Jesus' Two Mothers: The Ebionite and Valentinian View of Spirit, Birth, and Resurrection
Both the Ebionites and the Valentinians present a compelling, non-Trinitarian framework for understanding the origins and exaltation of Jesus. Far from the later creeds that declared Jesus to be eternally divine, these early movements emphasized his humanity, his adoption by God, and his new birth by the spirit at the resurrection. From this perspective, Jesus is the natural child of Joseph and Mary, adopted as the Son of God at his baptism and fully made the Son of God in power by the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3–4). In both Ebionite and Valentinian thought, Mary is understood as the mother of Jesus according to the flesh, but not the source of his imperishable life. His new birth through the Holy Spirit makes the spirit his second mother—one who gives him life in truth.
This idea is made explicit in The Gospel of Philip, a Valentinian text that challenges the idea of Mary conceiving by the Holy Spirit. It states:
“Some said Mary became pregnant by the holy spirit. They are wrong and do not know what they are saying. When did a woman ever get pregnant by a woman? Mary is the virgin whom none of the powers defiled. This is greatly cruse to the Hebrews, who are the apostles and apostolic persons. This virgin whom none of the powers defiled [wishes that] the powers would defile themselves. The master [would] not have said, ‘My [father who is] in heaven,’ if [he] did not also have another father. He would simply have said, ‘[My father].’” — Gospel of Philip
This passage contains multiple layered implications. First, it clearly asserts that Mary did not conceive by the Holy Spirit. The argument hinges on the fact that in Hebrew, the word “spirit” (ruach) is grammatically feminine. As the author of Philip quips: “When did a woman ever get pregnant by a woman?” The logic is not about divine impossibility but about coherence within spiritual typology: the Holy Spirit as a feminine power cannot be the cause of physical conception in Mary. This means Mary’s pregnancy was natural, not supernatural. Jesus was the biological son of Joseph and Mary, a position also affirmed by the Ebionites and by Paul in Romans 1:3.
The Valentinians, like the Ebionites, believed Jesus became the Christ at his baptism. From that point, the Spirit descended on him, adopting him as God’s son. However, his full glorification came at the resurrection, when he was “born again” by the Spirit into imperishable life. The Gospel of Philip says:
“The Lord was conceived (born again) from what is imperishable, from God. The [Lord arose] from among the dead. But [He did not come into being as he was. Rather [his body] was [completely] perfect. It was of flesh, and this [flesh is indeed] true flesh.¹ [Yet our flesh] is not true, but rather a mirror-image of the true [flesh].” — Gospel of Philip
This is congruent with Paul's teaching in Romans 1:3–4:
“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
Thus, Jesus’ true identity as the Son of God was not established by his birth from Mary, but through the resurrection—his new birth from the Spirit. This new birth is described in Johannine language as being “born from above” or “born again”:
“What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel because I told you, YOU people must be born again. The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone that has been born from the spirit.” — John 3:6–8
Here, the Spirit is again portrayed in feminine terms—as one who gives birth. To be born from the spirit is to have the spirit as a mother. This clarifies The Gospel of Thomas Saying 101 (not 110):
“Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot become a disciple to me. And whoever does [not] love his father and his mother as I do cannot become a [disciple] to me. For my mother [gave me falsehood], but [my] true [mother] gave me life.”
The mother who gave Jesus “falsehood” is Mary—not because she sinned, but because the flesh inherited from her (and Joseph) was subject to mortality and what Paul calls "condemnation." By falsehood, we understand this to mean the genetic inheritance of Adamic mortality—cellular aging and death. Jesus, being born from flesh, inherited the condition of death and had to be saved from it, as Hebrews 5:7 confirms:
“In the days of his flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his piety.”
Jesus’ true mother, then, is the Holy Spirit, who raised him from the dead into incorruptibility. The resurrection is the moment he is born from the spirit—conceived anew from the imperishable.
The Ebionite and Valentinian perspectives converge in rejecting the idea that Jesus’ physical birth involved divine impregnation. Both affirm his full humanity and assert that divine sonship is a title bestowed through obedience and resurrection, not divine DNA. The “powers”—angels, elohim, and even the Holy Spirit—did not touch Mary. Jesus’ true transformation came not at Bethlehem but at the empty tomb, when he was declared the Son of God in power, born not of flesh, but of the Spirit.
