Gospel of Truth discussion notes part 2
Feb 1, 2015 18:07:21 GMT -5
phantasman and friendofsophia like this
Post by rmcdra on Feb 1, 2015 18:07:21 GMT -5
That is the gospel of him whom they seek, which he has revealed to the perfect through the mercies of the Father as the hidden mystery, Jesus the Christ. Through him he enlightened those who were in darkness because of forgetfulness. He enlightened them and gave them a path. And that path is the truth which he taught them. For this reason error was angry with him, so it persecuted him. It was distressed by him, so it made him powerless. He was nailed to a cross. He became a fruit of the knowledge of the Father. He did not, however, destroy them because they ate of it. He rather caused those who ate of it to be joyful because of this discovery.
The good news is that the nature of God is revealed through Christ. Christ as mentioned previously is the perfect image of God and that same image is in each of us. It shows us how to be authentic individuals rather than hiding from ourselves. In the narrative Christ is persecuted for being authentic and having the faith to trust that inner light. It made him powerless in the worldly sense. Like much of the systems that we live, we are punished for being authentic and questioning that system. We are punished for questioning if there is something wrong with the way life is or rather for what is accepted as reality. The next quote is so beautiful. It compares him to the fruit of the tree of knowledge which in the Jewish mythos made us moral agents and subject to suffering because we know the difference between good and evil. The fruit of Christ in contrast brings us the knowledge that God is love and truth and we can live authentic lives if we have compassion for others and we are honest with ourselves. That suffering is temporary and that when we embrace suffering we come to know who we are.
And as for him, them he found in himself, and him they found in themselves, that illimitable, inconceivable one, that perfect Father who made the all, in whom the All is, and whom the All lacks, since he retained in himself their perfection, which he had not given to the all. The Father was not jealous. What jealousy, indeed, is there between him and his members? For, even if the Aeon had received their perfection, they would not have been able to approach the perfection of the Father, because he retained their perfection in himself, giving it to them as a way to return to him and as a knowledge unique in perfection. He is the one who set the All in order and in whom the All existed and whom the All lacked. As one of whom some have no knowledge, he desires that they know him and that they love him. For what is it that the All lacked, if not the knowledge of the Father?
While this passage seems a little confusing I'll try to break it down. Christ is found in ourselves and ourselves are found in Christ. We are all seeds of Sophia so come from the same source as Christ. We are essentially brothers and sisters of Christ, his friends (John 15:15). When we find Christ within ourselves we find the perfection of the Father-Mother within us. God who is beyond all comprehension has no reason to be jealous of us coming to this revelation. What does God have to be jealous of? To be jealous means that one is afraid of losing something and what does God have to be afraid of losing? He doesn't lose his perfection by us being perfected, perfected in that we are being authentic. The All being mentioned here is the Aeons. The Aeons were ordered by God, exists because of God since they are his emanations, and who still lack God since they are emanations. The Aeons are essentially a road map to God since they all represent an understanding of God but they all fall short of defining who God is since there is no way to describe in totality what is beyond our comprehension. Like the All, the aeons; we lack knowledge of the Father-Mother and what the good news of Christ reveals through the mythos of his life is that what God wants of us to know that love and to seek truth.
He became a guide, quiet and in leisure. In the middle of a school he came and spoke the Word, as a teacher. Those who were wise in their own estimation came to put him to the test. But he discredited them as empty-headed people. They hated him because they really were not wise men. After all these came also the little children, those who possess the knowledge of the Father. When they became strong they were taught the aspects of the Father's face. They came to know and they were known. They were glorified and they gave glory. In their heart, the living book of the Living was manifest, the book which was written in the thought and in the mind of the Father and, from before the foundation of the All, is in that incomprehensible part of him.
Again the stories that surround the life of Christ is about revealing what is truth and destroying facades. About turning things upside down, by showing the shameful to be honorable and the honorable to be shameful. The example given here is people wise in there own estimation, (they believed they were wise). When tested, it was revealed that they weren't. Those who came like children, those with questions and not bound by traditions and the way thing “ought” to be and had love in their lives were able to become “strong” and know God. “Strong” being able to withstand testing. Since God is with truth, truth should be able to withstand any testing and still be able to stand. This is a core teaching of our group and even myself as head pastor should expect and hope to be tested by my fellow pastors here for if I am not with truth than I am far from God. If I am away from love, I am away from God. The book that is written in our heart is living. Living implies that it grows and expands. Truth and love grow within us as we write our gospel. The God that we know is also living, who grows in truth and love as well. As our love and knowledge grows and our confidence in what we actually know grows, we grow closer to our Father-Mother. We come to not only be known by God but we know the nature of our Father-Mother as well.
