The Gospel of Philip

(Text Courtesy of the Gnostic Society Library at wwwdotgnosisdotorg)
Translated by Wesley W. Isenberg

Commentary and Chapter Headings  By John Munter
 

INTRODUCTION
P 1 (Romans are proselytes)

A Hebrew makes another Hebrew, and such a person is called "proselyte". But a proselyte does not make another proselyte. [...] just as they [...] and make others like themselves, while others simply exist.  (What do you mean ‘proselyte’?)  (See P 2 title)
We know from the central argument of this ‘Sermon on the Mirrored Bridal Chamber’ (hereafter SOMBC) that the author is trying to convince those under Roman influence of the efficacy of the sacrament of the Bridal Chamber.  The author makes in the first paragraph an argument key to winning his case that the Romans are like proselytes in not adhering to their Samaritan-Sethian-Hebraic roots.  This is replayed in the slave-son analogy of paragraph 2, the gentile slight of paragraph 3 and the father-mother reference there as well.  The Romans are just proselytes or beginners in not going on to the sacrament of the Bridal Chamber.

P 2  (It is a Son which lays claim to the inheritance of the Father.)
The slave seeks only to be free, but he does not hope to acquire the estate of his master. But the son 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.
(What do you mean ‘heirs to what is living?’)
The idea of the slave plays off the sense of being a slave or servant of Christ which is the crucified Christ rather than the living Christ referenced in the Gospel of Thomas as ‘the Living Jesus’.  The slaves are ‘dead’ in comparison to those of the Bridal Chamber and later on we will find the word ‘slave’ being used in reference to be a slave of the body and of sexuality.

P 3  (Roman proselytes-slaves-gentiles have never lived)
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. Since Christ came, the world has been 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.  (What do you mean ‘A Gentile ….has never lived?)
“The world has been created, the cities adorned, the dead carried out” can refer to the new visionary modalities Christ brought which created ecstatic, spiritual communities which buried the dead past.  To be more specific, the Bridal Chamber sacrament opened up the world in a visionary way.  In ‘The Exegesis of the Soul’, the Bridegroom is said to be “decorating the bridal Chamber”.  “The dead carried out” can refer the Bridal Chamber process where initiates see themselves and the root of evil within them which they then pulled out.
The last sentence is a clear reference to the Holy Spirit as ‘mother’.   Note the previous sentence refers to ‘Hebrews’ not Jews.  This reference to ‘had only our mother’ also refers to the Samaritans and their Wisdom orientation of the Sophia Mythos.

P 4   (Winter is the world, the summer is the Eternal Realm)
Those who sow in winter reap in summer. The winter is the world, the summer the other Aeon (eternal realm). 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 it will not provide a harvest for such a person. It is not only [... during the work week] that it will [...not] come forth, but also on the Sabbath [...where the harvest] is barren.  (Then, why are we here?)
This reference to reaping in the winter refers to the wealth Roman Christians have reaped in this world such as the well-connected Herodian friends of Paul reflected in his letters and in Acts.

(Chapter 1—Christ has everything in Himself, whether man or angel)

P 1 (Christ laid down his life from the day the world came into being)     
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 according to his plan. 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 first in order to take it, since it had been given as a pledge. It fell into the hands of robbers and was taken captive, but he saved it. He redeemed the good people in the world as well as the evil.  (Why did he save evil people?)
This paragraph begins themes such as that people are at different levels spiritually, that the Substitutionary Atonement on the Cross is to be set in a wider context, and that though robbers have hijacked the world, duality is denied in the redemption of both good and evil.

