The Gospel of Truth
From the Nag Hammadi Library in English

Gospel of Truth :1   “The gospel of truth is a joy for those who have received from the Father of truth the gift of knowing him, through the power of the Word that came forth from the pleroma – the one who is in the thought and the mind of the Father, that is, the one who is addressed as the Savior, (that) being the name of the work he is to perform for the redemption of those who were ignorant of the Father, while the name [of] the gospel is the proclamation of hope, being discovery for those who search for him.”

Gospel of Truth :2   “Indeed the all went about searching for the one from whom it (pl.) had come forth, and the all was inside of him, the incomprehensible, inconceivable one who is superior to every thought. Ignorance of the Father brought about anguish and terror.  And the anguish grew solid like a fog so that no one was able to see.  For this reason error became powerful; it fashioned its own matter foolishly, not having known the truth.  It set about making a creature, with (all its) might preparing, in beauty, the substitute for the truth.”

Gospel of Truth :3   “This was not, then, a humiliation for him, the incomprehensible, inconceivable one, for they were nothing – the anguish and the oblivion and the creature of lying – while the established truth is immutable, imperturbable, perfect in beauty. For this reason, despise error.”

Gospel of Truth :4   “Being thus without any root, it fell into a fog regarding the Father, while it was involved in preparing works and oblivions and terrors in order that by means of these it might entice those of the middle and capture them.  The oblivion of error was not revealed.  It is not a […] under the Father.  Oblivion did not come into existence under the Father, although it did indeed come into existence because of him.  But what comes into existence in him is knowledge, which appeared in order that oblivion might vanish and the Father might be known.  Since oblivion came into existence because the Father was not known, then if the Father comes to be known, oblivion will not exist from that moment on.”

Gospel of Truth :5   “This <is> the gospel of the one who is searched for, which <was> revealed to those who are perfect through the mercies of the Father – the hidden mystery, Jesus, the Christ. Through it he enlightened those who were in darkness.  Out of oblivion he enlightened them, he showed (them) a way.  And the way is the truth which he taught them.”

Gospel of Truth :6   “For this reason error grew angry at him, persecuted him, was distressed at him, (and) was brought to naught. He was nailed to a tree; he became a fruit of the knowledge of the Father, which did not, however, become destructive because it <was> eaten, but to those who ate it, it gave (cause) to become glad in the discovery.  For he discovered them in himself, and they discovered him in themselves, the incomprehensible, inconceivable one, the Father, the perfect one, the one who made the all, while the all is within him and the all has need of him, since he retained its (pl.) perfection within himself which he did not give to the all.  The Father was not jealous.  What jealousy indeed (could there be) between himself and his members?  For if the aeon had thus [received] their [perfection], they could not have come […] the Father, since he retained their perfection within himself, granting it to them as a return to him and a knowledge unique in perfection. It is he who fashioned the all, and the all is within him and the all had need of him.”

Gospel of Truth :7   “As in the case of one of whom some are ignorant, who wishes to have them know him and love him, so – for what did the all have need of if not knowledge regarding the Father? – he became a guide, restful and leisurely.  He went into the midst of the schools (and) he spoke the word as a teacher.  There came the wise men – in their own estimation – putting him to the test.  But he confounded them because they were foolish. They hated him because they were not really wise.”

Gospel of Truth :8   “After all these, there came the little children also, those to whom the knowledge of the Father belongs.  Having been strengthened, they learned about the impressions of the Father.  They knew, they were known; they were glorified, they glorified.  There was revealed in their heart the living book of the living – the one written in the thought and the mind [of the] Father, and which from before the foundation of the all was within the incomprehensible (parts) of him – that (book) which no one was able to take since it is reserved for the one who will take it and will be slain.  No one could have appeared among those who believed in salvation unless that book had intervened.  For this reason the merciful one, the faithful one, Jesus, was patient in accepting sufferings until he took that book, since he knows that his death is life for many.”

Gospel of Truth :9   “Just as there lies hidden in a will, before it <is> opened, the fortune of the deceased master of the house, so (it is) with the all, which lay hidden while the Father of the all was invisible, the one who is from himself, from whom all spaces come forth.  For this reason Jesus appeared; he put on that book; he was nailed to a tree; he published the edict of the Father on the cross. O such great teaching!  He draws himself down to death though life eternal clothes him.  Having stripped himself of the perishable rags, he put on imperishability, which no one can possibly take away from him.  Having entered the empty spaces of terrors, he passed through those who were stripped naked by oblivion, being knowledge and perfection, proclaiming the things that are in the heart of the [Father] in order to […] teach those who will receive teaching.”

Gospel of Truth :10   “But those who are to receive teaching [are] the living who are inscribed in the book of the living. They receive teaching about themselves. They receive it (pl.) from the Father, turning again to him.  Since the perfection of the all is in the Father, it is necessary for the all to ascend to him.  Then, if one has knowledge, he receives what are his own and draws them to himself. For he who is ignorant is in need, and what he lacks is great since he lacks that which will make him perfect. Since the perfection of the all is in the Father and it is necessary for the all to ascend to him and for each one to receive what are his own, he enrolled them in advance, having prepared them to give to those who came forth from him.”

Gospel of Truth :11   “Those whose name he knew in advance were called at the end, so that one who has knowledge is the one whose name the Father has uttered.  For he whose name has not been spoken is ignorant.  Indeed, how is one to hear if his name has not been called?  For he who is ignorant until the end is a creature of oblivion, and he will vanish along with it.  If not, how is it that these miserable ones have no name, (how is it that) they do not have the call?  Therefore if one has knowledge, he is from above. If he is called, he hears, he answers, and he turns to him who is calling him, and ascends to him. And he knows in what manner he is called.  Having knowledge, he does the will of the one who called him, he wishes to be pleasing to him, he receives rest.”

Gospel of Truth :12   “Each one’s name comes to him.  He who is to have knowledge in this manner knows where he comes from and where he is going.  He knows as one who having become drunk has turned away from his drunkenness, (and) having returned to himself, has set right what are his own.  He has brought many back from error.  He has gone before them to their places, from which they had moved away when they received error, on account of the depth of the one who encircles all spaces while there is none that encircles him.  It was a great wonder that they were in the Father, not knowing him, and (that) they were able to come forth by themselves, since they were unable to comprehend or to know the one in whom they were. If his will had not thus emerged from him – for he revealed it in view of a knowledge in which all its emanations concur.”

