Gnosis is to Know Thyself Gospel of Thomas Saying 3

Gnosis is to Know Thyself Gospel of Thomas Saying 3

The Gospel of Thomas Saying 3:

Jesus said, "[If] those who lead you [say to you, 'See], the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky [will precede you. If they say that] it is under the earth, then the fish of the sea [will enter it, preceding] you. And, the [kingdom of God] is inside of you, [and it is outside of you. Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this. [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty." Oxyrhynchus Text


The first part of this saying is about the location of the Kingdom the second part of this saying is about how to find the kingdom by self knowledge:

Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this, (then you will be known). [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty."


Philo of Alexandria defines self knowledge or knowing yourself as "Take heed to Thyself."
Philo On the Migration of Abraham: 

know yourself all your life, as Moses teaches us in many passages where he says, "Take heed to Thyself."{4}{#ex 34:12.}

Take heed to Thyself this is another re-occurring phrase throughout Deuteronomy, emphasising the personal responsibility (See Deut. 2:4; 4:9,15,23; 11:16; 12:13,19,30; 27:9.)

It is a believer's personal responsibility to learn the Gospel message its teachings these teachings are only of benefit if acknowledged and applied.

know thyself is a biblical exhortation about self-examination 


The Lord Jesus himself in the NT use the phrase “take heed to yourselves” or "pay attention to yourselves" see:

Luke 21:34 “But pay attention to yourselves that YOUR hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon YOU (NWT)

And so does Paul: Acts 20: 28 Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed YOU overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own [Son]. (NWT)

1 Timothy 4:16 Pay attention to yourself, and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

And John use the phrase as well: 2Jo 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. (KJ)

know thyself may also have a mystical interpretation. 'Thyself', is not meant in reference to the egotist, but the ego within self, the Christ consciousness.

Gnosis is the fulfillment of faith realizing that in the secret unknown self the believer is one with the Father the fruit of that union is love

2 cor 13:5  examine your own selves if ye be in the faith; prove your own selves: do ye not recognise yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobates?

1 Cor. 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?


Colossians 1:27  To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Lu 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Ga 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Saying 82 Jesus said, Whoever is near me is near fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom.

In Saying 82 fire and the kingdom are equivalent terms just as Jesus is equivalent with the Kingdom so here in saying 3 with the location of the Kingdom being inside of the believers it is the son of man who is inside us
This is confirmed in the The Testimony of Truth and the The Gospel of Mary

he has to come to know the Son of Man, that is, he has come to know himself. This is the perfect life, that man know himself by means of the All. (The Testimony of Truth)

33) When the Blessed One had said this, He greeted them all,saying, Peace be with you. Receive my peace unto yourselves.

34) Beware that no one lead you astray saying Lo here or lo there! For the Son of Man is within you.

35) Follow after Him!

36) Those who seek Him will find Him. (The Gospel of Mary chapter 4)


Yet there is one little caveat here; we must come to know our TRUE self. Our true self is not the person of THIS world, but the one who was born of God that came into this world. All of you Christians of traditional beliefs should read the words of the Bible more carefully. This teaching should not be foreign to you if you have been given the eyes to see it. Consider how this passage from Thomas spiritually aligns with what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 13:9-12
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Paul is speaking about us becoming and knowing our true, perfect self. This is nearly identical to what Jesus said: “When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father.” Do you understand the spiritual essence of what Jesus and Paul are saying here? They are saying we are spiritually maturing and growing in knowledge of who we are. 

We may not be clearly seeing our true self (who is Christ) right now, but we will once we come to fully know and BE our TRUE self! They are both saying that one day we shall fully know our true self, even as I AM (God) is fully known. We are God’s image that must become perfect like our Father to show God the image of Himself. This is our purpose- to reflect the glory and be the image of God! We can only do this in Christ where our true self (life) has been kept hidden and safe for ages and ages. So in this light, real “poverty” is when we don’t know our true self in Christ. 

This is spiritual poverty where the soul is lost in deception and the spirit feels homeless because he hasn’t returned to his Father’s house. Finally, Jesus says, “You are the poverty.” Paul said that nothing good could come from him. He said that “Paul” had died and CHRIST now lived in and through him. Paul knew that his true life was found in the spirit (in Christ), not in the natural (or worldly) Paul. 

