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Gospel of Philip

About this book

Divine Names; Resurrection

Chapter 3

Some say that Mary conceived by means of the holy Spirit.⁠ They are wrong, not understanding what they say. Has a female ever conceived by means of a female? Mary is the virgin whom no power has defiled. It is a great anathema for the Hebrews, who are the apostles and [the] apostolic ones. This virgin, whom no power has defiled, [...] the powers have defile[d] themselves. The Lord also [would] not [have] said, “my [Father, who is in] heaven,” if he did not have another father. He instead would only have said, [“my Father.”] The Lord said to the [disciples:] “[Take] [from] every [house], and bring (it) into the house of the Father. Do not, however, steal from the house of the Father, and do not take away.” “Jesus” is a concealed name; “Christ” is a revealed name. “Jesus,” consequently, does not exist in any language. Rather, “Jesus” is his name by which he is called. However, regarding “Christ,” its name in Syriac is “Messiah,” but in Greek it is “Christ.” Everyone else has it in accord with each one of their respective languages. “The Nazarene” is the revealed (form) of the concealed. Christ possesses all things inside himself, regardless of whether that be a man, or an angel, or a symbolic image, as well as the Father. Those who say the Lord died first and then rose, they are wrong, because he rose first, and then he died. If someone does not gain the resurrection first, he will not (be able to) die. As God lives, that person would ‹not› d‹ie›. No one would conceal an important and valuable item in a container that looks valuable. Often, however, countless sums have been placed inside a container of little worth. This is the way it is regarding the soul: It is something valuable, and it has come to dwell inside a lowly body.⁠ Some are afraid that they might be resurrected naked. They consequently wish to rise in the flesh, and [they] do not understand that those who wear the [flesh] are the ones who are naked.⁠ These [able] to unclothe themselves [are] not naked. Flesh [and blood shall] not inherit the kingdom [of God].⁠ What shall not inherit? What we wear on us. What, however, shall also inherit? What belongs to Jesus and his blood.⁠ He consequently said: “He who will not eat my flesh and drink my blood, life is not in him.”⁠ What is this? His flesh is the Logos, and his blood is the holy Spirit.⁠ He who has obtained these possesses food, and he possesses drink and garments. Regarding myself, I find in error others who say that it will not rise, or both of them are in error. You say the flesh will not rise. Tell me, though, what shall rise, so we can congratulate you. You say “the spirit inside the flesh.” It is also this other light inside the flesh, it being a logos, because regardless of what you say, you say nothing except in the flesh. It is necessary to rise in this flesh, because all things dwell inside it.⁠ In this world, those who wear garments surpass the garments. In the kingdom of Heaven, the garments surpass those who have donned them.

Texts in conversation

Compare Gospel of Thomas 29 and Authentic Logos 6:3 and Gospel of Philip 3:22

Nag Hammadi

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Summary

In the Gospel of Thomas, spirit in a body is like wealth in a poor home. The soul fills that home in the Authentic Logos and Gospel of Philip, helping explain the shared image of something valuable inside a body worth less than it.

Passages

Gospel of Thomas 29

Nag Hammadi
28 Jesus said, “I stood in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk; none of them thirsted. My soul was pained for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see. They came into the world empty, and they seek to go out of the world empty. But now they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, they will repent.” 29 Jesus said, “If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Yet I marvel at this: how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty.” 30 Jesus said, “Where there are three gods, they are gods; where there are two or one, I am with him.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

Authentic Logos 6:3

Nag Hammadi · Authoritative Teaching
There is, however, a mighty strength hidden inside us. Our soul is indeed sick because she dwells in an impoverished house, while matter throws punches at her eyes, desiring to blind her. This is why she pursues the Logos, even applying it to her eyes like medicine, ‹opening› them and throwing away [blindness...].
150–300 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Authentic Logos

Gospel of Philip 3:22

Nag Hammadi
Often, however, countless sums have been placed inside a container of little worth. This is the way it is regarding the soul: It is something valuable, and it has come to dwell inside a lowly body. Some are afraid that they might be resurrected naked.
180–250 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Philip

References

“... What is clear in this saying is that the close relation of soul-spirit and body-flesh is something extremely regrettable, as GTh 112 makes clear: ‘Woe to the flesh which hangs on the soul. Woe to the soul which hangs on the flesh.’ The ‘astonishment’ in GTh 29 is therefore at something shocking, rather than at something wonderful. [...] 29.3 But I do marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty! Plisch remarks that such an expression of ‘wondering bewilderment’ cannot have referred originally to Jesus, but must have been a commentator’s gloss. It is not so unimaginable, however: Jesus can be amazed in the Synoptic tradition as well (Mk 6.6; Matt. 8.10/Lk. 7.9). The woeful situation of the soul within the body is a common-place. [...] Cf. Gos. Phil. 56,20–26; Auth. Teach. 27,25–27: ‘Our soul is indeed ill, because she dwells in a house of poverty’. ...”
Simon Gathercole, The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 336–337.

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 29 and Authentic Logos 6:3 and Gospel of Philip 3:22

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