atonement

atonement

atonement--Reconciliation between God and man through Christ; the uniting of our consciousness with the higher consciousness. Jesus became the way by which all who accept Him may "pass over" to the higher consciousness. We have atonement through Him.

To comprehend the atonement requires a deeper insight into creative processes than the average man and the average woman have attained; not because they lack the ability to understand, but because they have submerged their thinking power in a grosser thought stratum. So only those who study Being from the standpoint of pure mind can come into an understanding of the atonement and the part that Jesus played in opening the way for humanity to enter into the glory that was theirs before the world was formed.

By reading the letter of the Bible and accepting it as authority, men have formed erroneous ideas regarding the atonement. The Spirit of truth alone can reveal the true meaning of Jesus Christ's mission and work. The atonement as it has been understood by Christian people in the past has not taken sin, suffering, and death from the world; therefore it must be that their understanding has fallen short of the Truth. Spiritual understanding of the atonement shows the way to deliverance from sin and consequently from all the effects of sin. In proportion as people understand and have faith in Jesus Christ as their actual Savior from sin, they are set free from appetite, passion, jealousy, prejudice, and all selfishness; wholeness of mind and body is the result. The ultimate of this knowledge and of daily practice in overcoming (even as Jesus Himself overcame) will be a new race that will demonstrate eternal life--the lifting up of the whole man--spirit, soul, and body--into the Christ consciousness of oneness with the Father. By means of the atonement--reconciliation, or atone-ment--that Jesus Christ reestablished between God and man, we can regain our original estate as sons of God, here upon earth. "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).

atonement can mean at-one-ment 

Knowing oneness with what is, the eternal present. In oneness, actor, act and acted upon is experienced as the same. Perceiver, perceived and perceiving as well

The basic principle of Truth is that the mind of each individual may be consciously unified with Divine Mind through the indwelling Christ. By affirming at-one-ment with God-Mind, we eventually realize that perfect mind which was in Christ Jesus.

Truth, source of--God is a special, personal Father to all His children, and from no other source can they get absolute Truth.

truth, Spirit of--God's thought projecting into our mind ideas that will build spiritual consciousness like that of Jesus. The Spirit of truth watches every detail of our life. When we ask and by affirmation proclaim its presence, it brings new life into both mind and body and moves us to observe spiritual and physical laws that restore health.

What is Evil? Isaiah 45:7

What is Evil? 

Come to hate hypocrisy and the evil thought; for it is the thought that gives birth to hypocrisy; but hypocrisy is far from truth." (The Apocryphon Gospel of James)

evil--That which is not of the Deity; unreality; error thought; a product of the fallen human consciousness; negation.

'Evil' in the New Testament can denote three things-misleading standards (stoichiea) like henos anthropos; wrong disposition in the sense of a materialistic world-view; and dehumanizing acts. For Paul, evil is not associated with demons in the sense of supernatural beings. He clearly supports this in Gal 4:8-9 when he says, "stoichieas [daemons] are not gods."

Isaiah 45:7 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace [national well-being] and I create [physical] evil (calamity); I am the Lord, Who does all these things.

Moral evil proceeds from the will of men, but physical evil proceeds from the will of God

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Sin and evil are as cause and effect. God is the author of evil, but not of sin; for the evil is the punishment of sin. "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, Yahweh, do all these things." (Isa. 45:7) "Shall there be evil in a city, and Yahweh has not done it?" (Amos 3:6) The evil then to which man is subjected is Yahweh's doing. War, famine, pestilence, flood, earthquake, disease, and death, are the terrible evils which God inflicts upon mankind for their transgressions. Nations cannot go to war when they please, any more than they can shake the earth at their will and pleasure; neither can they preserve peace, when He proclaims war. Evil is the artillery with which He combats the enemies of His law, and of His the holy ones; consequently, there will be neither peace nor blessedness for the nations, until sin is put down, His people avenged, and truth and righteousness be established in the earth. 

Apparent evil is the result of ignorance, and when Truth is presented the error disappears.

Evil appears in the world because man is not in spiritual understanding.

evil, overcoming--Evil must be overcome with good. We must dwell in the good so wholly that all the substance of our thoughts and our being is given over to the promotion of the good. This is a mental process in which all negation (evil) is denied, and creative, fearless affirmation of God's perfect good is steadfastly adhered to.

