Gospel of Truth

The Gospel of Truth was probably written in Greek between 140 and 180 by Valentinian Gnostics (or, as some posit, by Valentinus himself). It was known to Irenaeus of Lyons, who objected to its Gnostic content and declared it heresy. Irenaeus declares it one of the works of the disciples of "Valentinius", and the similarity of the work to others thought to be by Valentinus and his followers has made many scholars agree with Irenaeus on this point.


Gospel of Truth
Verses
1 . The Gospel of Truth is joy for those who have received from the Father of Truth the gift of recognizing him, thru the power of the meaning who comes forth from the fullness which is in the thought and mind of the Father. This is he who is called the Savior---That being the name of the task which he is to do for the atonement of those who had been unacquainted with the name of the Father. (Jn 17)
2. Now the the gospel is the revelation of the hopeful, it is the finding of those who seek him. For since the totality were searching for him from whom they came forth--and the totality were within him, the Incomprehensible Inconceivable--One, he who is beyond all thought--Hence Un-acquaintance with the Father caused anxiety and fear. Then the Anxiety condensed like a fog so that no one could see.
3. Wherefore delusion grew strong, contriving its matter in emptiness and unacquaintance with the Truth, preparing to substitute a potent and alluring fabrication for truthfulness. But this was no humiliation for him, the Incomprehensible Inconceivable-One. For the anxiety and the amnesia and the deceitful fabrication were nothing--whereas the established Truth is immutable, imperturbable, and of unadornable beauty. Therefore despise delusion ! It has no roots and was in a fog concerning the Father, preparing labors and amnesia and fear in order thereby to entice those of the transition and take them captive.
4. The amnesia of delusion was not made as a revelation, it is not the handiwork of the Father. Forgetfulness does not occur under his directive, although it does happen because of him. But rather what exists within him is acquaintanceship --this being revealed so that forgetfulness might dissolve and the Father be recognized. Since amnesia occurred because the Father was not recognized, thereafter when the Father is recognized there will be no more forgetting.
5. This is the Gospel of him who is sought, which he has revealed those perfected thur the mercies of the Father as the Secrecy Mystery: YESHUA the Christ!  He enlightened those who were in the darkness because of forgetfulness. He illumined them. He gave them a path, and that path is the Truth which he proclaimed.
6. Therefore delusion was enraged at him, and pursued him in order to suppress and eliminate him. He was nailed to a tree, he became the fruit of recognizing the Father. Yet it did not cause those who consume it to perish, but rather to those who consumed it he gave a rejoicing at such a discovery. For he found them in himself and they found him in themselves--the Incomprehensible Inconceivable--One, the Father, this Perfect--One who created the totality, in whom the totality exists and of whom the totality has need. For he had withheld within himself their perfection, which he had not yet bestowed upon them all (Jn 19:18, 14:20)
7. The Father is not jealous, for what envy could there be between him and his members? For if the way of this Aeon had prevailed they would not have been able to come unto the Father, who retains within himself their fulfillment and bestows it upon them as a return to himself with a recognition which is single in perfection. It is he who ordained the totality, and the totality is within him and the totality had need of him. It is like a person with whom some have been unacquainted, yet who desires that they recognize and love him. For what did they all lack except acquaintance with the Father? (Jn 14:9)
8. Thus he became a reposeful and leisurely guide in the place of instruction. The Logos came to the midst And spoke as their appointed teacher. There approached those who considered themselves wise, putting him to the test--yet he shamed them in their vanity. They hated him because they were not truly wise. Then after them all, there also approached the little Children, those who have the acquaintance  of the Father. Having been confirmed, they learned of the Face-Forms of the Father. They recognized, they were recognized, they were glorified, they glorified. Revealed in their heart was the Living Book of Life, this which is inscribed in the thought and mind of the Father and which has been within his Incomprehensibility since before the foundation of the totality. No one can take this away, because it was appointed for him who would take it and be slain. (Mt 18:10)
9. No one of those who trusted in salvation could have become manifest unless this book had come to the midst. This is why the merciful and faithful-One---YESHUA!--patiently endured the sufferings in order to take this book, since he knew that his death would become life for many. Just as the fortune of the deceased master of the estate remains secret until his bequest is opened, so also the totality remained hidden so long as the Father of the totality was invisible--this--One thur who all dimension originate. This is why YESHUA appeared, clothed in that book. (Rev 5:1-5)
10. He was nailed to a tree in order to publish the edict of the Father on the Cross. Oh sublime teaching, such that he humbled himself unto death clad in eternal life! He stripped himself off the rags of mortality in order to don this imperishability which none has the power to take from him. Entering into the empty spaces of the terrors, he brought forth those who had been divested by amnesia. Acting with recognition and perfection, he proclaimed what is in the heart [of the Father, in order to] make wise those who are to receive the teaching. Yet those who are instructed are the Living, inscribed in this Book of Life, who are taught about themselves and who receive themselves from the Father in again returning to him.
