GOSPEL OF PHILIP

THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP

Codex II 51, 29-86, 19. Translated by Wesley W. Isenberg. From James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1977), pp. 131-151.

A Hebrew makes another Hebrew, and such a person is called "proselyte." But a proselyte does not make another proselyte. Some both exist just as they are and make others like themselves, while others simply exist.
The slave seeks only to be free, but he does nor hope to acquire the estate of his master. But the son¹ is not only a son but lays claim to the inheritance of the father. Those who are heirs to the dead are themselves dead, and they inherit the dead. Those who are heirs to what is living are alive, and they are heirs to both what is living and the dead. The dead are heirs to nothing. For how can he who is dead inherit? If he who is dead inherits what is living he will not die, but he who is dead will live even more.
A Gentile does not die, for he has never lived in order that he may die. He who has believed in the truth has found life, and this one is in danger of dying, for he is alive. Ever since Christ came the world is created, the cities adorned, the dead carried out. When we were Hebrews we were orphans and had only our mother, but when we became Christians we had both father and mother.²
Those who sow in winter reap in summer. The winter is the world, the summer the other Aeon.³ Let us sow in the world that we may reap in the summer. Because of this it is fitting for us not to pray in the winter. Summer follows winter. But if any man reap in winter he will not actually reap but only pluck out, since this sort of thing will not provide him a harvest. It is not only now that the fruit will not come forth, but also on the Sabbath⁴ his field will be barren.
Christ came to ransom some, to save others, to redeem others. He ransomed those who were strangers and made them his own. And he set his own apart, those whom he gave as a pledge in his will. It was not only when he appeared that he voluntarily laid down his life, but he voluntarily laid down his life from the very day the world came into being. Then he came forth in order to take it, since it had been given as a pledge. It fell into the hands of robbers and was taken captive,⁵ but he saved it. He redeemed the good people in the world as well as the evil.⁶
Light and darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers of one another. They are inseparable. Because of this neither are the good good, nor the evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death. For this reason each one will dissolve into its original nature. But those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal.
Names given to worldly things are very deceptive for they divert our thoughts from what is correct to what is incorrect. Thus one who hears the word "God" does not perceive what is correct, but perceives what is incorrect.⁷ So also with "the Father" and "the Son" and "the Holy Spirit" and "life" and "light" and "resurrection"and "the Church" and all the rest--people do not perceive what is correct, but they perceive what is incorrect,⁸ unless they have come to know what is correct. The names which are heard are in the world to deceive.⁹ If they were in the Aeon, they would at no time be used as names in the world. Nor were they set among worldly things. They have an end in the Aeon.¹⁰
One single name is not uttered in the world, the name which the Father gave to the Son, the name above all things: the name of the Father. For the Son would not become Father unless he wears the name of the Father. Those who have this name know it, but they do not speak it. But those who do not have it do not know it.
But truth brought names into existence in the world because it is not possible to teach it without names. Truth is one single thing and it is also many things for our sakes who learn this one thing in love through many things. The powers wanted to deceive man, since they saw that he had a kinship with those that are truly good. They took the name of those that are good and gave it to those that are not good, so that through the names they might deceive him and bind them to those that are not good. And afterward, if they do them a favor, they will be made to remove them from those that are not good and place them among those that are good. These things they knew, for they wanted to take the free man and make him a slave to them forever.
There are powers which contend against man,¹¹ not wishing him to be saved. For if man is saved, there will not be any sacrifices and animals will not be offered to the powers. They were indeed offering them up alive, but when they offered them up they died. As for man, they offered him up to God¹² dead, and he lived.
Before Christ came there was no bread in the world, just as Paradise, the place where Adam was, had many trees to nourish the animals but no wheat to sustain man. Man used to feed like the animals, but when Christ came, the perfect man, he brought bread from heaven in order that man might be nourished with the food of man. The powers thought that it was by their own power and will that they were doing what they did, but the Holy Spirit in secret was accomplishing everything through them as it wished. Truth, which existed since the beginning, is sown everywhere. And many see it as it is sown, but few are they who see it as it is reaped.
Some said, "Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit." They are in error. They do not know what they are saying. When did a woman ever conceive by a woman? Mary is the virgin whom no power defiled. She is a great anathema to the Hebrews, who are the apostles and the apostolic men. This virgin whom no power defiled; the powers defile themselves. And the Lord would not have said "My Father who is in Heaven" [Matt. 16:17] unless he had had another father, but he would have said simply "My father."
The Lord said to the disciples, "Bring out from every other house. Bring into the house of the Father. But do not take anything in the house of the Father nor carry it off."
