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INNER CIRCLE: When Paul Quotes the Gospel of Thomas

INNER CIRCLE: When Paul Quotes the Gospel of Thomas

Last updated on: May 1, 2026 at 5:27 pm by Keith Giles

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INNER CIRCLE: When Paul Quotes the Gospel of Thomas 2026-05-01T17:27:04+00:00 Keith Giles

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1 Corinthians 2:7-8

“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him…’—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.” (NIV, emphasis mine)

When Paul wrote those words, we can safely assume that his audience knew exactly what he was quoting when he said, “As it is written…”, because he does not take the time to provide a reference for the quote. But later Biblical scholars who were unfamiliar with the quote did the best they could to find the source. Unfortunately, the best they could do was to attribute the reference to a passage in Isaiah 64:4 which says:

“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.”

This verse is close to what Paul quotes in the passage above, but not quite. But, without anything else to tie this reference to, scholars settled on this verse as the most likely source. At least, they did so until the Gospel of Thomas was discovered in 1945 and then translated into English in 1959. That was when they realized that one of the sayings of Jesus recorded in that Gospel said this:

“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.” (Saying 17)

Now it is obvious that when Paul said, “As it is written,” he was referring to this quotation from Jesus which almost exactly mirrors the phrasing and the context.

In the Isaiah passage, the verse is about how those who did not know God were oblivious to God’s presence. In the saying from the Gospel of Thomas, the verse is about how Jesus has promised unimaginable blessings for those who follow his teachings.

The saying from the Gospel of Thomas is more in line with what Paul aims to communicate in 1 Corinthians: God has a plan to reveal wonders to us that defy human comprehension.

Paul continues in this chapter to extol the mystery of God, which was hidden and is now revealed to us by the Spirit of God.

And what is this great mystery that “no eye has seen and no ear has heard”? Is it not our awakening to the Oneness we all have with the Divine? Is it not the reality that “Christ is all and is in all” and that he is “the One in whom we all live, and move, and have our being”?

If we pay attention to what the Apostle Paul has already said, and will continue to reveal to us in the passages to come, I believe we will begin to see that this great mystery is exactly this: “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.”

IMAGE: Keith Giles

My newest book in the Quantum Gospel Series releases on May 5th from Quoir Publishing. The Quantum Gospel of Philip reveals the astounding message of our shared Divinity and our shared Humanity. Available on Amazon. ORDER HERE>

Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the 7-part Jesus Un series, the SOLA series, and the Quantum Gospel series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, Coast To Coast with George Noory, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.” He co-hosts the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.

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