P 2  (Each one will dissolve into its earliest origin)
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 evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death. For this reason each one will dissolve into its earliest origin. But those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal. Names given to the worldly 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. So also with "the Father" and "the Son" and "the Holy Spirit" and "life" and "light" and "resurrection" and "the Church (Ekklesia)" and all the rest - people do not perceive what is correct but they perceive what is incorrect, unless they have come to know what is correct. The names which are heard are in the world [...] deceive. If they were in the Aeon (eternal realm), 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.  (What names should we use then?)
“Those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal” refers to the same state of being outside time and space as we know it as the Gospel of Thomas refers to in many places such as the ‘move, mountain’ sayings of L 48 and L 106.  The SOMBC claims special mystic knowledge as in “unless they have come to know what is correct” while saying the Roman theological terms are incorrect.
P 3   (The Son wears the name of the Father)
One single name is not uttered in the world, the name which the Father gave to the Son; it is the name above all things: the name of the Father. For the Son would not become Father unless he wore 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.  (Why do they not speak it?)
Of course the name of Yahweh was not spoken so the SOMBC is claiming an essential identity between the Father and the Son. 
P 4  (The archons misuse names)
But truth brought names into existence in the world for our sakes, because it is not possible to learn it (truth) without these names. Truth is one single thing; it is many things and for our sakes to teach about this one thing in love through many things. The rulers (archons) 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, what a favor they do for them! They make them be removed 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.  (Why do the archons want to enslave man?)
Here we have the SOMBC saying the archons (demigods) deceive with names to enslave people directly after it says the Romans deceive with names and, also, fairly shortly after it refers to them as slaves.
P 5  (Archons want to be worshipped)
These are powers which [...enslave] man, not wishing him to be saved, in order that they may [...use him]. For if man is saved, there will not be any sacrifices [...] and animals will not be offered to the powers. Indeed, the animals were the ones to whom they sacrificed. They were indeed offering them up alive, but when they offered them up, they died. As for man, they offered him up to God dead, and he lived.  Before Christ came, there was no bread in the world, just as Paradise, the place were 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.  (What is the ‘food of man’?)
Of course animals were offered up for sacrifice in the Jewish Temple.  The SOMBC is saying the sacrifices were in actuality offered up to the “the powers” or archons rather than to the Father.  This goes back to the Sophianic Mythos and Sethian theology that a lower demigod made the world and is worshipped in Jerusalem.  Indeed, the next sentence calls the “powers” the “animals were the ones to whom they sacrificed”. 
P 6 (The Holy Spirit is truth that is sown everywhere but not accepted)
The rulers 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 being sown, but few are they who see it being reaped.  (Why is the truth not being accepted or reaped?)
After the ‘bread of heaven’ paragraph the reader is being pointed to the Holy Spirit rather than to Jesus or the Son.
P 7   (This Virgin—Holy Spirit—is anathema to the Apostolic men)
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 [...made] the powers defile themselves. And the Lord would not have said "My Father who is in Heaven" (Mt 16:17), unless he had had another father, but he would have said simply "My father".  (Do you mean Jesus did not come straight down from heaven in Mary but had a human father?)
The second sentence, again, identifies the Holy Spirit as feminine as well as denying the virgin birth in the first.  The third sentence blows the Roman cover story that Mary the mother of Jesus was a placeholder or substitute for Sophia-Wisdom-the Holy Spirit.  “Virgin whom no power defiled refers to the Sophia Mythos.
P 8  (Christ has everything in Himself, whether man…)
The Lord said to the disciples, "[...Take] from every 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" is not particular to any language; rather he is always called by the name "Jesus". While as for "Christ", 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, whether man, or angel, or mystery, and the Father.  (What is the Nazarene revealing?)
“Do not take (anything) in the house of the Father nor carry it off” begins a long and subtle argument that there is a difference between Jesus and Christ which finds its first climax in the last sentence: “Christ has everything in himself, whether man, or angel, or mystery, and the Father.  Christ overshadows the man, Jesus.  Don’t try to “carry off” Christ from the house of the father.  The “’Jesus’ is a hidden name” sentence reveals that his true name is being hidden and that “Jesus” is a generic name meaning ‘Savior’.  “’The Nazarene’ is he who reveals what is hidden” refers to the man, Jesus, revealing Christ.

