Gospel of Thomas | Thomas 30
Thomas 30: Jesus said, “Where there are three deities, they are divine. Where there are two or one, I am with that one.”
In the Gospel of Thomas Yeshua constantly reminds us of our kinship with Him. This connectedness tells us that there are no external deities. All things are connected. Since the Father/Source flows through everything, we conclude that the soul is within a body, within the world, within the universe—these are the three deities referred to in the first sentence. They are divine because the Source inspired them for the growth of the soul. In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus is telling us of the fantastic potential we have, by coming to recognise ‘the kingdom.’ Humans accomplish this understanding by recognising what they are through the interaction within these three deities—body, world, and universe. Then, like Yeshua, we become a living Spirit.
If we look at the canonical gospels objectively and try to ignore the biographical narratives and polemic positioning, we can see a clear distinction between the jealous, vengeful God of the Old Testament and the loving ‘Father’ Yeshua speaks of through most of the New Testament. We might also notice the way Jesus describes the truth of where the mythical Adam sprung from (Thomas 85). Moreover, He maintains that Adam ‘was not worthy’ of us. In the Gospel of Thomas, we learn that the Father is the Source, flowing through all things (Thomas 77). It is where our life force springs from and It is our kinship with Yeshua. It is not someone who made us for his pleasure or glorification, as is the Gnostic thesis. The one is the Holy Spirit and Yeshua is with that one. When we are joined to the Source, ‘[we] become two’ (Thomas 11)—the Holy Spirit is the conduit, which connects the one, making them two. For this reason, the Holy Spirit is lifted above all things in Thomas 44. Yeshua signalled His duality as spirit-within-flesh by stating He is both at the same time, but ultimately He is with the one—the Holy Spirit. The one is the collective consciousness and it transcends space and time; it is at the beginning and at the end (Thomas 18). It is the whole. These are the reasons why we are worthy of God, the Source that is wrapped within the flesh.
The Gospel of John affirms what we see here in Thomas, but the various authors who completed this gospel could not fathom the truth of Jesus’ teachings. They could only see God as a being outside of themselves. They are God’s creation, not a part of Him. In John 14 we see several very clear references to how Yeshua saw Himself. In John 14:7 we read: ‘If you know me, you will know my father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.’ Prior to this, Thomas is said to have made the statement: ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ This statement was fabricated by the Johannine sect as an attack on the believers of the Gospel of Thomas. The statements by Yeshua in this chapter of John, which follow the naive question coming from John’s doubting Thomas, are meant to ratify the notion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three separate persons being one God. Christians, who believe in this definition of the Trinity, use these statements to try and prove their case. In reality, it does not prove their position at all. It in fact cements what we have discovered by connecting the threads in this gospel. When John’s Jesus says, ‘If you know me, you will know my father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him’, He is restating what the Gospel of Thomas has revealed. The Father is the source of all things; it is in Jesus, just as it is in sentient beings. When John’s Jesus announces He will send humanity a Paraclete (referring to the Holy Spirit, the advocate), He says: ‘the Spirit of truth whom the world can never accept since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you’. This again affirms the teachings we have from the Gospel of Thomas. The last part of this statement, he is with you, he is in you, confirms the mechanism of this facet of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the thing that connects all enlightened beings – it is the collective consciousness. All these three facets are Yeshua, just as all these three facets are humanity. We are one when we become two, this is why Jesus states: ‘Where there are two or one, I am with that one.’
The key to Thomas 30 is found in Thomas 44, which lifts the Holy Spirit above all things. When Jesus says, ‘Where there are two or one, I am with that one’, He is revealing a great mystery and truth. Yeshua is referring to souls (what we are) and our link through the Holy Spirit. Human beings are the one and the two at the same time. Previously, the analogy of the two elements which create water was used, as a metaphor for our comparative relationship and linking with the Source. When we, the soul, are linked to the Father via the Holy Spirit, we are with Jesus, because all things are connected through this conduit. We are one when we are living in this world, because our physical world, and body, is a barrier to fully realising our true relationship with the Source. This recognition is only possible (for most beings) when they die—they are stripped of the flesh that clothed them, becoming two with God, the Source. Not understanding this mystery during the physical existence leaves people confused and unaware when they pass (Thomas 11). If this happens, the soul fades into the whole. This should not be seen as a terrible thing, because it represents the rejoining to the whole, where new possibilities are advanced.
