Epistle of the Apostles

Historical printed page 486

486 EPISTLE OF THE APOSTLES it, we keep it in remembrance and have written it for the whole world. We commend you our sons and our daughters in joy <to the grace of God(?)> in the name of God the Father the Lord of the world, and of Jesus Christ. Let grace be multiplied upon you. 2 We, John, Thomas, Peter, Andrew, James, Philip, Bartholo- mew, Matthew, Nathangel, Judas Zelotes, and Cephas, write unto the churches of the east and the west, of the north and the south, declaring and imparting unto you that which concerneth our Lord Jesus Christ: we do write according as we have seen and heard and touched him, after that he was risen from the dead: and how that he revealed unto us things mighty and wonderful and true. 3 This know we: that our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ is God the Son of God, who was sent of God ! the Lord of the whole world, the maker and creator of it, who is named by all names, and high above all powers, Lord of lords, King of kings, Ruler of rulers, the heavenly one, that sitteth above the cherubim and seraphim at the right hand of the throne of the Father: who by his word made the heavens, and formed the earth and that which is in it, and set bounds to the sea that it should not pass: the deeps also and fountains, that they should spring forth and flow over the earth: the day and the night, the sun and the moon, did he establish, and the stars in the heaven: that did separate the light from the darkness: that called forth hell, and in the twinkling of an eye ordained the rain of the winter, the snow (cloud), the hail, and the ice, and the days in their several seasons: that maketh the earth to quake and again establisheth it: that created man in his own image, after his likeness, and by the fathers of old and the prophets is it declared (or, and spake in parables with the fathers of old and the prophets in verity), of whom the apostles preached, and whom the disciples did touch. In God, the Lord, the Son of God, do we believe, that he is the word become flesh: that of Mary the holy virgin he took a body, begotten of the Holy Ghost, not of the will (lust) of the flesh, but by the will of God: that he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in Bethlehem and made manifest, and grew up and came to ripe age, when also we beheld it. 4. This did our Lord Jesus Christ; who was sent by Joseph and Mary his mother to be taught. [And] when he that taught him said unto him: Say Alpha: then answered he and said: Tell thou me first what is Beta (probably : Tell thou me first what is <Alpha and then will I tell thee what is> Beta. Cf. the Marcosian story quoted by Irenaeus (see above, Gospel of Thomas, p. 15). The story is in our texts of the Gospel of Thomas, and runs through all the Infancy Gospels). This thing which then came to pass is true and of verity. 1 Of the clauses that follow, some it seems should refer to the Father, others certainly to the Son: there is confusion in the text.