Valentinian Treatise on the Resurrection: The Nature of the Resurrected Body

*Valentinian Treatise on the Resurrection: The Nature of the Resurrected Body

In Valentinian Christianity, the resurrection is not merely a realized eschatological event occurring in the present experience of gnosis, but also a concrete, future transformation culminating in the glorification of the corporeal body. The Valentinian understanding of resurrection is both mystical and physical, reflecting the integral unity between spirit and body. It affirms that salvation is not an escape from the body but the redemption and perfection of it.

The Treatise on the Resurrection provides a clear articulation of this dual aspect of resurrection, urging believers not to doubt the future transformation:

“But if there is one who does not believe, he does not have the (capacity to be) persuaded. For it is the domain of faith, my son, and not that which belongs to persuasion: the dead shall arise! There is one who believes among the philosophers who are in this world. At least he will arise. And let not the philosopher who is in this world have cause to believe that he is one who returns himself by himself - and (that) because of our faith! For we have known the Son of Man, and we have believed that he rose from among the dead. This is he of whom we say, ‘He became the destruction of death, as he is a great one in whom they believe.’ Great are those who believe” (Treatise on the Resurrection).

This passage emphasizes that resurrection is not a matter of philosophical speculation or persuasion but a matter of faith grounded in the revelation of Jesus' own resurrection. He rose from the dead and destroyed death not merely in an abstract spiritual sense, but in the fullness of his being.

Valentinians stress that the mind and thought of those who are saved will endure. Those who have received gnosis—true knowledge—are predestined for redemption and are not subject to the perishing foolishness of the ignorant. As the Treatise continues:

“The thought of those who are saved shall not perish. The mind of those who have known him shall not perish. Therefore, we are elected to salvation and redemption since we are predestined from the beginning not to fall into the foolishness of those who are without knowledge, but we shall enter into the wisdom of those who have known the Truth. Indeed, the Truth which is kept cannot be abandoned, nor has it been. ‘Strong is the system of the Pleroma; small is that which broke loose (and) became (the) world. But the All is what is encompassed. It has not come into being; it was existing.’ So, never doubt concerning the resurrection, my son Rheginos! For if you were not existing in flesh, you received flesh when you entered this world. Why will you not receive flesh when you ascend into the Aeon? That which is better than the flesh is that which is for (the) cause of life. That which came into being on your account, is it not yours? Does not that which is yours exist with you? Yet, while you are in this world, what is it that you lack? This is what you have been making every effort to learn” (Treatise on the Resurrection).

This affirms that those who entered this world in the flesh will also receive flesh when they enter the Aeon. The resurrection does not deny the body but glorifies it. This future flesh is not the same as our current corruptible form—it is a spiritual, incorruptible body. As the Treatise declares: “Why will you not receive flesh when you ascend into the Aeon?” This is the promise of the resurrection body: a true flesh, the same which Jesus now possesses.

This idea is echoed in the Gospel of Philip, where Valentinian theology confronts both extremes of error—those who deny the resurrection of the flesh and those who misunderstand its nature:

“And I also disagree with others who say that the flesh will not arise. Both views are wrong. You say that the flesh will not arise? Then tell me what will arise, so we may salute you. You say it is the spirit in the flesh, and also the light in the flesh? But what is in the flesh is the word, and what you are talking about is nothing other than flesh. It is necessary to arise in this sort of flesh, since everything exists in it. In this world those who wear clothes are superior to the clothes. In heaven’s kingdom the clothes are superior to those who wear them” (Gospel of Philip).

The body is not merely a shell to be discarded. Rather, it is the vessel of the Word, and it is transformed, not abandoned, in the resurrection. The clothing metaphor here suggests a reversal: in the world, the person is superior to their garment, but in the resurrection, the "clothing"—the spiritual body—is superior, glorified, and incorruptible.

The apostolic scriptures also support this future glorification. Paul affirms that resurrection follows judgment, and immortality is granted afterward:

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1).
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Immortality is not inherent in human nature but granted upon approval. This immortality is what Paul elsewhere calls the “spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44), which swallows up mortality—not to eliminate it but to transform it.

Finally, the Gospel of Philip further clarifies the nature of Jesus' resurrection body:

“[The master] was conceived from what [is imperishable], through God. The [master rose] from 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] was true flesh. [Our flesh] is not true flesh but only an image of the true” (Gospel of Philip 69).

Jesus' resurrected body is true flesh—a perfected, incorruptible, spiritual body. What we possess now is only an image or shadow of this reality. Yet we are promised to be transformed into that same incorruptible image when we enter the Aeon.

