ON LOVE; PART XDXI

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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The Gospel of Thomas

These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke. And Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.

(46) Jesus says: “From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women there is no one who surpasses John the Baptist so that his (i.e., John’s) eyes need not be downcast.  But I have also said: ‘Whoever among you becomes little will know the kingdom, and will surpass John.’”

(47) Jesus says: “It is impossible for a person to mount two horses and to stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters. Else he will honor the one and insult the other. No person drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins, so that they do not burst; nor is old wine put into (a) new wineskin, so that it does not spoil it. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, because a tear will result.“

(48) Jesus says: “If two make peace with one another in one and the same house, (then) they will say to the mountain: ‘Move away,’ and it will move away.“

(49) Jesus says: “Blessed are the solitary ones, the elect. For you will find the kingdom.  For you come from it (and) will return to it.“

(50) Jesus says: “If they say to you: ‘Where do you come from?’ (then) say to them: ‘We have come from the light, the place where the light has come into being by itself, has established [itself] and has appeared in their image.’If they say to you: ‘Is it you?’ (then) say: ‘We are his children, and we are the elect of the living Father.’If they ask you: ‘What is the sign of your Father among you?’ (then) say to them: ‘It is movement and repose.’” ¹⁴

Using the idea from the previous saying that the two who make peace are the Soul and his expression in the world which makes the man in the world the Unified expression of the divine nature, we adopted the Interlinear idea of the single-one in place of the more generally used rendering of the forty ninth verse which gives us solitary. While solitary may be a good rendering for this Coptic word that the Interlinear calls single-one, it does not work for us in this context where we can be sure that the Master IS NOT speaking about a man in the world being alone. To become the elect or, as others render this, the chosen, one must possess some degree of spiritual nature and this idea of being solitary or alone does not suffice to explain this while our idea of the Soul expressing through his form does mean the single-one, the single-minded man, focused upon the things of God in the world of men. It IS this man, the disciple if you will, who “will find the kingdom” which IS as we KNOW the goal and the accomplishment of Life in form; discipleship IS the result of the steady process of Repentance and Transformation which creates in a man the Unity of the True self, the Soul, and his expression, the Life in the world. This IS the reality of this saying and this is the Truth of the prior saying as well where we should see that in the fullness of this expression one can “say to the mountain: ‘Move away,’ and it will move away“; this awesome power is of course only found in the totality of KNOWING which in turn IS only found in that fullness of expression where the Unity of Soul and his expression as the man in the world can say with the Master that “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

The end part of this saying that tells us that we come from the Kingdom and we return to the Kingdom is a part of our core and basic beliefs about Life and God as we understand that the Soul is ever in the Kingdom and, while he has never left this existence, he does nonetheless lose sight of this reality in his consciousness through form. Here we can try to see that the journey back to the Kingdom is a journey of consciousness and the fulfillment of Life’s goal is to bring this consciousness out of the world of form where the man is focused and to the Inner world which is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of which the Master tells us that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This Kingdom Within IS the Soul, it IS the Christ Within and the God Within and one’s return to this Kingdom is found in the realization of the Soul as the True man and then the steady change of the focus of the conscious Life of man from the self in the world to the True self which IS the Soul; it is in this change of focus that the expression of the man in the world becomes the Love and the Power of the Soul and it is in this that a man returns to the Kingdom of God. In the yet greater view of this idea of the Kingdom, that “you come from it (and) will return to it“, we should try to see the idea that before the first incarnation of a man, that he was a Soul in the Kingdom of God who, for whatsoever reason, incarnates in the Earth with the sole objective of returning to the Kingdom when his work in form is complete. It is this work that we can briefly say is to be as the Master, to be the fullness of the Godhead bodily in this world; it is in this that a man does return completely whence he came.

Our next saying, the fiftieth is another that is seemingly obscure and which is in regard to the nature of the man in the world as a Soul. This is another that we will take in parts as follows:

• “If they say to you: Where do you come from?’ (then) say to them: ‘We have come from the light, the place where the light has come into being by itself, has established [itself] and has appeared in their image”.
• “If they say to you: ‘s it you?’ (then) say: ‘We are his children, and we are the elect of the living Father”.
• “If they ask you: What is the sign of your Father among you?’ (then) say to them: ‘It is movement and repose“.

