Gospels and Gospel Traditions in the Second Century by Jens Schröter Tobias Nicklas Joseph Verheyden

Author:Jens Schröter, Tobias Nicklas, Joseph Verheyden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 2019-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

3John 1 and The Mystery of Baptism and The Incarnation

Indeed, the Gospel of Philip’s preference for the metaphor of rebirth is evident in its description of Jesus’ own baptism in the Jordan. Drawing primarily on the Gospel of Luke for its narrative details,818 the Gospel of Philip crucially relies upon the Gospel of John for its interpretation of the event:

He who [was begotten] before all things was begotten again. He [who was anointed] first was anointed again. He who was redeemed, redeemed again. Indeed it is fitting to speak of a mystery. The Father of all things joined with the virgin who came down, and a fire illuminated him. On that day he revealed the great bridal chamber. Therefore his body came into being. On that day he came out from the bridal chamber like the one who came into being from the bridegroom and the bride. Thus Jesus established everything within himself through these, and it is appropriate for each one of the disciples to walk into his rest. (Gos. Phil. 70.34–71.15)

This is a highly allusive and difficult passage. The setting is Jesus’ baptism, but who are “the virgin who came down and “the father of all things And what exactly is “the great bridal chamber The references to begetting and the use of the phrase “on that day” recalls the widespread early variant reading of Luke 3:22, “today I have begotten thee” (εγω σημερον γεγεννηκα σε),819 a phrase that is not found in the parallel accounts in Matthew or Mark,820 nor in the Gospel of John’s more vague reference to Jesus’ baptism.821

The descent of the Holy Spirit as a dove, however, is referred to in all the gospels, including the Gospel of John,822 and numerous imaginative suggestions based upon a reading of the Gospel of Philip as a “Valentinian” text notwithstanding,823 it makes most sense to understand the Gospel of Philip’s description of a descent of “the virgin” in this context as a reference to the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus at his baptism.824 The description of the Holy Spirit as a virgin also makes sense in light of the Gospel of Philip as a whole. As is explained elsewhere in the text, the Holy Spirit is not only regarded as a female entity,825 but is even described as one of Adam’s two virgin mothers in an important exegesis of Gen 2:7:

Adam came into being from two virgins: from the spirit and from the virgin earth. Therefore Christ was born from a virgin, so that he might rectify the fall that happened in the beginning. (Gos. Phil. 71.16–21)

The designation “the virgin who came down” is therefore a fitting reference to the descent of the Holy Spirit at the Jordan, where Christ receives his second virgin mother so as to render him the perfect parallel to Adam. Just like Adam had the spirit and the virgin earth as his mothers, Christ has the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit. He acquired the latter at his baptism, and all subsequent Christian initiates receive it at their baptismal (or postbaptismal) anointing with chrism.

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