Self-knowledge is the true self of the Christ consciousness. Without real self-knowledge other knowledge often becomes a kind of clutter in the mind. With correct self knowledge, however, other knowledge reveals its meaning and ripens into wisdom.

There is a contrast between “personal consciousness, self-will, self, me and I” and “spiritual awareness, the divine self, or the Christ consciousness”.

One of the most effective ways to gain greater self knowledge is to realize that you have a dimension of your mind that is even greater than your "thinking self." This greater level of your mind can actually OBSERVE your thinking self. It can evaluate what it observes. It can make decisions about what it observes. If it chooses it can control, change, and adjust what the thinking self is doing. It is from this higher level of your mind that true self knowledge is attained.

The key to self-knowledge is the awareness that true knowledge comes from within. We must keep in mind that the gaining of wisdom is not merely the result of pouring a sufficient number of facts into our heads; rather, it is the process of "remembering" or calling forth the spiritual truths that are written on our heart

The meaning of Gnosis Ephesians 5:17

The meaning of Gnosis

The meaning of Gnosis

The word "knowledge" is from the Greek gnosis, and denotes a state of understanding developed from inquiry or investigation

literal knowledge

The meaning of knowledge--"Acquaintance with fact; hence, scope of information" (Webster). Intellectual knowledge is independent of feeling; it is literal knowledge without consideration of the Spirit. Man can store up a great wealth of knowledge obtained from books and teachers, but the most illiterate person who sits at the feet of his Lord in the silence comes forth radiant with the true knowledge, that of Spirit.

Spiritual knowledge

wisdom--Intuitive knowing; spiritual intuition; the voice of God within as the source of our understanding; mental action based on the Christ Truth within. Wisdom includes judgment, discrimination, intuition, and all the departments of mind that come under the head of knowing. This "knowing" capacity transcends intellectual knowledge. Spiritual discernment always places wisdom above the other faculties of the mind and reveals that knowledge and intelligence are auxiliary to understanding.

wisdom and divine understanding--These attributes come from the Spirit of Christ within us. The price that we must pay for the conscious attainment of divine wisdom and understanding is the letting go of the personal self with its limited beliefs. Paul saw the Christ waiting at the door of every soul when he wrote: "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee" (Eph. 5:17).

 
The meaning of knowing (Gnosis) --There is in man a knowing capacity transcending intellectual knowledge. The knowing that man receives from the direct fusion of the Mind of God with his mind is real spiritual knowing. One who has intimate, firsthand acquaintance with God; a man of prayer. Jesus was the greatest mystic of all ages.

Taking In Life-Giving Knowledge John 17:3

Taking in Knowledge of God and Jesus is Eternal Life

Or

Their Taking in Knowledge of You John 17:3 

John 17:3 This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. NWT 1983

In the Gospel of John, knowledge is given an importance it has nowhere else in the New Testament. 

From John 8:32, " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," it appears that Truth alone suffices to liberate from sin. 

It is explicitly declared in John 17:3 that eternal life consists in the knowledge of God: "This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ." In several passages the teaching of Jesus brings Salvation (cf. John 6:63, 15:3, 17:17, 26).

Agreeable to this emphasis upon knowledge is the constant repetition of words stressing the importance of Revelation. Such words are "light," "know," "declare," "bear witness," "see," "and" manifest." 

Taking In Life-Giving Knowledge

John 17:3 This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. NWT 1983

John 17:3 This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. NWT 2013

The right knowledge or teachings of God and Jesus Christ gives endless life. it is also a life of acquaintance with God in Christ leading to a fullness of personal knowledge (Ephesians 4:13 Job 22:21)

It is both a personal relationship with God and the accurate knowledge in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension 

ἐπίγνωσις, εως, ἡ 1922. epignósis

epignosis “precise and correct knowledge.” it means “to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly; to know accurately, know well


epignosis “also denotes exact or full knowledge and discernment (Philippians 1:9)

precise and correct knowledge; used in the N. T. of the knowledge of things ethical and divine: absolutely, with the genitive of the person known; — of God,

Paul also prayed that the believers, who obviously had some knowledge of God’s will, for they had become Christians, “be filled with the accurate knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension.” (Col 1:9)

