The Wisdom of Jesus Christ - Part 3

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The Beginning of the Manifestation of the One Who Is (95,19-98,9)

 

(p.289) Philip said, " Master, then how did the One Who Is appear to those who

are perfect? "

 

The perfect Savior said, " Before anything becomes visible of visible things, the

majesty and the authority are in him, since he grasps everything while nothing

grasps him. He is all mind; he is thought, consideration, reflection, reason,

and power, and all are equally powerful. [14] These are the sources of all that

is, and the entire generation, from first to last, was in the foreknowledge of

the infinite unconceived Father. "

 

Thomas said to him, " Master, Savior, why did these come to be, and why were they

revealed? "

 

The perfect Savior said to him, " I have come from the infinite to tell you

everything. The Spirit who is was the one who conceives, the one who has the

power of conception and can [give] form, so that the abundant wealth within

might be revealed. (p.290) In mercy and love the Spirit [15] wished to produce

fruit independently, that the Spirit might not enjoy [16] goodness alone but

that other spirits of the unshakable generation [17] might produce bodies and

fruit, glory and honor, in imperishability and the infinite grace of the Spirit.

In this way the goodness of the Spirit could be revealed by the self-conceived

God, the Father of all imperishability and those who were to come later. But

nothing had become visible yet.

 

" There are many differences among the imperishable beings. "

 

He spoke out and said, " Whoever has ears to hear about infinite things should

hear. [18] It is to those who are awake that I speak. "

 

He went on and said, " Everything from the perishable will perish, since it is

from the perishable. But everything from the imperishable does not perish but

becomes imperishable, since it is from the imperishable. [19] Many people have

gone astray because they did not know about this distinction, and they have

died. "

 

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (The International Edition)

Edited by Marvin Meyer; Advisory Board: Wolf-Peter Funk, Paul-Hubert Poirier,

James M. Robinson; Introduction by Elaine H. Pagels

The Wisdom of Jesus Christ, p.289-290

HarperCollins Publishers - New York

ISBN:978-0-06-052378-7

ISBN-10: 0-06-052378-6

 

Notes:

 

[14] These characteristics of mind are presented as mental powers in Manichaean

texts. See also below, 'Wisdom of Jesus Christ' 102-3.

 

[15] Lit., " he " or " it, " here and below.

 

[16] The word " enjoy " is emended [corrected] in the Codex III version on the

basis of the reading in the BG 8502 version.

 

[17] In Sethian texts, the people of Seth are commonly referred to as the

unshakable generation. Cf., e.g., the 'Secret Book of John'.

 

[18] This injunction (with variations) to pay attention to the meaning of what

is being said also occurs elsewhere in this text and throughout early Christian

literature.

 

[19] This clause is added from the BG 8502 version.