(Chapter 2—The Resurrection of the Soul)
P 1  (Resurrection comes before death)
Those who say that the Lord died first and (then) rose up are in error, for he rose up first and (then) died. If one does not first attain the resurrection, he will not die. As God lives, he would [...he will live].   (Why must one resurrect first?)
One needs to attain the resurrection such as in the Bridal Chamber which is the experience of being outside of time and space as we know it or one will continue to recycle between the earth and the astral plane.
P 2  (Leaving the contemptible body behind)
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.  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 [...attempt] to unclothe themselves who are not naked.   (But, what is it we do arise in?)
P 3  (The Word and Holy Spirit will inherit the Kingdom)  
"Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Co 15:50). What is this which will not inherit? This which is on us. But what is this, too, 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" (Jn 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.  (So nothing personal rises to heaven?)
P 4  (The Spirit and light rise in the flesh)
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.  (But what is personal about the spirit and the light?)
The SOMBC finds fault with “others” who hold to a Gnostic dualism between heaven and earth.  Rather, the point is the flesh will be transformed.
P 5  (Water and light purify the flesh for the garments of heaven)
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 that 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 chrism.  (Why are they hidden?)
P 6  (Jesus appeared in the manner in which they could see him.)
Jesus took them all by stealth, for he did not appear as he was, but in the manner in which they would be able to see him. He appeared to them all. He appeared to the great as great. He appeared to the small as small. He appeared 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.  (What do you mean ‘in his greatness?’)
P 7  (Unite the angel/lamb with the image.)
He said on that day in the thanksgiving, "You who have joined the perfect light with the Holy Spirit, unite the angels with us also, as being 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.  (What do you mean ‘lamb’?)
The terms ‘angel’ and ‘lamb’ are used to refer to the higher self.  We, the earthly ‘images’ should unite with our higher selves as our true expression if we want to go on farther “into the king”.  We cannot do it if we are “naked” of our soul or ‘wedding garment’ in Roman Christian terminology.
P 8  (The androgenous heavenly man—the lamb-- begets brothers not sons)
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.  (There are no spiritual sons even?)
P 9  (We all receive conception from the mouth of God, the Word)
All who are begotten in the world are begotten in a natural way, and the others are nourished from the place whence they have been born. It is from being promised to the heavenly place that man receives nourishment. [...God feeds] him from the mouth. And had the word 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 one another.  (How do you receive conception with a kiss?)
P 10  (Grace was shared between Jesus and the Marys)
There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and her sister, and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion. His sister and his mother and his companion were each a Mary.  (What was it that allowed these three women to be the companions of Jesus rather than the Twelve?)
The wording of the paragraph indicates that ‘Mary’ or ‘Miriam’ was being used as a spiritual name or title representing a spiritual function.  Miriam was the sister of Moses who was a true leader and elder of her people who stood up to Moses, had the support of Aaron, and was greatly beloved when she died.
(Chapter 3—the Holy Spirit)
P 1  (The Holy Spirit is everywhere)
"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.  (What about the problem of evil?)
Clement of Alexandria had a similar conception of the Holy Spirit in seeing it as a collection of powers.  L 3 which concerns the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Thomas says, similarly, “the Kingdom is inside of you and it is outside of you”.
P 2  (The Holy Spirit makes evil serve the saints)
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 so 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 Holy Spirit is our ‘mother’?)
The powers being blinded relates to the Sophia Mythos in the Nag Hammadi Codices (NHC) where the powers are tricked into bio-engineering humans for their own selfish purposes not realizing humans were endowed with a soul and a divine connection.  The revelation about the Holy Spirit continues where she is depicted not only in the feminine gender but as ‘mother’.
P 3  (The Holy Spirit is barren but everybody’s mother)
The apostles said to the disciples, "May our entire offering obtain salt." They called Sophia "salt". Without it, no offering is acceptable. But Sophia is barren, without child. For this reason, she is called "a trace of salt". Wherever they will [...go] in their own way, the Holy Spirit [...goes], and her children are many.  (What does it mean to be her children?)
This is interesting that Sophia is called barren which ignores Ialdabaoth in the Sophia Mythos who was her first offspring created without a consort, the original demiurge.  This may reflect the early Samaritan Wisdom tradition or just the refusal on the part of the SOMBC to recognize Ialdabaoth as a true son and to pollute the metaphor of its identification with the higher self.
P 4  (When we are mature we obtain the Father’s inheritance)
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.  (How do we become mature and obtain the Father’s inheritance?)
P 5  (The Holy Spirit gives both life and death)
Those who have gone astray, whom the spirit begets, usually go astray also because of the Spirit. Thus, by 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, which is called "the little Wisdom".  (Why does the Holy Spirit give death?)
P 6   (The wisdom of death are the submissive powers allowing the whole place to stand.)
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 is nourished, he 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 [...] shuts them in, in order that [...] wish, they will not be able to escape.  (What do you mean by ‘submissive powers’)
P 7  (Nobility comes from God not human creation, children of the serpent.)
He who has been created is beautiful, but you would <not> find his sons noble creations. If he were 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.  (Why is heterosexuality adultery?)
This refers to the bio-engineering of early humans by the archons who used their own DNA in the other ‘Gnostic gospels’. 
P 8  (In heaven you become what you see or love.)
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 become 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, you became spirit. You saw Christ, you became Christ. You saw the Father, 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.  (How do you see God here?)
“God is a dyer” refers to a meditation technique used in the ancient world to peer into a cup of dyed water until the eye tires and other realms are seen.  It is striking that phrases like “they become immortal by means of his colors” is in close proximity to “You saw Christ, you shall become Christ”.  It is also interesting that becoming Spirit and Christ are in the past tense but “shall become Father” in a future tense.
P 9  (To see God one must have faith but express love.)
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, and in order that we may love, we give, since if one gives without love, he has no profit from what he has given.  (What is it we are supposed to receive and give?)
This ‘love God and man’ formula was widespread in the Hebraic world and not just Roman Christian.