Thus, Jesus has two mothers: Mary, who gave him corruptible life according to the flesh, and the Spirit, who gave him imperishable life according to the resurrection.
Mary Conceiving
Some said Mary became pregnant by the holy spirit. They are wrong and do not know what they are saying. When did a woman ever get pregnant by a woman?My Father
Mary is the virgin whom none of the powers defiled. This is greatly cruse to the Hebrews, who are the apostles and apostolic persons. This virgin whom none of the powers defiled [wishes that] the powers would defile themselves.
The master [would] not have said, “My [father who is] in heaven,” if [he] did not also have another father. He would simply have said, “[My father].”
Some said, "Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit." They are in error. They do not know what they are saying. When did a woman ever conceive by a woman [she was not defiled when the holy spirit impregnated her through David's seed see my study The Artificial Insemination of Mary with David's semen. Because David's seed and Mary's egg were implanted. Later the embryo was holy but still Adamic by which we mean our fall sinful nature].
[Mary was impregnated by the Father however Mary is not the true mother of Jesus, the true mother of Jesus is the Holy Spirit ]
Jesus has two Mothers: Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot become a disciple to Me. And whoever does [not] love his father and his mother as I do cannot become a [disciple] to Me. For My mother [gave me falsehood], but [My] true [Mother] gave me life." Gospel of Thomas Saying 110
In Hebrew the word spirit is a feminine noun. That is why it can be spoken of as a Mother giving birth. Therefore Jesus has 2 mothers Mary is Jesus' natural mother according to the flesh who could only give him falsehood or death by genetic inheritance. By falsehood we understand this to mean adamic condemnation which brings forth death which Jesus needed to be saved from Hebrews 5:7
when the holy spirit overshadowed Mary this was a miracle however Jesus was made of human nature his flesh was the same as our flesh he did not an immaculate nature or angelic nature. Therefore he would need to be born of the spirit to have eternal life
However the holy spirit is Jesus' mother by his resurrection from the dead by being born again.
The Lord was conceived (born again) from what is imperishable, from God. The [Lord arose] from among the dead. But [He did not come into being as he was. Rather [his body] was [completely] perfect. It was of flesh, and this [flesh is indeed] true flesh.¹ [Yet our flesh] is not true, but rather a mirror-image of the true [flesh]. (¹Jn 1:14, 20:27, II-Jn 7; NHS p. 174 Gospel of Philip
Romans 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Jesus came in the flesh of the seed of David when he was resurrected from the dead by the spirit of holiness he was born of the spirit
John 3:6 What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel because I told you, YOU people must be born again.
8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone that has been born from the spirit.”
Notice the feminine description of the spirit in v8 one is born of the spirit. to use the langue of being born is describing the holy spirit as a mother
Mt 11:19 But wisdom is justified by her children.
Therefore the holy spirit is a feminine aspect of God
The holy spirit is a force, the invisible power and energy of the Father by which God is everywhere present. The chosen messengers have been given only the power and authority from Yahweh they need to accomplish their mission. Gen 1:2; Num 11:17; Mt 3:16; John 20:22; Ac 2:4, 17, 33. The Spirit is not a 'separate' or 'other' person. Ac 7:55, 56; Re 7:10 It is God's own radiant power, ever out flowing from Him, by which His 'everywhereness' is achieved. Ps 104:30; 1 Cor 12:4-11.
The Spirit is personal in that it is of God Himself: it is not personal in the sense of being some other person within the Godhead"
Mary is the virgin whom no power defiled [she was a Righteous woman]. She [Mary – the symbolic “womb” of spiritual birth] is a great anathema to the Hebrews, who are the apostles and the apostolic men [even these were anathema because they were all still “double minded” and could not comprehend what Mary truly represented at the time]. This virgin whom no power defiled [...] the powers defile themselves.
And the Lord would not have said "My Father who is in Heaven" (Mt 16:17), unless he had had another father [the other father was the “first man Adam” through His physical “genetic” seed line for one must first be born of flash for "that", says Jesus himself, "which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6) and this Paul explains in another place by saying, that "He sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3) in the offering of his body once (Heb. 10:10,12,14). Sin could not have been condemned in the body of Jesus, if it had not existed there. His body was as unclean as the bodies of those for whom he died; for he was born of a woman, and "not one" can bring a clean body out of a defiled body;], but he would have said simply "My father" [Jesus also had a physical father in Eli and was adopted in the Royal family by Joseph].
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