Star Wars Good vs Evil

Star Wars Good vs Evil

Star Wars, Episode One has been a great commercial success. Some critics were less than complimentary, especially in Science Fiction circles and Star Wars purists are quick to point out anomalies with the other Star Wars films. Yet despite all this, George Lucas had another hit on his hands and two further "prequels" followed.

What is the secret of this success? What is the formula? Well obviously the special effects played their part, and also the Characters. Yet the prime factor is likely to be that the film tells the age-old story of Good versus Evil. Evil is defeated and the world can breathe a sigh of relief.

This battle is one that every one can relate to, whatever culture they belong to; north, south, east, west, white, black, brown, yellow, rich or poor; we all understand this battle. When we watch the News or read the papers, the battle is there for us to see, yet identifying Good and Evil is not always clear-cut. In Westerns, the Baddies wore black hats and Goodies wore white. The difference was plain.

Of course, life is not that simple and in many ways, Star Wars reflects that. Han Solo, although a "Goodie", is not without his flaws (a little smuggling, for example). Darth Vader, came good at the end of his life, by saving his son, Luke from the evil emperor. We learn also that Anakin (as he once was) was intrinsically good, yet had a capacity to go either way (the Force or the Dark Side). Luke, being only good, was a much less believable character as a result.

There are no Good people or Bad people. All of us are a mixture or both. Some are more good than others, that is all. Those of us who wish to be better people then have a battle on our hands, the battle between Good and Evil going on in our hearts. This battle is described by someone called Paul (a real-life Obi Wan Kenobi, perhaps?):

Romans 7:19-25 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

There is a real-life battle between Good and Evil, not only going on inside us, but also in the World around us.

We cannot totally defeat evil within us, let alone in the World at large, but ultimately, Good will prevail. The only truly good man the world has ever seen will return to establish a state of peace that will last forever.








Many sects of Christendom, along with many other religions, believe that there is a being or monster called the Devil or Satan who is the originator of the problems which are in the world and in our own lives, and who is responsible for the sin which we commit. The Bible clearly teaches that God is all-powerful. We have seen in Study 1.4 that the Angels cannot sin. If we truly believe these things, then it is impossible that there is any supernatural being at work in this universe that is opposed to Almighty God. If we believe that such a being does exist, then surely we are questioning the supremacy of God Almighty. This issue is so important that the correct understanding of the devil and satan must be considered a vital doctrine. We are told in Heb.2:14 that Jesus destroyed the devil by his death; therefore unless we have a correct understanding of the devil, we cannot understand the work or nature of Jesus.

In the world generally, especially in the so-called 'Christian' world, there is the idea that the good things in life come from God and the bad things from the Devil or Satan. This is not a new idea; it is not even an idea only limited to apostate Christianity. The Babylonians, for example, believed there were two gods, a god of good and light, and a god of evil and darkness, and that those two were locked in mortal combat. Cyrus, the great King of Persia, believed just this. Therefore God told him, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me...I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil (N.I.V. "disaster"): I the Lord do all these things" (Is.45:5-7,22). God creates peace and He creates evil, or disaster. God is the author, the creator of "evil" in this sense. In this sense there is a difference between "evil" and sin, which is man's fault; it entered the world as a result of man, not God (Rom.5:12).
God tells Cyrus and the people of Babylon that "there is no (other) God beside me". The Hebrew word 'el' translated "God" fundamentally means 'strength, or source of power'. God is saying that there is no source of power in existence apart from Him. This is the reason why a true believer in God cannot accept the idea of a supernatural devil or demons.