11. Because the perfection of the totality is in the Father, it is necessary that they all ascend unto him. When someone recognizes, he receives the things that are his own and gathers them to himself. For he who is unacquainted has lack--and what he lacks is great, since what he lacks is that which will make him perfect. Because the perfection of the totality is in the Father, it is necessary for them all to ascend unto him. Thus each and every one receives himself.
12. He pre-inscribed them, having prepared this gift for those who came forth from him. Those whose names are foreknew are all called at the end. Thus someone who recognizes has his name spoken by the Father. For he whose name has not been spoken remains unacquainted. How indeed can anyone harken whose name has not been called? For he who remains unacquainted until the end is a figment of forgetfulness and will vanish with it. Otherwise why indeed is there no name for those wretches, and why do they not heed the call?
13. Thus someone with acquaintance is from above. When he is called he hears and responds and returns to him who called, ascending unto him. He discovers who it is that calls him. In recognition he does the will of him who called. He desires to please him, and granted repose he receives the name of the One. He who recognizes thus discovers from whence he has come and whither he is going. He understands like someone who was intoxicated and who has shaken off his drunkenness and returned to himself, to set upright those things which are his own.
14. He has brought many back from delusion . He went before them into the spaces thur which their hearts had migrated in going astray due to the depth of him who encompasses all dimensions without himself being encompassed. It is a great wonder that they were within the Father without recognizing him, and that they were able to depart unto themselves because they could neither comprehend nor recognize him in whom they were. For thus his violation had not yet emerged from within himself. For he revealed himself so that his emanations would reunite with him in recognition.
15. This is acquaintance with the Living Book, whereby at the ending he has manifested the eternal-ones as the alphabet of his revelation. These are not vowels nor are they consonants, such that someone might read them and think of emptiness, but rather they are the true alphabet by which those who recognize it are them selves expressed. Each letter is perfect thought, each letter is like a complete book written in the alphabet of unity by the Father, who inscribes the Eternal-Ones so that thur his alphabet they might recognize the Father.
16. His Wisdom meditates on the meaning,His Teaching expresses it, His  Acquaintance revealed it,
His Dignity is Crowned by it, His Joy unites with it, His Glory Exalted it, His Appearance manifested it, Hid Repose received it, His Love embodied it, His Faith embraced it.
17. Thus the Logos of the Father comes into the totality as the fruit of his heart and the Face-form of his will. But he supports them all, he atones them and moreover he assumes the Face-form of everyone, purifying them, bringing them back--
Within the Father,
Within the Mother,
Yeshua of Infinite Kindness.
The Father uncovers his bosom, which is the Holy Spirit, revealing his secret. His Secret is his Son! Thus thru the compassions of the Father the Eternal-Ones recognize him. And they cease their toil of seeking the Father and repose in him, recognizing that this is the repose.
