A Saying Of Jesus
when you make the below
like the above
The Gnostic Implications of the Message Bible’s “As Above, So Below”
The phrase “as above, so below,” as found in The Message rendering of Bible in Matthew 6:10, opens a profound interpretive doorway into early Christian and Gnostic thought. While the traditional rendering reads “on earth, as it is in heaven,” The Message expresses it as “Do what’s best— as above, so below,” introducing a maxim that resonates deeply with themes found across a wide range of early Christian writings, including texts from the Nag Hammadi Library. These sources repeatedly emphasize a correspondence between “above” and “below,” not merely in spatial terms but in ontological, structural, and experiential unity.
The passage reads:
“Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.”
This rendering reframes the prayer not as a passive request but as a declaration of alignment between two realms—“above” and “below.” In Gnostic interpretation, this alignment is not simply moral but structural and existential: what exists above exists below in pattern, image, or reflection.
This idea appears explicitly in the Acts of Peter:
“If you do not make what is on the right like what is on the left and what is on the left like what is on the right, and what is above like what is below, and what is behind like what is before, you will not recognize the kingdom.”
Here, the recognition of the kingdom depends on transformation through equivalence. Opposites must be reconciled, distinctions dissolved, and dualities unified. The phrase “what is above like what is below” expresses not imitation but identity of structure—suggesting that reality is patterned consistently across all levels of existence.
This same principle is echoed in the Gospel of Philip:
“Those above opened to us the things below, in order that we may go in to the secret of the truth.”
The tearing of the veil “from the top to bottom” symbolizes not a one-directional revelation but a mutual opening—above revealing below, and below gaining access to above. This mutuality reinforces the idea that the two are not separate realms but interrelated dimensions of a single structured reality.
Another powerful expression appears in the Acts of Philip:
“Unless ye make that which is beneath to be above, and the left to be right (and the right left), ye shall not enter into my kingdom… for all the world is turned the wrong way, and every soul that is in it.”
Here, the world is described as inverted—“turned the wrong way.” The task is not to ascend spatially but to correct orientation. “Making what is beneath to be above” implies a reordering of perception and structure, restoring alignment between levels of existence.
The Odes of Solomon provides a more philosophical articulation:
“The likeness of that which is below is that which is above.
For everything is from above, and from below there is nothing…”
This passage introduces the concept of “likeness” or “pattern.” The Syriac term may be better understood as “pattern,” as in Exodus 25:9:
“According to all that I shew thee, the pattern of the tabernacle…”
And Hebrews 8:5:
“See… that thou make all things according to the pattern that was shewed thee in the mount.”
Thus, what exists below is not independent reality but a manifestation of a prior pattern. The “above” is not merely a location but the source of structure—the archetype from which all things are formed.
The idea of pattern aligns with the concept of mental representation:
“Everything that is manifested was first a mental picture and was brought into expression by the forming power of the imagination.”
In this framework, “above” corresponds to the originating pattern, while “below” corresponds to its expression. The relationship is not dualistic but generative: the below proceeds from the above.
This theme reaches its most explicit formulation in the Gospel of Thomas, Saying 22:
“When you make the two one and make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside and the above like the below… then you will enter [the kingdom].”
Here, entry into the kingdom depends on total unification: inside and outside, male and female, above and below. The kingdom is not a place but a state achieved through integration. The text explicitly rejects spatial separation, emphasizing instead a condition of harmony.
This is reinforced by John 8:23:
“You are from below; I am from above.”
Yet this distinction is not absolute. The Gnostic texts suggest that what is “above” is accessible—not by movement but by transformation.
The macrocosm–microcosm relationship further develops this idea. Isaiah 57:15 states:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit…”
Here, the “high and holy place” is not separate from the human condition but coexistent with it. Likewise, Ecclesiastes 3:11 declares:
“He hath also placed the eternity in their heart…”
The Hebrew olam (aeon) indicates that eternity is embedded within the human being. Thus, the “above” is present within the “below.”
The Gospel of Philip makes this explicit:
“But that which is within them all is the fullness. Beyond it, there is nothing else within it. This is that of which they say, ‘That which is above them’.”
Here, the “above” is redefined as “within.” The Pleroma—the fullness—is not a distant realm but an internal condition. The distinction between above and below collapses into a single reality experienced internally.
