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Gnosticism

The words “Gnosticism” and “Gnostics” were made from the Greek word for “knowledge.” Gnostics think physical things are evil. They think only spiritual things are good. They want to leave the physical world and enter the spiritual world. They think a person can only leave the physical world by learning a secret knowledge. They think only a few people will learn this secret knowledge. The words “Gnosticism” and “Gnostics” are not used in the Bible.

See: Spirit (Spiritual)

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Many people believed in Gnosticism about 200 years after Jesus returned to heaven. Gnostics wrote books to teach people what they believed. Sometimes they said the book was written by a person written about in the Bible. Examples of these books are books called “The Gospel of Thomas” and “The Gospel of Philip.” Gnostics wrote these books many years after the apostles died.

In the New Testament there are a few verses where the writers corrected false teachings. These false teachings are similar to what Gnostics taught. For example, John taught against those who believed Jesus did not really become a human (see: 1 John 1:1-4; 4:2-3). This was likely a Gnostic teaching. Gnostics believed that anything physical is evil. Therefore, they believed Jesus could not have a physical body.

Other verses where the writers seem to be teaching against Gnostic beliefs include Colossians 2:8, 20-23; 1 Timothy 6:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:12, 18-19; Jude 1:4, 8, 11, 19; Revelation 2:15, 24.

See: Heaven; Ancient Writings; Apostle