The Sophia of Jesus Christ from Nag Hammadi Codex III


The Sophia of Jesus Christ.

After he rose from the dead his twelve disciples and seven women continued to be his followers and went to Galilee onto the mountain called Divination and Joy. When they gathered together and were perplexed about the underlying reality of the universe and the plan and the holy providence and the power of the authorities and about everything the Savior is doing with them in the secret of the holy plan, the savior appeared, not in his previous form, but in the invisible spirit. And his likeness resembles a great angel of light. But his resemblance I must not describe. No mortal flesh could endure it, but only pure and perfect flesh, like that which he thaught us on the mountain called Of the Olives in Galilee.

And he said: Peace be unto you, My peace I give you!

And they all marveled and were afraid.

The Savior laughed and said to them: What are you thinking about? Why are you perplexed? What are you searching for?

Philip said: For the underlying reality of the universe and the plan.

The Savior said to them. I want you to know that all men are born on earth from the foundation of the world until now, being dust, while they have inquired about God, who he is and what he is like, have not found him. Now the wisest among them have speculated from the ordering of the world and its movement. But their speculation has not reached the truth. For it is said that the ordering is directed in three ways by all the philosophers, and hence they do not agree. For some of them say about the world that it is directed by itself. Others, that it is providence that directs it. Others, that it is fate. But it is none of these. Again, of the three voices i have mentioned, none is close to the truth, and they are from man. But I, who came from the infinite Light, I am here - for I know him (Light) - that I might speak to you about the precise nature of the truth. For whatver is from itself is a polluted life; it is self-made. Providence has no wisdom in it. And fate does not discern. But to you it is given to know; and whoever is worthy of knowledge will receive it, whoever has not been begotten by the sowing of the uncelan rubbing but by First Who Was Sent , for he is an immortal in the midst of mortal men.

Matthew said to him: Lord, no one can find the truth except through you. Therefore teach us the truth

The Savior said: He who is ineffable. No principle knew him, no authority, no subjection, nor any creature from the foundation of the world until now, except he alone and anyone to whom he want to make revelation through him who is from First Light. From now on, I am the Great Savior. For he is immortal and eternal. Now he is eternal, having no birth; for everyone who has birth will perish. He is unbegotten, having no beginning; for he who has no beginning has no end. Since no one rules over him, he has no name ; for whoever has a name is the creation of another.

(BG 84 , 13-17 adds : He is unnnameable. He has no human form; for whoever has human form is the creation of another).

And he has a semblance of his own - not like what you have seen and received, but a strange semblance that surpasses all things and is better than the universe. It looks to every side and sees itself from itself. Since it is infinite, he is incomprehensible. He is imperishable and hs no likeness to anything. He is unchanging good. He is faultless. He is eternal. He is blessed. While he is not known, he ever knows himself. He is immeasureable. He is untraceable. He is imperishability blessed. He is called:Father of the Universe

Philip said : Lord, how then, did he appear to the perfect ones?

The perfect Savior said to him : Before anything is visible to those that are visible, the majesty and authority are in him, since he embraces the whole of the totalities, while nothing embraces him. For he is all mind. And he is thought. and condidering and reflecting and rationality and power. They all are equal powers. They are the sources of the totalities. And their whole race from first to last was in his foreknowledge, that of the infinite, unbegotten Father.

Thomas said to him: Lord, Savior, why did these come to be, and why were they revealed?

The perfect Savior said: I came from the infinite that I might tell you all things. Spirit Who Is was the begetter , who had the power of a begetter and a form-giver`s nature, that the great wealth that was hidden in him might be revealed. Because of his mercy and his love he wished to bring forth fruit by himself, that he might not enjou his goodness alone but that other spirits of the unwavering Generation might bring forth body and fruit, glory and honor in imperishableness and his infinite grace, that his treasure might be revealed by Self-begotten God, the father of every imperishableness and those that came to be afterward. But they had not yet come to visibility. Now a great difference exists among the imperishables

He called out saying: Whoever has ears to hear about the infinities, let him hear! I have addressed those who are awake.. Still he contined, saying : Everything that came from the perishable will perish, since it came from the perishable. But whatever came from imperishableness does not persih but becomes imperishable. So, many men went astray because they had not known this difference and they died.