18. Having replenished the deficiency, he dissolved the scheme . For the scheme is this world in which he served as a slave, and deficiency is the place of jealousy and quarreling. Yet the place of unity is perfect. Since deficiency occurred because the Father was not recognized, thereafter when the Father is recognized there shall be no deficiency. Just as with ignorance, when someone comes to know, the ignorance dissolves of itself--and also as darkness dissipates when the light shines--so also deficiency vanishes when perfection appears. Thus from that moment on there is no more scheme , but rather it disappears in the fusion of the unity. For now their involvements are made equal, in the moment when the fusion perfects the spaces.
19. Each one shall receive himself in the unification, and shall be purified in acquaintanceship from the multiplicity into unity--consuming matter in himself like a flame, darkness with light, and death with life. Since these things have thus happened to each one of us, it is appropriate that we think of the totality so that the house be holy and silent for the unity.
20. It is like some who move jars from their proper places to unsafe places, where they are broken. And yet the Master of the house suffered no loss but rather rejoiced, for those unsound jars were replaced by this which are fully perfect. This the judgment which has come from above, like a double-edged sword drawn to cut this way and that as each one is judged.
21. There came to the midst the Logos, which is in the heart of those who speak it. This was not a mere sound, but rather it was incarnate. A great disturbance occurred among the jars---for lo some were emptied, others were filled, some were supplied, others were overturned, some were cleansed, others were broken. All of the spaces quaked and were agitated, having neither order nor stability. delusion was in anguish at not discerning what to do--distressed and lamenting and cropping-hair from understanding nothing.
22. Then when  recognition approached with all its emanations, this was the annihilation of delusion which was emptied into nothingness. The Truth came to the midst, and all his emanations recognized and embraced the Father in Truth and united with him in perfect power. For everyone who loves the Truth attaches himself to the mouth of the Father with his language by receiving the Holy Spirit. Truth is the mouth of the Father, his language is the Holy Spirit joined to him in Truth. This it the revelation of the Father and self-manifestation to his Eternal-Ones. He has revealed his secret, explaining it all. .
23. For who is the Existent-One, except for the Father alone? All dimensions are his emanations, recognized in coming forth from his heart likes sons from a mature person who knows them. Each one whom the Father begets had previously received neither form nor name. Then they were formed thru his self-awareness. Although indeed they had been in his mind, they had not recognized him. The Father however is perfectly acquainted with all dimensions, which are within him.
24. Whenever he wishes he manifests whomever he wishes, forming him and naming him. And in giving him a name, he causes him to come into being. Before they came into being, these assuredly were unacquainted with him who fashioned them. I do not say however that those who have not yet come into being are nothings--but rather they pre-exist within him who shall intend their becoming when he desires it, like a season yet to come. Before anyone is manifest (the Father) knows what he will bring forth. But the fruit which is not yet manifest neither recognizes nor accomplishes anything. Thus all dimensions themselves exist within the Father who exists, from whom they come forth, and who established them unto himself from that which is not. (Th 19)
25. Whoever lacks root also lacks fruit, but still he thinks to himself: "I have become, so I shall decease---For everything that (earlier) did not (yet) exist, (later) shall no (longer) exist." What therefore does the Father desire that such a person think about them self?: "I have been like the shadows and the phantoms of the night!" When the dawn shines upon him, this person ascertains that the terror which had seized him was nothing. They were thus unacquainted with the Father because the did not behold him. Hence there occurred terror and turmoil and weakness and doubt and division, with many deceptions and empty fictions at work thru these.
26. It was as if they were sunk in sleep and found themselves in troubled dreams--either fleeing somewhere, powerlessly pursuing others, or delivering blows in brawls, or themselves suffering blows, or falling from high place, or sailing thru the air without wings. Sometimes it even seems as if they are being murdered although no one pursues them, or as if they themselves are murdering their neighbors since they are sullied by their blood.
27. Then the moment comes when those who have endured all this awaken, no longer to see all those troubles--for they are naught. Such is the way of those who have cast off un-acquaintance like sleep and consider it to be nothing, neither considering its various events as real, but rather leaving it behind like a dream of the night. Recognizing the Father brings the dawn! This is what each one has done, sleeping in the time when he was unacquainted. And this is how, thus awakened, he comes to recognition.
