11/01/2003            
APrayer
of Jesus
I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise
and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will

YOUR QUESTION (No. 31)
I've read several sayings from the Gospel of Thomas and some are exactly as the other gospels.  I'm not sure of it's authenticity, but would like to know your thoughts on this gospel?


MY ANSWER

What are my thought on the Gospel of Thomas?

Let me begin by simply saying, 'The Word of God consists of what Jesus truly uttered, and what he affirmed from the OT scriptures.  I believe the four NT gospels to be by far the most reliable records of his utterances that have come down to us.  That does not mean they are the only records.  So, in the Gospel of Thomas, when we read an utterance of the Lord that he truly uttered, it is the Word of God no less than his genuine words in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 

How do we tell what is genuine?

The same way we tell that an utterance in the canonical gospels is genuine -- it is consistent with the great body of his teachings and with his actions.  We come to understand these after dwelling, or abiding, or continuing in his Word as he stated and as he promised:
John.8
[31] Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples,
[32] and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
For example, I find this from the Gospel of Thomas to be Truth, and to enrich similar statements from the canonicals:
[99] Those here who do the will of My Father are My brothers and My mother.  It is they who will enter the Kingdom of My Father.
But this is far from Jesus, that he would say He is the 'All:'
[77] It is I who am the light which is above them all.  It is I who am the All.  From Me did the All come forth, and unto Me did the All extend.  Split a piece of wood, and I am there.  Lift up the stone, and you will find Me there.
This would have him identify himself with the whole creation, which seems to be the meaning of "The All" here and in [2].  He did the very opposite, saying,
John.8
[23] You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

This utterance is consistent with the great body of his teaching in all the gospels, and is therefore a genuine utterance.  Do we find one under the stone who is from above?

The Gospel of Thomas, unlike the canonicals, has so many sayings falsely attribute to Jesus that we would be greatly misled if we depended on it and on it alone for Truth.

The canonicals also contain words not uttered by Jesus, but they are relatively few and do not distort the complete image of Him that we receive from the whole.