Gospel of Truth :13   “This is the knowledge of the living book which he revealed to the aeons to the last of its [letters], revealing how they are not vowels nor are they consonants, so that one might read them and think of something foolish, but they are letters of the truth which they alone speak who know them.  Each letter is a complete <thought> like a complete book, since they are letters written by the Unity, the Father having written them for the aeons in order that by means of his letters they should know the Father.  His wisdom contemplates the Word, his teaching utters it, his knowledge has revealed <it>.  His forbearance is a crown upon it, his gladness is in harmony with it, his glory has exalted it, his image has revealed it, his repose has received it into itself, his love has made a body over it, his fidelity has embraced it.  In this way the Word of the Father goes forth in the all, as the fruit [of] his heart and an impression of his will.  But it supports the all; it chooses it (pl.) and also receives the impression of the all, purifying it (pl.), bringing it (pl.) back into the Father, into the Mother, Jesus of the infiniteness of gentleness.”

Gospel of Truth :14   “The Father reveals his bosom -now his bosom is the Holy Spirit.  He reveals what is hidden of him – what is hidden of him is his Son – so that through the mercies of the Father the aeons may know him and cease laboring in search of the Father, resting there in him, knowing that this is rest.  Having filled the deficiency, he abolished the form – the form of it is the world, that in which he served.  For the place where there is envy and strife is a deficiency, but the place where (there is) Unity is a perfection. Since the deficiency came into being because the Father was not known, therefore when the Father is known, from that moment on the deficiency will no longer exist.  As with the ignorance of a person, when he comes to have knowledge his ignorance vanishes of itself, as the darkness vanishes when light appears, so also the deficiency vanishes in the perfection.  So from that moment on the form is not apparent, but it will vanish in the fusion of Unity, for now their works lie scattered. In time Unity will perfect the spaces. It is within Unity that each one will attain himself; within knowledge he will purify himself from multiplicity into Unity, consuming matter within himself like fire, and darkness by light, death by life.”

Gospel of Truth :15   “If indeed these things have happened to each one of us, then we must see to it above all that the house will be holy and silent for the Unity.  (It is) as in the case of some people who moved out of dwellings where there were jars that in spots were not good.  They would break them, and the master of the house does not suffer loss.  Rather <he> is glad because in place of the bad jars there are full ones which are made perfect. For such is the judgment which has come from above. It has passed judgment on everyone; it is a drawn sword, with two edges, cutting on either side.  When the Word came into the midst, the one that is within the heart of those who utter it – it is not a sound alone but it became a body – a great disturbance took place among the jars because some had been emptied, others filled; that is, some had been supplied, others poured out, some had been purified, still others broken up.  All the spaces were shaken and disturbed because they had no order nor stability.  Error was upset, not knowing what to do; it was grieved, in mourning, afflicting itself because it knew nothing.  When knowledge drew near it – this is the downfall of (error) and all its emanations – error is empty, having nothing inside.”

Gospel of Truth :16   “Truth came into the midst; all its emanations knew it.  They greeted the Father in truth with a perfect power that joins them with the Father.  For everyone loves the truth because the truth is the mouth of the Father; his tongue is the Holy Spirit.  He who is joined to the truth is joined to the Father’s mouth by his tongue, whenever he is to receive the Holy Spirit.  This is the manifestation of the Father and his revelation to his aeons: he manifested what was hidden of him; he explained it.  For who contains if not the Father alone?  All the spaces are his emanations.  They have known that they came forth from him like children who are from a grown man.  They knew that they had not yet received form nor yet received a name, each one of which the Father begets.  Then when they receive form by his knowledge, though truly within him, they do not know him.  But the Father is perfect, knowing every space within him. If he wishes, he manifests whomever he wishes by giving him form and giving him a name, and he gives a name to him and brings it about that those come into existence who before they come into existence are ignorant of him who fashioned them.”

Gospel of Truth :17   “I do not say, then, that they are nothing (at all) who have not yet come into existence, but they are in him who will wish that they come into existence when he wishes, like the time that is to come.  Before all things appear, he knows what he will produce.  But the fruit which is not yet manifest knows nothing, nor does it do anything.  Thus also every space which is itself in the Father is from the one who exists, who established it from what does not exist.  For he who has no root has no fruit either, but though he thinks to himself, “I have come into being,” yet  he will perish by himself.  For this reason, he who did not exist at all will never come into existence.  What, then, did he wish him to think of himself?  This:  “I have come into being like the shadows and phantoms of the night.”  When the light shines on the terror which that person had experienced, he knows that it is nothing.”

Gospel of Truth :18   “Thus they were ignorant of the Father, he being the one whom they did not see.  Since it was terror and disturbance and instability and doubt and division, there were many illusions at work by means of these, and (there were) empty fictions, as if they were sunk in sleep and found themselves in disturbing dreams.  Either (there is) a place to which they are fleeing, or without strength they come (from) having chased after others, or they are involved in striking blows, or they are receiving blows themselves, or they have fallen from high places, or they take off into the air though they do not even have wings.  Again, sometimes (it is as) if people were murdering them, though there is no one even pursuing them, or they themselves are killing their neighbors, for they have been stained with their blood.  When those who are going through all these things wake up, they see nothing, they who were in the midst of all these disturbances, for they are nothing.  Such is the way of those who have cast ignorance aside from them like sleep, not esteeming it as anything, nor do they esteem its works as solid things either, but they leave them behind like a dream in the night. The knowledge of the Father they value as the dawn.  This is the way each one has acted, as though asleep at the time when he was ignorant.  And this is the way he has come to knowledge, as if he had awakened.  {And} Good for the man who will come to and awaken.  And blessed is he who has opened the eyes of the blind.  And the Spirit ran after him, hastening from waking him up.  Having extended his hand to him who lay upon the ground, he set him up on his feet, for he had not yet risen.  He gave them the means of knowing as the knowledge of the Father and the revelation of his Son.”

