heard] pertain to the world. [...] [deceive]. [If they pertained] to the age (to come) they would never have been assigned as names in the world, nor would they have been assigned to things pertaining to the world. They will have their end in the age (to come). There is one name that is not spoken in the world, the name the Father gave to the Son. It is exalted above all, being the name of the Father, because the Son would not have become Father if he had not donned the name of the Father. Those who possess this name know what it is, but they do not speak it. Those, however, who do not possess it, do not know what it is. Truth, however, brought forth names in the world for our sakes, because we cannot learn it apart from the names. Truth is both one and many, and it is our concern to teach this one thing alone in love by means of the many. The archons wanted to mislead the man because they saw he enjoyed kinship with what is truly good. They took the name of what is good and they applied it to those that are not good, in order that by means of the names they could mislead him and attach them to those that are not good, and subsequently, as though they are performing a service for them, to separate them from those that are not good, and to relocate them to those that are good. Of these matters they were aware, because they desired to take the one who was free and put him into slavery to them perpetually. There are powers that exist that [...] for man. They do not wish him to be [saved], in order that they may become [...], because if man [were saved], sacrifices [would not] take place, [...] and animals were sacrificed to the powers, because those who were sacrificed were animals. They were sacrificed while alive. However, when they were sacrificed, they died. The Man was sacrificed to God while dead, and he lived. Before Christ came, bread was lacking in the world, just as in Paradise, the place where Adam dwelt, several trees existed as food for the animals. There was no wheat there to serve as food for the man. The man ate like the animals. However, when Christ came, the Perfect Man, he brought bread from heaven, in order that the man would be fed with food appropriate for the man.⁠ The archons were thinking it was through their power and their desire that they were acting as they did. However, the holy Spirit in secret was bringing about everything by means of them as she wished. Truth, which has existed from the beginning, is sown in all places, and many are they who see it when it is sown. However, few there are who see it when it is reaped.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Gospel of Thomas 73 and Gospel of Philip 2:31

Nag Hammadi

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Summary

In the Gospel of Thomas, the harvest is large but there are few workers. In the Gospel of Philip, truth is the harvest and few people see it, changing the problem from a shortage of workers to a shortage of people who recognize the truth.

Passages

Gospel of Thomas 73

Nag Hammadi
72 A man said to him, “Tell my brothers to divide my father’s possessions with me.” He said to him, “Man, who has made me a divider?” He turned to his disciples and said to them, “I am not a divider, am I?” 73 Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore, beg the Lord to send out laborers for the harvest.” 74 He said, “Lord, there are many around the well, but there is nothing in the well.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

Gospel of Philip 2:31

Nag Hammadi
The archons were thinking it was through their power and their desire that they were acting as they did. However, the holy Spirit in secret was bringing about everything by means of them as she wished. Truth, which has existed from the beginning, is sown in all places, and many are they who see it when it is sown. However, few there are who see it when it is reaped.
180–250 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Philip

References

“... But the workers are few. The reference to the few as ‘workers’ may also have been part of the appeal of this saying, given the ‘few’ elect (cf. GTh 23) and the importance of ‘labouring’ in Thomas (see note on GTh 20 above). In addition to the Synoptic parallel noted above, a very similar sentiment with the same imagery is found in the Gospel of Philip: ‘Truth, which existed since the beginning, is sown everywhere. And many see it being sown, but few are they who see it being reaped.’ (Gos. Phil. 55,19–22). ...”
Simon Gathercole, The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 484.

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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Gospel of Thomas 73 and Gospel of Philip 2:31

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