"Jesus" is a hidden name; "Christ" is a revealed name for this reason: "Jesus" does not exist in any other language, but his name is always "Jesus," as he is called. "Christ" is also his name: in Syriac it is "Messiah," in Greek it is "Christ." Certainly all the others have it according to their own language. "The Nazarene" is he who reveals what is hidden. Christ has everything in himself-man, angel, mystery, and the Father.
Those who say that the Lord died first and then rose up are in error,¹³ for he rose up first and then died. If one does not first attain the resurrection will he not die? As God lives, he would already be dead.
No one will hide a large valuable object in something large, but many a time one has tossed countless thousands into a thing worth a penny. Compare the soul. It is a precious thing and it came to be in a contemptible body.¹⁴
Some are afraid lest they rise naked. Because of this they wish to rise in the flesh, and they do not know that it is those who wear the flesh who are naked. It is those who (...] to unclothe themselves who are not naked. "Flesh and blood shall not be able to inherit the kingdom of God" [1 Cor. 15:50]. What is this which will not inherit? This which is on us. But what is this very thing which will inherit? It is that which belongs to Jesus and his blood. Because of this he said, "He who shall not eat my flesh and drink my blood has not life in him" [John 6:53]. What is it? His flesh is the word, and his blood is the Holy Spirit. He who has received these has food and he has drink and clothing. I find fault with the others who say that it will not rise. Then both of them are at fault. You say that the flesh will not rise. But tell me what will rise, that we may honor you. You say the spirit in the flesh, and it is also this light in the flesh. But this too is a matter which is in the flesh, for whatever you shall say, you say nothing outside the flesh. It is necessary to rise in this flesh, since everything exists in it. In this world those who put on garments are better than the garments. In the Kingdom of Heaven the garments are better than those who have put them on.
It is through water and fire that the whole place is purified--the visible by the visible, the hidden by the hidden. There are some things hidden through those visible. There is water in water, there is fire in a chrism.
Jesus took them all by stealth, for he did not reveal himself in the manner in which he was, but it was in the manner in which they would be able to see him that he revealed himself. He revealed himself to them all. He revealed himself to the great as great. He revealed himself to the small as small. He revealed himself to the angels as an angel, and to men as a man. Because of this his word hid itself from everyone. Some indeed saw him, thinking that they were seeing themselves, but when he appeared to his disciples in glory on the mount he was not small. He became great, but he made the disciples great, that they might be able to see him in his greatness.
He said on that day in the Thanksgiving, "You who have joined the perfect, the light, with the Holy Spirit, unite the angels with us also, the images." Do not despise the lamb, for without it, it is not possible to see the king. No one will be able to go in to the king if he is naked.
The heavenly man has many more sons than the earthly man. If the sons of Adam are many, although they die, how much more the sons of the perfect man, they who do not die but are always begotten. The father makes a son, and the son has not the power to make a son. For he who has been begotten has not the power to beget, but the son gets brothers for himself, not sons. All who are begotten in the world are begotten in a natural way, and the others in a spiritual way. Those who are begotten by him cry out from that place to the perfect man, because they are nourished on the promise concerning the heavenly place. If the word has gone out from that place it would be nourished from the mouth and it would become perfect. For it is by a kiss that the perfect conceive and give birth. For this reason we also kiss one another. We receive conception from the grace which is in each other.
There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and his sister and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion. His sister and his mother and his companion were each a Mary.
"The Father" and "the Son" are single names, "the Holy Spirit" is a double name. For they are everywhere: they are above, they are below; they are in the concealed, they are in the revealed. The Holy Spirit is in the revealed: it is below. It is in the concealed: it is above.
The saints are served by evil powers, for they are blinded by the Holy Spirit into thinking that they are serving an ordinary man whenever they do something for the saints. Because of this a disciple asked the Lord one day for something of this world. He said to him, "Ask your mother and she will give you of the things which are another's."
The apostles said to the disciples, "May our whole offering obtain salt." They called Sophia "salt." Without it no offering is acceptable. But Sophia is without child. For this reason she is called "a trace of salt." But where they will be in their own way, the Holy Spirit will also be, and her children are many.
What the father possesses belongs to the son, and the son himself, so long as he is small, is not entrusted with what is his. But when he becomes a man his father gives him all that he possesses.
Those who have gone astray, whom the Spirit itself begets, usually go astray also because of the Spirit. Thus, by this one and the same breath, the fire blazes and is put out.
Echamoth is one thing and Echmoth another. Echamoth is Wisdom simply, but Echmoth is the Wisdom of death which is the one who knows death [called "the little Wisdom"].
