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Gospel of Philip · 13 of 13 · tr. Thomas O. Lambdin

Section 1m

If we know the truth, we shall find the fruits of the truth within us. If we join it, it will fulfill us. THE STRONG AND WEAK, THE MANIFEST AND HIDDEN Now we have the manifest things of creation. We say, “The strong are they who are held in high regard, and the obscure are the weak who are despised.” Contrast the manifest things of truth: they are weak and despised, whereas the hidden things are strong and held in high regard. The mysteries of truth are revealed, though, in type and image. The bridal chamber remains hidden. It is the holy in the holy. The veil at first concealed how god controls creation, but when the veil is torn and things inside are revealed, this house will be left desolate, or rather it will be destroyed. But the whole inferior godhead will not flee from these places into the holies of the holies, for it cannot mix with the pure light and the perfect fullness. Rather, it will be under the wings of the cross and under its arms. This ark will be the salvation of people when the floodwater surges over them. SECRET OF THE TRUTH If some belong to the order of the priesthood, they will be able to go within the veil with the high priest. So the veil was not torn at the top, since it would have been open only to those above. Nor was it torn at the bottom, since it would have been revealed only to those below. But it was rent from top to bottom. Those above opened to us who are below, that we may go in to the secret of the truth. The truth is what is held in high regard, since it is strong. But we shall go in there by means of lowly types and forms of weakness. They are lowly when compared with the perfect glory. There is glory that surpasses glory. There is power that surpasses power. Therefore, the perfect things have opened to us together with the hidden things of truth. The holies of the holies has been revealed, and the bridal chamber has invited us in. THE PERFECT LIGHT As long as the seed is hidden, wickedness is ineffectual, but it has not yet been removed from the midst of the seed of the holy spirit. Everyone is a slave of evil. But when the seed is revealed, the perfect light will flow out on everyone. And all those who are in the light will receive the chrism. Then the slaves will be free and the captives ransomed. “Every plant that my heavenly father has not planted will be uprooted.” Those who are separated will be joined and filled. Everyone who enters the bridal chamber will kindle the light, for it burns just as in marriages performed, though they happen at night. That fire burns only at night and is put out. Yet the mysteries of this marriage are perfected rather in the day and the light. Neither that day nor its light ever sets. If you become an attendant of the bridal chamber, you will receive the light. If you do not receive it while in those places, you cannot receive it in the other place. You who receive the light will not be seen nor detained. And no one will be able to torment you even while you live in the world. And when you leave the world you have already received the truth in the images. The world has become the eternal realm, because the eternal realm is fullness for you. This is the way it is. It is revealed to you alone, not hidden in the darkness and the night but in a perfect day and a holy light. The Gospel According to Philip | Nag Hammadi Library | Gnostic Society Library | Gnosis Archive |
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Themes
Archonscosmology

Malevolent planetary rulers or demiurgic powers that govern the material world and obstruct the soul's ascent.

The 'inferior godhead' acts as a ruling power over creation that the saved must escape or transcend.

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Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The tearing of the veil from top to bottom signifies that 'those above opened to us who are below,' reflecting cosmic correspondence.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] The text contrasts strong/weak, manifest/hidden, and light/darkness as fundamental opposing structures.

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Demiurgecosmology

A secondary creator deity—often ignorant or malevolent—responsible for fashioning the material world, distinct from the supreme transcendent God.

The passage explicitly mentions an 'inferior godhead' that controls creation but cannot mix with the pure light.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The bridal chamber and the secret of truth are described as hidden until revealed by the tearing of the veil.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

[auto] The 'perfect light' is a central soteriological agent that flows out to liberate the slaves.

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Divine Marriagesoteriology

The reunification of complementary divine principles (male-female, spirit-matter) as a symbol of wholeness and salvation.

[auto] The 'bridal chamber' is a central metaphor for the mysteries of truth and the perfected state of the initiate.

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Divine Sparkscosmology

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

The text states that believers shall find the 'fruits of the truth within us', implying an internal divine element.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text distinguishes between the 'inferior godhead' and the 'holies of the holies,' implying a hierarchical structure of divine realms.

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Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology

Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.

References to floodwaters surging and plants being uprooted suggest a final judgment or purification.

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Funerary Navigationpraxis

Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.

Instructions on what happens 'when you leave the world' serve as guidance for the post-mortem state.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] Salvation is explicitly tied to knowing the truth and entering the 'secret of the truth' rather than faith or works.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The text emphasizes that truth is 'revealed to you alone' and remains hidden in darkness until revealed.

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Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

[auto] The text states that those who enter the bridal chamber will 'kindle the light' within themselves.

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Kenomacosmology

The void or emptiness outside the pleroma; the realm of matter, ignorance, and deficiency.

The mention of the house being left 'desolate' suggests a state of emptiness outside the divine fullness.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The claim that 'the world has become the eternal realm... for you' places the divine kingdom inside the individual.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

[auto] The invitation to the bridal chamber and receiving the light signifies a merging with the divine reality.

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Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

The inversion of strong/weak and manifest/hidden values suggests a transcendence of ordinary dualities.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The teaching that truth is 'weak and despised' while manifest things are strong uses paradox to convey spiritual reality.

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Pleromacosmology

The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.

The text refers to the 'perfect fullness' as a realm distinct from the inferior godhead.

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Pneumatic Electsoteriology

A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.

Only those belonging to the 'order of the priesthood' can go within the veil, indicating a spiritual elite.

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Psychopomp Journeycosmology

Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.

The text addresses what happens 'when you leave the world,' implying a passage through death.

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The goal is to 'go in to the secret of the truth' and enter the bridal chamber, reversing the separation from the divine.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

Knowing the truth leads to finding its fruits 'within us,' linking salvation to internal recognition.

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Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

The text describes everyone as a 'slave of evil' until the seed is revealed, indicating an initial state of exile.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The movement from below to above through the torn veil represents a journey upward into the divine realm.

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Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

Receiving the chrism and the perfect light flowing out implies a transformation into a divine state.

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Theurgypraxis

Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.

The role of the priesthood and the chrism suggests ritual actions that facilitate divine contact.

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