God: The Creator Of Disaster
The Bible abounds with examples of God bringing "evil" into people's lives and into this world. Am.3:6 says that if there is evil in a city, God has done it. If, for example, there is an earthquake in a city, it is often felt that 'the devil' had designs on that city, and had brought about the calamity. But the true believer must understand that it is God who is responsible for this. Thus Mic.1:12 says that "evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem". In the book of Job we read how Job, a righteous man, lost the things which he had in this life. The book teaches that the experience of 'evil' in a person's life is not directly proportional to their obedience or disobedience to God. Job recognized that "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away" (Job 1:21). He does not say 'The Lord gave and Satan took away'.He commented to his wife: "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not (also) receive evil?" (Job 2:10). At the end of the book, Job's friends comforted him over "all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him" (Job 42:11 cp. 19:21; 8:4). Thus God is the source of "evil" in the sense of being the ultimate permitter of the problems that we have in our lives.
"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth...If ye endure chastening...afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb.12:6-11), this shows that the trials which God gives us lead eventually to our spiritual growth. It is setting the word of God against itself to say that the devil is a being which forces us to sin and be unrighteous, whilst at the same time he supposedly brings problems into our lives which lead to our developing "the peaceable fruit of righteousness". The orthodox idea of the devil runs into serious problems here. Especially serious for it are passages which speak of delivering a man to satan "that the spirit may be saved", or "that he may learn not to blaspheme" (1 Cor.5:5; 1 Tim.1:20). If Satan is really a being bent on causing men to sin and having a negative spiritual effect upon people, why do these passages speak of 'Satan' in a positive light? The answer lies in the fact that an adversary, a "Satan" or difficulty in life, can often result in positive spiritual effects in a believer's life.
If we accept that evil comes from God, then we can pray to God to do something about the problems which we have, e.g. to take them away. If He doesn't, then we know that they are sent from God for our spiritual good. Now if we believe that there is some evil being called the devil or satan causing our problems, then there is no way of coming to terms with them. Disability, illness, sudden death or calamity have to be taken as just bad luck. If the devil is some powerful, sinful Angel, then he will be much more powerful than us, and we will have no choice but to suffer at his hand. By contrast, we are comforted that under God's control, "all things (in life) work together for good" to the believers (Rom.8:28). There is therefore no such thing as 'luck' in the life of a believer.

What is the Serpent

What is the Serpent?

 the word “serpent” immediately suggests an animal, so it Is NATURALLY taken LITERALLY. Understood SPIRITUALLY it is a FIGURE OF SPEECH.

XV. (53) "And they were both naked, both Adam and his wife, and they were not ashamed; but the serpent was the most subtle of all the beasts that were upon the earth, which the Lord God had Made:"{11}{#ge 2:25; 3:1.}--the mind is naked, which is clothed neither with vice nor with virtue, but which is really stripped of both: just as the soul of an infant child, which has no share in either virtue or vice, is stripped of all coverings, and is completely naked: for these things are the coverings of the soul, by which it is enveloped and concealed, good being the garment of the virtuous soul, and evil the robe of the wicked soul. (54) And the soul is made naked in these ways. Once, when it is in an unchangeable state, and is entirely free from all vices, and has discarded and laid aside the covering of all the passions. Philo of Alexandria

XVIII. (71) "Now the serpent was the most subtle of all the beasts which are upon the earth, which the Lord God Made."{21}{#ge 3:1.} Two things having been previously created, that is, mind and outward sense, and these also having been stripped naked in the manner which has already been shown, it follows of necessity that pleasure, which brings these two together, must be the third, for the purpose of facilitating the comprehension of the objects of intellect and of outward sense: for neither could the mind, without the outward sense, be able to comprehend the nature of any animal or of any plant, or of a stone or of a piece of wood, or, in short, of any substance whatever; nor could the outward sense exercise its proper faculties without the mind. Philo of Alexandria

the aforesaid serpent is the symbol of pleasure, because in the first place he is destitute of feet, and crawls on his belly with his face downwards. In the second place, because he uses lumps of clay for food. Thirdly, because he bears poison in his teeth, by which it is his nature to kill those who are bitten by him.

The serpent In whose mouth Is the poison of death, signifies a sinful person according to God's definition (given in Psalm 140:1-3; Romans 3:12-13; Matthew 12:34).

 The name “serpent” was attributed to those MEN who Jesus and John the Baptist had encountered (Matthew 3:7; 12:34; Luke 3:7).  Hence when the word serpent is used to indicate an intelligent  reasoning creature having guile (deceit) in his mouth, It SIGNIFIES a man exhibiting such characteristics.

The serpent a symbol of the Sense consciousness or the desire of unspiritualized man for sensation. He seeks satisfaction through the appetite. By listening to the serpent of sense, man falls to his lowest estate.

