Gospel of Thomas: Thomas 70

Thomas 70:   Jesus said, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you.”

This is a revealing metaphor about the true nature of what we are and of the way we come to life—the life that Yeshua defines, not the one defined by this outer, material layer. When we are asked to bring forth what is within us, we are asked to search for the thing we cannot point to. One cannot point to the self, since everything one might think of pointing to is a spot on the body. That spot, or part of the body, is not you. The soul is the thing we cannot point to. The body is a reflection, which changes as it decays. An enlightened Spirit does not decay—it grows. The thing animating the flesh, inside every cell of the body, grows in experience and wisdom—it is the soul. Yeshua would have spoken to His contemporaries with reference to their bodies, because this is what they believed to be their identity. When Yeshua said, ‘bring forth what is within you’, it was a challenge to Yeshua’s contemporaries to consider something other than the body, as the self. 

The second part of the saying refers to the processes humans go through when the soul is reabsorbed into the whole. Without the connection to the Source, through the collective consciousness (Holy Spirit), death leaves the soul lost, searching for a place to be. This energy, which was the soul, is reabsorbed into the material world, as that is all it knows. The thing that has killed the person, in this instance, is the lack of knowledge and acceptance of the true self. This results in the lack of connection to the Father/Source. These souls are perpetually new, the previous identity is scattered and lost, absorbed into the whole—the Source. This is why Yeshua states in previous sayings that those who are lacking taste death; those who are filled with Light live.

People who believe in reincarnation might find this premise difficult to accept. These people have to admit that there are very few examples of people who know of their past life with clarity and conviction. Their recollection is usually fragmented and clouded. This indicates that the death of the self is certain if the connection with the Source is not realised during physical existence.  We might also consider, how is it that there are more humans on the planet Earth now than ever before—were they all reincarnated, or are they fragments of something else? It would seem there are countless souls, which are sparks from the eternal source, and each has the potential of self-realisation—to live. In countries like India there are numerous examples of children who remember a past life, to the point where they are able to identify where they lived and previous family members. This demonstrates how belief systems impact how a soul perceives existence. If a soul becomes convinced that a place on earth is its domain then it will be bound to it. Perhaps this place on earth offers these souls more potential for growth, perhaps they only know this place. Whatever the case may be, we recognise that every human soul has choice through knowledge and understanding.

Consider how clairvoyants who claim to speak with ghosts of the dead cannot have a conversation with a murder victim, leading to the capture of their murderer. Psychics are tapping into the Light of the Source, because they have a stronger awareness of their own soul’s connection with this Light. They are receiving images and feelings from the living person, who desperately wants to communicate with their departed loved one. This is not to say that ghosts do not exist, but the identity of a soul fades away and is eventually reabsorbed.  Psychics can also gather information from the environment around them, since they are connected to the Source and this Light flows through all things. This is reinforced when Yeshua tells us the thing that He is, is in all things (Thomas 77). This knowledge should bring us out of our complacent beliefs, which arise from books and movies depicting troubled ghosts resolving their issues and ‘crossing over.’ This becomes a rather romanticised presentation of what happens to souls—they are so disturbed by this life they need to resolve something. This is what Jesus means when He asks us to hate our father and mother in Thomas 55. If people are tied to this world and all its primal instincts and obligations, then they are veiled from seeing the truth and they cannot bring out what is within them. People cannot become the perfect human if they are attached to this life. They need to accept it for what it is and be passersby (Thomas 42).

Gospel of Thomas on The Eucharist 

77th Pearl: The Perpetual Tree – audio extracts from the book on Youtube