The Da
Vinci Code In last week’s bulletin, we reviewed some of the distinct features of The Da Vinci Code. Today I want to focus on Gnosticism, from which some of the myths in The Da Vinci Code originated. Gnosticism In the first century, Gnostics began mixing their man-made religious doctrines with the doctrine of Christ. They taught that salvation came through an occult knowledge only available to Gnostics. (The English word “Gnostic” is from the Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge.) Gnostic Gospels of Philip and Mary Magdalene In The Da Vinci Code, myths from the gospels of Philip and Mary Magdalene are employed. Namely, that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had at least one child, allegedly resulting on a royal bloodline on earth that continues to this day. And, that Jesus intended for Mary Magdalene to be the leader of His church, not the apostles. Today, we must decide whether to believe God’s word or Gnostic gospels. Gnostic Gospels Cannot Be God’s Word First, we know the Gnostic gospels are not God’s word because none of them were written before the late second century. The Gnostic gospels were written by people pretending to be an apostle or someone else living while Christ walked the earth. They are fake gospels. Secondly, God promises that His word will live forever (1 Pet. 1:24-25). Since the Gnostic gospels were lost for hundreds and hundreds of years, they cannot be God’s word. They were dead gospels, lost in Egypt for many hundreds of years; they are not the living word of God. The Apostles Fought Gnostic Doctrines John: Jesus Came in the Flesh The apostle John also tells us that anyone who does not confess that Jesus came in the flesh is an antichrist (1 Jn. 4:2-3; 2 Jn. 1:7). Antichrists do not abide in the teaching of Christ, and do not have God (2 Jn. 1:9). Paul: Jesus is the Pleroma Paul tells us that Jesus was the pleroma (fullness of God) in bodily form, saying, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9). The Gnostics believed Jesus was an intermediary being sent from the pleroma, who did not come in the flesh. They try to make Jesus into a hired servant rather than acknowledge His deity. Paul refutes their doctrine, giving Jesus the honor He deserves (Col. 2:9-10):
To take this one step further, Paul tells us that the church (Christ’s body) is the pleroma (fullness of God). He says, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:22-23). Then to take this another step, Paul tells us that Jesus is the Savior of the body, which is His church. He says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23). As members of Christ’s body we are in the pleroma, and saved. To summarize, Paul refutes Gnostic doctrines by setting forth these truths:
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