There are domestic animals like the bull and the ass and others of this kind. Others are wild and live apart in the deserts. Man ploughs the field by means of the domestic animals, and from this he feeds both himself and the animals, whether tame or wild. Compare the perfect man. It is through powers which are submissive that he ploughs, preparing for everything to come into being. For it is because of this that the whole place stands, whether the good or the evil, the right and the left. The Holy Spirit shepherds everyone and rules all the powers, the "tame" ones and the "wild" ones, as well as those which are unique. For indeed he gathers them and shuts them in, in order that these, even if they wish, will not be able to escape.
He who has been created is beautiful, and you would find his sons noble creations. If he was not created but begotten, you would find that his seed was noble. But now he was created and he begot. What nobility is this? First, adultery came into being, afterward murder. And he was begotten in adultery, for he was the child of the serpent. So he became a murderer, just like his father, and he killed his brother. Indeed, every act of sexual intercourse which has occurred between those unlike one another is adultery.
God is a dyer. As the good dyes, which are called "true," dissolve with the things dyed in them, so it is with those whom God has dyed. Since his dyes are immortal, they are immortal by means of his colors. Now God dips what he dips in water.
It is not possible for anyone to see anything of the things that actually exist unless he becomes like them. This is not the way with man in the world: he sees the sun without being a sun; and he sees the heaven and the earth and all other things, but he is not these things. This is quite in keeping with the truth. But you saw something of that place and you became those things. You saw the Spirit and you became spirit. You saw Christ and you became Christ. You saw the Father and you shall become Father. So in this place you see everything and do not see yourself; but in that place you do see yourself--and what you see you shall become.
Faith receives, love gives. No one will be able to receive without faith. No one will be able to give without love. Because of this, in order that we may indeed receive, we believe; but it is so that we may love and give, since if one does not give in love, he has no profit from what he has given. He who has not received the Lord is still a Hebrew.
The apostles who were before us had these names for him: "Jesus, the Nazorean, Messiah," that is, "Jesus, the Nazorean, the Christ." The last name is "Christ," the first is "Jesus," that in the middle is "the Nazarene." "Messiah" has two meanings, both "the Christ" and "the measured." "Jesus" in Hebrew is "the redemption." "Nazara" is "the truth." "The Nazarene," then, is "the truth." "Christ" has been measured. "The Nazarene" and "Jesus" are they who have been measured.
When the pearl is cast down into the mud it does not become greatly despised, nor if it is anointed with balsam oil will it become more precious. But it always has value in the eyes of its owner. Compare the sons of God, wherever they may be. They still have value in the eyes of their Father.
If you say, "I am a Jew," no one will be moved. If you say, "I am a Roman," no one will be disturbed. If you say, "I am a Greek, a barbarian, a slave, a free man," no one will be troubled. If you say, "I am a Christian," the world will tremble. Would that I may receive a name like that! This is the person whom the powers will not be able to endure when they hear his name.
God is a man-eater. For this reason men are sacrificed to him. Before men were sacrificed animals were being sacrificed, since those to whom they were sacrificed were not gods.
Glass decanters and earthenware jugs are both made by means of fire. But if glass decanters break they are done over, for they came into being through a breath. If earthenware jugs break, however, they are destroyed, for they came into being without breath.
An ass which turns a millstone did a hundred miles walking. When it was loosed, it found that it was still at the same place. There are men who make many journeys, but make no progress towards a destination. When evening came upon them, they saw neither city nor village, neither creation nor nature, power nor angel. In vain have the wretches labored.
The eucharist is Jesus. For he is called in Syriac "Pharisatha," which is "the one who is spread out," for Jesus came crucifying the world.
The Lord went into the dye works of Levi. He took seventy-two different colors and threw them into the vat. He took them out all white. And he said, "Even so has the Son of Man come as a dyer." As for the Wisdom who is called "the barren," she is the mother of the angels. And the companion of the Savior is Mary Magdalene. But Christ loved her more than all the disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Savior answered and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her?" When a blind man and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light, and he who is blind will remain in darkness.
The Lord said, "Blessed is he who is before he came into being. For he who is, has been and shall be."
The superiority of man is not obvious to the eye but lies in what is hidden from view. Consequently, he has mastery over the animals which are stronger than he is and great in terms of the obvious and the hidden. This enables them to survive. But if man is separated from them, they slay one another and bite one another. They ate one another because they did not find any food. But now they have found food because man tilled the
If one goes down into the water and comes up without having received anything and says, "I am a Christian," he has borrowed the name at interest. But if he receives the Holy Spirit, he has the name as a gift. He who has received a gift does not have to give it back, but of him who has borrowed it at interest, payment is demanded. This is the way it happens to one when one experiences a mystery.
Great is the mystery of marriage! For without it the world would not have existed. Now the existence of the world depends on man, and the existence of man on marriage. Think of the undefiled relationship, for it possesses a great power. Its image consists of a defilement of the form.