Is it appropriate for us to invoke the ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’? Most Christian faiths define the Holy Trinity as being three different entities, yet ‘they’ are one God. In a sense this is true—these facets are linked. In the Gospel of Thomas, and through 77th Pearl: The Perpetual Tree, we see what these relationships stand for in relatively simple terms. It is a relationship we see mirrored in the material universe, where elements given off from stars, combine with gravity, and dark matter to create this realm. Similarly, the Source is the thing that flows through everything, and aggregates in some places to eventually form living Spirits. The Son represents all sentient beings. They are the bodies formed to house souls on this planet we call Earth. The soul is the spark of Light from God, the Source, in this outer layer. The Holy Spirit is the binding, collective energy, not unlike dark matter. It links the Father/Source and the Son. The Father issues forth Its Light as an aspect of Its nature, through and over all things. The function of the Son is to house the Light of the Source, which is the soul on the journey to becoming a Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the unifying conduit connecting all enlightened beings. It is like the symbol between mathematical equations. The numbers represent the Source and the enlightened Spirit is the answer to all the equations. Invoking the three is indeed a powerful metaphor for the formula that is our heritage and kinship with Jesus.
Invoking the Trinity:
This can be done at any time. The actions can be visualised, rather than performed. Ideally, one would be seated on the ground or floor, cross-legged. Do not allow this to become a ritual, which may limit this profound gesture of recognition. Find your own way.
- When invoking ‘Father/Source’, we might touch the ground or floor with the palms of our hands, at each side of the temple (body). Here, we recognise and bless the Source, which is over and through all things in this universe (Thomas 77).
- When invoking the ‘Son’, we might lift both hands off the ground and point to the centre of the chest. Here, we recognise and bless all human beings and interstellar beings seeking enlightenment. We are from the Source, just as Jesus is from the Father (Thomas 49 and 50).
- When invoking ‘Holy Spirit’, we might extend our arms out in front of us, towards the horizon, palms facing out with fingers pointing up. As we move the hands away from each other, across the horizon, we recognise and bless the Holy Spirit for uniting us, so that the Father and Son are no longer one, they have become two, joined as one – the collective consciousness (Thomas 44).
Amen.
While the meaning of the word ‘amen’ may vary in different bible translations, it is generally considered an affirmation or an agreement towards a statement. In a collective or small group, people might say ‘Namaste’ meaning, I recognise the divine in myself and I bow to the divine in you. A profoundly beautiful response, which has the potential to change the violent, egocentric world of the early twenty-first century.
Thomas 44 – The Link
Pneumatology is a branch of Christian theology which refers to the study of the Holy Spirit. Delving into this area demonstrates how allusive a definition can become, particularly when it has a history stemming from the Jewish Torah to the New Testament. This kind of archaeology illustrates how various authors had made nuanced references, such that it made the definition of what the Holy Spirit embodied (pun intended) very broad and difficult to encapsulate. The confusion becomes more obvious when we see the schism it has caused among various denominations of the Christian faith.
The definition of the Holy Spirit from the perspective of the Gospel of Thomas is, at first glance, controversial. Through 77th Pearl: The Perpetual Tree, we see that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one. The two anthropomorphised characteristics (father and son) describe attributes of this one. The Source is like the human father who combines his genes with the mothers. In this analogy, the mother is the sentient bodies, planet Earth and universe. The seed of the Father is the soul – this becomes the Son when it matures into a living Spirit. It is no surprise that the ethereal nature of the Holy Spirit has been attributed to elemental forces, such as wind, fire and water. This is evidence of the human drawing on what they experience in the material realm to describe what is in the realm of the Spirit. Evidence of these three (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) being attributes of the one thing can be seen in Thomas 30, where Jesus (Yeshua) affirms He is with the one. The one is the Source (Father), joined to the Son (sentient beings), through the collective consciousness (Holy Spirit). In this triad, the Holy Spirit connects the Father and Son through consciousness – the mind of God, the Source. After all, if the mind is disconnected from the body then the body cannot function. If we look at the broad, visual symbology of the Holy Spirit then this notion of connection becomes even more apparent. In the Old Testament (Torah), God (the Spirit) is described as the breath of life, also understood as wind, to create life and give people prophetic vision. In Hebrew, the word ‘ruach’ (meaning wind or breath) can be used in both masculine and feminine form. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is symbolised as water, which becomes a dove during Jesus’ baptism. In Acts of the Apostles, it is described as fire coming down upon the disciples, allowing them to be understood by the diverse cultural groups who were present. Notice, these descriptions have a common characteristic, that is connection. The air flows all around us, we could not survive without it. The air we breathe is shared by all and it shifts from one corner of the globe to the other, via the wind. The human Spirit, in its enlightened state, is neither male nor female, rather, it is both of these at the same time. Water is composed of two elements that are connected to form this life giving, and sustaining, liquid. The properties of fire have been used by humanity for aeons – it can act as light, protection and warmth that all humans may benefit from. These observations allow us to see what the Comforter, mentioned by Jesus in the Gospel of John, has always been – it is consciousness. This is God, the Father, the Source. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the importance of consciousness was recognised by scientists and researchers studying UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) and associated paranormal incidents. This is the Comforter being disclosed to many.