This understanding transforms the concept of redemption. In the Tripartite Tractate, redemption is described as:
“an ascent to the degrees which are in the Pleroma… according to the power of each of the aeons”
Yet this ascent is not spatial but experiential—a movement from deficiency to fullness.
The Treatise on the Resurrection states:
“fullness fills what it lacks.”
And the Gospel of Truth elaborates:
“Thus fullness, which has no deficiency but fills up deficiency, is provided to fill a person’s need… When the diminished part was restored, the person in need was revealed as fullness.”
Here, deficiency is not overcome by acquiring something external but by restoring what is already present in pattern. The “above” fills the “below” because they are structurally identical.
Similarly, in the Secret Book of James, the instruction is:
“Be filled and leave no space within you empty.”
And in the Prayer of the Apostle Paul:
“You are my fullness.”
These statements emphasize that fullness is not external but internalized. The process is one of realization and completion.
The concept of macrocosm and microcosm—the great and the small—further clarifies this relationship. The aeons, understood as structured orders or ages, reflect the same pattern at every level. What exists in the larger structure exists in the smaller, and vice versa. “As above, so below” thus becomes a statement of universal consistency.
Importantly, this does not imply dualism. As the Odes of Solomon commentary notes:
“There is nothing that is divided…”
The apparent distinction between above and below is a matter of perception, not reality. What is “below” is only meaningful insofar as it reflects the pattern of what is “above.” Where it does not, it is described as “nothing”—a mere appearance.
This interpretation reframes the Lord’s Prayer in The Message. “Do what’s best— as above, so below” becomes a call for alignment with the underlying pattern of reality. It is not a request for intervention but a declaration of conformity to the structure of the Pleroma.
Thus, the Gnostic implications of this phrase are profound. It expresses:
The unity of all levels of existence
The identity of pattern between above and below
The internalization of the Pleroma
The process of redemption as restoration of fullness
The dissolution of dualities through integration
Ultimately, “as above, so below” is not a poetic flourish but a statement of ontology. It asserts that reality is structured according to a single pattern, manifest at every level. To recognize this pattern is to recognize the kingdom. To embody it is to enter it.
In this way, the rendering in The Message unintentionally echoes a deep and ancient current within early Christian thought—one that sees the “above” not as distant, but as present, patterned, and accessible within the very structure of existence itself..
The Gnostic Implications of The Message “Bible’s” “As Above, So Below” Matthew 6:10 comes from many ancient Christian documents which speak of a above and below.
"Concerning this the master says in a mystery, 'If you do not make what is on the right like what is on the left and what is on the left like what is on the right, and what is above like what is below, and what is behind like what is before, you will not recognize the kingdom.'"
Gospel of Philip
For this reason, the veil was not rent at the top only, since it would have been open only to those above; nor was it rent at the bottom only, since it would have been revealed only to those below. But it was rent from the top to bottom. Those above opened to us the things below, in order that we may go in to the secret of the truth.
The Acts of Philip
139 And Philip, still hanging, spoke to them and told them of his offense 140 And some ran to take him down: but he refused and spoke to them . . . . " Be not grieved that I hang thus, for I bear the form (type) of the first man, who was brought upon earth head downwards, and again by the tree of the cross made alive from the death of his transgression. And now do I fulfil the precept. For the Lord said to me: Unless ye make that which is beneath to be above, and the left to be right (and the right left), ye shall not enter into my kingdom. Be like me in this: for all the world is turned the wrong way, and every soul that is in it."
Odes of Solomon
Ode 34 There is no hard way where there is a simple heart, nor barrier for upright thoughts,
Nor whirlwind in the depth of the enlightened thought.
Where one is surrounded on every side by pleasing country, there is nothing divided in him.
The likeness of that which is below is that which is above.
For everything is from above, and from below there is nothing, but it is believed to be by those in whom there is no understanding.
Grace has been revealed for your salvation. Believe and live and be saved.
Hallelujah.
"From above." This probably implies, as often in Jewish literature, that there is no dualism between "above" and "below." Comp. Ode 34:4 5 there is nothing that is divided, the likeness of what is below: He is the one that is above";
below and above the spiritual and the natural the worlds
likeness the Syr. might perhaps be better translated "pattern" (instead of "likeness"} as it is in Exod 25:9 "according to all that I shew thee, the pattern of the tabernacle," alluded to in Heb. 8:5 "See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was shewed thee in the mount."