As for the unclean spirits, there are males among them and there are females. The males are they which unite with the souls which inhabit a female form, but the females are they which are mingled with those in a male form, through one who was disobedient. And none shall be able to escape them, since they detain him if he does not receive a male power or a female power--the bridegroom and the bride. One receives them from the mirrored bridal chamber. When the wanton women see a male sitting alone, they leap down on him and play with him and defile him. So also the lecherous men, when they see a beautiful woman sitting alone, they persuade her and compel her, wishing to defile her. But if they see the man and his wife sitting beside one another, the female cannot come into the man, nor can the male come into the woman. So if the image and the angel are united with one another, neither can any venture to go in to the man or the woman.
He who comes out of the world can no longer be detained, because he was in the world. It is evident that he is above desire and fear. He is master over nature. He is superior to envy. If anyone else comes, they seize him and throttle him. And how will this one be able to escape the great grasping powers? How will he be able to hide from them? Often some come and say, "We are faithful," in order that they may be able to escape the unclean spirits and the demons. For if they had the Holy Spirit, no unclean spirit would cleave to them. Fear not the flesh nor love it. If you fear it, it will gain mastery over you. If you love it, it will swallow and paralyze you.
Either he will be in this world or in the resurrection or in the places in the middle. God forbid that I be found in them! In this world there is good and evil. Its good is not good, and its evil not evil. But there is evil after this world which is truly evil-what is called "the Middle." It is death. While we are in this world it is fitting for us to acquire the resurrection for ourselves, so that when we strip off the flesh we may be found in rest and not walk in the Middle. For many go astray on the way. For it is good to come forth from the world before one has sinned .
Some neither desire to sin nor are able to sin. Others, even if they desire to sin, are not better off for not having done it, for this desire makes them sinners. But even if some do not desire to sin, righteousness will be concealed from them both--those who desire not and do not.
An apostolic man in a vision saw some people shut up in a house of fire and bound with fiery chains, lying in flaming ointment. And he said to them, "Why are they not able to be saved? They answered, "They did not desire it. They received this place as punishment, what is called 'the outer darkness,' because he is thrown out into it."
It is from water and fire that the soul and the spirit came into being. It is from water and fire and light that the son of the bridal chamber came into being. The fire is the chrism, the light is the fire. I am not referring to that fire which has no form, but to the other fire whose form is white, which is bright and beautiful, and which gives beauty.
Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. One will not receive truth in any other way. There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary that they should be born again through the image. What is the resurrection? The image must rise again through the image. The bridegroom and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration. It is appropriate that those who do not have it not only acquire the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but that they have acquired it on their own. If one does not acquire the name for himself, the name "Christian" will also be taken from him.
But one receives them in the aromatic unction of the power of the cross. This power the apostles called "the right and the left." For this person is no longer a Christian but a Christ.
The Lord did everything in a mystery, a baptism and a chrism and a eucharist and a redemption and a bridal chamber.
The Lord said, "I came to make the things below like the things above, and the things outside like those inside. I came to unite them in that place." He revealed himself in this place through types and images. Those who say, "There is a heavenly man and there is one above him," are wrong. For he who is revealed in Heaven is that heavenly man, the one who is called "the one who is below"; and he to whom the hidden belongs is that one who is above him. For it is good that they should say, "The inner and the outer, with what is outside the outer." Because of this, the Lord called destruction "the outer darkness"; there is not another outside of it. He said, "My Father who is in secret." He said, "Go into your chamber and shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father who is in secret" [Matt. 6:6], the one who is within them all. But that which is within them all is the fullness. Beyond it there is nothing else within it. This is that of which they say, "That which is above them."
Before Christ some came from a place they were no longer able to enter, and they went where they were no longer able to come out. Then Christ came. Those who went in he brought out, and those who went out he brought in.
When Eve was still in Adam, death did not exist. When she was separated from him, death came into being. If he again becomes complete and attains his former self, death will be no more.
"My God, my God, why, O Lord, have you forsaken me?" [Mark 15:34 and parallels]. It was on the cross that he said these words, for it was there that he was divided.
Everyone who has been begotten through him who destroys did not emanate from God.
The Lord rose from the dead. He became as he used to be, but now his body was perfect. He did indeed possess flesh, but this flesh is true flesh. Our flesh is not true, but we possess only an image of the true.
A bridal chamber is not for the animals, nor is it for the slaves, nor for the defiled women; but it is for the free men and virgins.
Through the Holy Spirit we are indeed begotten again, but we are begotten through Christ in the two. We are anointed through the Spirit. When we were begotten we were united. None shall be able to see himself either in water or in a mirror without light. Nor again will you be able to see in light without water or mirror. For this reason it is fitting to baptize in the two, in the light and the water. Now the light is the chrism.
