Nag Hammadi Library — Codex I, Text 4
The Treatise on the Resurrection (also known as the Letter to Rheginos) is a Valentinian epistle addressing the question of bodily resurrection. The author argues that the spiritual resurrection — the awakening from the "dream" of material existence — is the true resurrection, and that it has already occurred for those who possess gnosis.
This edition reproduces the translation available through the Gnostic Society Library (gnosis.org), based on the critical editions of the Nag Hammadi texts.
My son Rheginos, certain people make it their aim to become very learned, tackling every unsolved issue they can. If they succeed, they become proud. Yet I sense they have not grounded themselves in the Word of Truth. Instead, they search for some rest that we have already received from our Savior and Lord, the Christ. We found true rest the moment we grasped the truth and entrusted ourselves to it.
You have asked a wonderful question about the truth of the resurrection, so I am writing you today to share this understanding. Many do not accept it; only a few discover it. Let us examine it together.
The Lord was in flesh, declaring everything he needed to convey, and when he revealed himself as the Son of God, he spoke freely of nature’s law, which I call death. And more, Rheginos—God’s Son truly became a human son, uniting both his divinity and our humanity. Being the Son of God, he overcame death; being born as a human, he brought the fullness of life. At first, he was above all as the seed of truth before the cosmos took shape. Only then did all sorts of dominions and powers arise within this cosmic order.
I know these matters can sound complicated, yet nothing is too complex within the Word of Truth. When the solution came—so that nothing would remain hidden, and all would be openly revealed—it had two goals: the removal of evil and the unveiling of the chosen. This solution brought forth truth and spirit, and with it came grace poured out by truth.
Our Savior swallowed death, and you must recognize that. He set aside the perishable world and made himself an imperishable realm. He raised himself up, merging the visible with the invisible, granting us immortality. As the messenger Paul said, “We suffered with him, we rose with him, and with him we entered heaven.” Although we appear in this world clothed with earthly life, we shine out from the Savior like rays of light, and he holds us in his arms until the setting of our days—until our departure from this life. Then he draws us heavenward, just as the sun draws its rays; nothing can hold us back. This is the resurrection of the spirit, which eclipses both soul and flesh.
If you are unable to believe, you cannot be convinced by mere words. My son, these things belong to faith, not just logical proof, when it comes to proclaiming that the dead shall rise. Even among the philosophers of this age, perhaps one may come to believe, and thus will also be raised. Yet let not the philosopher imagine he returns to himself by his own intellect or by faith alone. We have known the human Son; we believe that he was raised from among the dead, calling him “the one who destroyed death.” Both the goal and the people of faith are extraordinary. The mind of believers, and of those who truly know, shall not vanish. From the beginning, we were chosen for salvation and redemption; we were never meant to sink into the ignorance of the foolish. We will enter into the wisdom of those who know Truth. Those who have awakened to Truth cannot abandon it. The realm of the Fullness stands firm. Only a small fragment slipped away to form this world. The greater whole—encompassing everything—has no beginning but simply is. Therefore, my son Rheginos, do not doubt the resurrection.
If you did not exist in flesh, yet donned flesh when you entered this world, why should you not bring your flesh with you when you enter the eternal realm? That which gives life is greater than the flesh. What came about because of you—does it not remain yours? Is it not present with you even now? Here in this life, what do you lack? You have tried earnestly to understand.
After bodily birth comes aging, and indeed, there is decay. Yet what you lack here shall become a gain. You do not lose the better part of yourself when you depart. The lesser part suffers but is offered mercy. There is no force redeeming us from the world, but we belong to the entirety and so find our salvation. From beginning to end, we have received salvation. Let us hold this vision and perceive it clearly.
Some wonder whether salvation comes at once when the body passes away. Let there be no doubt. The visible parts of the flesh, which are already dead, will not be saved. Only that which is alive within us shall rise. And what is resurrection if not the unveiling of those who have already risen? Remember, in the Gospel, how Elijah and Moses both appeared. Do not imagine the resurrection is some trick—it is no illusion. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that the world is an illusion when compared to the resurrection won for us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
Hear me now: even those who live will one day die.
Look at the world and see how people live in illusions.
The wealthy lose all they have; kings are cast down from their thrones.
Everything changes; this world is deceptive.
Why do I speak so forcefully?
Because the resurrection is unlike any of this.
It is truth, steadfast and sure.
It is a revelation of what truly exists, a transformation of the old into the new, a passage into freshness.
Eternal life washes over what decays, light pours into darkness and banishes it, and the fullness fills every void.
These are the signs and images of resurrection, proclaiming its goodness.
My dear Rheginos, do not get tangled in trivialities, nor let yourself be ruled by the flesh under the guise of harmony.
Flee from scattered thoughts and bondage— in doing so, you already live in resurrection.
If you understand what within you is destined to die, though you have lived for many years, why not behold your own risen self even now?
You possess resurrection, yet you act as though bound for death, when truly only what must die is fading away.
Why should I bear with your half-formed teaching any longer?
Everyone has a path to escape this fleeting state—indeed, there are many paths— all aimed at restoring one’s original essence.
These words I have received from the boundless kindness of my Lord, Jesus the Christ.
I have shared them with you and your sisters and brothers—my dear children— leaving out nothing that might strengthen you.
If anything here seems difficult to understand, ask me, and I will explain.
Do not hesitate to seek help among your community.
Many are awaiting these words I have sent you.
I pray that peace and grace will rest upon them.
I greet you, and all who love you, with a love that binds us like family.
Colophon
This text is reproduced from translations made available through the Gnostic Society Library (gnosis.org), based on the critical editions of the Coptic Gnostic Library published by E. J. Brill (Leiden). The Nag Hammadi codices were discovered in Upper Egypt in 1945.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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