Gospel of Truth :19   “For when they had seen him and had heard him, he granted them to taste him and to smell him and to touch the beloved Son.  When he had appeared instructing them about the Father, the incomprehensible one, when he had breathed into them what is in the mind, doing his will, when many had received the light, they turned to him.  For the material ones were strangers and did not see his likeness and had not known him.  For he came by means of fleshly appearance while nothing blocked his course because it was incorruptibility (and) irresistibility.  Again, speaking new things, still speaking about what is in the heart of the Father, he brought forth the flawless word.  Light spoke through his mouth, and his voice gave birth to life.  He gave them thought and understanding and mercy and salvation and the powerful spirit from the infiniteness and the gentleness of the Father.  He made punishments and tortures cease, for it was they which were leading astray from his face some who were in need of mercy, in error and in bonds; and with power he destroyed them and confounded them with knowledge.  He became a way for those who were lost and knowledge for those who were ignorant, a discovery for those who were searching, and a support for those who were wavering, immaculateness for those who were defiled.”

Gospel of Truth :20   “He is the shepherd who left behind the ninety nine sheep which were not lost.  He went searching for the one which was lost.  He rejoiced when he found it, for 99 is a number that is in the left hand which holds it.  But when the one is found, the entire number passes to the right (hand).  Thus (it is with) him who lacks the one; that is, the entire right which draws what was deficient and takes it from the left-hand side and brings (it) to the right, and thus the number becomes 100.  It is the sign of the one who is in their sound; it is the Father.  Even on the Sabbath, he labored for the sheep which he found fallen into the pit. He gave life to the sheep, having brought it Up from the pit in order that you might know interiorly you – the sons of interior knowledge – what is the Sabbath, on which it is not fitting for salvation to be idle, in order that you may speak from the day from above, which has no night, and from the light which does not sink because it is perfect. Say, then, from the heart that you are the perfect day and in you dwells the light that does not fail.”

Gospel of Truth :21   “Speak of the truth with those who search for it, and (of) knowledge to those who have committed sin in their error.  Make firm the foot of those who have stumbled and stretch out your hands to those who are ill.  Feed those who are hungry and give repose to those who are weary, and raise up those who wish to rise, and awaken those who sleep.  For you are the understanding that is drawn forth.  If strength acts thus, it becomes even stronger.  Be concerned with yourselves; do not be concerned with other things which you have rejected from yourselves.  Do not return to what you have vomited to eat it.  Do not be moths, do not be worms, for you have already cast it off.  Do not become a (dwelling) place for the devil, for you have already destroyed him.  Do not strengthen (those who are) obstacles to you who are collapsing, as though (you were) a support (for them).  For the unjust one is someone to treat ill rather than the just one.  For the former does his works as an unjust person; the latter as a righteous person does his works among others. So you, do the will of the Father, for you are from him.”

Gospel of Truth :22   “For the Father is gentle and in his will there are good things.  He took cognizance of the things that are yours that you might find rest in them. For by the fruits does one take cognizance of the things that are yours because the children of the Father are his fragrance, for they are from the grace of his countenance.  For this reason the Father loves his fragrance and manifests it in every place, and if it mixes with matter he gives his fragrance to the light and in his repose he causes it to surpass every form (and) every sound.  For it is not the ears that smell the fragrance, but (it is) the breath that has the sense of smell and attracts the fragrance to itself and is submerged in the fragrance of the Father.  It shelters it, then, takes it to the place where it came from, the first fragrance which is grown cold.  It is something in a psychic form, being like cold water which has […], which is on earth that is not solid, of which those who see it think it is earth; afterwards it dissolves again.  If a breath draws it, it gets hot. The fragrances therefore that are cold are from the division.  For this reason [faith] came; it did away with the division, and it brought the warm pleroma of love in order that the cold should not come again but there should be the unity of perfect thought.”

Gospel of Truth :23   “This <is> the word of the gospel of the discovery of the pleroma, for those who await the salvation which is coming from on high.  While their hope which they are waiting for is waiting – they whose image is light with no shadow in it – then at that time the pleroma is about to come.  The deficiency of matter has not arisen through the limitlessness of the Father, who is about to bring the time of the deficiency, although no one could say that the incorruptible one will come in this way.  But the depth of the Father was multiplied and the thought of error did not exist with him.  It is a thing that falls, it is a thing that easily stands upright (again) in the discovery of him who has come to him whom he shall bring back.  For the bringing back is called repentance.”

Gospel of Truth :24   “For this reason incorruptibility breathed forth; it pursued the one who had sinned in order that he might rest. For forgiveness is what remains for the light in the deficiency, the word of the pleroma.  For the physician runs to the place where a sickness is because that is his will that is in him.  He who has a deficiency, then, does not hide it, because one has what the other lacks.  So with the pleroma, which has no deficiency; it fills up his deficiency – (it is) that which he provided for filling up what he lacks, in order that therefore he might receive the grace. When he was deficient he did not have the grace.  That is why there was diminution existing in the place where there is no grace.  When that which was diminished was received, he revealed what he lacked, as a pleroma; that is the discovery of the light of truth which rose upon him because it is immutable.”

Gospel of Truth :25   “That is why Christ was spoken of in their midst, so that those who were disturbed might receive a bringing back, and he might anoint them with the ointment.  The ointment is the mercy of the Father who will have mercy on them.  But those whom he has anointed are the ones who have become perfect.  For full jars are the ones that are usually anointed.  But when the anointing of one (jar) is dissolved, it is emptied, and the reason for there being a deficiency is the thing through which its ointment goes.  For at that time a breath draws it, one by the power of the one with it. But from him who has no deficiency no seal is removed, nor is anything emptied.  But what he lacks the perfect Father fills again. He is good.  He knows his plantings because it is he who planted them in his paradise.  Now his paradise is his place of rest.”

Gospel of Truth :26   “This is the perfection in the thought of the Father, and these are the words of his meditation.  Each one of his words is the work of his one will in the revelation of his Word. While they were still in the depth of his thought, the Word which was first to come forth revealed them along with a mind that speaks the one Word in silent grace.  It (masc.) was called thought since they were in it (fem.) before being revealed.  It came about, then, that it was first to come forth at the time that was pleasing to the will of him who willed.  And the will is what the Father rests in and is pleased with.  Nothing happens without him, nor does anything happen without the will of the Father, but his will is incomprehensible. His trace is the will, and no one will know it, nor is it possible for one to scrutinize it in order to grasp it.  But when he wills, what he wills is this – even if the sight does not please them in any way – before God (it is) the will, the Father.  For he knows the beginning of all of them and their end.  For at their end he will question them directly (?).  Now the end is receiving knowledge about the one who is hidden, and this is the Father, from whom the beginning came forth, to whom all will return who have come forth from him.  And they have appeared for the glory and the joy of his name.”

