"...will, then, matter
be saved or not?"
The Savior said, “All natures, all formed things, all creatures
exist in and with one another and will again be resolved into their
own roots, because the nature of matter is dissolved into the roots
of its nature alone. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” [cf.
Matt. 11:15, etc.].
Peter said to him, “Since you have now explained all things to us,
tell us this: what is the sin of the world?” [cf. John 1:29]. The
Savior said, “Sin as such does not exist, but you make sin when you
do what is of the nature of fornication, which is called ‘sin.’ For
this reason the Good came into your midst, to the essence of each
nature, to restore it to its root.” He went on to say, “For this
reason you come into existence and die [...] whoever knows may know
[...] a suffering which has nothing like itself, which has arisen
out of what is contrary to nature. Then there arises a disturbance
in the whole body. For this reason I said to you, Be of good courage
[cf. Matt. 28:9], and if you are discouraged, still take courage
over against the various forms of nature. He who has ears to hear,
let him hear.”
When the Blessed One
said this, he greeted all of them, saying “Peace be with you [cf.
John 14:27]. Receive my peace for yourselves. Take heed lest anyone
lead you astray with the words, ‘Lo, here!’ or ‘Lo, there!’ [cf.
Matt. 24:5, 23; Luke 17:21] for the Son of Man is within you [cf.
Luke 17:21]. Follow him; those who seek him will find him [cf. Matt.
7:7]. Go, therefore, and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom [cf. Matt.
4:23; 9:15; Mark 16:15]. I have left no commandment but what I have
commanded you, and I have given you no law, as the lawgiver did,
lest you be bound by it.”
They grieved and mourned greatly, saying, “How shall we go to the
Gentiles and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If
even he was not spared, how shall we be spared?”
Then Mary stood up and greeted all of them and said to her brethren,
“Do not mourn or grieve or be irresolute, for his grace will be with
you all and will defend you. Let us rather praise his greatness, for
he prepared us and made us into men.” When Mary said this, their
hearts changed for the better, and they began to discuss the words
of the [Savior].
Peter said to Mary, “Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more
than other women [cf. John 11:5, Luke 10:38-42]. Tell us the words
of the Savior which you have in mind since you know them; and we do
not, nor have we heard of them.”
Mary answered and said, “What is hidden from you I will impart to
you.” And she began to say the following words to them. “I,” she
said, “I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I saw
you today in a vision.’ He answered and said to me, ‘Blessed are
you, since you did not waver at the sight of me. For where the mind
is, there is your countenance’ [cf. Matt. 6:21]. I said to him,
‘Lord, the mind which sees the vision, does it see it through the
soul or through the spirit?’ The Savior answered and said, ‘It sees
neither through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind, which
is between the two, which sees the vision, and it is...’”
“...and Desire said, ‘I did not see you descend; but now I see you
rising. Why do you speak falsely, when you belong to me?’ The soul
answered and said, ‘I saw you, but you did not see me or recognize
me; I served you as a garment and you did not recognize me.’ After
it had said this, it went joyfully and gladly away. Again it came to
the third power, Ignorance. This power questioned the soul: ‘Whither
are you going? You were bound in wickedness, you were bound indeed.
Judge not’ [cf. Matt. 7:1].
And the soul said, ‘Why
do you judge me, when I judged not? I was bound, though I did not
bind. I was not recognized, but I recognized that all will go free,
things both earthly and heavenly.’ After the soul had left the third
power behind, it rose upward, and saw the fourth power, which had
seven forms. The first form is darkness, the second desire, the
third ignorance, the fourth the arousing of death, the fifth is the
kingdom of the flesh, the sixth is the wisdom of the folly of the
flesh, the seventh is wrathful wisdom.
These are the seven
participants in wrath. They ask the soul, ‘Whence do you come,
killer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?’ The soul
answered and said, ‘What seizes me is killed; what turns me about is
overcome; my desire has come to an end and ignorance is dead. In a
world I was saved from a world, and in a “type,” from a higher
“type” and from the fetter of the impotence of knowledge, the
existence of which is temporal. From this time I will reach rest in
the time of the moment of the Aeon in silence.’”
When Mary had said this, she was silent, since the Savior had spoken
thus far with her. But Andrew answered and said to the brethren,
‘Say what you think concerning what she said. For I do not believe
that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are of
other ideas.”
Peter also opposed her in regard to these matters and asked them
about the Savior. “Did he then speak secretly with a woman [cf. John
4:27], in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and
all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?” Then Mary grieved and
said to Peter, “My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think
that I thought this up myself in my heart or that I am lying
concerning the Savior?”
Levi answered and said to Peter, “Peter, you are always irate. Now I
see that you are contending against the woman like the adversaries.
But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely
the Savior knew her very well [cf. Luke 10:38- 42]. For this reason
he loved her more than us [cf. John 11:5]. And we should rather be
ashamed and put on the Perfect Man, to form us [?] as he commanded
us, and proclaim the gospel, without publishing a further
commandment or a further law than the one which the Savior spoke.”
When Levi had said this, they began to go out in order to proclaim
him and preach him.