Mary said to him: Lord, then how will we know that?

The perfect Savior said: Come from invisible things to the end of those that are visible, and the very emanation of Thought will reveal to you how faith in those things that are not visible was found in those that are visible, those that belong to the Unbegotten Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Lord of the Universe is not called Father but Forefather. For the Father is the beginning (or principle of) of those that will appear, but the Lord is the beginningless Forefather. Seeing himself within himself in a mirror, he appeared resembling himself , but his likeness appeared as Divine Self-Father and as Confronter over the Confronted ones, First Existent Unbegotten Father. He is indeed of equal age with the Light that is before him, but he is not equal to him in power. And afterwards was revealed a whole multitude of confronting, self-begotten ones, equal in age and power, being in glory and without number, whose race is called The Generation over Whom There Is No Kingdom. from the one in whom you yourselves have appeared from these men. And the whole multitude over which there is no kingdom is called Sons of Unbegotten Father, God, Savior, Son of God Whose likeness is with you. Now is the unknowable, who is full ever of imperishable glory and ineffable joy. They are all at rest in him, ever rejoicing in ineffable joy in his unchanging glory and measureless jubilation ; this was never heard or known among all the aeons and their worlds until now.

Matthew said to him: Lord, Savior, how was Man revealed?

The perfect Savior said : I want you to know that he who appared before the universe in infinity, Self-grown , Self-constructed Father, being full of shining light and ineffable, in the beginning, when he decided to have his likeness become a great power, immediately the principle (or beginning) of the Light appeared as Immortal Androgynous Man , that throigh the Immortal Androgynous Man they might attain their salvation and awake from forgetfulness through the interpreter who was sent, who is with you until the end of the poverty of the robbers.

And hos consort is the Great Sophia who from the first was destined in him for union by the Self-begotten Father, from Immortal Man who appeared as First and divinity and kingdom, for the Father, who is called Man, Self-Father, revealed this. And he created a great aeon, whose name is Ogdoad, for his own majesty.

He was given great authority, and he ruled over the creation of poverty. He created gods and angels, and archangels, myriads without number for retinue from the Light and the thrice male Spirit, which is that of Sophia, his consort. For from this God originated divinity and kingdom. Therefore he is called God of gods and King of kings. First Man has his unique mind, within, and thought - just as he is it (thought) - and considering, reflecting, rationality, and power. All the attributes that exist are perfect and immortal. In respect to imperishablenss, they are indeed equal. But in respect to power, they are different, like the difference between the father and the son, and son and thought, and the thought and the remainder. As I said earlier, among the things that were created, the monad is first.

And after everything, all that was revealed appeared from his power. And from what was created, all that was fashioned appeared ; from what was fashioned appeared what was formed; from what was formed, what was named. Thus came the difference among the unbegotten ones from beginning to end.

Then Bartholomew said to him: How is it that he was designated in the Gospel Man and Son of Man? To which of them, then , is this Son related?

The Holy One said to him: I want you to know that First Man is called Begetter, Self-perfected Mind

He reflected with Great Sophia, his consort, and revealed his first-begotten, androgynous son. His male name is designated First Begetter, Son of God, his female name ; First Begettress Sophia, Mother of the Universe Some call her Love. Now First-begotten is called Christ Since he has authority from his father, he created a multitude of angels without number for retinue from Spirit and Light.

His disciples said to him : Lord, reveal to us about the one called Man that we also may know his glory exactly

The perfect Savior said : Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear. First Begetter, Father, is called Adam, Eye of Light because he came from shining Light, and his holy angels, who are ineffable and shadowless, ever rejoice with joy in their reflecting, which they received from their Father.The whole Kingdom of Son of Man, who is called Son of God is full of ineffable and shadowless joy, and unchanging jubilation, they rejoicing over his imperishable glory, which has never been heard until now, nor has it been revealed in the aeons that came afterward and their worlds. I came from Self-begotten and First, Infinitie Light that I might reveal to you everything.