(Chapter 4—The Higher Self)
P 1  (The higher self, the Christ, measures what is redemptive and true.)
He who has received something other than 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.  (Christ measures Jesus?)
Once again the SOMBC makes a distinction between Jesus, the Nazarene and Christ.
P 2  (The higher self is a pearl cast into the mud of this world.)
When the pearl is cast down into the mud, it becomes 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 might [...be] like that - the person whose name [...the world] will not be able to endure hearing.  (So Jesus is part of the mud?)
P 3  (Bodies are just containers of the spirit which reincarnate in different forms and places.)
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.  (Why does the spirit have to re-do forms?)
P 4  (People make slow soul growth sometimes like an ass turning a millstone.)
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 any destination. When evening came upon them, they saw neither city nor village, neither human artifact nor natural phenomenon, power nor angel. In vain have the wretches labored.  (What do you mean ‘make no progress’?)
P 5  (Progress encompasses the world changing darkness to light.)
The eucharist is Jesus. For he is called in Syriac "Pharisatha," which is "the one who is spread out," for Jesus came to crucify 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."  (How are we all dyed?)
“Levi” refers to a priestly process and “seventy-two” is a generic number of completion signifying the number of the nations of the world and the number of gods or heavens ruled by the demiurge.  “White” refers to light so it is all a nice metaphor for turning darkness into light but the process of the Bridal Chamber is also referred to here with the “dye” in the “vat” which is actually the meditation technique of looking into dyed water in a cup or vat until the eye tires and visons appear.
P 6   (Light comes in the love of the Spirit of the Whole.)
As for the Wisdom who is called "the barren," she is the mother of the angels. And the companion of the [...Lord was] Mary Magdalene. [...He] loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples [...were jealous]. 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."  (How can one see the timeless?)
P 7  (The light is hidden but orders materiality with submissive discipline.)
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 soil.  (What if you do not see the Holy Spirit working?)
P 8  (Baptism and the Holy Spirit are an unfolding mystery.)
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 he experiences a mystery.  (What payment is demanded?)
Chapter 5—The Mirrored Bridal Chamber)
P 1  (Earthly marriage consists of both a mystery and a defilement.)
Great is the mystery of marriage! For without it, the world would not exist. Now the existence of the world [...], and the existence of [...] marriage. Think of the [...] relationship, for it possesses [...] power. Its image consists of a defilement.  (Why does marriage have the quality of being a defilement?)
P 2  (Evil spirits play with people sexually.)
The forms of evil spirit include male ones and female ones. 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, though 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.  (How does one receive “a male power or a female power”?)
P 3  (Uniting your ‘image’ with your ‘angel’—you with your higher self.) 
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 into the man or the woman.  (Why cannot the spirits enter into an androgenous person?)
P 4  (Unclean spirits only cleave to your desire or fear.)
He who comes out of the world, and so can no longer be detained on the grounds that he was in the world, evidently is above the desire of the [...world] and fear. He is master over [...]. He is superior to envy. If [...] comes, they seize him and throttle him. And how will this one be able to escape the great [...] powers? How will he be able to [...]? There are some who say, "We are faithful" in order that [...] 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.  (How do you not fear or love the flesh.)
P 5  (Acquire the resurrection and be found in rest.)
And so he dwells either in this world or in the resurrection or in the middle place. God forbid that I be found in there! In this world, there is good and evil. Its good things are not good, and its evil things 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, 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. There are some who neither will nor have the power to; and others who, if they will, do not profit; for they did not act since [...] makes them sinners. And if they do not will, justice will elude them in both cases: and it is always a matter of the will, not the act.  (What is meant by ‘the middle’?)
P 6  (The Middle Way or astral plane is like a burning house where nobody wants to leave.)
An apostolic man in a vision saw some people shut up in a house of fire and bound with fiery [...], lying [...] flaming [...], them in [...] faith [...]. And he said to them, "[...] able to be saved?" [...], "They did not desire it. They received [...] punishment, what is called 'the [...] darkness', because he [...]."  (Is this the flame of the Holy Spirit?)
P 7  (The light of the Bridal Chamber is white, bright, and beautiful.)