Valentinian Christianity thus upholds a corporeal, spiritual resurrection—not as a return to fleshly corruption, but as a glorification of the body into the likeness of Christ’s risen form. The resurrection is both now, in the transformative knowledge of Truth, and not yet, in the promised renewal of our bodies into incorruptibility.

**Valentinian Treatise on the Resurrection: The Nature of the Resurrected Body**

In Valentinian Christianity, the resurrection is not merely a realized eschatological event—a spiritual awakening in the present—but also a future event of profound transformation. This transformation is both corporeal and spiritual, culminating in a perfected body, an incorruptible state which Jesus Christ now possesses. The Valentinian view sharply contrasts with both purely spiritualized and purely physical conceptions of resurrection. For Valentinians, the resurrection is embodied, but it is a new type of body—spiritual, incorruptible, and real.

The *Treatise on the Resurrection* opens with a sharp contrast between faith and persuasion, drawing attention to the unique nature of belief in the resurrection:

> “But if there is one who does not believe, he does not have the (capacity to be) persuaded. For it is the domain of faith, my son, and not that which belongs to persuasion: the dead shall arise!” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

This emphasizes that resurrection is not a matter of philosophical speculation or rhetorical persuasion. It belongs to the domain of faith. This faith is not blind, but grounded in knowledge—gnosis—of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, who rose bodily from the dead:

> “We have known the Son of Man, and we have believed that he rose from among the dead. This is he of whom we say, ‘He became the destruction of death, as he is a great one in whom they believe.’ Great are those who believe.” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

Jesus’ resurrection is not merely a symbolic or spiritual event; it is the basis and prototype for the believer’s own future resurrection. His body was not discarded—it was transformed.

The Valentinian affirmation continues with a focus on the immutability of truth and the certainty of salvation for those predestined from the beginning:

> “The thought of those who are saved shall not perish. The mind of those who have known him shall not perish. Therefore, we are elected to salvation and redemption since we are predestined from the beginning not to fall into the foolishness of those who are without knowledge.” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

Valentinians believed that the truth, or *gnosis*, had always existed in the Pleroma and could not be lost. The cosmos is a small rupture in the fullness, yet it too is encompassed and will ultimately be redeemed:

> “‘Strong is the system of the Pleroma; small is that which broke loose (and) became (the) world. But the All is what is encompassed. It has not come into being; it was existing.’” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

The text then argues for the bodily nature of the resurrection with a rhetorical question:

> “So, never doubt concerning the resurrection, my son Rheginos! For if you were not existing in flesh, you received flesh when you entered this world. Why will you not receive flesh when you ascend into the Aeon?” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

This indicates that the resurrection will involve a true embodiment—not a mere continuation of mortal flesh, but a higher form. It asserts that believers will receive a superior flesh in the Aeon to come:

> “That which is better than the flesh is that which is for (the) cause of life. That which came into being on your account, is it not yours? Does not that which is yours exist with you?” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

This “better than the flesh” is not a rejection of bodily form, but the transformation of the current flesh into something incorruptible—a spiritual, corporeal body.

The *Gospel of Philip* reinforces this by confronting the denial of fleshly resurrection:

> “You say that the flesh will not arise? Then tell me what will arise, so we may salute you... It is necessary to arise in this sort of flesh, since everything exists in it.” (*Gospel of Philip*)

This passage affirms the necessity of bodily resurrection, but not as a mere reanimation of decaying flesh. Rather, it’s a transformed body, in which the Word now dwells:

> “What is in the flesh is the word, and what you are talking about is nothing other than flesh.” (*Gospel of Philip*)

Heavenly garments surpass earthly ones:

> “In this world those who wear clothes are superior to the clothes. In heaven’s kingdom the clothes are superior to those who wear them.” (*Gospel of Philip*)

In this metaphor, the resurrected body is like a heavenly garment—superior to the soul it contains.

The perfected nature of Christ’s resurrected body is central to the Valentinian doctrine. The *Gospel of Philip* clarifies:

> “The \[master] was conceived from what \[is imperishable], through God. The \[master rose] from 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] was true flesh. \[Our flesh] is not true flesh but only an image of the true.” (*Gospel of Philip*, logion 69)

Here, Jesus’ body after the resurrection is described as "true flesh," in contrast to our current flesh, which is only an image or shadow of the true. The resurrection body is thus real, incorruptible, and made of perfected matter.

This aligns with the apostolic writings. Paul teaches that judgment leads to either incorruption or loss:

> “I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:1)

And again:

> “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

In the Valentinian view, this judgment results in transformation: the fleshly body is swallowed up by the spiritual body and made incorruptible.

Thus, resurrection in Valentinian Christianity is not a mere return to life or escape from the body. It is the full transfiguration of the human being into an incorruptible, spiritual body that reflects the glory of the risen Christ.