Again, his disciples said : Tell us clearly how it is that they came down from the invisibilities, from the immortal realm to the world, that dies?

The perfect Savior said : Son of Man consented with Sophia, his consort, and revealed a great androgynous light. His male name is designated Savior, Begetter of All things His female names is designated All-Begettress Sophia. Some call her Pistis.

All who come into the world like a drop from the Light, are sent by him to the world of the Almighty, that they might be guarded by him. And the bond of his forgetfulness bound him by the will of Sophia, that the matter might be revealed through it to the whole world in poverty concerning his (Almighty`s) arrogance and blindness and the ignorance hat he was named. But I came from the places above by the will of the great Light, I have cut off the work of the robbers; I have awakened that drop that was sent from Sophia, that it might bear much fruit through me and be perfected and not again be defective byt be joined through me , the Great Savior, that his glory might be revealed, so that Sophia might also be justified in regard to that defect, that her sons might not again become defective but might attain honor and glory and go up to their Father and know the words of the masculine Light. And you were sent by the Son, who was sent that you might receive Light and remove yourselves from the forgetfulness of the authorities, and that it might not again come to appearance because of you, namely, the unclean rubbing that is from the fearful fire that came from their fleshly part. Tread upon their malicious intent.

Then Thomas said to him: Lord, Savior, how many are the aeons of those who surpass the heavens?

The perfect Savior said: I praise you because you ask about the great aeons, for your roots are in the infinities. Now when those whom I have discussed earlier were revealed, he provided .....[pages 109 and 110 of the ms missing, replaced here by the corresponding section in the Berlin Gnostic Codex (no.8502) - the beginning of which is somewhat different from the final partial sentence of III 108 (the broken off sentence)]

(BG107) : Now when those whom I have discussed earlier were revealed, Self-begetter, Father very soon created twelve aeons for retinue for the twelve angels. All these are perfect and good. Thus the defect in the female appeared.

And he said to him: How many are the aeons of the immortals starting from the infinities?

The perfect Savior said: Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear. The first aeon is that of the Son of Man, who is called First Begetter, who is called Savior, who has appeared. The second aeon is that of Man, who is called Adam, Eye of Light. That which embraces these is the aeon over which there is no kingdom, the aeon of the Eternal Infinite God, the Self-begotten aeon of the aeons that are in it, the aeon of the immortals, whom I described earlier, the aeon above the Seventh that appeared from Sophia, which is the first aeon.

Now Immortal Man revealed aeons and powers and kingdoms and gave authority to all who appear in him that they might exercise their desires until the last things that are above chaos. For these consented with each other and revealed every magnificence, even from spirit, multitudinous lights that are glorious and without number. These were called in the beginning, that is , the first aeon and the second and the third. The first is called Unity and Rest. Each one has its own name; for the third aeon was designated Assembly from the great multitude that appeared: in one, a multitude revealed themselves. Now because the mutlitiudes gather to come to a unity we call them Assembly

, while the female is called Life, that it might be shown that from a female came the life for all the aeons. And every name was received, starting from the beginning.

For from his concurrence with his thought, the powers very soon appeared who were called gods; and the gods of the gods from their wisdom revealed gods; and the gods from their wisdom revealed lords ; and the lords of the lords ; and the lords from their power revealed archangels; the archangels from their words revealed angels; from them semblances appeared with structure and form and name for all the aeons and their worlds.

And the immortals, whom I have just described, all have authority from Immortal Man, who is called Silence because by reflecting without speech all her own majesty was perfected. For since the imperishabilities and the authority, each created a great kingdom in the Eight and also thrones and temples and firmaments for their own majesties . For these all came by the will of the Mother of the Universe.

