“Knowledge of the Father and the revelation of his Child gave them means of knowing. For when they saw him and heard him, he let them taste him and smell him and touch the beloved Child.” [16: 1-2]
Here, the author turns to how the knowledge of the Father and the revelation of his Child [the Christ] enables us to acquire the means of knowing experientially [ginosko] the Divine and how we, having seen and heard God, are granted the sublime opportunity to taste and smell and touch the reality of the Son.
Compare this verse above to what we read in the introduction to 1 John, chapter 1 which reads:
“We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” [1 John 1:1-4, NSRV]
The very same language of hearing, seeing, tasting and touching the incarnation of the Father’s love in the person of the Son is echoed here in Chapter 16 of the Gospel of Truth.
Once we have tasted and seen that God is good, there follows a series of exponentially unfolding spiritual delights:
“When [the Child] appeared, telling them about the Father – the uncontainable one – he breathed into them what is in the thought, doing his will. When they received the light, many turned to him, for the material ones were strangers, and they did not see his image and did not know him. For he came in the form of flesh and nothing blocked his path, for what is incorruptible is irresistible.” [16:3-5]
Let’s try to follow the chain of events described in these verses if we can.
We are told that the Child [or the Christ]:
*Appears and speaks of the Father who is uncontainable
*Breathes into us what is in the thought [consciousness]
For those who “received the light” and “turned to him,” [v.4] their eyes were opened to the truth, and even though “the material [people] were strangers and…did not see his image [or] know him,” [v.4] because “he came in the likeness of flesh” the reality is that “nothing blocked his way because what is incorruptible is irresistible.” [v.5]
In other words, those who immediately received the light of truth received that light and breath of the Divine Consciousness. We become containers of the uncontainable and we are “filled with the fullness of the One who fills everything in every way.” [Eph. 1:23]
But, what of those “material ones” who do not see what we see? What of those who do not know the Father or the Child? Fear not, for the truth is that even though the Spirit has come “in the form of the flesh, nothing blocked his way” because Christ is “irresistible.”
“He spoke new things while speaking what is in the Father’s heart and brought out the faultless Word. When the light had spoken through his mouth and voice, which gave birth to life, he gave them thought and understanding, compassion and salvation, and the spirit of power in the Father’s infinity and sweetness.” [16:6-7]
God’s bountiful blessings to those who receive what is spoken by the Child – “the light that was spoken through his mouth” – include life itself, and with this, the mind and wisdom of Christ which, as always, includes compassion, salvation and the power of the infinite sweetness of the Father.
Next, the Child brings an end to suffering and hope for those who are desperate:
“He caused punishments and torments to cease, for it was they that caused many in need of mercy to stray from him in error and in chains—and he mightily destroyed them and derided them with knowledge. He became a path for those who went astray and knowledge for those who were ignorant, a discovery for those who were searching, and a support for those who tremble, a purity for those who were defiled.” [16:8-10]
The captives are set free, the blind can see, the lame can walk, the lepers are healed and the darkness has been overcome by a blinding light that chases all darkness away, forever.
Halleluiah! The Father has sent his Child into the world and the world will never be the same again.
**
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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