28. How good for the person who returns to himself and Awakens, and blest is this-One who has open the eyes of the blind! And the spirit ran after him, resurrecting him swiftly. Extending her hand to him was was prostrate on the ground, she lifted him up on his feet who had not yet arisen. Now the recognition which gives understanding is thru the Father and the revelation of his Son. Once they have seen him and heard him, he grants them to taste and to smell and to touch the beloved Son. (Th 19!)
29. When he appeared, telling them about the Incomprehensible Father, he breathed into them what is in the thought of doing his will. (Jn 20:22) Many received the Light and returned to him. But the materialists were alien and did not behold his likeness nor recognize him, although he came forth incarnate in form. (Jn 1:14) Nothing obstructs his course--for imperishability is indomitable. Furthermore he proclaimed beforehand that which was new, expressing what is in the heart of the Father and bringing forth the flawless Logos.
30. Light spoke thru his mouth, and his voice gave birth to life. He gave to them the thought of Wisdom, of Mercy, of Salvation, of the Spirit of Power, from the Infinity and the Kindness of the Father. He abolished punishment and torment, for these caused some who had need of mercy to go astray from his face in delusion and bondage. And with Power he pardoned them, and he humbled them in acquaintanceship.
31.He became a path for those who strayed, Acquaintance for the unaware, Discovery for those who seek, Stability for the wavering, and Immaculate Purity for those who were defiled.
32. He is the Shepherd who left behind the 99 sheep which were not lost, in order to go searching for This-One which had strayed. And he rejoiced when he found it. For 99 is a number that is counted on the left hand, which tallies it. But when 1 is added, the entire sum passes to the right hand. So it is with him who lacks the one, which is the entire right hand--he takes from the left what is deficient in order to transfer it to the right, and thus the number becomes 100. Now the signification of what is in these words is the Father.
(Mt 18:12-13, Th 107)
33. Even on the Sabbath he labored for the sheep which he found fallen into the pit. He restored the sheep to life. bringing it up from the pit, so that you sons of heart--understanding may discern this Sabbath on which the work of Salvation must never cease, and so that you may speak from this day which is above, which has no night and from the perfect Light which never sets. (Mt 12:11, Th 27, Ph 142)
34. Speak therefore from your hearts,
For you are this perfect day and within you dwells this abiding Light.
Speak of the Truth with those who seek it, and of acquaintanceship unto those who in delusion have transgressed.
Support those who stumble,
Reach out your hand to the sick,
Feed those who are hungry,
Give repose to the weary ,
Uplift those who yearn to arise,
Awaken those who sleep--
For you are the Wisdom that rescues!
35. Thus strength grows in action. Give heed to yourselves--be not concerned with those other things which you have already cast out of yourselves. Do not return to what you have regurgitated, be not moth-eaten, be not worm-eaten--for you have already cast that out. Do not become a place for the Devil, for you have already eliminated him. Do not reinforce those things that made you stumble and fall. Thus is uprightness!
36. For Someone who violates the Torah harms himself more than the judgment harms him. For he does his deeds illicitly, whereas he who is righteous does his deeds for others. Do therefore the will of the Father, because you are from him. For the Father is kind, and things are good thru his will. He has taken cognizance of whatever is yours, so that you may repose yourselves about such things--for in their fruition it is recognized whose they are.
(Jn 16:28, Lk 6:43-44)
37. The Sons of the Father are his fragrance, for they are from the grace of his face. Therefore the Father Loves his fragrance and manifests it everywhere. And blending it with matter, he bestows his fragrance upon the Light, and his repose he exalts it over every likeness and every sound. For it is not the ears that inhale the fragrance, but rather the Breath (SPIRIT) has the sense of smell and draws it to Oneself--and thus is someone baptized in the fragrance of the Father.