Gospel of Truth :27   “Now the name of the Father is the Son. It is he who first gave a name to the one who came forth from him, who was himself, and he begot him as a son.  He gave him his name which belonged to him; he is the one to whom belongs all that exists around him, the Father.  His is the name; his is the Son.  It is possible for him to be seen.  But the name is invisible because it alone is the mystery of the invisible which comes to ears that are completely filled with it. For indeed the Father’s name is not spoken, but it is apparent through a Son.”

Gospel of Truth :28   “In this way, then, the name is a great thing. Who therefore will be able to utter a name for him, the great name, except him alone to whom the name belongs and the sons of the name in whom rested the name of the Father, (who) in turn themselves rested in his name?  Since the Father is unengendered, he alone is the one who begot a name for himself before he brought forth the aeons in order that the name of the Father should be over their head as lord, that is, the name in truth, which is firm in his command through perfect power.  For the name is not from (mere) words, nor does his name consist of appellations, but it is invisible.  He gave a name to himself since he sees himself, he alone having the power to give himself a name.  For he who does not exist has no name.  For what name is given to him who does not exist?  But the one who exists, exists also with his name, and he knows himself.  And to give himself a name is (the prerogative of) the Father.  The Son is his name.  He did not therefore hide it in the work, but the Son existed; he alone was given the name.  The name therefore is that of the Father, as the name of the Father is the Son.  Where indeed would mercy find a name except with the Father?”

Gospel of Truth :29   “But no doubt one will say to his neighbor, “Who is it who will give a name to him who existed before himself, as if offspring did not receive a name from those who begot them?” First, then, it is fitting for us to reflect on this matter: what is the name?  It is the name in truth; it is not therefore the name from the father, for it is the one which is the proper name.  Therefore he did not receive the name on loan as (do) others, according to the form in which each one is to be produced.  But this is the proper name.  There is no one else who gave it to him.  But he is unnameable, indescribable, until the time when he who is perfect spoke of himself.  And it is he who has the power to speak his name and to see it.

Gospel of Truth :30   “When therefore it pleased him that his name which is uttered should be his Son, and he gave the name to him, that is, him who came forth from the depth, he spoke about his secret things, knowing that the Father is a being without evil.  For that very reason he brought him forth in order to speak about the place and his resting-place from which he had come forth, and to glorify the pleroma, the greatness of his name and the gentleness of the Father.  About the place each one came from he will speak, and to the region where he received his essential being he will hasten to return again, and to be taken from that place – the place where he stood  receiving a taste from that place and receiving nourishment, receiving growth.  And his own resting-place is his pleroma.”

Gospel of Truth :31   “Therefore all the emanations of the Father are pleromas, and the root of all his emanations is in the one who made them all grow up in himself.  He assigned them their destinies.  Each one then is apparent in order that through their own thought […]. For the place to which they send their thought, that place (is) their root, which takes them up in all the heights to the Father.  They possess his head which is rest for them and they hold on close to him, as though to say that they have participated in his face by means of kisses.  But they do not appear in this way, for they did not surpass themselves nor lack the glory of the Father nor think of him as small nor that he is harsh nor that he is wrathful, but a being without evil, imperturbable, gentle, knowing all spaces before they have come into existence, and having no need to be instructed.”

Gospel of Truth :32   “This is the manner of those who possess (something) from above of the immeasurable greatness, as they stretch out after the one alone and the perfect one, the one who is there for them.  And they do not go down to Hades nor have they envy nor groaning nor death within them, but they rest in him who is at rest, not striving nor being involved in the search for truth.  But they themselves are the truth; and the Father is within them and they are in the Father, being perfect, being undivided in the truly good one, being in no way deficient in anything, but they are set at rest, refreshed in the Spirit.  And they will heed their root.  They will be concerned with those (things) in which he will find his root and not suffer loss to his soul. This is the place of the blessed; this is their place.”

Gospel of Truth :33   “For the rest, then, may they know, in their places, that it is not fitting for me, having come to be in the resting-place, to speak of anything else.  But it is in it that shall come to be, to be concerned at all times with the Father of the all and the true brothers, those upon whom the love of the Father is poured out and in whose midst there is no lack of him.  They are the ones who appear in truth since they exist in true and eternal life and speak of the light which is perfect and filled with the seed of the Father, and which is in his heart and in the pleroma, while his Spirit rejoices in it and glorifies the one in whom it existed because he is good.  And his children are perfect and worthy of his name, for he is the Father: it is children of this kind that he loves.”

https://www.thefirmament.org/scripture/nhl/gospel-of-truth/

https://www.gospels.net/truth

The Gospel of Truth

by Mark M. Mattison

 The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of Nag Hammadi Codex I, 3. For information about the surviving manuscripts of the Gospel of Truth, see the Manuscript Information page. For additional information about the translation, see the introduction to the PDF version.

For additional reflections about the history, context, and meaning of the Gospel of Truth, see my book, The Gospel of Truth: The Mystical Gospel. Note that Luminescence, L.L.C. earns commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Symbols
16 Page Number
[ ] Gap in the text
( ) Editorial insertion

Prologue

16 The Gospel of Truth is a joy for those who’ve received grace from the Father of Truth, that they might know him through the power of the Word that came from the fullness – the one who’s in the thought and mind of the Father. They call him “Savior.” That’s the name of the work he’ll do to redeem those who had become 17 ignorant of the Father. And the term “the Gospel” is the revelation of hope, the discovery of those who search for him.

Error and Forgetfulness

Since all searched for the one from whom they had come – all were within him, the uncontainable, inconceivable one who’s beyond every thought – (and) since ignorance of the Father caused anguish and terror, and the anguish grew thick like a fog, so that no one could see – Error was strengthened. It worked on its own matter in vain, not knowing the Truth.

It happened in a deluding way, as it (Error) prepared with power, in beauty, a substitute for the Truth. Now this wasn’t humiliating for the uncontainable, inconceivable one, because the anguish and forgetfulness and delusion of deceit were like nothing, whereas the Truth is established, unchangeable, unperturbed, beyond beauty. Because of this, disregard Error, since it has no root.