The "serpent" of the garden of Eden is the outward senses of consciousness or the carnal mind. The serpent is the symbol of pleasure. It may also be called desire, and sensation, or the activity of life in an external expression, apart from the Source of life.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

There are two trees in the midst of paradise. From one of them originate animals, from another — men. Adam ate of the tree which originates animals. And he became an animal and then brought forth animals.
Therefore at present, the animals like Adam are held in respect.
So, the tree of which Adam ate a fruit is the tree of animals. This is why his children became so numerous. And all of them also ate the fruits of the tree of animals. (The Gospel of Philip)

To understand what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is we must first understand the symbolic understanding of trees in the Bible

Trees and leaves are sometimes used as symbols to describe the righteous (see Psa. 1:3; 92:12; Isa. 60:21; 65:22).

we know from the book of revelation that trees are symbolic of people

Rev 22:2 down the middle of its broad way. And on this side of the river and on that side [there were] trees of life producing twelve crops of fruit, yielding their fruits each month. And the leaves of the trees [were] for the curing of the nations. (NWT 1983)

Rev 22:2 Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the riverare trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations. (Contemporary English Version)

It would not be possible to have a single tree both inside the city, and on either side of a river that flows therefrom. The word xulon can relate to a wood, or a forest of trees; and that, obviously, is its meaning here twelve crops of fruit, yielding their fruits each month

This, again, shows that John saw a forest of trees, and not a single tree. Some of the "fruits" to be produced through the influence of the water of life are outlined in Prov. 3:16-18; Gal. 5:22. The number twelve identifies the fruit with the hope of Israel, and suggests the monthly pilgrimages and services that will form part of the ministry of saints in the age to come (see Isa. 66:23)

also the Lord's saying, "I am the vine: ye are the branches" (John 15). He is the tree of life, and the Paradise is the Kingdom of God in the Holy Land (Ezek. 36:35).

He is "the tree of life" symbolized from the beginning by the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. His body of "many members" is represented by the "very many trees" of the Ezekiel Paradise (Ezek. 47:7), which literally "beautify the place of God's sanctuary" (Is. 60:13). He and they are the substance of the symbol in this place

So the tree of life is symbolic of Jesus's gospel message or logos teachings it is logical to conclude that the tree of knowledge of good and evil is also symbolic

The tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil are a Figure of speech

also from the book of Provbers we lean that wisdom (wise thinking.) is a tree of life

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is everyone that retaineth her" (Prov 3:14,18).

Since wisdom is understood to be the tree of life it is logical to conclude that the tree of knowledge of good and evil is also symbolic.

the trees could be symbolic of the angels according to Justin the gnostic who's most important work, Baruch comes from Hyppolytus says

angels are the Trees of Paradise: the Tree of Life is Baruch, the third angel of the Father, and the Tree of Knowledge is the third angel of the Mother, Naas the Snake (Hebr. nafash).

In the garden of Eden, God employed two trees for symbolic purposes: “the tree of life” and “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” Failure to respect God’s decree concerning the latter brought man’s fall.—Ge 2:9, 16, 17; 3:1-24.

By God’s pronouncement decreeing it to be out-of-bounds for the human pair, the tree became a symbol of God’s right to determine or set the standards for man as to what is “good” (approved by God) and what is “bad” (condemned by God). It thus constituted a test of man’s respect for his Creator’s position and his willingness to remain within the area of freedom decreed by God, an area that was by no means cramped and that allowed for the greatest enjoyment of human life. Therefore, to violate the boundaries of the prohibited area by eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad” would be an invasion of or a revolt against God’s domain and authority

The Tree of Life occupied a place in the "midst of the garden" with the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" (cp. Gen. 3:3). Here were symbolically provided the two choices for mankind: obedience or sin; life or death.

"And the tree of knowledge of good and evil" — Good and evil represent the extremes of knowledge and thus serve as an idiom for completeness, comprehending all within the two opposites. In Deut. 1:39 and Isa. 7:14-17, lack of knowing good and evil indicates immaturity, whereas in 2 Sam. 14:17; 1 Kings 3:9 knowledge of such denotes maturity. In 2 Sam. 19:35 the expression is used with regard to the virility of the body to respond and enjoy such experiences. The ability to discern between good and evil is treated as a Divine attribute (2 Sam. 14:17; 1 Kings 3:9; Prov.15:3).