38. Thus he brings it to harbor, drawing his original fragrance which had grown cold unto the place from which it came. It was something which is psychic form had become like cold water permeating loose soil, such that those who see it think it to be dirt. Then afterwards, when a warm and fragrant breeze blows, it evaporates. Thus coldness results from the separation. This is why the Faithful-One came--to abolish division and bring the warm fullness of Love, so that the cold would not return but rather there should be the unification perfect thought. This is the Logos of the Gospel of the finding of the fullness by those who await the Salvation which comes from on high. Prolonged is the hope of those who await--those whose likeness is the light which contains no shadow--at that time when the fullness finally comes.
39. The deficiency of matter did not originate thru the infinity of the Father, who came in the time of inadequacy--although no one could say that the indestructible would arrive in this manner. But the profundity of the Father abounded, and the thought of delusion was not with him. It is a topic for falling prostrate, it is a reposeful topic--to be set upright on his feet, in being found by This-One who came to bring him back. For the return is called Metanoia .
40. This is why imperishability breathed forth--to follow after the transgressor so that he may have repose. For to forgive is to remain behind with the light, the Logos of the fullness, in the deficiency. Thus the physician hastens to the place where there is illness, for this is his hearts desire. But he who has a lack cannot hide it from him who has what he needs. Thus the fullness, which has no deficiency, replenishes the lack.
41. (THE FATHER) gave of himself to replenish whomever is lacking, in order that thereby he may receive grace. In the time of his deficiency he had no grace. Thus wherever grace is absent, there is inferiority. At the time when he received this smallness which he lacked, (then the Father) revealed to him a fullness, which he lacked, (then the Father) revealed to him a fullness, which is this finding of the Light of Truth that dawned upon him in unchangeability. This is why the Christ was invoked in their midst--so that they would receive their returning. He anoints with the Chrism those who have been troubled. The anointing is the compassion of the Father who will have mercy upon them. Yet those whom he has anointed are those who are perfected.
42. For Jars which are full are those which are sealed . Yet when its sealant is destroyed, a jar leaks. And the cause of its being emptied is the absence of its sealant. For then something in the dynamics of the air evaporates it. But that is not emptied from which no sealant has been removed, nor does anything leak away, but rather the perfect Father replenishes whatever is lacking.
43. He is good. He knows his seedlings, for it is he who planted them in his Paradise. Now his Paradise is his realm of repose. This is the perfection in the thought of the Father, and these are the LOGOI of his meditation. Each on of is Logoi is the product of his unitary will in the revelation of his meaning. While they were still in the depths of his thought, the Logos was the first to come forth. Furthermore he revealed them from a mind that expresses the unique Logos in the silent grace called thought, since they existed therein prior to being revealed. So it occurred that he (The Logos) was the first to come forth at the time when it pleased the will of him who intended it. (Jn 1:1)
44. Now the will of the Father is that which reposes in his heart and pleases him. Nothing exists without him, nor does anything occur without the volition of the Father. But his will is Unfathomable. His will is his imprint, and none can ascertain it nor come to concern it in order to control it. But whenever he wills, what he wills exists--even if the sight does not please them. They are nothing before the Face of God and the will of the Father. For he knows the beginning and the ending of them all--at their end he shall question them Face-to-Face. Yet the ending is to receive acquaintance with This-One who was hidden. Now this is the Father--This-One from whom the beginning came forth, This-One to whom all these shall return who came forth from him. Yet they have been manifest for the Glory and Joy of his Name.
45. Now the Name of the Father is the Son. He first named him who came forth from himself, and who is himself. And he begot him as a Son. He bestowed his own Name upon him. It is the Father who from his heart possesses all things. He has the Name, he has the Son who can be seen. Yet his name is Transcendental---For it alone is the Mystery of the invisible, which thru him comes to ears completely filled with it. (Mt 1:21, Lk 1:31, Jn 17:6-26!)
46. For indeed the Name of the Father is NOT SPOKEN, yet rather it is manifested in a Son. Accordingly, Great is the Name! Who therefore could proclaim a Name for him, the Supreme Name, except him alone whose Name this is--together with the Sons of the Name, those in whose heart the Name of the Father reposes and who themselves likewise repose in his Name? Because the Father is unchangeable, it is he alone who begot him as his own Name before he fashioned the Eternal-Ones, so that the Name of the Father would be Lord over their heads--This-One who is truly the name, secure in his command of Perfect Power.
