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GNOSTICISM

The authors of the New Testament used their refutation of Gnosticism as an occasion to clarify Christian doctrine. Examples of this may be seen in Colossians 2:1-9 and 1 John 4:1-3.

The following excerpt from Harper's Bible Dictionary explains the history and basic principles of Gnosticism:

Gnosticism, a generic term for a variety of religious movements of the first centuries of the Christian era. Although the theology, ritual practice, and ethics of these groups differed considerably, all purported to offer salvation from the oppressive bonds of material existence through gnosis, or 'knowledge.' Such knowledge was diverse, although it regularly dealt with the intimate relationship of the self to the transcendent source of all being, and this knowledge was often conveyed by a revealer figure.

What is known about Gnosticism traditionally depended upon reports in the church fathers such as Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Origen, and Epiphanius, who were opponents of Christian Gnostic teachers. Since the eighteenth century, several original Gnostic works have been discovered, including Codex Askew, Codex Bruce, the Berlin Gnostic Codes and, most recently, the Nag Hammadi collection.

The relationship between Gnosticism and early Christianity has been a controversial issue. Against the patristic view that Gnosticism was a Christian heresy begun by Simon Magus, many modern scholars have held that it was originally an independent movement. Earlier expressions of this opinion, which posited at the core of Gnosticism a redeemed-redeemer myth of possible Iranian origin, have proven questionable. Primarily on the basis of the Nag Hammadi evidence, many today hold that Gnosticism first emerged in the late Hellenistic or early Imperial period among speculative and syncretistic Jews.

Despite its suppression by ecclesiastical authorities in the third and fourth centuries, Gnosticism continued in the guise of Manichaeism and Mandaeism and in various medieval speculative movements. See also Gospel of Thomas, The; Nag Hammadi; Simon Magus. (Page 349, Harper's Bible Dictionary)

Because many false teachers including Gnostics viewed matter as evil and spirit as good, they rejected the Apostles' teaching that Jesus Christ was God in human form. That is why Paul's teaching on Christ to the church at Colossi is so decisive—"For in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:8). A similar correction to false teaching can be seen in John's first letter—" Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God" (1 John 4:2-3). It is interesting to note that major affirmations about the Person and Work of Christ gained consensus very early in church history.