It happened in a fog concerning the Father. It happens (now) since it (Error) prepares works in forgetfulness and terror, so that with them it (Error) might attract those in the middle and imprison them.

The forgetfulness of Error wasn’t revealed; it wasn’t a 18 [thought] from the Father. Forgetfulness didn’t come into being from the Father, though it did come into being because of him. What comes into being within him is the knowledge, which was revealed so that forgetfulness might be dissolved, and the Father might be known. Forgetfulness came into being because the Father was unknown, so when the Father comes to be known, forgetfulness won’t exist anymore.

The Gospel

This is the Gospel of the one they search for, revealed to those who are complete through the mercies of the Father, the hidden mystery. Through it (the Gospel), Jesus Christ enlightened those who were in darkness through forgetfulness. He enlightened them; he showed them a Way, and the Way is the Truth which he taught them.

As a result, Error was angry. It pursued him. It was threatened by him and brought to nothing. They nailed him (Jesus) to a tree, and he became the fruit of the Father’s knowledge. However, it (the fruit) didn’t cause destruction when it was eaten, but those who ate it were given joy in the discovery. He discovered them in himself and they discovered him in themselves.

As for the uncontainable, inconceivable one – the Father, the complete one who made all – all are within him, and all need him. Although he kept their completion within himself which he didn’t give to all, the Father wasn’t jealous. Indeed, what jealousy is there between him and his members? 19 For if, like this, the generation [received the completion,] they couldn’t have come […] the Father. He keeps their completion within himself, giving it to them to return to him with a unitary knowledge in completion. He’s the one who made all, and all are within him, and all need him.

Like someone who’s unknown, he wants to be known and loved – because what did all need if not the knowledge of the Father?

He became a guide, peaceful and leisurely. He came and spoke the Word as a teacher in places of learning. Those who were wise in their own estimation came up to him to test him, but he confounded them because they were vain. They hated him because they weren’t wise in Truth. After all of them, all the little children came too; theirs is the knowledge of the Father. When they were strengthened, they received teaching about the Father’s expressions. They knew and they were known; they received glory and they gave glory. In their hearts the living Book of the Living was revealed, which was written in the thought and mind 20 [of the] Father, and before the [foundation] of all within his incomprehensibility. This (book) is impossible to take, since it permits the one who takes it to be killed. No one could’ve been revealed among those who'd been entrusted with salvation unless the book had appeared. Because of this, the merciful and faithful Jesus patiently suffered until he took that book, since he knows that his death is life for many.

When a will hasn’t yet been opened, the wealth of the deceased master of the house is hidden; so too all were hidden while the Father of all was invisible. They were from him, from whom every realm comes. Because of this:

Jesus was revealed,
put on that book,
was nailed to a tree,
and published the Father’s edict on the cross.

Oh, what a great teaching!

Drawing himself down to death,
he clothed himself in eternal life,
stripped himself of the perishable rags,
and clothed himself in incorruptibility,
which no one can take from him.

When he entered the empty realms of terror, he passed through those who were stripped by forgetfulness, being knowledge and completion, proclaiming the things that are in the heart 21 […] teach those who will [receive teaching].

The Book of the Living

Now those who will receive teaching [are] the living who are written in the Book of the Living. They receive teaching about themselves, and they receive it from the Father, returning to him again.

Since the completion of all is in the Father, it’s necessary for all to go up to him. Then, if someone has knowledge, they receive what are their own, and he draws them to himself, because the one who’s ignorant is in need. And it’s a great need, since they need what will complete them. Since the completion of all is in the Father, it’s necessary for all to go up to him, and for each one to receive what are their own. He inscribed these things beforehand, having prepared them to give to those who came out from him.

Those whose names he knew beforehand were called at the end, so that the one who has knowledge is the one whose name the Father has called, because those whose name hasn’t been spoken are ignorant. Indeed, how can someone hear if their name hasn’t been called? For the one who’s ignorant until the end is a delusion of forgetfulness, and they’ll dissolve with it. Otherwise, why do these miserable ones have no 22 name? Why do they have no voice?

So if someone has knowledge, they’re from above. If they’re called, they hear, they reply, and they turn to the one who calls them. And they go up to him, and they know how they are called. Having knowledge, they do the will of the one who called them, they want to please him, and they receive rest. Each one’s name becomes their own. The one who has knowledge like this knows where they come from and where they’re going. They know like one who, having been drunk, turns from their drunkenness, and having returned to themselves, restores what are their own.

He’s returned many from Error. He went before them to the realms from which they had moved away. They had received Error because of the depth of the one who surrounds every realm, though nothing surrounds him. It’s a great wonder that they were in the Father, not knowing him, and that they were able to come out by themselves, since they weren’t able to grasp and know the one in whom they were. He revealed his will as knowledge in harmony with all that emanated from him.

This is the knowledge of the living book which he revealed to the 23 generations at the end, letters from him revealing how they’re not vowels or consonants, so that one might read them and think they’re meaningless, but they’re letters of the Truth – they speak and know themselves. Each letter is a complete thought, like a book that’s complete, since they’re letters written by the Unity, the Father having written them so that the generations, by means of his letters, might know the Father.

The Return to Unity

His Wisdom meditates on the Word,
his teaching speaks it,
his knowledge has revealed it,
his patience is a crown upon it,
his joy is in harmony with it,
his glory has exalted it,
his image has revealed it,
his rest has received it,
his love made a body around it,
his faith embraced it.

In this way, the Word of the Father goes out in all, as the fruit 24 [of] his heart and an expression of his will. But it supports all. It chooses them and also takes the expression of all, purifying them, returning them to the Father and to the Mother, Jesus of infinite sweetness.

The Father reveals his bosom, and his bosom is the Holy Spirit. He reveals what’s hidden of himself; what’s hidden of himself is his Son – so that through the mercies of the Father, the generations may know him and cease their work in searching for the Father, resting in him and knowing that this is the rest. He’s filled the need and dissolved its appearance – its appearance is the world in which it served, because where there’s envy and strife there’s need, but where there’s Unity there’s completion. Since need came into being because the Father wasn’t known, when the Father is known, from then on, need will no longer exist. As someone’s ignorance dissolves when they gain knowledge, and as darkness dissolves when the light appears, 25 so also need dissolves in completion. So the appearance is revealed from then on, but it’ll dissolve in the harmony of Unity.

