The Gospel of Thomas Fully Interpreted: Logion 41 to 50
Logion 41
Jesus said, “Whoever has something in his hand will receive more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little he has.”
Interpretation:
Whoever has some light of the Spirit of Understanding in his hand will receive more, and he will be able to interpret the scriptures spiritually, thereby revealing their hidden meanings, in other words his understanding and interpretation of them will be correct.
And whoever has no light of the Spirit of Understanding will be deprived of even the little literal understanding that he has, because his interpretations are incorrect.
It is a spiritual understanding that gives life to the scriptures.
The Truth will set you free, but only if you understand it spiritually.
See also in Matthew 25:29 KJV: For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Logion 42
Jesus said, “Become passers-by.”
Interpretation:
Simply put this means; choose peace, peace before pleasure. Step out of the game of life, which has become the pursuit and experience of pleasure, even to the cost of your soul. Do not make attachments because at both ends of the attachment, there is a loss of freedom.
Step out of the game of life being played in this world, because no-one wins in the end.
Sometimes you have to give in to win. The more that you want something, the more it will resist you. It is when you are content with what you have that good things come to you.
Peace is the place where Unconditional Love resides, there is no greater pleasure.
Logion 43
His disciples said to him, “Who are you that you should say these things to us?” <Jesus said to them,> “You do not realize who I am from what I say to you, but you have become like the Jews, for they either love the tree and hate its fruit (or) love the fruit and hate the tree.”
Interpretation:
It is plain to see that the disciples were questioning the authority of Jesus to teach them. This was because they either had difficulty accepting his teachings, or difficulty in abiding by them.
They had not yet realized that Jesus was the Way, the Truth and the Life, a perfected soul full of Unconditional Love, Truth and Understanding. They had not even realized that he was a spiritual being, or that it was a soul that was speaking to them; a soul that had found peace in a world of conflict.
They had become like those following a materialistic interpretation of the Judaic scriptures.
For they either loved the Word but hated the reward of abiding by it.
Or they loved the reward but hated the Word.
There were those who were fascinated by the teachings but hated having to suffer by following their commandments, and there were those like the temple authorities, who loved the power and wealth they gained from teaching the scriptures, but they themselves hated the scriptures because if the Truth of them was known by others, it would expose them as false teachers, and they would lose their power, wealth and standing in the community.
Pleasurable things are easily accepted, but when the pleasure ends there is only rejection.
It is Understanding that brings perfect peace.
Logion 44
Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes against the father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either on earth or in heaven.”
Interpretation:
The father is a reference to the Self’s desire. It is the Self’s desire that precedes all of the Self’s actions, including the acts of creation and control.
Everything that exists in the Self’s spiritual domain (mind) is created by the Self’s desire, and these things are created according to the Self’s knowledge and understanding. In the beginning the Self knew and understood only what was good and right. It was only when knowledge of what was not good and right was discovered that the Self’s desire was divided and the Self lost its way.
The meaning of life is to pursue and experience pleasure, and in the beginning that pleasure was righteous and caused no harm, but on the discovery of knowledge that was a corruption of Truth, the Self now had two opposing ways for its desire to pursue and experience pleasure.
‘The purpose of a life journey is to learn how to pursue and experience pleasure without causing harm to the Self’s soul, or to the souls of others’. William
We are sometimes influenced by unrighteous desire or by others, to create things in the mind that cause conflict and offence, between our divided desire according to which side is dominant, and according to our understanding or ignorance. This is when the Self’s soul begins to blaspheme against its father, i.e. desire. This will be forgiven due to lack of Understanding.
The son is a reference to the Self’s soul created by the Self’s desire. The soul is an image of the Self created in the mind by the Self’s desire. In the beginning that image was of Love, Truth and Understanding, and because the Self’s desire had not yet been divided, the soul represented the Self’s True Image. This image was created in the first seven days of the Self’s life journey, (as I have explained in my book, Genesis the Beginning). The father of the Self’s soul is the Self’s desire, and its mother is the Self’s righteous and uncorrupted mind.
It is through the soul that the Self and its desire interacts with the spiritual and the material realms.
When the Self’s desire becomes divided because of the knowledge of good and evil, the soul becomes divided also. This means there are two fathers and two sons, one of righteous desire and one of unrighteous desire. Think of this as having one soul with two opposing personalities. When the soul is divided in this way, each side will blaspheme against the other soul’s father, but they will be forgiven because of the lack of Understanding.
It was never the Self that was in danger of eternal damnation, it was only ever the unrighteous and ignorant soul. The Self and its True Image are immortal, and where a soul is discarded due to its corruption, the Self will begin a new life journey with a soul that is its True Image.
You should now understand why Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘Your father is the devil’, which is a reference to their evil heart.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and the Spirit of Truth is the Understanding of Truth. It is the light that gives life to the Word, without which the Word is a dead letter. To receive the Holy Spirit is to receive enlightenment in the soul, and this light lights up the whole mind. Truth without the Light of Understanding leaves the soul and the mind in the darkness of ignorance.
Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit also blasphemes against the Self and it’s True Image. How then can their soul be forgiven by the Self?
If you hate yourself, if you feel you are not worth anything and you are not worthy of Love, it is because you do not know your True Self anymore. You must come to know yourself, and that your True Image was created by Love in the Light of Understanding, which is the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is also known as the comforter, because it is true understanding that brings inner peace; a peace that cannot be taken away.
Love yourself according to the Love you have for others.
Love gave you an image of yourself, the world replaced it with a false one. You are neither in this world nor of it.
Your soul is your inner child; save it while you are able.
See also in Matthew 12:31-32 KJV: Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Logion 45
Jesus said, “Grapes are not harvested from thorns, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they do not produce fruit. A good man brings forth good from his storehouse; an evil man brings forth evil things from his evil storehouse, which is in his heart, and says evil things. For out of the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil things.”
Interpretation:
Grapes are harvested from a grapevine. In John 15:1 KJV Jesus says; ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman’. Father is a reference to the Self’s righteous heart, and the soul of Jesus is the Son, i.e. the True Image of the Father, and through Jesus the Father spread the Gospel of the Kingdom, and so Jesus became like a vine, his branches were his disciples who produced the fruit of the gospel, and when the disciples gave the fruit to others, the seeds of Truth were planted within those souls also.
The fruit of the kingdom is not harvested from those whose hearts are evil and believe in a false doctrine, for they produce only the hurtful thorns of hateful criticism and condemnation.
Figs which represent hidden knowledge are not gathered from thistles, which represent the materialistic interpretations of the souls who are referred to as the blind and the dead, and whose father is the devil, which is a reference to the evil heart.
So the teaching here is; only teach the Gospel of the Kingdom to those who have good hearts and therefore able to receive it. Do not waste your time teaching those whose hearts are evil and whose only love is for themselves and this world.
You too be careful who you share the gospel with for some will not understand, and some will hate you for speaking the Truth, and for condemning this world that they love even more than other souls.
See also in Matthew 7:16-18 KJV: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Logion 46
Jesus said, “Among those born of women, from Adam until John the Baptist, there is no one so superior to John the Baptist that his eyes should not be lowered (before him). Yet I have said, whichever one of you comes to be a child will be acquainted with the kingdom and will become superior to John.”
Interpretation:
If you interpret this logion literally then you are left with the problem that Adam did not have a physical mother. The key to understanding is as follows:
In scripture the spiritual interpretation of woman is mind.
Here the word women is spelled without capitals, and so it refers to the subconscious mind, also referred to as the earth.
Adam (the first man) was created from the dust of the earth, which means that he was a memory of the Self’s first image, which had been created in heaven. You should realize that what is being spoken of in this logion are souls, not physical beings.
So every soul born of the Self’s subconscious mind, from Adam until John the Baptist was so superior that anyone seeing John the Baptist should lower their eyes in respect of his superiority.
John was seen as superior because he possessed the Truth, i.e. the Word and the ability to baptize others unto repentance with it.
To become a child means that as a soul you must sacrifice what the world has led you to believe about yourself, and in coming to know yourself, be reborn as the image of righteous desire, and of the righteous mind.
Then you will take off the garments that those of this world had given you to wear, and you will stand on them absent of shame. That is how you return to the Kingdom of Heaven from where you first came. You will of course still be in control of your physical body through which you will interact with this world, until that body no longer functions. It is not a physical death that is experienced, rather it is a spiritual death and rebirth of your soul. You will become superior to John the Baptist because you will possess not only the Word, but also the Holy Spirit.
See also in Matthew 11:11 KJV: Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Logion 47
Jesus said, “It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters; otherwise, he will honor the one and treat the other contemptuously. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine put into a new wineskin, lest it spoil it. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, because a tear would result.”
Interpretation:
In scripture a desire is likened to a horse, this is because desire carries you to where you want to go. Without desire you would go nowhere.
When the heart is divided it means you have a choice of which horse to ride, in other words, you have a choice between righteous desire and unrighteous desire.
It is impossible for the soul to mount two horses because they go in different directions.
Where there are two opposing desires it is only possible to choose one or the other at a time.
Likewise it is impossible to be passionate about both righteous desire and unrighteous desire at the same time, because this would weaken the soul’s willpower.
Changing horses often means you will not reach the kingdom of heaven.
When the heart is divided it is impossible for the soul to serve both sides of it. Whichever side he honours, he with treat the other contemptuously.
Before Jesus began teaching a New Testament, the scriptures had been interpreted literally, that is to say the Word was taught without the Spirit.
Even as it was, those who received the literal interpretations were filled with much pleasure, this was because they were led to believe the Word alone was their way to salvation and eternal life, but it was not.
The Word without the Spirit is a dead letter, and so those who had only received and accepted the literal word, were referred to as the dead and the blind; blind because they had no Light of Understanding in them.
Then Jesus came with a New Testament. He was a witness not only of the Word, but also the Spirit of the Word. He found them all intoxicated with wine of the Word without the Spirit, and some of them immediately desired to drink the new wine of the New Testament.
Wine is a reference to the pleasure of the knowledge within.