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.  (How is this light manifested?)
P 8  (Truth comes only in forms and images so man must rise into the image of God through the Bridal Chamber.)
Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. The world will not receive truth in any other way. There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary to be born again through the image. Which one? Resurrection. The image must rise again through the image. The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration.   (What about the Romans who don’t utilize the Bridal Chamber?)
P 9  (Roman laity and the priesthood must utilize the higher sacrament or lose the name ‘Christian’.)
Not only must those who produce the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, do so, but (those who) have produced them for you. If one does not acquire them, the name ("Christian") will also be taken from him. But one receives the unction of the [...restoration...] of the power of the cross.  (What does the cross have to do with sacraments?)
P 10  (The Cross is the power over the inner and outer.)
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. [...] he 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 the place." [...Rise] here through types [...]and images.  (Is Jesus the image of God?)
“The left” has represented power over the demiurgic realm while “the right” represents spiritual power as in being ‘at the right hand of God’.
P 11  (The idea of ‘inner and outer’ is better than that of ‘two heavenly men’)
Those who say, "There is a heavenly man and there is one above him" are wrong. For it is the first of these two heavenly men, the one who is revealed, that they call "the one who is below"; and he to whom the hidden belongs is that one who is above him. For it would be better for them to say, "The inner and outer, and what is outside the outer". Because of this, the Lord called destruction the "the outer darkness": there is not another outside of it.  (How do we avoid ‘the outer darkness’?)
The SOMBC is denying that the Father is a ‘heavenly man’ just one rung up from Christ in an anthropomorphic sort of way.
P 12  (Reach in silence to the fullness)
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" (Mt 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".  (What about Christ?)
P 14  (Christ is the reunion)
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 with Adam, death did not exist. When she was separated from him, death came into being. If he enters again and attains his former self, death will be no more.  (Death in the physical body?)
P 15   "My God, my God, why, O Lord, have you forsaken me?" (Mk 15:34). It was on the cross that he said these words, for he had departed from that place.  [...Jesus was the man] who has been begotten through him who [...came] from God.  The [...Christ rose] from the dead. [...Jesus came] to be, but now [...is made] perfect. [...Christ rose in the] flesh, but this [...spirit] is true flesh. [...The earthly image] is not true, but [...the body] only possess an image of the true. (How can one obtain the ‘true flesh’?)
P 16   Beyond Baptismal anointment in the Spirit, celibacy and the Bridal Chamber are necessary to be ‘begotten’ in Christ.)
A bridal chamber is not for the animals, nor is it for the slaves, nor for defiled women; but it is for 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.  (Why is celibacy and the Bridal Chamber necessary?)
P 17  (Baptism and Chrismation are symbols of peering into water or a mirror in meditation to see your higher self)
None can see himself either in water or in a mirror without light. Nor again can you see in light without mirror or water. For this reason, it is fitting to baptize in the two, in the light and the water. Now the light is the chrism.  (Why isn’t water baptism enough?)
There are ancient meditation techniques such as described in the Leyden Papyrus from third century Egypt and recently promoted by ‘near death’ pioneer Raymond Moody where one stares into a cup of dyed water or into a darkened mirror until the eyes tire and other dimensions are accessed.
P 18  (The Bridal Chamber is the ‘Holy of Holies’ with a ‘rent veil’ allowing “some from below to go upward”.)
There were three buildings specifically for sacrifice in Jerusalem. The one facing the 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 [...] you will not find [...] are those who pray [...] Jerusalem who [...] Jerusalem, [...] those called the "Holy of the Holies" [...] the veil was rent, [...] bridal chamber except the image [...] 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.  (What union?)
P 19  (The Bridal Chamber unites the masculine and feminine sides of the soul.)
If the woman had not separated from the man, she should 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 again unite the two, and 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 it was not in the bridal chamber that she united with him.  The soul of Adam came into being by means of a breath. The partner of his soul is the spirit. His mother is the thing that was given to him. His soul was taken from him and replaced by a spirit. When he was united (to the spirit), he spoke words incomprehensible to the powers. They envied him [...having a] spiritual partner [...who was] hidden [...and looked for an] opportunity [...to have her] for themselves alone [...to access the] bridal chamber, so that [...they could defile it].  (Why wasn’t Adam given Jesus?)