In Genesis 2:9 – 15 we read a description of the garden in Eden. It was a pleasant place with all kinds of trees and plants and the garden was watered naturally by a river. Within this pleasant garden Yahweh Elohim placed two trees which were symbolic of his relationship with mankind. The tree of life was symbolic of God’s promise of immortal life to those who chose to follow his ways rather than the way of human nature. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was in the garden as a test for mankind and to allow free will. They could follow God’s way or the way of human nature looking for instant pleasure.

We talked about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as it was the only fruit that Adam was forbidden to eat. In Genesis 2:16 – 17 we see that this was God’s first commandment. Until this time the idea of death had not been part of human experience. There had been no need for the killing of animals as a sacrifice for sins.


The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is symbolic of our sinful desire

Yahweh says, "the cedars in the garden of God could not hide him; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto him in his beauty. I made him fair by the multitude of his branches; so that all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied him" (Ezek 31:3,8-9). These trees (Dan 4:20-22) are symbolic of the negative thoughts of the mind which Syria (intellectual pride), and Assyria ( reasoning according to the outward senses) shall be abolished (Isa 37:12-13).

The "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" represents the discerning capacity of mind. Man first becomes aware of knowledge; then he must discern the relation of ideas before activity is set up within him.

God told Adam to avoid the tree whose fruit was a knowledge of good and evil, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." It is evident that this tree is closely related to individual free will, which is in direct touch with the "serpent" or selfhood. In that state of consciousness, or day, the individual shall surely die.

The branch that separates itself from the tree withers away and dies. So a belief by the ego that its life, substance, and intelligence are self-derived cuts off the source of supply, and the ego begins to revolve in a mental vortex whose dominant tones are good and evil, birth and death--duality.

It is through the affections, the feminine in us, that we partake of both good and evil. The soul, or woman, was given to man by Yahweh, and is the avenue through which the inspirations of Spirit come. When the I AM assumes mastery over the soul it brings forth only good.

"tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Gen. 2:9)--Indicates a dual state of consciousness, a belief in both good and error, which eventually drives man out of the garden (his body temple).

There are two trees in the midst of paradise. From one of them originate animals, from another — men. Adam ate of the tree which originates animals. And he became an animal and then brought forth animals.
Therefore at present, the animals like Adam are held in respect.
So, the tree of which Adam ate a fruit is the tree of animals. This is why his children became so numerous. And all of them also ate the fruits of the tree of animals. (The Gospel of Philip)


As a result, the fruits of the tree of animals begot numerous people-animals who now honor only man-animal.

There are two trees growing in Paradise. The one bears animals [the tree of knowledge of good and evil which leads to death], the other bears men [the tree of life]. Adam ate from the tree which bore animals. He became an animal [after going according to his own will] and he brought forth animals [all of his sons are brought forth in the same condition of separation from the Father and eat from this tree (this is the first death]. For this reason the children of Adam worship animals [who continue to “lord it over them” in their unreasoning minds]. The tree [...] fruit is [...] increased. [...] ate the [...] fruit of the [...] bears men, [...] man. [...] God created man. [...] men create God. That is the way it is in the world - men make gods [by choosing for themselves kings and/or governments or men to rule over them; also by setting up selfishness as ruler over their own temple] and worship their creation [bow down to their own man-made constitutions]. It would be fitting for the gods to worship men [all men are created in the image of God and are “sons of the Most High” with all power of creation that the Father has bestowed upon them if they would just turn to Him, but in ignorance they keep following those that are not gods – this is idolatry whether it be government, idealism, religion etc. for they all result in spiritual thievery]!