Such accurate knowledge should be sought by all Christians (Eph 1:15-17; Php 1:9; 1Ti 2:3, 4), it is important in putting on “the new personality” and in gaining peace.—Col 3:10; 2Pe 1:2. (insight into the scriptures)

Duncan Heaster writes: 

When wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge itself becomes pleasant to your very soul, thinking ability itself will keep guard over you, discernment itself will safeguard you, to deliver you from the bad way.” (Proverbs 2:10-12)

These words imply that we must develop a intense desire for accurate knowledge, which can affect the heart and the very soul. Furthermore, it is a foundation for good thinking ability 

It is having the knowledge of God's ways that makes us responsible to Him for our actions and therefore necessitates our resurrection and appearance at the judgment seat. It should therefore be understood that it is not only the righteous or those baptized who will be resurrected, but all who are responsible to God by reason of their knowledge of Him. This is an oft repeated Scriptural theme:- 

John 15:22 shows that knowledge of the Word brings responsibility: "If I (Jesus) had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke ('excuse', A.V. mg.) for their sin". Romans 1:20-21 likewise says that knowing God leaves men "without excuse".

This knowledge makes men responsible to the judgement seat of Christ, However a person is only associated with the blood of Christ through baptism. (John 3:18-19; John 12:48; Mark 16:16; 2Th 1:8)

responsibility is based upon understanding, and therefore the statement "those who know the revealed will of God" 1 Corinthians 2:10

Salvation is based upon a reasonable and logical understanding of the Truth; those who are foreign to the gospel, who lack the capacity to perceive its responsibilities; or who are unable to comprehend, are outside the sphere of salvation — Acts 8:12.

Also man can not be saved by morality or sincerity, without the gospel.

[Morality and sincerity must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of the gospel for salvation — Acts 10:1-6.]

Knowledge of the gospel alone can not save a person, without the obedience of faith to Christ’s commandments.

 [Obedience to the commandments is a responsibility required of all believers; salvation will be determined upon the application of faith and obedience. Rev. 22:14; Mat. 7:26; 2Pet. 2:21; Mat. 28:20; Gal. 6:2]

Faith in the Gospel of the Kingdom and baptism into Christ is the only way to get into him, and be part of him, and get life through him. We must get into Christ — within him. Outside of him, the one perfect and divinely acceptable Man, we shall inevitably be destroyed by God’s righteous and necessary law of sin and death. Inside of him — covered by him — we are safe. None are his friends — none are truly in him — who do not devote their whole life to knowing and obeying him. “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14).

In the NT, when the mind is mentioned along with the heart, “mind” refers to the intellect while “heart” refers to the emotions, desires, and feelings of the inner person. For example, Jesus said: “You must love Yahweh your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” (Mt 22:37) He thus showed that a person’s desires, feelings, and emotions must express his love for God, but he must also express that love by the way he uses his mental faculties, as by taking in knowledge of God and Christ.—John 17:3.

Right thinking leads to right Behaviour

Therefore Gnostic Christianity means being a seeker after accurate knowledge and believing that everything you need to know about God can be found through intellectual reasoning. That is what Gnosticism is

Thus salvation is intellectual knowledge or intellectual knowledge is needed for salvation

It was made very clear that  clarifies this matter. This is in accordance with the Scriptures. “We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ” (2Cor. 5:10). “He that rejecteth me… the Word… shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).

Therefore “atheist,” pagans, and all persons who are ignorant or lacking in understanding of the truth, including very young children will not be saved. Psalm 49

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Who is the Demiurge? Hebrews 11:10

Who is the Demiurge?

Or 

What is the Demiurge? 

Hebrews 11:10

The concept of the demiurge originates from the understanding that the Deity is not the immediate creator of the physical universe. 