Then the Holy Apostles said to him: Lord, Savior, tell us about those who are in the aeons, since it is necessary for us to ask about them

The perfect Savior said: If you ask about anything, I will tell you. They created hosts of angels, myriads without number for retinue and their glory. They created virgin spirits, the ineffable and unchengeable lights. For they have no sickness nor weakness, but it is will. [BG 115,14 adds here: And they came to be in an instant..]

Thus the aeons werre completed quickly in the heavens and the firmaments in the glory of the Immortal Man and Sophia, his consort : the area from which every aeon and the world and those that came afterward took their patten for creation of likenesses in the heavens of chaos and their worlds. And all natures, starting from the revelation of chaos, are in the Light that shines without shadow and joy that canot be described and unutterable jubilation. They ever delight themselves on account of this unchanging glory and the immeasureable rest, which cannot be described among all the aeons that came to be afterward and all their powers. Now all that I have just said to you, I said that you might shine in Light more than these.

Mary said to him: Holy Lord, where did your disciples come from and where are they going, and what should they do here?

The Perfect Savior said to them: I want you to know that Sophia, the Mother of the Universe and the consort desired by herself to bring these to existence without her male consort. But by the will of the Father of the Universe, that his unimagineable goodness might be revealed, he created that curtain between the immortals and those that came afterward, that the consequence might follow every aeon and chaos, that the defect of the female might appear, and it might come about that Error would contend with her. And these became the curtain of the spirit. From the aeons above the emanations of Light, as I have said allready, a drop from Light and Spirit came down to the lower regions of Almighty in chaos, that their molded forms might appear from that drop, for it is a judgment of him, Arch-begetter, who is called Yaldabaoth. That drop revealed their molded forms through the breath , as a living soul. It was withered and it slumbered in the ignorance of the soul. When it became hot from the breath of the Great Light of the Male, and it took thought , then names were received by all who are in the world of chaos and all things that are in it throught that Immortal One, when the breath blew into him. But when this came about by the will iof Mother Sophia - so that Immortal Man might piece together the garments there for a judgment of the robbers - he then welcomed the blowing of that breath; but since he was soul-like, he was not able to take that power for himself until the number of chaos should be complete, that is, when the time determined by the great angel is complete.

Now I have thaught you about Immortal Man and have loosed the bonds of the robbers from him. I have broken the gates of the pitiless ones in their prescense. I have humiliated their malicious intent, and they all have been shamed and have risen from their ignorance. Because of this, then , I cam here, that they might be joined with that Spirit and Breath, that [...] and breath, and might from two become one, just as from the first, that you might yield much fruit and go up to Him Who Is from the Beginning, in ineffable joy and glory and honor and grace of the Father of the Universe.

Whoever, then, knows the Father in pure knowledge will depart to the Father and repose in Unbegotten Father. But whoever knows him defectively will depart to the defect and the rest of the Eight. Now whoever knows Immortal Spirit of Light in silence, through reflecting and consent in the truth, let him bring me signs of the Invisible One, and he will become a light in the Spirit of Silence. Whoever knows the Son of Man in knowledge and love, let him bring me a sign of the Son of Man, that he might depart to the dwelling-places with those in the Eight.

Behold, I have revealed to you the name of the Perfect One, the whole will of the Mother of the Holy Angels, that the masculine multitude may be completed here, that there might appear, in the aeons, the infinities and those that came to be in the untraceable wealth of the Great Invisible Spirit, that they all might take from his goodness, even the wealth of their rest that has no kingdom over it. I came from First Who Was Sent , that I might reveal to you Him Who Is from the Beginning, because of the arrogance of Arch-Begetter and his angels, since they say about themselves that they are gods. And I came to remove them from their blindness, that I might tell everyone about the God who is above the universe. Therefore, tread upon their graves, humiliate their malicious intent and brak their yoke and arouse my own. I have given you authority over all things as Sons of Light, that you might tread upon their power with your feet.

These are the things the blessed Savior said, and he disappeared from them. Then all the disciples were in great, ineffable joy in the spirit from that day on. And his disciples began to preach the Gospel of God, the eternal, imperishable Spirit.

Amen.