For now, their works lie scattered. In time, Unity will complete the realms. Within Unity each one will receive themselves, and within knowledge they’ll purify themselves from multiplicity into Unity, consuming matter within themselves like fire, and darkness by light, death by life. If indeed these things have happened to each one of us, then it’s right for us to think about all, so that this house will be holy and silent for the Unity.

The Parable of the Jars

It’s like some who’ve left their home, having jars that weren’t any good in places. They broke them, but the master of the house doesn’t suffer any loss. Instead he rejoices, because in place of the bad jars are ones that are full and complete. For this is 26 the judgment that’s come from above; it’s judged everyone. It’s a drawn, two-edged sword which cuts both ways. The Word, which is in the hearts of those who speak it, appeared. It isn’t just a sound, but it was incarnated (embodied).

A great disturbance arose among the jars, because some were empty, others filled; some provided for, others poured out; some purified, others broken. All the realms were shaken and disturbed, because they didn’t have order or stability. Error was anxious. It didn’t know what to do; it grieved, mourned, and hurt itself, because it knew nothing. The knowledge, which is its (Error’s) destruction, approached it (Error) and all that emanated from it. Error is empty, with nothing inside it.

Truth came into their midst, and all that emanated knew it. They welcomed the Father in Truth with a complete power that joins them with the Father. Truth is the Father’s mouth; the Holy Spirit is his tongue. Everyone who loves the Truth and are joined to the 27 Truth are joined to the Father’s mouth. By his tongue they’ll receive the Holy Spirit. This is the revelation of the Father and his manifestation to his generations. He revealed what was hidden of himself; he explained it, because who has anything, if not the Father alone?

Coming into Being

Every realm emanates from him. They know they’ve come out from him like children who are from someone who’s completely mature. They knew they hadn’t yet received form or a name. The Father gives birth to each one. Then, when they receive form from his knowledge, although they’re really within him, they don’t know him. But the Father is complete, knowing every realm that’s within him. If he wants to, he reveals whomever he wants, giving them a form and a name. He gives a name to them, and causes those to come into being who, before they come into being, are ignorant of the one who made them.

I’m not saying, then, that those who haven’t yet come into being are nothing, but they exist 28 in the one who will want them to come into being when he wants, like a later time. Before everything is revealed, he knows what he’ll produce. But the fruit which he hasn’t yet revealed doesn’t yet know anything, nor does it do anything. In addition, every realm which is itself in the Father is from the one who exists, who establishes them from what doesn’t exist. For those who have no root have no fruit either. They think to themselves, “I’ve come into being,” but they’ll dissolve by themselves. Because of this, those who didn’t exist at all won’t exist.

The Parable of the Nightmares

What, then, did he want them to think of themselves? He wanted to them to think, “I’ve come into being like the shadows and phantoms of the night.” When the light shines on the terror which they received, they know that it’s nothing. In this way, they were ignorant of the Father, whom 29 they didn’t see. Since it was terror and disturbance and instability and doubt and division, many illusions were at work among them, and vain ignorance, like they were deep in sleep and found themselves in nightmares. Either they’re running somewhere, or unable to run away from someone; or they’re fighting, or being beaten; or they’ve fallen from heights, or fly through the air without wings. Sometimes, too, it’s like someone is killing them, even though no one’s chasing them; or they themselves are killing those around them, covered in their blood. Until those who are going through all these nightmares can wake up, they see nothing, because these things are nothing.

That’s the way it is with those who’ve cast off ignorance like sleep. They don’t regard it as anything, nor do they regard its 30 other works as real, but they abandon them like a dream in the night. They value the knowledge of the Father like they value the light. The ignorant have acted like they’re asleep; those who’ve come to knowledge have acted like they’ve awakened. Good for the one who returns and awakens! Blessed is the one who’s opened the eyes of those who can’t see! The Holy Spirit hurried after them to revive them. Having given a hand to the one who lay on the ground, it set them up on their feet, because they hadn’t yet arisen. It gave them the knowledge of the Father and the revelation of the Son, because when they saw him and heard him, he granted them to taste him and to grasp the beloved Son.

The Revelation of the Son

When he was revealed, he taught them about the Father, the uncontainable one, and breathed into them what’s in the thought, doing his will. When many had received the light, they turned 31 to him. For the material ones were strangers, who didn’t see his form or know him. For he came by means of fleshly form, and nothing could block his path, because incorruptibility can’t be grasped. Moreover, he said new things while he spoke about what’s in the Father’s heart and brought out the complete Word. When the light spoke through his mouth, and by his voice gave birth to life, he gave them thought, wisdom, mercy, salvation, and the Spirit of power from the infinity and sweetness of the Father. He caused punishments and torments to cease, because they led astray into Error and bondage those who needed mercy. He dissolved and confounded them with knowledge. He became:

a Way for those who were led astray,
knowledge for those who were ignorant,
a discovery for those who were searching,
strength for those who were wavering, and
purity for those who were impure.

The Parable of the Sheep

He’s the shepherd who left behind the ninety- 32 nine sheep which weren’t lost. He went and searched for the one which was lost. He rejoiced when he found it, because ninety-nine is a number expressed with the left hand. However, when the one is found, the numerical sum moves to the right hand. In this way, what needs the one – that is, the whole right hand – draws what it needs, takes it from the left hand, and moves it to the right, so the number becomes one hundred. This is a symbol of the sound of these numbers; this is the Father.

Even on the Sabbath, he worked for the sheep which he found fallen in the pit. He saved the life of the sheep, having brought it up from the pit, so that you may know in your hearts – you’re children of the knowledge of the heart – what is the Sabbath, on which it isn’t right for salvation to be idle, so that you may speak of the day which is above, which has no night, and of the light that doesn’t set, because it’s complete. Speak then from the heart, because you’re the completed day, and the light that doesn’t cease dwells within you. Speak of the Truth with those who search for it, and of knowledge with those who’ve sinned in their Error.

Doing the Father’s Will

33 Strengthen the feet of those who stumble, and reach out to those who are sick. Feed those who are hungry, and give rest to those who are weary. Raise up those who want to arise, and awaken those who sleep, because you’re the understanding that’s unsheathed. If strength is like this, it becomes stronger.