First it should be noted that Valentinians do not use the term Yaldabaoth. It should also be noted that Basildians and Valentinians speak about the Demiurge with positive terms unlike the Sethians who speak very negatively about Yaldabaoth:

Basilides: "After this, from the universal Seed and conglomeration of seed-mixture there burst forth and came into existence the Great Ruler, the head of the sensible universe, a beauty and magnitude and potency that naught can destroy." This is the demiurge; but let no mortal think that he can comprehend so great a being, "for he is more ineffable than ineffables, more potent than potencies, wiser than the wise, superior to every excellence that one can name. (Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, p. 253 by G.R.S. Mead )

According to Valentinian tradition, the Demiurge is formed as an "an image of the Father"(Excepts of Theodotus 47:1-3). A similar description occurs in the Tripartite Tractate: "He is the lord of all of them, that is, the countenance which the logos brought forth in his thought as a representation of the Father of the Totalities. Therefore, he is adorned with every name which is a representation of him, since he is characterized by every property and glorious quality. For he too is called 'father' and 'god' and 'demiurge' and 'king' and 'judge' and 'place' and 'dwelling' and 'law'" (Tripartite Tractate 100:21-30). Because he is seem as the image of the true God and Father, Valentinians have no problem using the terms "Father" and "God" to describe him (cf. also Against Heresies 1:5:1, Valentinian Exposition 38).

Is the word demiurge used in the Bible?

Yes in Hebrews 11:10

In Hebrews chapter 11:10 we get the only Biblical reference to the word Demiurge

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker <1217> is God.

This is used as a prophecy about the Heavenly Jerusalem

The Greek word is used in the apocrypha 

Wisdom 13:1 For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature;

and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists,
nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works;

1Clem 20:11

All these things the great Creator and Master of the universe ordered to be in peace and concord, doing good unto all things, but far beyond the rest unto us who have taken refuge in His compassionate mercies through our Lord Jesus Christ

Notice that clement says the creation was "ordered" 

2Mac.4:1 This Simon now, of whom we spake afore, having been a betrayer of the money, and of his country, slandered Onias, as if he ha terrified Heliodorus, and been the worker of these evils.

The language here applied to God as the "architect" or framer of the universe is often used in the classic writers.

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker <1217> is God.

Fragment 13, on John 2:13-16 The ascent to Jerusalem signifies the ascent of the Lord from material realm things to the animate (psychic) place, which is an image of Jerusalem. (In John 2:14, “In the sanctuary he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers at their business.”) The words, "In the sanctuary, he found” and not "in the temple" are used so that it may not be thought to be the mere “calling” (animate), apart from the Spirit, which elicits help from the Lord. The sanctuary is the Holy of Holies, into which only the High-Priest enters, into which the spiritual go. The temple courtyard, where the Levites also enter, is a symbol of the animate ones who attain a salvation outside the Fullness (Pleroma).

The Demiurge is the maker of the psychic and material realms

Etymology of Demiurge

The word "demiurge" is an English word derived from demiurgus, a Latinised form of the Greek δημιουργός or dēmiourgos. It was originally a common noun meaning "craftsman" or "artisan", but gradually came to mean "producer", and eventually "creator". 

strong's concordance 1217 δημιουργός demiourgos day-me-oor-gos’ 

from 1218 and 2041; n m; TDNT-2:62,149;  {See TDNT 182 } 

AV-maker 1; 1 

1) a workman for the public 

2) the author of any work, an artisan, framer, builder 

dēmiourgós (from 1218 /dḗmos, "a unified group of people" and 2014 /epiphaínō, "work") – properly, someone working on behalf of a group of people (used only in Heb 11:10).

God is called ὁ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ δημιουργός in Plato, rep. 7, p. 530 a.; ὁ δημιουργός τῶν ὅλων in Josephus, Antiquities 1, 7, 1, and often in ecclesiastical writers from Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 20, 11 [ET]; 26, 1 [ET]; 33, 2 [ET] on; (cf. Philo, de mut. nom. § 4; de opif. mund., Muller, edition, p. 133; Piper, Einl. in monument. Theol. § 26; Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word). In the Scriptures, besides, only in 2 Macc. 4:1 κακῶν δημιουργός). (Cf. Trench, § cv.)