"likeness, pattern, image--"A mental representation of anything not actually present to the senses" (Webster). Everything that is manifested was first a mental picture and was brought into expression by the forming power of the imagination.
pattern--The divine manifestation of Jesus is the divine pattern for all men who are seeking the Christ way of life.
What the poet means is "The pattern (i.e. type, or idea) of everything [that is real] below is above [in the Mount of God]." This makes the next words clear, " For everything [that is real] is above [in the Mount of God, or, in the Mind of God]. What is below [so far as it differs from the pattern above] is nothing: it is [mere seeming] what seems to those in whom know ledge has no existence."
ODE 34.
1 No way is hard where there is a simple [undemanding/meek] heart [this one is malleable and easily moved wherever the spirit guides him]. 2 Nor is there any wound [affliction in one's conscience] where the thoughts are upright [toward the heavenly things]: 3 Nor is there any storm [turbulence that arises] in the depth [the lower/outward (fleshly) forms] of the illuminated thought [the higher/inward (spiritual) substance]: 4 Where one is surrounded on every side by beauty [this one sees the beauty of God's plan in every work], there is nothing that is divided [to this one the outward becomes the inward in One Spirit, One Truth, One Master, One Way]. 5 The likeness [image] of what is below [the outward (visible) traditions, ordinances, festivals etc. that are conducted in by those of the first birth hoping to gain life by them] is that which is above [they are only a picture of the inward (hidden) struggle that anyone who truly has Christ in them must endure i.e. they eat a physical loaf of bread and drink a physical cup of wine saying they are the body and blood of Christ in ignorance not knowing that the bread (the body of Christ) is now His faithful, obedient followers who not only eat the true hidden manna from heaven but become that bread and that the cup, the blood of His covenant is the persecution and suffering His True Disciples must endure while "in the world"]; for everything is above [all what you see whether in the image or in your spiritual body is of God]: what is below is nothing but the imagination of those that are without knowledge [religion that "do not see what is in front of them"]. 6 Grace has been revealed [by the Word, the Truth] for your salvation. Believe [first step (even the demons do this) so one must also have (true) faith which included obedience] and live [find the resurrection in Christ while still in the earth by learning obedience through suffering (crucify the flesh) and be saved. Hallelujah.
The Gospel of Thomas
saying 22 Jesus saw some little ones nursing. He said to his disciples, "These little ones who are nursing resemble is those who enter the kingdom." They said to him, "So shall we enter the kingdom by being little ones?" Jesus said to them, "When you (plur.) make the two one and make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside and the above like the below, and that you might make the male and the female be one and the same, so that the male might not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye and a hand in place of a hand and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image - then you will enter [the kingdom]."
22) ##Jesus saw infants [the Elect] being suckled [by their true spiritual mother]. He said to His disciples, "These infants being suckled are like those who enter the Kingdom." They said to Him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the Kingdom?" Jesus said to them, "When you make the two [the higher/inward (spiritual) substance and the lower/outward (fleshly) form)] one, and when you make the inside [where the Kingdom of God actually is] like the outside [where they allege it to be - you make it this way by your fruit] and the outside like the inside [replacing their image with the Fathers which is spread out over the earth - see v-113], and the above [heavenly] like the below [earthly], and when you make the male [spirit] and the female [soul] one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female [you become One in spirit]; and ##when you fashion eyes [two levels of seeing] in the place of an eye [one level], and a [right] hand [which knows what Jesus is doing (in His Power)] in place of a [left] hand [which doesn't (in your own power], and a [right] foot [which walks in the Way, the Truth and the Life] in place of a [left] foot [which doesn't], and a likeness [image of God] in place of a likeness [image of man]; then will you enter [the Kingdom]."
above and below see John 8:23
'make that which is above like that which is below' (saying 22). Yet the kingdom is not really a place above (saying 3) but a state of consciousness in which the Mind and the Heart are in harmony with the Mind of God.
The Message, intended as a "version of the New Testament in a contemporary idiom",uses the maxim in its translation of the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:10. (The prayer's phrase is traditionally rendered "on earth, as it is in heaven".)
Matthew 6:7-13 The Message (MSG)
7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
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