“I am not saying that those who have not yet come into being are nothing, but they come into being when the One who desires their existence makes them appear. He knows what he will produce before anything appears. But the fruit which has not yet appeared knows nothing and does nothing.” [14: 1-3]
His point is that, while those who have yet to appear are not “nothing”, they are in a state where they know nothing and do nothing until they come into being. Their “appearing” is a metaphor for their awakening to the light of Truth which, as he suggests, comes “when the One who desires their existence makes them appear.”
There seems to be a slight overlap in the meaning of this idea of “appearing” and “coming into being” which, on the one hand, could be taken to be a reference to a sort of spiritual pre-existence in the Father’s essence prior to physical birth in a human body, and on the other hand, a reference to the spiritual awakening of the spiritual being within the physical form after being born. I see no problem with taking this metaphor both ways. We are all spiritually alive in the Father prior to physical birth, and we all “come into being when the One who desires [our] existence makes [us] appear.” This is true in both the physical and the spiritual sense. Our awareness of reality goes through a series of awakenings until we are fully alive and awake in the Father. First, we are made to appear in human form, and then at a later date, we are made alive in the fullness of our spiritual self when we recognize our connection with God and our identity as expressions of the Divine Self.
“Therefore, all ways that exist in the Father come from the One who exists, the One who establishes them from what does not exist. For that which has no root has no fruit, and though thinking, ‘I have come into being,’ it will perish by itself. Because of this, that which does not exist at all will never exist. What, then, does God want them to think of themselves? It is this: ‘I have come into being like the shadows and ghosts of the night.’ When the light shines on the fear endured, the person knows it was nothing.” [14:4-9]
In this beautifully poetic verse the author of the Gospel of Truth explains how we were created from nothing in the One who is the ground of all being to become one with the Father. Our root is in the Father. Our fruit comes from our connection with the Father. Our existence is dependent upon our connection to the Father. This is an affirmation of what Jesus says in the Gospel of John about our need to remain in Christ:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” [15:1-8, NIV]
If we remain in Christ, we are alive to the Truth. Apart from this, we “can do nothing,” but if we remain in connection with Christ, we “will bear much fruit.” Of course, our “connection” with Christ and with the Father is never in question. We are all connected to the Divine regardless of our awareness or agreement with this fact.
To “remain in the vine” is about our continual collaboration with the Christ within us and the Christ we are within. As long as we remain awakened to the “One in whom we all live and move and have our being,” we are fruitful and we thrive. When we forget or deny our Oneness, we shrivel and wither. Our life is in Christ and Christ is our life.
“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” [Colossians 3:4]
As we continue to read in Chapter 14, our ignorance of the Father is what led us to fear and confusion.
“They did not know the Father whom they did not see. Since there was fear and confusion and instability and divisions, there were many illusions at work among them. And there was empty ignorance as if they were sleeping and found themselves in disturbing dreams – running someplace or powerless while pursued, coming to blows or themselves beaten, falling from heights or flying through the air without wings. Or sometimes as if people are trying to kill them or they are killing their neighbors, smeared with their blood. Until the time, after having all these dreams, they awaken. Those in the midst of all this confusion see nothing for these things are nothing.” [14:10-15]
The descriptions here of dreams rings true for most of us. We’ve all had those types of dreams: being chased, running powerlessly, flying without wings, nightmares of torture and death. But, as real as these dreams may seem to us at the time, they are not real. They are illusions and fantasies about our division from God and one another, as we see in Chapter 15:
“Such are those who cast ignorance from themselves like sleep. They do not consider it anything, or its works as real things, but leave them behind like a dream in the night. Knowledge of the Father they value as the dawn. Each one acted as if asleep when he was without knowledge [gnosko]. And this is the way he comes to knowledge – as if awakened. Blessed is the one who returns to one’s self and awakens. Blessed is the one who has opened the eyes of the blind. And then this one awakens, the Spirit pursues in haste. Having given its hand to those spread on the ground, it sets them on their feet – for they have not yet arisen.” [15:1-9]
Our nightmare of separation and division ends when we “cast ignorance from [ourselves] like sleep” and “leave [these illusions] behind like a dream in the night.” To deeply experience our Oneness with the Divine is compared to the sweet relief of awakening to the dawn of a new day after a night of suffering under the illusion of separation which has held us in thrall like a bad dream.
This chapter ends with two new Beatitudes: “Blessed is the one who returns to one’s self and awakens. Blessed is the one who has opened the eyes of the blind.” [15:6-7]
We are blessed when we return to ourselves and awaken to the dawn of the reality of our Oneness in Christ, and we are blessed whenever we help others to open their eyes to see the glorious light of Divine Connection with the Father and with all things.
**
The newest book from Keith Giles, “The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas” is available now on Amazon. Order HERE>
Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.”
He co-hosts The God Squad podcast, and the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.
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