There were three buildings specifically for sacrifice in Jerusalem. The one facing west was called "the Holy." Another facing south was called "the Holy of the Holy." The third facing east was called "the Holy of the Holies," the place where only the high priest enters. Baptism is "the Holy" building. Redemption is "the Holy of the Holy." "The Holy of the Holies" is the bridal chamber. Baptism includes the resurrection and the redemption; the redemption takes place in the bridal chamber. But the bridal chamber is in that which is superior to it and the others, because you will not find anything like it. Those who are familiar with it are those who pray in "the Holy" in Jerusalem. There are some in Jerusalem who pray only in Jerusalem, awaiting the Kingdom of Heaven. These are called "the Holy of the Holies," because before the veil was rent we had no other bridal chamber except the image of the bridal chamber which is above. Because of this, its veil was rent from top to bottom. For it was fitting for some from below to go upward.
The powers do not see those who are clothed in the perfect light, and consequently are not able to detain them. One will clothe himself in this light sacramentally in the union.
If the woman had not separated from the man, she would not die with the man. His separation became the beginning of death. Because of this Christ came to repair the separation which was from the beginning and to again unite the two, to give life to those who died as a result of the separation and unite them. But the woman is united to her husband in the bridal chamber. Indeed, those who have united in the bridal chamber will no longer be separated. Thus Eve separated from Adam because she was never united with him in the bridal chamber.
The soul of Adam came into being by means of a breath, which is a synonym for spirit. The spirit given him is his mother. His soul was replaced by a spirit. When he was united to the spirit, he spoke words incomprehensible to the powers. They envied him because they were separated from the spiritual union. This separation afforded them the opportunity to fashion for themselves the symbolic bridal chamber so that men would be defiled.
Jesus revealed himself at the Jordan: it was the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven. He who was begotten before everything was begotten anew. He who was once anointed was anointed anew. He who was redeemed in turn redeemed others.
Is it permitted to utter a mystery? The Father of everything united with the virgin who came down, and a fire shone for him on that day. He appeared in the great bridal chamber. Therefore his body came into being on that very day. It left the bridal chamber as one who came into being from the bridegroom and the bride. So Jesus established everything in it through these. It is fitting for each of the disciples to enter into his rest.
Adam came into being from two virgins, from the Spirit and from the virgin earth. Christ, therefore, was born from a virgin to rectify the Fall which occurred in the beginning.
There are two trees growing in Paradise. One bears animals, the other bears men. Adam ate from the tree which bore animals. He became an animal and he brought forth animals. For this reason the children of Adam worship animals. The tree whose fruit Adam ate is the Tree of Knowledge. That is why sins increased. If he ate the fruit of the other tree, that is to say, the fruit of the Tree of Life, the one which bears men, then the gods would worship man. For in the beginning God created man. But now men create God. That is the way it is in the world--men make gods and worship their creation. It would be fitting for the gods to worship men!
Surely what a man accomplishes depends on his abilities. We even refer to one's accomplishments as "abilities." Among his accomplishments are his children. They originate in a moment of ease. Thus his abilities determine what he may accomplish, but this ease is clearly evident in the children. You will find that this applies directly to the image. Here is the man made after the image, accomplishing things with his physical strength but producing his children with ease.
In this world the slaves serve the free. In the Kingdom of Heaven the free will minister to the slaves: the children of the bridal chamber will minister to the children of the marriage. The children of the bridal chamber have just one name. Together they share rest. They need take no other form because they have contemplation, comprehending by insight. They are numerous because they do not put their treasure in the things below, which are despised, but in the glories which are above, though they did not yet know them.
Those who will be baptized go down into the water. But Christ, by coming out of the water, will consecrate it, so that they who have received baptism in his name may be perfect. For he said, "Thus we should fulfill all righteousness" [Matt. 3:15].
Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they die they will receive nothing. So also when speaking about baptism they say, "Baptism is a great thing," because if people receive it they will live.
Philip the apostle said, "Joseph the carpenter planted a garden because he needed wood for his trade. It was he who made the cross from the trees which he planted. His own offspring hung on that which he planted. His offspring was Jesus and the planting was the cross." But the Tree of Life is in the middle of the Garden. However, it is from the olive tree that we got the chrism, and from the chrism, the resurrection.
This world is a corpse-eater. All the things eaten in it themselves die also. Truth is a life-eater. Therefore no one nourished by truth will die. It was from that place that Jesus came and brought food. To those who so desired he gave life, that they might not die.