Be concerned about yourselves. Don’t be concerned about other things which you’ve rejected from yourselves. Don’t return to eat your vomit. Don’t be eaten by worms, because you’ve already shaken it off. Don’t become a dwelling-place for the devil, because you’ve already brought him to naught. Don’t strengthen your obstacles which are collapsing, as though you’re a support. For the lawless one is nothing, to be treated more harshly than the just, doing his works among others.

Do then the Father’s will, because you’re from him. For the Father is sweet, and goodness is in his will. He knows what’s yours, that you may find rest in them. For by the fruits they know what’s yours, because the children of the Father 34 are his fragrance, since they’re from the grace of his expression. Because of this, the Father loves his fragrance, and reveals it in every place. And when it mixes with matter, it gives his fragrance to the light, and in tranquility he causes it to rise above every form and every sound. For it’s not the ears that smell the fragrance, but it’s the Spirit that smells, and draws the fragrance to itself, and sinks down into the Father’s fragrance. He shelters it, then, and takes it to the place from which it came, from the first fragrance which has grown cold. It’s something in a soul-endowed delusion, like cold water sunk into loose earth. Those who see it think that it’s just earth. Afterwards, it dissolves again. If a breath draws it, it becomes warm. So the fragrances which are cold are from the division. Because of this, faith came. It dissolved the division, and it brought the fullness that’s warm with love, so that the cold may not return, but rather the unitary thought of completion.

Restoring what was Needed

This is the Word of the Gospel of the discovery of the fullness, which comes for those who are awaiting 35 the salvation which is coming from above. The hope for which they’re waiting is waiting for those whose image is light with no shadow in it. If at that time the fullness comes, the need of matter doesn’t come through the infinity of the Father, who comes to give time to the need – although no one can say that the incorruptible one will come like this. But the depth of the Father multiplied, and the thought of Error didn’t exist with him. It’s something that’s fallen, which is easily set upright in the discovery of the one who’s to come to what he’ll return, because the return is called “repentance.”

Because of this, incorruptibility breathed out. It followed after the one who sinned, so that they might rest, because forgiveness is what remains for the light in need, the Word of fullness. For the doctor hurries to the place where there’s sickness, because that’s what he (or she) wants to do. The one in need, then, doesn’t hide it, because one (the doctor) has what they need. In this way the fullness, which has no need but fills the need, is what he 36 provided from himself to fill up what’s needed, so that they might receive grace; because when they were in need, they didn’t have grace. Because of this, a diminishing took place where there is no grace. When what was diminished was restored, what they needed was revealed as fullness. This is the discovery of the light of Truth which enlightened them, because it doesn’t change.

Because of this, they spoke of Christ in their midst: “Seek, and those who were disturbed will receive a return – and he’ll anoint them with ointment.” The ointment is the mercy of the Father, who will have mercy on them. But those whom he anointed are those who have been completed, because full jars are the ones that are anointed. But when the anointing of one dissolves, it empties, and the cause of the need is the place where the ointment leaks, because a breath and its power draws it. But from the one who has no need, no seal is removed, nor is anything emptied, but what it needs is filled again by the Father, who’s complete.

The Father’s Paradise

He’s good. He knows his plants, because he planted them in his paradise. Now his paradise is a place of rest. This 37 is the completion in the Father’s thought, and these are the words of his meditation. Each of his words is the work of his one will in the revelation of his Word. When they were still in the depths of his thought, the Word – which was the first to come out – revealed them along with a mind that speaks the one Word in a silent grace. He was called “the Thought,” since they were in it before being revealed. It happened, then, that he was the first to come out at the time when it pleased the one who wanted it. Now the Father rests in his will, and is pleased with it.

Nothing happens without him, nor does anything happen without the will of the Father, but his will is incomprehensible. His trace is the will, and no one can know him, nor does he exist for people to scrutinize so that they might grasp him, but when he wills, what he wills is this – even if the sight doesn’t please them in any way before God – the will of the Father, because he knows the beginning of all of them, and their end, for in the end he’ll greet them directly. Now the end is receiving knowledge of the one who’s hidden; this is the Father, 38 from whom the beginning has come, and to whom all who’ve come out from him will return. They were revealed for the glory and the joy of his name.

The Father’s Name

Now the name of the Father is the Son. He’s the one who first gave a name to the one who comes out from him, who was himself, and he gave birth to him as a Son. He gave him his name which belonged to him. He’s the one to whom everything around the Father belongs. The name and the Son are his. It’s possible for him to be seen; the name, however, is invisible, because it alone is the mystery of the invisible which comes to ears that are filled completely with it by him. For indeed, the Father’s name isn’t spoken, but it’s revealed through a Son.

In this way, then, the name is great. Who, then, will be able to utter a name for him, the great name, except him alone to whom the name belongs, and the children of the name, those in whom the Father’s name rests, and who themselves, in turn, rest in his name? Since the Father is unbegotten, it’s he alone who gave birth to him for himself as a name, before he had made the generations, so that the Father’s name might be over their head as Lord, which is the 39 true name, confirmed in his command in complete power. For the name isn’t from words and naming; the name, rather, is invisible.

He gave a name to him alone. He alone sees him, he alone having the power to give him a name, because whoever doesn’t exist has no name. For what name will they give one who doesn’t exist? But the one who exists, exists also with his name, and he alone knows it, and he’s given a name to him alone. This is the Father; his name is the Son. He didn’t hide it within, then, but it existed. The Son alone gave a name. The name, then, belongs to the Father, as the name of the Father is the beloved Son. Where, indeed, would he find a name, except from the Father?

But doubtless one will ask their neighbor, “Who is it who’ll give a name to the one who existed before them, as if 40 offspring didn’t receive a name from those who gave them birth?” First, then, it’s right for us to consider what the name is. It’s the true name, the name from the Father, because it’s the proper name. So he didn’t receive the name on loan, the way others do, according to the form in which each one will be produced. This, then, is the proper name. There’s no one else who gave it to him. But he’s unnameable, indescribable, until the time when he who’s complete spoke of him alone. And it’s he who has the power to speak his name and to see him.

