Selections from the Gnostic Nag Hammadi Library: The Secret Book of James – The Savior Appears

Today we are pleased to present selections from “The Secret Book of James,” translated by Mark M. Mattison, which details The secret teachings which Lord Jesus Christ (vegetarian) gave to James the Just (vegetarian), His brother, and the Apostle Peter (vegetarian) After His resurrection.

Being Filled “[…] Then Peter replied, ‘Three times you’ve told us to be [full, but] we are full.’ In [response the Savior] said, ‘That’s why I [told] you [“be full”] – so that you won’t [be lacking. Those who are lacking] won’t [be saved]. It’s good to be full [and] bad [to be lacking]. […]”

The Cross and Death“In response I told Him, ‘Lord, we can obey You if You want us to, because we’ve abandoned our fathers, our mothers, and our villages, and have followed You. So help us not to be tempted by the devil, the evil one.’

In response the Lord said, ‘What good is it to you if you do the will of the Father, and He doesn’t give it to you as a gift when you’re tempted by Satan? But if you’re oppressed by Satan and persecuted and do God’s will, I [say] that He’ll love you, make you my equal, and regard [you] as having become beloved through his forethought by your own choice. So won’t you stop loving the flesh and being afraid of sufferings? Or don’t you know that you haven’t yet been abused, unjustly accused, locked up in prison, illegally condemned, crucified by reason, nor buried in thes and as I myself was by the evil one? Do you dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the Spirit is a surrounding wall? If you consider how long the world existed you, and how long it will exist after you, you’ll find that your life is a single day and your sufferings a single hour. For the good won’t come into the world. So scorn death and take thought for life! Remember my cross and my death, and you’ll live!” But in response I told Him, “Lord, don’t teach us about the cross and death, because they’re far from You.’

In response the Lord said, ‘Truly I tell you, no one will be saved unless they [believe] in my cross, [because] the kingdom of God belongs to those who’ve believed in my cross. So become those who seek death, like the dead who seek life; because what they seek is revealed to them. So what do they have to worry about? When you turn to the subject of death, it will teach you about election. Truly I tell you, no one who’s afraid of death will be saved, because the kingdom of belongs to those who are put to death. Become better than I; be like the child of the Holy Spirit.’”