God planted a Garden. Man was put into the Garden. There were many trees there for him, and man lived in this place with the blessing and in the image of God. The things which are in it I will eat as I wish. This garden is the place where they will say to me, "O man, eat this or do not eat that, just as you wish." This is the place where I will eat all things, since the Tree of Knowledge is there. That one killed Adam, but here the Tree of Knowledge made men alive. The law was the tree. It has power to give the knowledge of good and evil. It neither removed him from evil, nor did it set him in the good, but it created death for those who ate of it. For when he said, "Eat this, do not eat that," it became the beginning of death.
The chrism is superior to baptism, for it is from the word "chrism" that we have been called "Christians," certainly not because of the word "baptism." And it is because of the chrism that "the Christ" has his name. For the Father anointed the Son, and the Son anointed the apostles, and the apostles anointed us. He who has been anointed possesses everything; he possesses the resurrection, the light, the cross, the Holy Spirit. The Father gave him this in the bridal chamber; he merely accepted the gift. The Father was in the Son and the Son in the Father. This is the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Lord said it well: "Some have entered the Kingdom of Heaven laughing and they have come out." They do not remain there--the one because he is not a Christian, the other because he regrets his action afterward. And as soon as Christ went down into the water, he came out laughing at everything of this world, not because he considers it a trifle, but because he is full of contempt for it. He who wants to enter the Kingdom of Heaven will attain it. If he despises everything of this world and scorns it as a trifle, he will come out laughing. So it is also with the bread and the cup and the oil, even though there is another one superior to these.
The world came about through a mistake. For he who created it wanted to create it imperishable and immortal. He fell short of attaining his desire. For the world never was imperishable, nor, for that matter, was he who made the world. For things are not imperishable, but sons are. Nothing will be able to receive imperishability if it does not first become a son. But he who has not the ability to receive, how much more will he be unable to give?
The cup of prayer contains wine and water, since it is appointed as the type of the blood for which thanks is given. And it is full of the Holy Spirit, and it belongs to the wholly perfect man. When we drink this, we shall receive for ourselves the perfect man. The living water is a body. It is necessary that we put on the living man. Therefore, when he is about to go down into the water, he unclothes himself, in order that he may put on the living man.
A horse sires a horse, a man begets man, a god brings forth a god. Compare the bridegroom and the bride. Their children were conceived in the bridal chamber. No Jew was ever born to Greek parents as long as the world has existed. And, as a Christian people, we ourselves do not descend from the Jews. There was another people and these blessed ones are referred to as "the chosen people of the living God" and "the true man" and "the Son of man" and "the seed of the Son of man." In the world it is called "this true people." Where they are, there are the sons of the bridal chamber.
Whereas in this world the union is one of husband with wife--a case of strength complemented by weakness--in the Aeon the form of the union is different, although we refer to them by the same names. There are other names, however; they are superior to every name that is named and are stronger than the strong. For where there is a show of strength, there those who excel in strength appear. These are not separate things, but both of them are this one single thing. This is the one which will not be able to rise above the heart of flesh.
Is it not necessary for all those who possess everything to know themselves? Some indeed, if they do not know themselves, will not enjoy what they possess. But those who have come to know themselves will enjoy their possessions.
Not only will they be unable to detain the perfect man, but they will not be able to see him, for if they see him they will detain him. There is no other way for a person to acquire this quality except by putting on the perfect light and becoming perfect oneself. Everyone who has put this on will enter the kingdom. This is the perfect light, and it is necessary that we, by all means, become perfect men before we leave the world. He who has received everything and has not rid himself of these places will not be able to share in that place, but will go to the Middle as imperfect. Only Jesus knows the end of this person.
The priest is completely holy, down to his very body. For if he has taken the bread, will he consecrate it? Or the cup or anything else that he gets, does he consecrate them? Then how will he not consecrate the body also?
By perfecting the water of baptism, Jesus emptied it of death. Thus we do go down into the water, but we do not go down into death in order that we may not be poured out into the spirit of the world. When that spirit blows, it brings the winter. When the Holy Spirit breathes, the summer comes.
He who has knowledge of the truth is a free man, but the free man does not sin, for "he who sins is the slave of sin." [ John 8:34]. Truth is the mother, knowledge the father. Those who think that sinning does not apply to them are called "free" by the world. Knowledge of the truth merely makes such people arrogant, which is what the words "it makes them free" mean. It even gives them a sense of superiority over the whole world. But "love builds up" [1 Cor. 8:1]. In fact, he who is really free through knowledge is a slave because of love for those who have not yet been able to attain to the freedom of knowledge. Knowledge makes them capable of becoming free. Love never calls something its own, and yet it may actually possess that very thing. It never says "This is mine" or "That is mine," but "All these are yours." Spiritual love is wine and fragrance. All those who anoint themselves with it take pleasure in it. While those who are anointed are present, those nearby also profit from the fragrance. If those anointed with ointment withdraw from them and leave, then those not anointed, who merely stand nearby, still remain in their bad odor. The Samaritan gave nothing but wine and oil to the wounded man. It is nothing other than the ointment. It healed the wounds, for "love covers a multitude of sins" [1 Pet. 4:8].