Heracleon on the Devil

John 8:44 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Heracleon: Fragments from his
Commentary on the Gospel of John

http://gnosis.org/library/fragh.htm

Fragment 20, on John 4:21 (In John it says, “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.’”) The mountain represents the Devil, or his world, since the Devil was one part of the whole of matter, but the world is the total mountain of evil, a deserted dwelling place of beasts, to which all who lived before the law and all Gentiles render worship. But Jerusalem represents the creation or the Creator whom the Jews worship. . . The mountain is the creation which the Gentiles worship, but Jerusalem is the creator whom the Jews serve. You then who are spiritual should worship neither the creation nor the Craftsman, but the Father of Truth. And he (Jesus) accepts her (the Samaritan woman) as one of the already faithful, and to be counted with those who worship in truth. 

In the Bible mountains represent kingdoms or empires

For Heracleon the mountain represents the totality of the material order of things (the devil and the world) worshipped by those who existed before the introduction of the Law of Moses in particular the gentiles

Fragment 44, on John 8:43-44a (In John 8:43-44a, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your wish is to do your father's desires.”) The reason why they were unable to hear Jesus’ words and understand what he said is provided in the words, “You are of your father the Devil.” He says, ‘Why are you unable to hear my word? Because you are of your father the Devil’ meaning you are of the substance of the Devil. Thus he makes clear their nature, after convincing them in advance that they are neither the children of Abraham otherwise they would not have hated him, nor children of God because they did not love him.



For Heracleon the inability of the pharisees to hear the divine word of Christ john 8:43 is rooted in their possession of the diabolic nature children of the devil neither the children of Abraham nor the children of God but rather the children of the devil possess a nature that is utterly different than the "psychics" and "pneumatics"

the Hylics hylics, also called somatics (from Gk σώμα (sōma) "body"), this refers to the thinking of the flesh or the carnal mind "it represents that physical principle of the animal nature, which is the cause of all its diseases, death, and resolution into dust. It is that in the flesh "which has the power of death" and it is called sin, because the development, or fixation, of this evil in the flesh, was the result of transgression. Inasmuch as this evil principle pervades every part of the flesh, the animal nature is styled "sinful flesh," that is, "flesh full of sin"; so that sin, in the sacred style, came to stand for the substance called man. In human flesh "dwells no good thing" (Rom. 7:17,18); and all the evil a man does is the result of this principle dwelling in him. Operating upon the brain, it excites the "propensities", and these set the "intellect" and "sentiments" to work. The propensities are blind, and so are the intellect and sentiments in a purely natural state; when therefore, the latter operate under the sole impulse of the propensities, "the understanding is darkened through ignorance, because of the blindness of the heart" (Eph. 4:18). The nature of the lower animals is as full of this physical evil principle as the nature of man; though it cannot be styled sin with the same expressiveness; because it does not possess them as the result of their own transgression; the name, however, does not alter the nature of the thing. Elpis Israel



Fragment 45, on John 8:44a Those to whom the word came were of the substance of the Devil. 

Heracleon makes an important distinction between those who are children of the devil by nature and substance and those who make themselves the devil's servants by choice. 

Origen As if the substance of the devil were different than the substance of other rational beings 

So what is the devil's nature or substance?

The diabolical nature is flesh:

Man in his physical constitution is imperfect; and this imperfection is traceable to the physical organization of his flesh, being based on the principle of decay and reproduction from the blood; which, acted upon by the air, becomes the life of his flesh. All the phenomena which pertain to this arrangement of things are summed up in the simple word sin; which is, therefore, not an individual abstraction, but a concretion of relations in all animal bodies; and the source of all their physical infirmities. Now, the apostle says, that the flesh thinks, that is, the brain, as all who think are well assured from their own consciousness. If, then, this thinking organ be commanded not to do what is natural for it to do under blind impulse, will it not naturally disobey? Now this disobedience is wrong, because what God commands to be done is right, and only right; so that "by his law is the knowledge of sin"; and this law requiring an obedience which is not natural, flesh is sure to think in opposition to it. The philosophy of superstition is -- religion in harmony with the thinking of the flesh; while true religion is religion in accordance with the thoughts of God as expressed in His law. Hence, it need excite no astonishment that religion and superstition are so hostile and that all the world should uphold the latter; while so few are to be found who are identified with the religion of God. They are as opposite as flesh and spirit.
Sin in the flesh is hereditary; and entailed upon mankind as the consequence of Adam's violation of the Eden law. The "original sin" was such as I have shown in previous pages. Adam and Eve committed it; and their posterity are suffering the consequence of it.