The good news is that the nature of God is revealed through Christ. Christ as mentioned previously is the perfect image of God and that same image is in each of us. It shows us how to be authentic individuals rather than hiding from ourselves. In the narrative Christ is persecuted for being authentic and having the faith to trust that inner light. It made him powerless in the worldly sense. Like much of the systems that we live, we are punished for being authentic and questioning that system. We are punished for questioning if there is something wrong with the way life is or rather for what is accepted as reality. The next quote is so beautiful. It compares him to the fruit of the tree of knowledge which in the Jewish mythos made us moral agents and subject to suffering because we know the difference between good and evil. The fruit of Christ in contrast brings us the knowledge that God is love and truth and we can live authentic lives if we have compassion for others and we are honest with ourselves. That suffering is temporary and that when we embrace suffering we come to know who we are.
And as for him, them he found in himself, and him they found in themselves, that illimitable, inconceivable one, that perfect Father who made the all, in whom the All is, and whom the All lacks, since he retained in himself their perfection, which he had not given to the all. The Father was not jealous. What jealousy, indeed, is there between him and his members? For, even if the Aeon had received their perfection, they would not have been able to approach the perfection of the Father, because he retained their perfection in himself, giving it to them as a way to return to him and as a knowledge unique in perfection. He is the one who set the All in order and in whom the All existed and whom the All lacked. As one of whom some have no knowledge, he desires that they know him and that they love him. For what is it that the All lacked, if not the knowledge of the Father?
While this passage seems a little confusing I'll try to break it down. Christ is found in ourselves and ourselves are found in Christ. We are all seeds of Sophia so come from the same source as Christ. We are essentially brothers and sisters of Christ, his friends (John 15:15). When we find Christ within ourselves we find the perfection of the Father-Mother within us. God who is beyond all comprehension has no reason to be jealous of us coming to this revelation. What does God have to be jealous of? To be jealous means that one is afraid of losing something and what does God have to be afraid of losing? He doesn't lose his perfection by us being perfected, perfected in that we are being authentic. The All being mentioned here is the Aeons. The Aeons were ordered by God, exists because of God since they are his emanations, and who still lack God since they are emanations. The Aeons are essentially a road map to God since they all represent an understanding of God but they all fall short of defining who God is since there is no way to describe in totality what is beyond our comprehension. Like the All, the aeons; we lack knowledge of the Father-Mother and what the good news of Christ reveals through the mythos of his life is that what God wants of us to know that love and to seek truth.
He became a guide, quiet and in leisure. In the middle of a school he came and spoke the Word, as a teacher. Those who were wise in their own estimation came to put him to the test. But he discredited them as empty-headed people. They hated him because they really were not wise men. After all these came also the little children, those who possess the knowledge of the Father. When they became strong they were taught the aspects of the Father's face. They came to know and they were known. They were glorified and they gave glory. In their heart, the living book of the Living was manifest, the book which was written in the thought and in the mind of the Father and, from before the foundation of the All, is in that incomprehensible part of him.
Again the stories that surround the life of Christ is about revealing what is truth and destroying facades. About turning things upside down, by showing the shameful to be honorable and the honorable to be shameful. The example given here is people wise in there own estimation, (they believed they were wise). When tested, it was revealed that they weren't. Those who came like children, those with questions and not bound by traditions and the way thing “ought” to be and had love in their lives were able to become “strong” and know God. “Strong” being able to withstand testing. Since God is with truth, truth should be able to withstand any testing and still be able to stand. This is a core teaching of our group and even myself as head pastor should expect and hope to be tested by my fellow pastors here for if I am not with truth than I am far from God. If I am away from love, I am away from God. The book that is written in our heart is living. Living implies that it grows and expands. Truth and love grow within us as we write our gospel. The God that we know is also living, who grows in truth and love as well. As our love and knowledge grows and our confidence in what we actually know grows, we grow closer to our Father-Mother. We come to not only be known by God but we know the nature of our Father-Mother as well.