So when it pleased him that his beloved name should be his Son, and he gave the name to him who came out from the depth, he disclosed his secrets, knowing that the Father is without evil. Because of this, he brought him out so that he might speak about the place, and his resting place from which he had come, 41 and to glorify the fullness, the greatness of his name, and the Father’s sweetness.

The Place of Rest

Each one will speak about the place from which they came, and they’ll hurry to return again to the place where they received their restoration to receive from the place where they were, receiving a taste from that place and receiving nourishment, receiving growth.

And their place of rest is their fullness. All that have emanated from the Father, then, are fullnesses, and the roots of all that have emanated from him are within the one who caused them all to grow. He gave them their destinies. Then each one was revealed, so that through their own thought […] for the place to which they send their thought is their root, which takes them up through all the heights, up to the Father. They embrace his head, which is rest for them, and they’re grasped, approaching him, as though to say that they receive his expression by means of kisses. But they’re not revealed 42 in this way, because they neither exalted themselves, nor wanted the Father’s glory, nor did they think of him as trivial or harsh or wrathful; but he’s without evil, unperturbed, and sweet. He knows every realm before they’ve come into existence, and he has no need to be instructed.

This is the way of those who possess something of the immeasurable greatness from above, as they wait for the complete one alone, who’s a Mother for them. And they don’t go down to Hades, nor do they have envy or groaning, nor death within them, but they rest in the one who rests, not striving nor twisting around in the search for Truth. But they themselves are the Truth, and the Father is within them, and they’re in the Father, being complete. They’re undivided from the truly good one. They don’t need anything, but they rest, refreshed in the Spirit. And they’ll listen to their root. They’ll devote themselves to those things that they’ll find in their root and not suffer loss to their soul. This is the place of the blessed; this is their place.

Conclusion

As for the others, then, may they know, where they’re at, that it’s not right 43 for me, having come to the place of rest, to say anything else, but I’ll come to be in it, and will devote myself continually to the Father of all and the true brothers (and sisters), those upon whom the Father’s love is emptied and in whose midst there is no need. They’re the ones who are revealed in Truth; they exist in the true eternal life, and they speak of the light that’s complete and that’s filled with the Father’s seed, and that’s in his heart and in the fullness. His Spirit rejoices in it, and glorifies the one in whom it existed, because he’s good. And his children are complete, and worthy of his name, because he’s the Father. It’s children like this that he loves.

Notes on Translation

Page 17: “It happened in a deluding way.” Cf. Jörgen Magnusson, Rethinking the Gospel of Truth: A Study of Its Eastern Valentinian Setting (Uppsala University), 2006, p. 77, contra most translators, who tend to use “creation” or “form” for plasma instead of “delusion.” Kendrick Grobel translates “She was at work upon a molded figure” in The Gospel of Truth: A Valentinian Meditation on the Gospel (Abingdon Press), 1960, p. 33 (but cf. p. 34); Attridge and MacRae translate “it set about with a creation” in James M. Robinson, ed., The Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices, Volume I (Brill), 2000, p. 83 (but cf. the note in their commentary section later in the volume on page 45); Marvin Meyer translates “she assumed a fashioned figure” in The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (HarperOne), 2007, p. 36; Celene Lillie translates “She … became a molded form” in Hal Taussig, ed., A New New Testament (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), 2013, p. 230; and Bentley Layton translates “she took up residence in a modeled form” in The Gnostic Scriptures (Doubleday), 1987, p. 253. The pronoun in the phrase is feminine (which could refer to “Error,” which is feminine in Coptic) but can also be rendered as “it,” as Coptic has no neuter gender. “delusion of deceit.” Also following Magnusson (op. cit., p. 94); cp. Grobel, “deceitful figure” (op. cit., p. 44); Attridge and MacRae, “creature of deceit” (op. cit., p. 83); Meyer, “deceptive figure” (op. cit., p. 36); Lillie, “molded forms are lies” (op. cit., p. 230); Layton, “modeled form of deception” (op. cit., p. 253). “disregard.” Grobel translates “look with scorn” (op. cit., p. 46); Attridge and MacRae (op. cit., p. 83), Meyer (op. cit., p. 36), and Layton (op. cit., p. 253) translate “despise”; but cf. Lillie, op. cit., p. 230, and Magnusson, op. cit., pp. 78, 79.

Page 18: “thought.” The reconstruction is that of Magnusson, op. cit., p. 81. “This is the Gospel of the one they search for … the Way is the Truth which he taught them.” Based on personal correspondence with Lance Jenott dated November 15, 2017.

Page 19: “the Father’s expressions.” Literally, “the forms of the Father’s face.”

Page 20: “who’d been entrusted with.” Grobel (op. cit., p. 62), Meyer (op. cit., p. 38), and Layton (op. cit., p. 255) translate “those who believed in”; Attridge and MacRae translate “those who have believed in” (op. cit., p. 87); Lillie translates “those who trust in” (op. cit., p. 231); but cf. Magnusson, op. cit., pp. 137, 138.

Page 21: “delusion.” Grobel translates “figure” (op. cit., p. 74); Attridge and MacRae (op. cit., p. 89) and Meyer (op. cit., p. 35) translate“creature”; Lillie translates “creatures” (op. cit., p. 231); Layton translates “modeled form” (op. cit., p. 256); but cf. Magnusson, op. cit., p. 100.

Page 22: “He revealed his will as knowledge in harmony with all that emanated from him.” For clarity, this translation follows Lillie in omitting the preceding phrase which creates a logical incoherence: “If his will hadn’t come out from him.” It appears that either the author changed direction mid-sentence, or the scribe copying this text made an error.

Pages 23, 34, and 41: “expression.” Literally, “form of face.”

Page 34: “delusion.” Grobel translates “animate mold” (op. cit., p. 152); Attridge and MacRae (op. cit., p. 105), Meyer (op. cit., p. 44), and Lillie (op. cit., p. 235) translate “form”; Layton translates “modeled form” (op. cit., p. 261); but cf. Magnusson, op. cit., p. 116.

Page 42: “a Mother,” following Meyer, op. cit., p. 47 (but cf. n. 49); Lillie, op. cit., p. 238 (but cf. note); Layton, op. cit., p. 264; alternatively, “is there”; cf. Grobel, op. cit., p. 196; Attridge and MacRae, op. cit., p. 117; Magnusson, op. cit., p. 126.