Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
INNER CIRCLE: The Unseen Truth

INNER CIRCLE: The Unseen Truth

Last updated on: August 16, 2022 at 10:43 pm by Keith Giles

INNER CIRCLE: The Unseen Truth 2022-08-16T22:43:36+00:00 Keith Giles

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image: Pexels

SAYING 17: “Jesus said: I will give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has not entered into the heart of man.”

The most fascinating thing about this saying of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas is that it has no correlation to the recorded sayings of Jesus from the other 4 New Testament Gospels, and yet, if you’ve been reading or studying the Bible for very long you’ve no doubt heard this verse before.

What you recall, however, is not anything attributed to Jesus, but instead is quoted in the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Here’s how that verse reads in Paul’s letter:

“But just as it is written: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the human heart,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” [1 Cor. 2:9]

If you look up the reference mentioned here in an English Study Bible, you’ll no doubt see this listed as being referenced from Isaiah 64:4. But, if you take the next step and actually read what Isaiah 64:4 says, you’ll notice that it has nothing to do with this quote at all.

See for yourself:

“For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of one who waits for Him.” [Is. 64:4]

This verse is close to what Paul quotes when he says “…just as it is written,” but it’s not quite the same, is it?

So, what is it that Paul is actually quoting here when he says, “…as it is written”?

Could it be this reference from the Gospel of Thomas which has a much closer reading to what we see quoted in 1 Cor. 2:9?

Some scholars think so. Which, if true, would be a huge paradigm shift for most Evangelical Christians who couldn’t possibly fathom the Apostle Paul quoting from the Gospel of Thomas the same way he would quote from the scroll of Isaiah.

Still, the similarities are stunning. Take a look at both side-by-side and notice the phrases shared between the two verses:

SAYING 17: “Jesus said: I will give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has not entered into the heart of man.“

But just as it is written: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the human heart, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” [1 Cor. 2:9]

Setting aside the astounding similarities between these two passages, let us consider what Jesus means to communicate to his disciples here.

What can Jesus give to us that no eye has seen, or that no ear has heard? What can we receive from Jesus that no hand has touched? What can we comprehend that has not entered into the heart of any man?

Is it not the realization that we are all one with God? Is it not the reality of how all things are in Christ and Christ is in all things?

This is not something our eyes can see. This is the Truth our ears have yet to hear and which has not, of itself, come into the heart of any one of us, apart from Christ.

Returning to the passage from Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians, we might take note that this entire chapter is an exceptionally “Gnostic” one, in the sense that it speaks of the deeper wisdom of God and the “Mystery” which was “hidden” from us until the Spirit of Christ made it known to us.

Just take a look:

“6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written:

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the human heart,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the spirit of the person that is in him? So also the thoughts of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

14 But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned by no one. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” [1 Cor. 2: 6-16]

As we’ve noted earlier, many of the more startling verses from the New Testament that confirm what we learn from the Gospel of Thomas are found in some of the disputed letters of Paul, namely Ephesians and Colossians.

Those two epistles, while most likely not penned by the Apostle Paul himself, were most likely written or compiled from his teachings by his own disciples who wanted to preserve these teachings.

One of those disciples, Theudas, had a disciple of his own named Valentinus, who later wrote another “lost Gospel” – The Gospel of Truth – that was discovered among the same Nag Hammadi documents where the Gospel of Thomas was uncovered.

We know that Theudas was a disciple of Paul because Clement of Alexandria [150-215 AD] confirmed this in his own writings. [See Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis, Book 7, Ch. 17]

He also tells us that Valentinus received the same secret wisdom from Theudas that Paul had taught privately to his own inner circle – something Paul referred to in connection with his visionary encounter with the risen Christ as found in Romans 16:25; 2 Corinthians 12:2–4; and Acts 9:9–10, where he claims to have received the secret teaching from Christ directly.

So, it’s quite likely that Theudas, or one or more of his fellow Pauline disciples, collected the teachings of Paul and created either Ephesians or Colossians – or both – soon after his death.

That’s why this saying from the Gospel of Thomas and the parallel passage in 1 Corinthians 2 is so fascinating. It provides a credible link between these two texts and suggests the strong possibility that what we read in Thomas and what we read in the letters of Paul are not as dissimilar as we may have assumed.

If you’d like to find a supportive, thriving community of people who understand the pain of Deconstruction and you’re looking for someone who can walk with you through this process towards Reconstruction, I invite you to join us for Square 1 starting Monday, August 22nd. We still have a few seats available for 75% off HERE>

**
Keith Giles is the author of the hot new bestseller, SOLA MYSTERIUM: Celebrating the Beautiful Uncertainty of Everything, available now on Amazon. Keith is also the host of Second Cup with Keith [a new solo podcast available now on the Ethos Radio App, for Apple and Android and on Spotify.

Cosmic Christ

Gnostics

Gospel of the Kingdom

Previous Post

August 15, 2022

Not Alone In The Desert

Next Post

August 25, 2022 INNER CIRCLE: The Beginning and The End

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Biblicism Christian Politics Cosmic Christ Deconstruction Discipleship Dispensationalism Divine Unity Ekklesia End Time Stuff Eschatology Evergreen Following Jesus Gender General Christian Topics Gnostics God's Love Gospel of Judas Gospel of Mary Gospel of Philip Gospel of the Kingdom Gospel of Thomas Gospel of Truth Hell Historical Jesus Inner Circle Investigative Reporting Islam LGBTQ Issues Marriage Mental/Emotional Health Mystery Non-Duality Philosophy Podcast Poetry Politics Poverty Preemptive Love Prophecy Psychology Quantum Theology Racism Reconstruction Satire Sex Technology Theology Uncategorized Universalism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the king who arranged for Hezekiah's scribes to compile additional Proverbs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jeroboam Hezekiah Solomon Ahab

Books by This Author Books by Keith Giles

See All Titles »