There is nothing quite like this in the accepted gospels save that some of the answers can be found in the words of the Master regarding Himself and some of the words of the apostles regarding Him. There are several comments on this saying of which we will post some:

• Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “This saying continues the thought of Saying 50. The disciples are the light of the world (Matthew 7:14) because Jesus is th elight of the world (John 8:12). They are from above, from the place where the light shines in the darkness (John 1:5). They are sons of the light (?), and the elect. If men ask for a sign, as they asked Jesus (Mark 8:11-12; Matthew 16:1-4; Luke 11:16, 29-30), no startling miracle can be shown them, but only ‘a movement and a rest.’ The ‘rest’ must be the rest characteristic of the kingdom (Sayings 1 [Greek], 52, 90); the ‘movement’ is ultimately that of the unmoved mover, according to the Naassenes (Hippolytus, Ref., 5, 7, 25).” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 160-161).
• F. F. Bruce writes: “The subject-matter of this saying is much the same as that of Saying 49; for the place of light cf. Sayings 24, 77. The relationship to the living Father has been mentioned in Saying 3 (cf. Saying 37). For the ‘image’ see Saying 83. The ‘movement’ may be the re-ascent to the realm of light; the ‘rest’ is probably that which is the goal of the true Gnostic (Sayings 1 [Greek], 51, 90).” (Jesus and Christian Origens Outside the New Testament, p. 133).
• Stevan Davies writes: “In Gos. Thom. 50 ‘they’ are perhaps people to whom Thomasine Christians may chance to speak, possible converts to a missionary movement. But more likely, since questioning ‘disciples’ are specified in sayings 51, 52, 53, the questioning ‘they’ of saying 50 are probably intended to be leaders who appeal to the tradition of the disciples. That Thomas is engaged in dispute with ‘those who lead you’ is evident from saying 3.” “Koester and Patterson’s often-published perspective on sayings 49 and 50 is plain wrong. They believe that one may justly infer that these sayings especially, but others as well, derive from the thought world of those Gnostics who ‘believed that both their origin and their destiny lay in the supreme deity who dwells in a heavenly place removed from the evil world, the creation of a rebellious angel or demiurge…’ and that saying 50 speaks of ‘the simple memorization of passwords’ to be delivered to archons so as to enable Thomasine Christians to ascend from the confines of this world when the time comes . . . These ideas apply to the Apocryphon of John but not to the Gospel of Thomas in whole or in part. Thomas urges individuals to seek and find the kingdom of God spread upon the earth now (sayings 3, 113). Those who come from the light come from light here now (sayings 24, 77). The light of the beginning is here now (saying 18) and Thomas’s references to the beginning are consistent with first-century exegesis of Genesis 1 and 2. Thomas nowhere refers to any demiurge or to any rebellious angel or any place for the kingdom apart from this world). Thomas knows nothing of archons to whom passwords are to be delivered, nor does Thomas mention any ascent by anyone to anywhere.”  “As all things came from the light (saying 77), so those who came from the light are distinguished not by their manner of origin but by their realization of the fact. the place in which the light came into being is the place of Gen 1:3. Because the light persists in the world as the kingdom of God, there is no idea here of a fall of the light. A person who is the restored unmanifest image of God will manifest to himself the primordial light which is upon the world (sayings 22, 24, 83, 84).” “Light is the creative force in Thomas (Gos. Thom. 77; Gen 1:3). As people are created through the light of the Father, they are children of the light or sons of the living Father (saying 3) or, equivalently, the elect of the living Father. Whereas all people are potentially children of the light, only those aware of this fact are in actuality children, elect, sons, etc.” “The seven days of Genesis begin with the Spirit moving upon the waters, continue through six days of the movement of creation, and conclude with a day of repose. If the state of actualized humanity is that of the beginning–insofar as the beginning is movement and repose–then the sign of the Father in actualized humanity is the same.”  Stevan Davies writes: “The colloquy found in saying 50 between people who know their origins and people who interrogate them, asking ‘Where do you come from?’ ‘Is it you?’ and asking for ‘the sign of your father within you,’ is not unlike colloquies found in the Gospel of John. In John 8:12-59, for example we find such statements as ‘I am the light of the world,’ ‘I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going,’ as well as such questions as ‘they said to him, “Where is your father?”‘; ‘they said to him, “Who are you?”‘; and ‘how can you say, “You will become free?”‘ The rather well-established similarities between Thomas and John should lead one to look to John for clues to the understanding of Thomas’s enigmas.” (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm).
• Funk and Hoover write: “The miniature catechism of Thomas 49 is continued in this complex of sayings. The antecedent of the pronoun ‘they’ in v. 1 is unspecified, but the pattern of hypothetical questions followed by appropriate responses is often repeated in gnostic instructional materials, such as many of the tractates found in the Nag Hammadi library. In these materials, the ‘they’ often refers to the various rulers (or powers) who guard the way heavenward – the way back to the region of light – through which those who are saved must pass. The responses are passwords designed to placate these heavenly guardians. Both the language and the ideas in this miniature catechism are far removed from the language and ideas of Jesus.” (The Five Gospels, p. 502).
• Marvin Meyer writes: “This saying is one of the most overtly mythological sayings in the Gospel of Thomas. Much of what is recounted here is familiar from ancient descriptions of the life of the soul, particularly gnostic descriptions (for example, the Hymn of the Pearl in Acts of Thomas 108-13). Many of the specific features of this saying resemble the myth that is presented in more detail in the Secret Book of John. The question asked and the answers given in the saying also recall accounts of the heavenly powers interrogating the soul as it passes through the spheres of heaven. According to Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.21.5, the soul is to respond, ‘I am a child of the father, the father who is preexistent, a child, moreover, is the one who is preexistent. . . . I trace my origin from the one who is preexistent and back to what is my own, from where I have come.’ Then, Irenaeus observes, it is thought that the soul can escape from the powers.” (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 89).
• Helmut Koester writes: “The religious perspective represented in such Thomas sayings as these [49 and 50] has often been associated with Gnosticism. Gnostics believed that both their origin and their destiny lay in the supreme deity who dwells in a heavenly place removed from the evil world, the creation of a rebellious angel or demiurge. Though this demiurge seeks to hold humans in ignorance of their true identity, in sleepiness and intoxication, a divine messenger will come and awake them and relieve them from the bonds of ignorance by bringing true knowledge about themselves. In saying #28 of the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus speaks with the voice of this heavenly messenger . . . However, this moment of return to which the Thomas Christians aspire requires preparation beyond the simple memorization of passwords, about which Gos. Thom. 50 speaks. One must also cultivate the proper understanding of the world in order to be ready to leave its confines when the time comes: [56 and 80].” (Ancient Christian Gospels, pp. 125-126)