P 20  (Christ pre-existed but his body was created by the Father and Mother on the baptismal day with John.)
Jesus appeared [in his glory in the baptism in the] Jordan - 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).  Indeed, one must 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.  (Why did Adam fall?)
P 21  (Adam ate of the tree of materiality.)
There are two trees growing in Paradise. The 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 [which bore animals as] fruit is [now] increased. [Adam] ate the [first] fruit of the [tree that] bears men, [earthly] man. [Then] God created man. [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!  (So, having children was bad?)
P 22  (Children of the Bridal Chamber need only ‘rest’ and contemplation not the ‘ease’ of the material wedding bed.)
Surely what a man accomplishes depends on his abilities. For this reason, we 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: rest. Altogether, they need take no other form, because they have contemplation, [...]. They are numerous [...] in the things [...] the glories [...].  (Children of the marriage are slaves?)
P 23  (Children of the marriage must receive resurrection while they live, not just baptism to experience it after death.)
Those [who are raised] go down into the water. [Those who are raised] out (of the water), will consecrate it, [...] they who have [...] in his name. For he said, "Thus we should fulfill all righteousness." (Mt 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.  (Why isn’t baptism enough?)
The “planting” of Joseph could refer to his biological fathering of Jesus whose physical body was his “cross” to bear.
P 24  (Eating selectively of materiality is death whereas the tree of knowledge is above the judgmental law.)
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 [plants the] garden. Man [tends the] garden. There are [...] and [...] of God. [...] The things which are in [...] I wish. This garden is the place where they will say to me, "[...] eat this or do not eat that, just as you wish." In the place where I will eat all things is the Tree of Knowledge. 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.  (Why does the tree bring death here but life in heaven?)
P 25  (This life is a trifle. We are called Christians after the Bridal Chamber chrism.)
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 [...] because [...] a Christian, [...]. And as soon as [...] went down into the water, he came [...] everything (of this world), [...] because he [...] a trifle, but [...] full of contempt for this [...] the Kingdom of Heaven [...] If he despises [...], and scorns it as a trifle, [...] out laughing. So it is also with the bread and the cup and the oil, even though there is another one superior to these.  (Why is this life a trifle?)
P 26  (The perishable demigod who made the world failed in making it imperishable.)
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?  (How does one become a son?)
P 27  (Putting on the living, perfect man through wine and water.)
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.  (What is meant by ‘unclothe’ to ‘put on the living man’?)
P 28  (Unclothe from the separateness epitomized in the earthly marriage roles.)
A horse sires a horse, a man begets man, a god brings forth a god. Compare the bridegroom and the bride. They have come from the [human race]. No Jew [among animals] has existed. And [Christians come] from the Jews. [So some] Christians [exist among] these [and] are referred to as "The chosen people of [God]," and "The true man" and "Son of Man" and "the seed of the Son of Man". This true race is renowned in the world [.  It is among them] that the sons of the bridal chamber dwell.  Whereas in this world the union is one of husband with wife - a case of strength complemented by weakness(?) - in the Aeon (eternal realm), 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 other 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.  (Why will not the earthly union of husband and wife not rise above the heart of flesh?)
P 29  (The archons can detain anyone who has not put on the perfect man.)
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 he too becoming perfect light. He who has put it on will enter [the kingdom]. This is the perfect [light] that we [strive to] become [perfect] before we leave [the body]. Whoever receives everything [from the archontic realms] hither [will not] be able [to leave] that place, but will [come to know] the Middle as imperfect. Only Jesus knows the end of this person.  (What do you mean by ‘putting on the perfect light’?)
P 30  (By perfecting the water of baptism the body is consecrated holy like the cup.)
The priest is completely holy, down to his very body. For if he has taken the bread, he will consecrate it. Or the cup or anything else that he gets, he will consecrate. 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.  (What do you mean that the Holy Spirit brings summer?)
P 31  (‘Summer’ of the Spirit is not free love or arrogance but a slave to love which is wine and fragrance from the Lord.)