The Gospel of John Chapter 1

The Gospel of John 1:1  ¶  Originally (746 ἀρχή), was, the Word, and, the Word, was, with God; and, the Word, was, God.
2  The same, was originally (746 ἀρχή), with God.
3  All things, through him, came into existence, and, without him, came into existence, not even one thing: that which hath come into existence, (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible)

Ptolemy's Commentary on The Gospel of John Prologue:

Now since he is speaking of the first origination, he does well to begin the teaching at the beginning, i.e with the Son and the Word. He speaks as follows: "The Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. It was in the beginning, with God." [Jn 1:1] First, he distinguishes three things: God; beginning; Word. Then he unites them: (Logos [Word], Theos [God], and Arche [beginning] are one) this is to show forth both the emanation of the latter two, i.e. the Son and the Word, and their union with one another, and simultaneously with the Father. For the beginning was in the Father and from the Father; and the Word was in the beginning and from the beginning. Well did he say, "The Word was in the beginning", for it was in the Son. "And the Word was with God." So was the beginning. "And the word was God"; reasonably so, for what is engendered from God is God. This shows the order of emanation. "The entirety was made through it, and without it was not anything made." [Jn 1:3] For the Word became the cause of the forming and origination of all the aeons that came after it.  (Ptolemy's Commentary on The Gospel of John Prologue)

The Greek term translated "word" is Logos. It signifies the outward form of inward thought or reason, or the spoken word as illustrative of thought, wisdom and doctrine.

John is teaching that in the beginning, God's purpose, wisdom or revelation had been in evidence. It was "with God" in that it emanated from him; it "was God" in that it represented Him to mankind and it became the motive power of all that God did, for all was made with it in mind, and it presented the hope of life to mankind (see John 1: 3-4).

The logos is the cause of the forming and origination of Pleroma not the physical universe this can be seen from Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John 1:3

The Demiurge in Ptolemy's Commentary is the beginning or Arche

Beginning

What does he mean by beginning? You see some can argue that he means beginning as in God forever and eternal past. But if that’s the case, there really is no beginning with God others might argue well beginning in the sense that when God conceived of creating the perfect sons and daughters of God the human beings. Whatever other beings he might have created in the universe that was the beginning and the son was there from the beginning.

The message here is that God has everything in mind from the beginning. Whatever he produces from the beginning and as the Brethren of that beginning Christ is the eternal forever in the past or at the beginning at the time of which he conceived the concept of the son as being part of the story of humankind. This does not really matter because for us humans from our perspective it is the beginning of everything anyway and that’s really all we need to know and we’ll probably likely ever know anyway.

The Greek word ἀρχή arche translated beginning has a connection to the word ruler or Archon

746 ἀρχή arche ar-khay’ 

from 756; n f; TDNT-1:479,81;  {See TDNT 102 } 

AV-beginning 40, principality 8, corner 2, first 2, misc 6; 58 

746. ἀρχή arche ar-khay’; from 756; (properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank): —  beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule. 

BEGINNING: "Archee"; signifying "first in order", from the root "arch, archon" = a ruler. 

strong's concordance 756 ἄρχομαι archomai ar’-khom-ahee middle voice of 757

strong's concordance 757. ἄρχω archo ar’-kho; a primary verb; to be first (in political rank or power): —  reign (rule) over. 

NASB Translation

began (62), begin (7), beginning (8), begins (2), begun (1), proceed (1), rule (1), rulers (1), starting (2). 

This brings us to the next Greek word 758 ἄρχων archon

strong's concordance 758 ἄρχων archon ar’-khone 

present participle of 757; n m; TDNT-1:488,81;  {See TDNT 102 } 

AV-ruler 22, prince 11, chief 2, magistrate 1, chief ruler 1; 37 

1) a ruler, commander, chief, leader 

Archon (historical, Ancient Greece) The title of a magistrate in a number of states of Ancient Greece, and in the city states (poleis) of the Achaean League.

Archon (Greek: ἄρχων, árchon, plural: ἄρχοντες, árchontes) is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch and hierarchy. 