In this group of comments there are some ideas that speak to the apostles intent in repeating these words that are attributed to the Master and while many play these down as Gnostic themed sayings, others relate the writings to the writings and style of the Apostle John. Mr. Davies has quite a lot to say here and this appears to be from a view of Christian doctrine and there is a tone in his comments that lends to his believing that these sayings are authentic, especially his remarks of comparison to John and his idea that understanding John may help in understanding some of what Thomas has to say. The idea above of passwords misses the point and unless these are used in mortal terms as to enter a place or a meeting, the concept is built around mystical rites and rituals only as seen in the idea that in regard to the questions that The responses are passwords designed to placate these heavenly guardians. If we view these questions as real and the answers as real we may learn much about the Master’s thoughts and the apostles conveyance of these thoughts which are largely untouched by the writers of the accepted gospels. The purported mystical aspects are also misplaced as there is nothing but mystical in ALL of Jesus words but this is not mystical as we may understand the idea today; it is rather the mystical tone of the Master is the revelation of the mysteries to those who “hath ears to ear” which IS a much used saying in the synoptic gospels. Mr. Davies makes it a point of telling us that the view of others is ‘plain wrong‘ and this is likely because of his own doctrinal view; those ideas with which he disagrees are here below and are presented by a different group of names except for that of Patterson. These words are:

