Hi all,
I suppose you have all heard of the Gospel of Thomas, but have you all read it? I have and found some great wisdom in it that perfectly harmonizes with the Jesus of the New Testament. To me this Gospel is actually more authentic because it doesn't try to be a synoptic, story style book. It simply is a recording of Jesus' sayings and teachings. Here is an example....
3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."
Wow, this is some spectacular wisdom from the mind of Christ! I wish more would accept this familiar teaching. This passage enhances and strengthens the message Jesus was trying to convey in Luke 17:21 where Jesus said that the Kingdom of God was within us. Of course in Luke we know that Jesus was addressing the religious leaders of this truth because they had some serious misconceptions about the Kingdom. Yet, unfortunately that same spiritual ignorance that Jesus was dealing with then is still prevalent today! Naturally minded souls continue to look UP into the sky and out into the world when they speak of God and His Kingdom instead of within! Heaven isnt in the sky above your head. If you believe this then you are deceived by the serpent and will follow the birds of the air. You are chasing shadows of the world. However, Gods reality is certainly ABOVE this world, but in a spiritual sense! Gods Kingdom is a higher state of consciousness and life in the Spirit of Christ! Here Jesus adds that not only is the Kingdom within you, but also outside of you. The reality of all things is spirit, so entails that God is all in all. Therefore so is His Kingdom.
Now, the second part of this verse might sound a like New Age philosophy, and it is! Jesus the Christ was the beginning of that New Age, if only Christians could see this. In this third saying Jesus said, When you know yourselves, then you be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. A fairly well known Latin phrase is NOSCE TE IPSUM, which means KNOW THYSELF. Philosophers have said that this is what life is all about, and I have to agree. Yet there is one little caveat here; we must come to know our TRUE self. Our true self is not the person of THIS world, but the one who was born of God that came into this world. All of you Christians of traditional beliefs should read the words of the Bible more carefully. This teaching should not be foreign to you if you have been given the eyes to see it. Consider how this passage from Thomas spiritually aligns with what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 13:9
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Paul is speaking about us becoming and knowing our true, perfect self. This is nearly identical to what Jesus said: When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. Do you understand the spiritual essence of what Jesus and Paul are saying here? They are saying we are spiritually maturing and growing in knowledge of who we are. We may not be clearly seeing our true self (who is Christ) right now, but we will once we come to fully know and BE our TRUE self! They are both saying that one day we shall fully know our true self, even as I AM (God) is fully known. We are Gods image that must become perfect like our Father to show God the image of Himself. This is our purpose- to reflect the glory and be the image of God! We can only do this in Christ where our true self (life) has been kept hidden and safe for ages and ages. So in this light, real poverty is when we dont know our true self in Christ. This is spiritual poverty where the soul is lost in deception and the spirit feels homeless because he hasnt returned to his Fathers house. Finally, Jesus says, You are the poverty. Paul said that nothing good could come from him. He said that Paul had died and CHRIST now lived in and through him. Paul knew that his true life was found in the spirit (in Christ), not in the natural (or worldly) Paul.
This is an excerpt from "A Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas"
blessings,
brad
I suppose you have all heard of the Gospel of Thomas, but have you all read it? I have and found some great wisdom in it that perfectly harmonizes with the Jesus of the New Testament. To me this Gospel is actually more authentic because it doesn't try to be a synoptic, story style book. It simply is a recording of Jesus' sayings and teachings. Here is an example....
3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."
Wow, this is some spectacular wisdom from the mind of Christ! I wish more would accept this familiar teaching. This passage enhances and strengthens the message Jesus was trying to convey in Luke 17:21 where Jesus said that the Kingdom of God was within us. Of course in Luke we know that Jesus was addressing the religious leaders of this truth because they had some serious misconceptions about the Kingdom. Yet, unfortunately that same spiritual ignorance that Jesus was dealing with then is still prevalent today! Naturally minded souls continue to look UP into the sky and out into the world when they speak of God and His Kingdom instead of within! Heaven isnt in the sky above your head. If you believe this then you are deceived by the serpent and will follow the birds of the air. You are chasing shadows of the world. However, Gods reality is certainly ABOVE this world, but in a spiritual sense! Gods Kingdom is a higher state of consciousness and life in the Spirit of Christ! Here Jesus adds that not only is the Kingdom within you, but also outside of you. The reality of all things is spirit, so entails that God is all in all. Therefore so is His Kingdom.
Now, the second part of this verse might sound a like New Age philosophy, and it is! Jesus the Christ was the beginning of that New Age, if only Christians could see this. In this third saying Jesus said, When you know yourselves, then you be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. A fairly well known Latin phrase is NOSCE TE IPSUM, which means KNOW THYSELF. Philosophers have said that this is what life is all about, and I have to agree. Yet there is one little caveat here; we must come to know our TRUE self. Our true self is not the person of THIS world, but the one who was born of God that came into this world. All of you Christians of traditional beliefs should read the words of the Bible more carefully. This teaching should not be foreign to you if you have been given the eyes to see it. Consider how this passage from Thomas spiritually aligns with what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 13:9
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Paul is speaking about us becoming and knowing our true, perfect self. This is nearly identical to what Jesus said: When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. Do you understand the spiritual essence of what Jesus and Paul are saying here? They are saying we are spiritually maturing and growing in knowledge of who we are. We may not be clearly seeing our true self (who is Christ) right now, but we will once we come to fully know and BE our TRUE self! They are both saying that one day we shall fully know our true self, even as I AM (God) is fully known. We are Gods image that must become perfect like our Father to show God the image of Himself. This is our purpose- to reflect the glory and be the image of God! We can only do this in Christ where our true self (life) has been kept hidden and safe for ages and ages. So in this light, real poverty is when we dont know our true self in Christ. This is spiritual poverty where the soul is lost in deception and the spirit feels homeless because he hasnt returned to his Fathers house. Finally, Jesus says, You are the poverty. Paul said that nothing good could come from him. He said that Paul had died and CHRIST now lived in and through him. Paul knew that his true life was found in the spirit (in Christ), not in the natural (or worldly) Paul.
This is an excerpt from "A Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas"
blessings,
brad