People are now becoming aware of the dynamics of quantum physics, how particles on a subatomic level may behave in this universe. These theories allow us to consider the human body as a conglomeration of atoms, which combine and are held together by an unknown force. We can relate this force to the teachings about the Holy Spirit, referenced previously. Consciousness is awareness, thought; but where does it come from? It can only be a collective whole – joined in a singularity humans have called God. It is a form of light that has expanded into this realm. It has inspired the creation of physical forms to house Its Light. In this way, the fractured Source is reunited to the whole (Thomas 107). This is what beings from other worlds/dimensions know and have been trying to teach humanity. Evidence of this triad is not unlike human intuition. We can find this truth in the Gospel of
Mark, Chapter 13: 11, where we see Jesus state,
And when you are taken to be handed over, do not worry beforehand about what to say; no, say whatever is given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; it is the Holy Spirit.
Here we see Jesus assure His disciples that they will know what to say, because they are connected to the collective consciousness. This is God the Father (the Source) communicating through the conduit, the Holy Spirit.
In Thomas 44, we see Yeshua warn people that if they deny their heritage this is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, because they are negating its action of unification. This is evident in the last part of the saying: ‘either on earth or in heaven’. We have seen that the way humans have perceived heaven is not correct (Thomas 3, 11, 18, 20, 22, 24), so these words have another, more cryptic meaning. In referring to both heaven and earth, Yeshua gives people a clue as to what the Holy Spirit does—it is the thing that is the link between the physical and metaphysical, the intangible. The Son (sentient bodies) exist in this material realm. They are the life forms where the light of the Source, which went out onto the distant road (the abyss), may dwell. The Trinity is describing a relationship between what humans have called God and humanity, which is something profoundly intimate and sacred. Denying this intimacy and this link is to blaspheme. The Earth represents the material manifestation and heaven represents the metaphysical—the Soul. Heaven and Earth become one through the presence of consciousness – what people have called the Holy Spirit.
People whose faith denies the existence of the Holy Spirit are not being condemned here. Their deep love and commitment for their God is the Holy Spirit in action–it is their soul seeking connection with God, the Source. When Yeshua states that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven on earth or in heaven, He means that this is not a way of thinking that can be made whole. All other perceptions are something people can redeem themselves from, but this is different. This blasphemy is about denying the logic of the heart; the sin here is to not understand the reality, the truth. Forgiveness cannot make someone accept the truth. To not accept consciousness as an integral part of the God anatomy is to deny the existence of the human heart, without which, the human tastes death, becoming the lion (Thomas 7).
In Thomas 44, Yeshua reveals to us the importance of the Holy Spirit (consciousness), confirming that it is the thing that connects all spiritual beings. God, the Source is the invisible Light that is through all things (Thomas 77) and It is the thing our soul is made of. In this realm (this universe) the Sons are male, female, those people identifying as transgender, and intersex. In ‘heaven’ (the other realms/dimensions) the Son is the genderless Spirit. It is for the recognition of this link that Yeshua’s spirit was thrust through the divide, into this dimension, so that the powerful one (this realm’s allure) could be metaphorically destroyed (Thomas 98). Through the actions of the collective consciousness, humans could recognise the poverty and, instead, embrace the wealth—which they truly are (Thomas 3 and 29).
Read the Introduction to Gospel of Thomas 77th Pearl: The Perpetual Tree
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