At some point in your life, you have probably heard someone say that when we die we will finally escape these no-good bodies, and our spirits will be elevated to heaven forever. This idea seems harmless, right? Careful; while we can understand the sentiment, such a belief is actually tied to a deep-rooted heresy (error) called gnosticism.
“we must beware the knots of gnosticism, lest we become entangled within its strings of deception”
One day, as I walked through the grocery store, I got into a conversation with a man concerning God, our present state, and the gospel. After talking with him about ultimate standards of morality (right and wrong) and how we all need to come to Christ for life, he seemed to be showing some understanding. Regrettably, he ultimately claimed that he was one whose “third eye” had been opened. Such a claim carries the notion that one is able to achieve a higher level of mystical knowledge that separates them from the rest of humanity. This is similar to how the Gnostics viewed themselves in the context of the first couple of centuries of the early Church; they believed that they had a private, elitist knowledge of higher things.
In fact, the word “gnostic” actually comes from the Greek word “gnosis,” meaning “knowledge.” That is, gnostics thought they had a special type of knowledge. Specifically, they believed that there was no authentic truth to be found in the material world because physical elements, such as our bodies, were irredeemable. Although these teachings may seem innocent, we must watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). Is there an element to our being that is beyond our physical bodies? Yes, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). However, this does not mean that our bodies, along with the physical world around us, are meant to be discounted. On the contrary, when we look to the Scriptures, we see the significance of the material world, including our bodies, from the very beginning.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Then we read, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Accordingly, we are created as complete beings both physically and spiritually. The creation, being created GOOD, is the starting point. Yet, we look around, and we see that not everything is good. All is not well with the world. The good that we do see only seems to be smothered with evil, pain, suffering, death, and the like. Even in the midst of all of this, we must remember that such consequences are a result of sin, not the act of creation itself (Genesis 2:15-17, and Genesis 3:16-19).
The incomprehensible beauty of the material world is attested to in that the Word (The Son / Christ) became flesh (John 1:14). Not only that, but Jesus’ body was also resurrected in a recognizable form, being renewed (Luke 24:39, and John 20:27). This sets the precedent for what awaits the Christian (1 Corinthians 15:12-22).
With the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts in the mid 20th century, much controversy has arisen surrounding the accuracy of the traditional teachings of Christianity. Such scholars as Bart Ehrman alledge that there are so many texts and varieties of beliefs in early Christianity, and so we can’t really know what early Christians believed, and we can’t trust in the ultimate reliabilty of the texts within the Bible. In this case, the Nag Hammadi texts (which includes the popular gnostic gospel of Thomas) are used to argue against the Christian worldview and the message of incorruptible truth (Isaiah 40:8).
In reality, the Nag Hammadi texts now used to argue against the reliability of the Bible had an underlying agenda. These are codices (collections) of gnostic texts penned by those following gnostic ways of life. Such people did not know how to understand the Biblical message of redemption through Christ, and so flipped the script in order to fit their own agenda (1). So, the texts are not unbiased variants, but biased scams. This is yet another consequence of gnosticism, and should show us the damage that false teachings can cause. Thankfully, false teachings cannot stand in the face of Biblical truth.
While this all may seem like a technicality on the surface, the underlying roots are very important in understanding who we are, and what it means to be beings that are both physical and spiritual. As we can see in light of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi texts, the consequences of gnostic thinking have been severe, even having a huge impact in the modern world. Accordingly, we must conclude that there is incomprehensible importance in both the physical and spiritual aspects of our being. The physical world, in essence, is glorious. It is not that there is inherent evil in the physical components of life. Rather, we see evil, corruption, decay, and so on, because of sin. At the same time, the spiritual aspect of our being is also glorious, and is evident in that when these bodies can persist no more, we will still persist.
In the end, we can rest assured that we will have renewed minds, we will have renewed bodies, there will be a renewed earth, and the glorious work of redemption will be completed (Romans 12:2, and Revelation 21:1, and 1 Corinthians 6:14, and Romans 8:18-24). On one side of the spectrum, there are those who contend that all that exists is matter in motion. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who contend that the material world is irrelevant, and all that matters is the spiritual realm. The latter may seem enticing in light of the former. That is why we must beware the knots of gnosticism, lest we become entangled within its strings of deception.
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:8-9).