The Greek word Archon is connected to the Greek word Archee (Beginning) 

In the Gospel of John the Demiurge is the first archon from the Greek word Archee translated beginning Archee 746 ἀρχή it is also translated principality or principalities in Eph 1:21 Eph 3:10 Eph 6:12 Col 1:16

Christ the head of all Principalities {#Eph 1:21 Col 1:16 2:10 } 

Demiurge can be translated Architect from Arche (Gr. "beginning") 

Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John: 

John 1:3, “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.”) The sentence: "All things were made through him" means the world and what is in it. It excludes what is better than the world. The Aeon (i.e. the Fullness), and the things in it, were not made by the Word; they came into existence before the Word. . . “Without him, nothing was made” of what is in the world and the creation. . . "All things were made through Him," means that it was the Word who caused the Craftsman (Demiurge) to make the world, that is it was not the Word “from whom” or “by whom,” but the one “through whom (all things were made).”. . . It was not the Word who made all things, as if he were energized by another, for "through whom" means that another made them and the Word provided the energy (Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John)

The Demiurge is working on behalf of someone else that is the word or logos 

The Demiurge is a personification of the Elohim

Though Elohim is in the plural, and signifies "mighty ones," it is most frequently used with a verb in the singular number, as in Gen. 1:1. This suggests that the Elohim, though constituting a great number of immortal beings, are being motivated by a single power, "the spirit of God" (Gen. 1:2). The Elohim, therefore, comprise a great company united as one, and obeying in unison the motivating power of the great Increate. The Psalmist declared: "Yahweh hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all. Bless Yahweh, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. Bless ye Yahweh, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure. Bless Yahweh, all His works in all places of His dominion" (Psalm 103:19-22).

Yahweh is spirit (John 4:24), and His angels are spirit beings (Psalm 104:4; Heb. 1:7). They are "His family in heaven" (Eph. 3:15), being emanations of Him, and doing His will through His all-pervading spirit (Gen. 1:2). Thus they act as a unit, though being innumerable in number.

The Archangel Michael is the highest of all the angels as stated before, the angels are emanations of the uncreated and eternal spirit or Deity, Michael relays the commandments and orders of the Deity to all the angels below him, being the highest of all. So in a way, he could be seen as Hebraic religious idea of a "Demiurge" who fashioned the world for God.

See the post Yahweh is the head angel in the Old Testament

The Archangel Michael could be seen as the "Demiurge" who fashioned the world for the Deity.-spiritual nature. In comparison with the true God he is rather "coarse" or "rough" (Excerpts of Theodotus 33:4).

The term "demiurge" does not refer to the One True Deity, though the demiurge may very well be seen as a god, angel or elohim. The Demiurge is simply the craftsman of the universe, but is not the Supreme Intelligence of the universe the Uncreated and Eternal Spirit. In other word, whether the Demiurge is a god or not, it is not God or "THE One True Deity."

The Deity manifests himself through his angels, these angels are ever present, embodiment of the qualities of the Father, and thus manifesting the Father's will and presence in this world, without being the Father Deity themselves. These angels are always serving the Father and creating by his will and collectively are the Demiurge of the world through whom the Father administers his will.


The Demiurge is never referred to has Yaldabaoth 

The Demiurge is a real god, not a "false god".

The Demiurge is an elohim or angel

The Demiurge is not Satan, he is not a demon, and he is not an evil spirit or the personification of evil .The Creator or archangel Michael implements the Father's will and administers justice.

After all, he rendered the prophecies and reality of the Saviour.

Gnosis Co-Perception Human Perception and Spiritual Self Perception

Co-Perception human perception and spiritual self perception

self examination key to self knowledge

The word conscience comes from a Greek word meaning literally a co-perception. It implies that there are two types of perception within the believer- human perception, and spiritual self perception. The conscience that is cleansed in Christ, that is at peace, will be a conscience that keeps those two perceptions, of the real self and of the persona, in harmony.

What we know and perceive humanly, is in harmony with what we spiritually perceive. Our conscience, our co-perception, our real self, makes sense of the human perceptions and interprets them in a spiritual way. So, a young man sees an attractive girl. His human perception signals certain things to his brain- to lust, covet, etc. But his co-perception, his conscience, his real self, handles all that, and sees the girl’s beauty for just simply what it is- beauty.

Consider the connections between the following: " Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established" (4:26). " For the ways of man are before the eyes (Angels) of Yahweh, and he ponders all his paths." (5:21). " Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but Yahweh is pondering hearts" (21:2). "

Surely we are being taught that we ought to examine our path in life, bearing in mind that we will naturally think there is nothing wrong with it, because God examines it; our self-examination must mirror His. This is also taught in 1 Cor. 11:28-31; if we examine / judge / condemn ourselves now in our self-examination, God will not have to do this to us at the day of judgement. The spirit of man is in this sense the lamp of Yahweh, Searching all the innermost parts of his being. (Prov. 20:27); i.e. there is a link between a man's examination of his own conscience, and Yahweh's examination of him.