Fragment 46, on John 8:44a The verse “You are of your father the Devil” is to be understood as meaning ‘of the same substance as the Devil.’ On “and your wish is to do your father’s desires”: The Devil has no will, but only desires. . . This was said not to those who are by nature children of the Devil, but to the animate people who have become children of the Devil by intent. Some who are of this nature may also be called children of God by intent. Because they have loved the desires of the Devil and performed them, they become children of the Devil, though they were not such by nature. The word “children” may be understood in three ways: first, by nature; secondly, by inclination; thirdly, by merit. (A child) by nature means (the child) is begotten by someone who is himself begotten, and is properly called “child.” (A child) by inclination is when one who does the will of another person by his own inclination is called the child of the one whose will he does. (A child) by merit is when some are known as children of hell, or of darkness and lawlessness, and the offspring of snakes and vipers. For these do no produce anything by their own nature; they are destructive and consume those that are cast into them; but, since they did their works, they are called their children. . . He now calls them children of the Devil, not because the Devil produces any of them, but because by doing the works of the Devil they became like him.

Heraccleon suggests that individuals can become children of the devil and possess the diabolical nature in three ways by natural birth (we are all hylics by nature) 
by will that is after being enlightened those who choose to follow the desires of the devil 

by worth that is the enemies of God those described in the bible as children of gehenna or offspring of serpents 

The 2nd and 3rd are sons of the devil by adoption

the error and ignorance of the devil is rooted in his inherent nature which is the opposite of the truth

Hilgenfeld, Volkmar, and DeConick consider that the Evangelist shows that he embraced the opinion of the Valentinians and some earlier Gnostic sects that the father of the devil was the Demiurge or God of the Jews. But this idea was unknown to Heracleon, who here interprets the father of the devil as his essentially evil nature; to which Origen objects that if the devil be evil by the necessity of his nature, he ought rather to be pitied than blamed

The nature of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas

The nature of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas use the words flesh, falsehood or death as a symbol of our sinful nature

Saying 28 Jesus said: I stood in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in the flesh. I found them all drunk; I found none of them thirsting, and my soul was afflicted for the sons of men; for they are blind in their heart, and they do not see that they came empty into the world, (and) empty they seek to leave the world again. But now they are drunk. When they have thrown off their wine, they will repent

Here Jesus came in the Flesh his soul was afflicted for the children of men.  
"I appeared to them in the flesh" is translated by LAYTON to read "I was shown forth incarnate" 

Incarnate means “having a bodily form.” ... The prefix in- means “in” and caro means “flesh,” so incarnate means “in the flesh.”

The appearing in flesh does not mean that Jesus was part of the trinity or an angel in Heaven before he was born. “to appear” means to look at behold, to allow one’s self to be seen, Jesus was in the world but the world did not know him until him made his appearance on the world stage.

We should compare this saying with saying 101 to find out the meaning of the word flesh Jesus has 2 mother's his birth mother after the flesh and his true mother the holy spirit

Saying 101) 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."

For My birth mother [gave me death], but [My] true [Mother] gave me life." april deconick translation

Jesus birth mother could only give him death or falsehood which we understand to be sin in the flesh. but his true mother give him life. 

Here in saying 101 death or falsehood is an equivalent expression for human nature.

Sin, is an equivalent expression  for human nature.

Hence, the flesh is always regarded as unclean. It is therefore written, "How can he be clean who is born of a woman?" (Job 25:4) "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one." (Job 14:4) "What is man that he should be clean? And he which is born of a woman that he should be righteous? Behold, God putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinketh iniquity like water?" (Job 15:14-16)

According to this physical law, the Seed of the woman was born into the world. The nature of Mary was as unclean as that of other women; and therefore could give birth only to "a body" like her own, though especially "prepared of God" (Heb. 10:5). Had Mary's nature been immaculate, as some claim, an immaculate body would have been born of her; which, therefore, would not have answered the purpose of God; which was to condemn sin in the flesh; a thing that could not have been accomplished, if there were no sin there.

This view of sin in the flesh is enlightening in the things concerning Jesus. The apostle says, "God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21); and this he 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; for "that", says Jesus himself, "which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6).