(Ex 3:14, Th 13)
47. The Name is not mere WORDAGE, nor is it only TERMINOLOGY, but rather it is transcendental. He alone named him, he alone seeing him, he alone having the Power to give him a Name. Whoever does not exist has no Name--For what names are given to the Non-Existent? But this Existing-One exists together with his Name. And the Father alone knows him, and he alone names him.
48. The Son is his Name. He did not keep him hidden as a secret--but rather the Son came to be, and (The Father) alone named him. Thus the name belongs to the Father, such that the name of The Father is the Son. How otherwise would compassion find a Name, except from The Father? For after all, anyone will say to his companion: "Whoever could give a name to someone who existed before him?--As if children do not thus receive their names thru those who gave them birth!"
49. Firstly, therefore, it is appropriate that we think on this topic: What is the Name? Truly he is the Name--Thus also he is the Name from The Father. He is the Existent Name of the  Lord. Thus he did not receive the Name on loan as do others, according to the pattern of each one who is to be created in his heart. Yet This-One is the Lords Name. There is no one else who bestowed it upon him, but he was unnamable and it was ineffable until the time when he who is perfect gave expression to him alone. And it is he who has the Power to express his name and to see him. Thus it pleased him in his heart that his desired Name be his Son and he gave the Name to him--This-One who came forth from the profundity.
50. He expressed his secret, knowing that The Father is benevolent. This is exactly why he brought This-One forth--so that he might speak of the realm and his place of repose from which he came, and render Glory to the fullness, the Majesty of his Name, and the Kindness of The Father. He shall speak of the Realm from which each One came--and each one who issued from that place shall thus be hastened to return unto it again, to share in receiving the taste of that place, receiving nourishment and growth. And his own realm of repose is his fullness.
51. Thus all the emanations of The Father are plentitudes, and the source of all his emanation is within the Heart of him from whom they all flourish. He bestowed their destinies upon them. Thus is each one made manifest, such that thru their own meditation they [return to] the place to which they direct their thought. That place is their source, which lifts them thru all the heights of Heaven unto the Father. They attain unto his head, which becomes their repose. And they are embraced as they approach him, so that they say that they have partaken of his face in kisses. Yet they are not thus made manifest by exalting themselves. They neither lack the Glory of The Father, nor do they think of him being trite or bitter or wrathful. But rather he is benevolent, imperturbable, and kind--knowing all the dimensionalities before they come into existence, and having no need of edification.
52. This is the form of those who themselves belong on High thru the grandeur of the Immeasurable, as they await the single and Perfect-One who makes himself there for them. And they do not descend unto the Abode of the Dead . They have neither jealousy nor lamentation nor mortality there among them, but rather they repose in him who is reposeful. They are neither troubled nor devious concerning the Truth, but rather they themselves are the Truth. The Father is within them and they are within the Father--perfected and made indivisible in the Truly Good, not inadequate in anything but rather given repose and refreshed in the Spirit. And they shall obey their source in leisure, these in whom his root is found and who harm no soul. (Jn 17:21-23) THIS IS THE PLACE OF THE BLEST, THIS IS THEIR PLACE!
53. Wherefore let the remainder understand in their places that is not appropriate for me, having been in the realm of repose, to anything further. But it is within his heart that I shall be--forever devoted to The Father of the totality, together with those true Brothers upon whom pours the Love of The Father and among whom there is no lack of him. These are they who are genuinely manifest, being in the True and Eternal Life and speaking the Perfect Light which is filled with the seed of The Father, and who are in his heart and in the fullness and in whom his Spirit rejoices, Glorifying him in whom they exist. His good and his Sons are perfect and worthy of his Name. For it is children of this kind that he The Father desires.

Translated by: Paterson Brown, BA (Amherst), PhD (London)
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