The children a woman bears resemble the man who loves her. If her husband loves her, then they resemble her husband. If it is an adulterer, then they resemble the adulterer. Frequently, if a woman sleeps with her husband out of necessity, while her heart is with the adulterer with whom she usually has intercourse, the child she will bear is born resembling the adulterer. Now you who live together with the Son of God, love not the world, but love the Lord, in order that those you will bring forth may not resemble the world, but may resemble the Lord.
The human being has intercourse with the human being. The horse has intercourse with the horse, the ass with the ass. Members of a race usually have associated with those of like race. So spirit mingles with spirit, and thought consorts with thought, and light shares with light. If you are born a human being, it is the human being who will love you. If you become a spirit, it is the spirit which will be joined to you. If you become thought, it is thought which will mingle with you. If you become light, it is the light which will share with you. If you become one of those who belong above, it is those who belong above who will rest in you. If you become horse or ass or bull or dog or sheep or another of the animals which are outside or below, then neither human being nor spirit nor thought nor light will be able to love you. Neither those who belong above nor those who belong within will be able to rest in you, and you have no part in them.
He who is a slave against his will, will be able to become free. He who has become free by the favor of his master and has sold himself into slavery will no longer be able to be free.
Farming in the world requires the cooperation of four essential elements. A harvest is gathered into the barn only as a result of the natural action of water, earth, wind, and light. God's farming likewise has four elements-faith, hope, love, and knowledge. Faith is our earth, that in which we take root. And hope is the water through which we are nourished. Love is the wind through which we grow. Knowledge then is the light through which we ripen. Grace exists in four ways: it is earthborn; it is heavenly; it comes from the highest heaven; and it resides in truth.
Blessed is the one who on no occasion caused a soul distress. That person is Jesus Christ. He came to the whole place and did not burden anyone. Therefore, blessed is the one who is like this, because he is a perfect man. This indeed is the Word. Tell us about it, since it is difficult to define. How shall we be able to accomplish such a great thing? How will he give everyone comfort? Above all, it is not proper to cause anyone distress-whether the person is great or small, unbeliever or believer--and then give comfort only to those who take satisfaction in good deeds. Some find it advantageous to give comfort to the one who has fared well. He who does good deeds cannot give comfort to such people, for it goes against his will. He is unable to cause distress, however, since he does not afflict them. To be sure, the one who fares well sometimes causes people distress-not that he intends to do so; rather, it is their own wickedness which is responsible for their distress. He who possesses the qualities of the perfect man rejoices in the good. Some, however, are terribly distressed by all this.
There was a householder who had every conceivable thing, be it son or slave or cattle or dog or pig or corn or barley or chaff or grass or castor oil or meat and acorn. Now he was a sensible fellow and he knew what the food of each one was. He himself served the children bread and meat. He served the slaves castor oil and meal. And he threw barley and chaff and grass to the cattle. He threw bones to the dogs, and to the pigs he threw acorns and scraps of bread. Compare the disciple of God: if he is a sensible fellow he understands what discipleship is all about. The bodily forms will not deceive him, but he will look at the condition of the soul of each one and speak with him. There are many animals in the world which are in human form. When he identifies them, to the swine he will throw acorns, to the cattle he will throw barley and chaff and grass, to the dogs he will throw bones. To the slaves he will give only the elementary lessons, but to the children he will give the complete instruction.
There is the Son of man and there is the son of the Son of man. The Lord is the Son of man, and the son of the Son of man is he who is created through the Son of man. The Son of man received from God the capacity to create. He also has the ability to beget. He who has received the ability to create is a creature. He who has received the ability to beget is an offspring. He who creates cannot beget. He who begets also has power to create. Now they say, "He who creates begets." But his so-called "offspring" is merely a creature. Therefore his children are not offspring but creatures. He who creates works openly; he himself is visible. He who begets, begets in private; he himself is hidden, since he is superior to every image. He who creates, creates openly. But one who begets, begets children in private. No one will be able to know when the husband and the wife have intercourse with one another, except the two of them. Indeed, marriage in the world is a mystery for those who have taken a wife. If there is a hidden quality to the marriage of defilement, how much more is the undefiled marriage a true mystery! It is not fleshly but pure. It belongs not to desire but to the will. It belongs not to the darkness or the night but to the day and the light. If a marriage is open to the public, it has become prostitution, and the bride plays the harlot not only when she is impregnated by another man but even if she slips out of her bedroom and is seen. Let her show herself only to her father and her mother and to the friend of the bridegroom and the sons of the bridegroom. These are permitted to enter every day into the bridal chamber. But let the others yearn just to listen to her voice and to enjoy her ointment, and let them feed from the crumbs that fall from the table, like dogs. Bridegrooms and brides belong to the bridal chamber. No one shall be able to see the bridegroom with the bride unless one becomes one.