Wineskin is a reference to the soul.
The New Testament of the Word and the Spirit is not given to those whose faith is in the literal teachings of the Word alone, because they will be unable to contain it and will reject it, lest they lose everything and become empty, nor is the pleasure of the Word alone given to new students, lest it spoil their soul.
An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment. This is because the New Testament is stronger than the Old Testament. In other words the Word and the Spirit is stronger than the Word alone.
See also in Matthew 9:17 KJV: Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
Logion 48
Jesus said, “If two make peace with each other in this one house, they will say to the mountain, ‘Move Away,’ and it will move away.”
Interpretation:
If the Father and the Son make peace in the Self’s uncorrupted mind, they will say to the mountain of ignorance, ‘Move Away’ and it will move away.
Ignorance is likened to a mountain that is between the Father and the Son. The mountain is not only an obstacle it also blocks the light and casts a shadow, and that shadow is referred to as the shadow of death.
It is this mountain that separates the Self’s desire from the souls desire, thereby limiting the power of both. When the two desires are as one then nothing can resist its will.
The mind is divided into many houses, each according to the soul’s personality. Some belong to the righteous heart, some belong to the unrighteous heart, and some belong to neither. Those that will stand firm are those built with Love on the foundations of Truth and filled with the Light of Understanding.
Many souls have sought power for themselves, but the ultimate power has always been the Self’s righteous desire; it is the power of Love. It is unconditional, pure and eternal. If you become one with it you too will inherit its power.
The Father becomes the Son, the Son becomes the Father.
See also in Matthew 21:21 KJV Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Logion 49
Jesus said, “Blessed are the solitary and elect, for you will find the kingdom. For you are from it, and to it you will return.”
Interpretation:
The solitary are souls that are undivided by righteous and unrighteous desire, in other words, they do not have a split personality. They are referred to as the elect because they have been chosen to represent the Self’s righteous desire and its True Image.
You will find the kingdom of heaven (the Self’s righteous mind) because you are from it, and to it you will return, in other words, your soul will return home to be with its Creator; your father, your Self’s righteous desire.
If you have looked at this world and recognized the evil and ignorance of others, and you have felt sorrow and loneliness, then it is you who are the solitary and elect, it is you who are from the light and to the light you will return.
Your nature will have driven you to search for Love, Truth, Understanding, and for knowledge of the Self. You are not alone and you were always loved. Dare to be who you are, hold your head up and come out of the shadows. Your place is in the light.
Logion 50
Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’ say to them, ‘we came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.’ If they say to you, ‘is it you?’ say, ‘We are its children, we are the elect of the living father.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your father in you?’ say to them, ‘It is movement and repose.'”
Interpretation of:
Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’
If you perceive yourself as no more than a physical being, then your answer to the question; ‘Where did you come from?’ will either be from your physical parents or from a certain place in this world. But if you have realized that you are a soul and therefore a spiritual being, then your answer should be as Jesus explains.
Interpretation of: say to them, ‘we came from the light the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.’
The light is the Spirit of Truth, and the Truth is the Word. Now consider the following scriptures:
In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God. John 1:1 KJV. The real meaning of this is as follows:
In the beginning was the Truth and the Truth was with the Self and the Truth was the Self; that Truth was of course; I AM.
In the beginning there was no light in the Self’s virgin mind, and so although the Self was aware of its existence, it had no understanding of what it was. At this point it was a case of; I AM, but what AM I?
In Genesis on the first day (and after becoming Self-aware), the Self’s desire moved it to seek understanding of the Truth it had felt within. ‘Let there be light, means; let there be understanding. This was a desire; a desire that the Self did not have the knowledge to fulfil. There then appeared an image in the virgin mind, an image formed of light, and it came into being and had made itself permanent on its own accord.
The light of the image became manifest through the image of the Self’s Truth and its righteous desire. The Self now knew and understood all that it was, I AM now became, I AM that I AM, in other words; I know myself.
Interpretation of: If they say to you, ‘is it you?’ say, ‘We are its children, we are the elect of the living father.’
Souls are spiritual entities and just like children, they are not self-created, likewise each child has a father and a mother.
In the spiritual realm the father of the soul’s creation is righteous desire, and the mother is the righteous mind. It is the father that plants the seed of the soul, and it is the mother that gives it life. Every soul was created from Love, Truth and Understanding, and so was perfect in the beginning.
When the disciples say; We are its children, they are saying; we are the True Image of the Self. When they say; we are the elect of the living father, they are saying; we are the chosen of the living father.
The father is referred to as living, because the Self’s desire also has the Light of Understanding which is the Life.
The Light of Understanding is of course the Spirit of Truth, also referred to as the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was a soul who referred to himself as the way the truth and the life, which is righteous desire (Love), Truth (the Word) and the Spirit of Truth, (the Life).
Interpretation of: If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your father in you?’ say to them, ‘It is movement and repose.'”
The sign of the father is of course righteous desire and peace; peace because desire has been fulfilled. They had sought and they had found. Desire causes movement, and the fulfilment of desire results in rest (repose).