The Divinity and Humanity of Jesus in The Treatise on the Resurrection

**The Divinity and Humanity of Jesus in *The Treatise on the Resurrection***

*The Treatise on the Resurrection*, an early Christian Valentinian text, provides a unique and mystical insight into the dual nature of Jesus Christ—both divine and human. This document, structured as a pastoral letter to a believer named Rheginos, affirms the reality and necessity of the resurrection, but it does so within a larger theological framework that explains the nature of Christ as the one who reconciles the divine realm (Pleroma) and the earthly condition of death.

The opening of the treatise establishes the context:

**"Some there are, my son Rheginos, who want to learn many things. They have this goal when they are occupied with questions whose answer is lacking. If they succeed with these, they usually think very highly of themselves. But I do not think that they have stood within the Word of Truth. They seek rather their own rest, which we have received through our Savior, our Lord Christ. We received it when we came to know the truth and rested ourselves upon it. But since you ask us pleasantly what is proper concerning the resurrection, I am writing you that it is necessary. To be sure, many are lacking faith in it, but there are a few who find it. So then, let us discuss the matter."**

This shows that the truth about the resurrection is tied to Christ’s identity as Savior, and that understanding Christ’s nature is crucial to grasping the resurrection's meaning. The text presents Jesus not merely as a man who died and was raised, but as one who existed from above, the "seed of Truth," participating in both human and divine natures:

**"How did the Lord proclaim things while he existed in flesh and after he had revealed himself as Son of God? He lived in this place where you remain, speaking about the Law of Nature—but I call it 'Death'. Now the Son of God, Rheginos, was Son of Man. He embraced them both, possessing the humanity and the divinity, so that on the one hand he might vanquish death through his being Son of God, and that on the other through the Son of Man the restoration to the Pleroma might occur; because he was originally from above, a seed of Truth, before this structure had come into being. In this many dominions and divinities came into existence."**

This statement is profoundly theological. Jesus is not seen as a mere prophet or enlightened man, but as the bridge between the divine fullness and the mortal realm. The dual phrase “Son of God” and “Son of Man” is emphasized to show that He unites both realms within Himself. The divine aspect is what allows Him to conquer death, while His human aspect enables the restoration of humanity to the Pleroma—the fullness of the divine order.

This aligns with *Heracleon Fragment 10* on John 1:29, where a similar distinction is made:

**"The first expression was spoken with reference to his body, the second with reference to Him who was in that body (the logos). The lamb is an imperfect member of the genus of sheep; the same being true of the body as compared with the one that dwells in it."**

This confirms that the Logos (the divine Word) dwelled in a human body that was subject to imperfection and mortality. The body was not divine in itself but became the vessel through which the divine operated. This also harmonizes with the notion in *The Treatise on the Resurrection* that Jesus had to *embrace* both natures.

The imperfection of the flesh is further explained through Hebrews and Romans:

**"He tells us that he was not perfected till the third day (Lk. 13:32), when he was perfected in recompense for his obedience unto death (Heb. 2:10; 5:9)."**

**"Sin could not have been condemned in the flesh of angels; and therefore the Logos did not assume it: but clothed Himself with that of the seed of Abraham."**

**"The Deity sent His Own Son in the identity of SIN'S FLESH, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3).**

Here, sin's condemnation occurs within the very nature that is subject to it—human flesh. Thus, Jesus had to take on what the text calls “Sin’s Flesh” in order to redeem it. His flesh was not inherently evil, but it was mortal, fragile, and imperfect—conditions necessary for the Logos to overcome.

The relationship between the divine and the human in Jesus is not static or abstract but culminates in transformation. After the resurrection, Jesus becomes something new—He is “perfected” and now lives as **“the Lord the Spirit”** for the ages to come.

Finally, *The Treatise on the Resurrection* presents this understanding as the culmination of truth revealed in Jesus:

**"I know that I am presenting the solution in difficult terms, but there is nothing difficult in the Word of Truth. But since the Solution appeared so as not to leave anything hidden, but to reveal all things openly concerning existence—the destruction of evil on the one hand, the revelation of the elect on the other. This is the emanation of Truth and Spirit, Grace is of the Truth."**

Jesus, as the “Solution,” reveals all things—he uncovers what is hidden. His death and resurrection are not mere events but revelations of a greater reality: the destruction of death and the unveiling of divine truth. His dual nature was necessary for this “Solution” to be complete.

In conclusion, *The Treatise on the Resurrection* upholds the reality of Jesus' humanity and divinity without collapsing one into the other. He is the Son of Man and the Son of God, the vessel of the Logos and the resurrected Lord. His physical imperfection was essential for the condemnation of sin; His divine origin made His triumph over death possible. Through Him, the elect are restored to the Pleroma.