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" (Jn 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 Co 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, [love has] it [all but will] possess [nothing]. It never says,"This is yours" or "This 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 P 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.  (How can we bring forth those who love the Lord?)
P 32  (If you become a spirit it is the Spirit which will be joined to you.)
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 upon 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 favor of his master, and has sold himself into slavery, will no longer be able to be free.  (What do you mean about selling yourself into slavery?)
P 33  (Faith, hope, love, and knowledge are all possible even if outwardly enslaved.)
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; [...] the highest heaven; [...] in [...].  (How does one reach the highest heaven?)
P 34  (The perfect man exhibits the quality of attempting to cause distress to no one.)
Blessed is the one who on no occasion caused a soul [to stumble]. 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. For the Word tells us that this kind 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 he does not seize whatever he likes. 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) bestows joy upon the good. Some, however, are terribly distressed by all this.  (Why is someone distressed by someone bestowing joy?)
P 35  (A disciple will give to each according to their soul condition.)
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 [...] or meat and acorn. Now he was a sensible fellow, and he knew what the food of each one was. He served the children bread [...]. He served the slaves [...] 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 slop. 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 a 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, to the children he will give the complete instruction.  (What do you mean that some have swine or dog souls?)
P 36  (Those who create children cannot beget spiritual offspring.)
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 creates 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.  (Why cannot a physical parent beget spiritually?)
P 37  (Outer reproduction copies the demiurge while the spiritual children are inner.)
He who begets also has power to create. Now they say, "He who creates begets". But his so-called "offspring" is merely a creature. Because of [the heritage] of birth, they are not his offspring but [of the demiurge]. He who creates works openly, and he himself is visible. He who begets, begets in private, and he himself is hidden, since [he is focused on the] image. Also, he who creates, creates openly. But one who begets, begets children in private.    (Why is the Bridal Chamber so private?)
P 38  (You cannot see a bride with the bridegroom unless you become one.)
No one can 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 the dogs. Bridegrooms and brides belong to the bridal chamber. No one shall be able to see the bridegroom with the bride unless he become such a one.  (Why do you have to become a bride or bridegroom to see one?)
P 39  (The Bridal Chamber exposes the root of evil and destroys it.)
When Abraham [saw] 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 axe is laid at the root of the trees" (Mt 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 result in death, because those who come from ignorance neither were nor are nor shall be. [A person] 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" (Jn 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 our fulfillment.  (What evil will knowledge destroy?)
P 40  (“The whole (inferior) godhead will flee.”)
At the present time, we have the manifest things of creation. We say, "The strong who are held in high regard are great people. And the weak who are despised are the obscure." 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. And the whole (inferior) godhead will flee from here, but not 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 their 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 the top to bottom. Those above opened to us the things below, in order that we may go in to the secret of the truth. This truly is what is held in high regard, (and) what 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.  (What do you mean “lowly types and forms of weakness”?)
P 41  (“It is revealed to him alone…in a perfect day and holy light.”)
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 every one. 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." (Mt 15:13) Those who are separated will unite [...] and will be filled. Every one who will enter the bridal chamber will kindle the light, for [it is] just as in the marriages which are [hidden and] happen at night. That fire [burns] only at night, and is put out. But the mysteries of that 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 here, 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 (eternal realm), 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.

The Gospel According to Philip
Selection made from James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library, revised edition. HarperCollins, San Francisco, 1990.Nag Hammadi Library Gnostic Society Library Gnosis Archive