Real self-examination is painful- it has to be. It's no half hearted moment of self-analysis as , we prepare to partake of the bread and wine at communion. ultra-careful self-examination reveals ourselves to ourselves; and yet so do trials and "wounds". This is how tough real self-examination has to be- it should have the same effect as painful trials, revealing the same things which they do. Romans 5:1-6 heb 12:11

On the other hand, serious self-examination is part of the road to the Kingdom; it will characterize every successful believer: " The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way" (14:8); " the prudent man considers his steps" (14:15);

" whoso is preserving his soul, is watching his way" (16:17 YLT); " A wicked man puts up a bold front (" hardeneth his face" , AV); but an upright man gives thought to his ways" (21:29 NIV). This last reference suggests that a lack of self-examination is associated with a hardness, a brazenness, which is the result of a refusal to face up to the real issues of personal spirituality and our very personal relationship with God. It is more than possible to drift through the Christian experience with no thought at all for these things.

We live in a world without any sense of responsibility, with no fear of God and His judgment before their eyes.

Inevitably, we will be affected by this spirit. Self-examination is perhaps what we are most urgently in need of in these last days; a real self-knowledge, a true humility, a real sense of where we are going, and of the utter impossibility of travelling two roads.

" I am the way" , the Lord Jesus said, possibly with His mind on the one great way of Proverbs. The whole way of life which leads to the Kingdom, the things we do, our deepest thoughts, our daily decisions; these are all " the way" which leads to the Kingdom; and yet Christ is " the way" . This clearly means that all these things, the very essence of our being, the fibre of our thought processes, the basis of all our works; must be the Lord Jesus Christ.

The fact God’s ways and principles are unchanging encourage our self-examination; for there is always the rock of God and His way against which to compare our ways. The Lord Jesus is the same yesterday and today and for ever.

As a man or woman seriously contemplates the cross, they are inevitably led to a self-knowledge and self-examination which shakes them to the bone. A number of passages shed light on the way the cross leads to self-examination.

We have probably all realized that mere observation of one's own mental and emotional processes isn’t necessarily the same as fruitful self-perception / self-examination. In 1 Cor. 11:29,31 we are exhorted to both judge ourselves and also discern the body and person of Jesus in His time of dying. This is because our essential person is Him, crucified, covered in blood.


We are to thereby “reckon ourselves” to be dead to sin (Rom. 6:11).

The Greek word for “reckon” is that normally translated “impute”, in the context of imputing righteousness (Rom. 4:3,4,5,6,8,9- indeed, the word occurs in almost every verse of Romans 4).

 We are to search through our lives and perceive ourselves as in Christ, as men and women who don’t sin because we are in Christ. We are to impute that we are justified by faith (Rom. 3:28).
The Lord died to justify us (Rom. 4:25); yet we justify ourselves by our attitude to ourselves, in that we allow His death to so influence our self-perception.

We look in the mirror, and see Christ in us. This looking in the mirror is used by James as a figure for self-examination (James 1:18,22-25). By doing the word of the Gospel, we find we will live lives of looking in the mirror, of self-perception.

This is the essence of self-examination; to perceive the Christ-man within us, and that all other behaviour is our being unfaithful to our true self, living out a persona. We are to see ourselves as being Christ; we are to have a high view of ourselves in this sense, whilst despising and seeking to deconstruct the personas we so often act out which are unfaithful to Him.

The cross must change how we see ourselves. It must radically affect our self-perception and self understanding. For we are in Him. It was us who hung with Him there, and who hang with Him still in the tribulations of life.

We are Christ personified to this world. Therefore to be ourselves as God intends is to be Christ, to let the Christ-man within us show forth; the life that He lived and the death that He died becomes ours (Rom. 6:10,11). Paul could say, with reference to this, that he died daily (1 Cor. 15:31); and out of each death, there comes forth new life. For His resurrection life, the type of life that He lived and lives, becomes manifest in our mortal flesh right now (2 Cor. 4:11).


article taken and adapted from the writings of Duncan Heaster (Christadelphian)