John S. Kloppenborg, Marvin W. Meyer, Stephen J. Patterson, and Michael G. Steinhauser state: “In this sequence of sayings the Gospel of Thomas has moved beyond the realm of conventional wisdom and into a perspective more akin to Gnosticism. Gnostics believed that they were ultimately not of the present, evil world at all, but rather were descended from the one high God who lives aloft in heavenly remove from the cosmos. Their presence in the world is due to a great tragic mistake whereby the demiurge, a rebellious angel, sought to create something of its own volition apart from God. The result was the creation of the earth, and at the same time a rupture in the primeval perfection of the divine realm. In this rupture, parts of the divine realm became trapped in the evil creation of the demiurge, spirits (PNEUMATA) embodied in persons, who someday must win their release from the evil world, and return to the divine realm from whence they have come. This, or a similar mythological framework, is presupposed in Sayings 49-50. The Thomas Christian is told of his/her origin and ultimate destiny, and finally, is given the secret passwords to be used in the re-ascent past the many heavenly guardians who would block their path.” (Q-Thomas Reader, pp. 96-97).

Now we are not Gnostic scholars and we especially are not acquainted with their beliefs back in the beginning. This being said, we should note that whole tenor of Christianity is built in the pomp and the ritual and the mystical beliefs that were promoted by the Church Fathers whose vision of Jesus and of God, of Jesus death and His resurrection, is what has brought us the doctrines of heaven and hell, of the use of sacraments, the absolution of sins and the concept of atoning death of the Master. This IS much of the foundation of Christian doctrine as we still understand it today. The Gnostic ideas are apart from this particular doctrine which IS why the Gnostics, and any writings that are presumed to lean toward their beliefs, were and still are considered as heretical. There is likely much crossover of ideas between doctrinal Gnosticism and doctrinal Christianity but there is at the same time a difference in the presentation. Here in these words by Patterson et al we find a hint of the explanation of the presentation of these Gnostic ideas, or rather the Master’s ideas as seen by the Gnostic, and we can find some affinity to our own understanding of the Master’s thoughts and ideas from Thomas and the accepted gospels. Simply removing the mysticism from this explanation we are left with a reality. These presumably Gnostic ideas paint for us a different but similar picture of the fall of man from the Book of Genesis. Man is of God who IS on High from the perspective of conscious awareness and KNOWING; man IS here in the Earth not because of a rupture however but rather as the Plan of God which subjected mankind to the demiurge which is defined simply as: a supernatural being imagined as creating or fashioning the world in subordination to the Supreme Being, and sometimes regarded as the originator of evil. In this we should see Satan and the devil of Christian lore and the natural effects of illusion and glamour, the vanity according to the Apostle Paul. Personality IS attributed to this demiurge as it IS to Satan. The rest is the journey of man told in a mystical story and here we should see that much of this is True sans the story line and is not dissimilar to what we have been teaching here in our blog and, we are not Gnostic. As we close here let us look again at the words of Paul that can be seen as closely resembling these ideas of Gnosticism:

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:19-23).

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of God	Potency	Aspect of Man	In Relation to the Great Invocation	In relation to the Christ
GOD, The Father	Will or Power	Spirit or Life	Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN	Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Soul or Christ Within	Heart of God	Truth
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Life Within	Mind of God	Way

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

Values to Live By

A Love of Truth—essential
for a just, inclusive and progressive society;

A Sense of Justice—recognition
of the rights and needs, of all.

Spirit of Cooperation—based
on active goodwill and the principle of right human
relationships;

A Sense of Personal Responsibility—for
group, community and national affairs;

Serving the Common Good— through
the sacrifice of selfishness. Only what is good for all
is good for each one.

The world of the future depends on what each one of us chooses to do today.

From a previous essay and Quote of the Day we reprise these words:  It is interesting to note that the ideas of the Quote of the Day embody much of the Master’s teachings and can set the stage for the beginning of each man’s revelation and realization of the Light of the Soul; that is, that by the intentional practice of these ‘rules’ of conduct one can put himself in the position of a follower of the Master and an keeper of His word and this regardless if he has ever heard of the Christ or wants to be affiliated with any ideas Christian. By keeping these sound principals of Life in mind and practicing them a man can lift himself up above and beyond the world of men and into the world of the Good, the Beautiful and the True as it exists for those in whom the Christ Within, the God Within, is awakened. Ponder on this.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ¹⁴ The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/