The Divinity and Humanity of Jesus in The Treatise on the Resurrection

The Treatise on the Resurrection, a Valentinian Christian text from the Nag Hammadi collection, provides profound insights into the nature of Jesus Christ, emphasizing both His humanity and divinity. This dual nature is central not only to understanding the mystery of the resurrection but also to the entire framework of salvation according to early Gnostic Christian thought.

At the outset of the treatise, the author, addressing a disciple named Rheginos, clarifies the importance of pursuing genuine knowledge rather than speculative curiosity: “Some there are, my son Rheginos, who want to learn many things... But I do not think that they have stood within the Word of Truth... But since you ask us pleasantly what is proper concerning the resurrection, I am writing you that it is necessary.” This sets the tone for a discussion rooted in both mystical insight and experiential truth, which centers on the role of the Savior.

The treatise reveals that the Savior was both fully divine and fully human: “Now the Son of God, Rheginos, was Son of Man. He embraced them both, possessing the humanity and the divinity, so that on the one hand he might vanquish death through his being Son of God, and that on the other through the Son of Man the restoration to the Pleroma might occur.” This assertion affirms a key Valentinian belief: that Christ’s dual nature was not incidental but essential. His divine aspect was necessary to conquer death, while His human aspect enabled Him to restore humanity to its intended state in the Pleroma—the fullness of divine harmony.

The humanity of Jesus was not a façade or illusion. He truly lived in the physical world: “He lived in this place where you remain, speaking about the Law of Nature - but I call it 'Death'.” In this worldview, “Death” refers not only to mortality but to the fallen condition of existence under the dominion of the Law of Nature. Jesus, by entering this state, validated the human experience, even in its brokenness.

Yet, the treatise does not conflate His humanity with imperfection in moral terms. While Jesus experienced mortality and suffering, He was “a seed of Truth, before this structure had come into being.” This affirms His pre-existence and sinless nature, a position echoed by Scripture: “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26) and “in all points tried as we, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). However, the perfection of Jesus was a process completed through resurrection: “He tells us that he was not perfected till the third day” (Lk. 13:32), and “being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9).

The early Valentinian thinker Heracleon offers further clarification of this distinction in Fragment 10 on John 1:29: “The first expression was spoken with reference to his body, the second with reference to Him who was in that body (the logos)... Had he meant to attribute perfection to the body he would have spoken of a ram about to be sacrificed.” Heracleon differentiates between the Logos (the indwelling divine Word) and the physical body, which, while morally pure, still shared in human frailty and decay.

This imperfection of the body is identified with “Sin’s Flesh” (sarx amartias)—not sinful in conduct, but in condition. As Romans 8:3 declares: “The Deity sent His Own Son in the identity of SIN'S FLESH, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” The Logos, though divine, did not assume the nature of angels but “clothed Himself with that of the seed of Abraham.” This act affirms the corporeality and mortality of Jesus’ nature, a vital point for understanding the meaning and power of the resurrection.

In this framework, Jesus is not the second person of a co-equal Trinity but the full manifestation of the One God in a human form: “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is not the ‘second person’ of an eternal trinity, but the manifestation of the One Eternal Creator... By this Spirit-effluence, He begot Jesus, who was therefore His Son; by the same power He anointed him and dwelt in him.” Thus, Jesus embodies both the Father’s indwelling presence and the Son’s obedient humanity.

This understanding culminates in Paul’s proclamation of the mystery of godliness: “God manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Tim. 3:16). The “man Jesus Christ” had two aspects—Deity and humanity—not two persons, but one person in whom God was revealed.

Finally, The Treatise on the Resurrection presents Jesus not only as the solution to the problem of death but as the very revelation of Truth itself: “I know that I am presenting the solution in difficult terms, but there is nothing difficult in the Word of Truth. But since the Solution appeared so as not to leave anything hidden, but to reveal all things openly concerning existence – the destruction of evil on the one hand, the revelation of the elect on the other. This is the emanation of Truth and Spirit, Grace is of the Truth.” The “Solution” is Jesus Himself, the Word made flesh who has reconciled the human and the divine.

In conclusion, The Treatise on the Resurrection upholds a profound doctrine of the dual nature of Christ. It affirms His full participation in human weakness and mortality, while simultaneously revealing His divine origin and victory over death. Through Him, the elect are not only restored but made partakers in the Truth, having been raised from the Law of Death into the incorruptible Pleroma.