When Abraham rejoiced that he was to see what he was to see, he circumcised the flesh of the foreskin, teaching us that it is proper to destroy the flesh.
Most things in the world, as long as their inner parts are hidden, stand upright and live. If they are revealed they die, as is illustrated by the visible man: as long as the intestines of the man are hidden, the man is alive; when his intestines are exposed and come out of him, the man will die. So also with the tree: while its root is hidden it sprouts and grows. If its root is exposed, the tree dries up. So it is with every birth that is in the world, not only with the revealed but with the hidden. For so long as the root of wickedness is hidden, it is strong. But when it is recognized, it is dissolved. When it is revealed, it perishes. That is why the word says, "Already the ax is laid at the root of the trees" [Matt. 3:10]. It will not merely cut--what is cut sprouts again--but the ax penetrates deeply until it brings up the root. Jesus pulled out the root of the whole place, while others did it only partially. As for ourselves, let each one of us dig down after the root of evil which is within one, and let one pluck it out of one's heart from the root. It will be plucked out if we recognize it. But if we are ignorant of it, it takes root in us and produces its fruit in our heart. It masters us. We are its slaves. It takes us captive, to make us do what we do not want; and what we do want we do not do. It is powerful because we have not recognized it. While it exists it is active. Ignorance is the mother of all evil. Ignorance will eventuate in death, because those who come from ignorance neither were nor are nor shall be. But those who are in the truth will be perfect when all the truth is revealed. For truth is like ignorance: while it is hidden it rests in itself, but when it is revealed and is recognized, it is praised inasmuch as it is stronger than ignorance and error. It gives freedom. The word said, "If you know the truth, the truth will make you free" [John 8:32]. Ignorance is a slave. Knowledge is freedom. If we know the truth, we shall find the fruits of the truth within us. If we are joined to it, it will bring fulfillment.
At the present time we have the manifest things of creation. We say, "The strong are they who are held in high regard. And the obscure are the weak who are despised." Contrast the manifest things of truth: they are weak and despised, while the hidden things are strong and held in high regard. The mysteries of truth are revealed, though in type and image. The bridal chamber, however, remains hidden. It is the holy in the holy. The veil at first concealed how God controlled the creation, but when the veil is rent and the things inside are revealed, this house will be left desolate, or rather will be destroyed. But the whole inferior godhead will not flee from these places into the holies of the holies, for it will not be able to mix with the unmixed light and the flawless fullness, but will be under the wings of the cross and under its arms. This ark will be its salvation when the flood of water surges over them. If some belong to the order of the priesthood, they will be able to go within the veil with the high priest. For this reason the veil was not rent at the top only since it would have been open only to those above; nor was it rent at the bottom only since it would have been revealed only to those below. But it was rent from top to bottom. Those above opened to us who are below, in order that we may go in to the secret of the truth. This truly is what is held in high regard, since it is strong! But we shall go in there by means of lowly types and forms of weakness. They are lowly indeed when compared with the perfect glory. There is glory which surpasses glory. There is power which surpasses power. Therefore, the perfect things have opened to us, together with the hidden things of truth. The holies of the holies were revealed, and the bridal chamber invited us in.
As long as it is hidden, wickedness is indeed ineffectual, but it has not been removed from the midst of the seed of the Holy Spirit. They are slaves of evil. But when it is revealed, then the perfect light will flow out on everyone. And all those who are in it will receive the chrism. Then the slaves will be free and the captives ransomed. "Every plant which my father who is in heaven has not planted will be plucked out" [Matt. 15:13]. Those who are separated will be united and will be filled. Every one who will enter the bridal chamber will kindle the light, for it burns just as in the marriages which are observed, though they happen at night. That fire burns only at night and is put out. But the mysteries of this marriage are perfected rather in the day and the light. Neither that day nor its light ever sets. If anyone becomes a son of the bridal chamber, he will receive the light. If anyone does not receive it while he is in these places, he will not be able to receive it in the other place. He who will receive that light will not be seen, nor can he be detained. And none shall be able to torment a person like this even while he dwells in the world. And again, when he leaves the world he has already received the truth in the images. The world has become the Aeon, for the Aeon is fullness for him. This is the way it is: it is revealed to him alone, not hidden in the darkness and the night, but hidden in a perfect day and a holy light.