Is the Gospel of Philip in the Bible?
No. It is a Gnostic text from the Nag Hammadi library and is not part of any Bible or Christian canon.
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The Gospel of Philip — Free PDF Study Guide
A careful, sober introduction to the Gospel of Philip — a third-century Valentinian collection discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945 and made famous by novels that quote one damaged sentence about Mary Magdalene. This free guide explains what the Coptic manuscript actually preserves, where the holes in the papyrus fall, what Valentinian Gnosticism taught, and why the early church never treated this book as apostolic.
An original Bible Sundays study companion. The Gospel of Philip is a Gnostic text, not Scripture, and appears in no Bible. It is presented here for informed study alongside the King James Version.
What you get
Nag Hammadi Codex II and the 1945 discovery in Upper Egypt
Why it is a collection of sayings and reflections, not a narrative gospel
The Mary Magdalene passage — and the literal holes in the papyrus
Valentinian sacramental teaching: the bridal chamber and the five seals
Where its view of resurrection and matter contradicts 1 Corinthians 15
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What is the Gospel of Philip?
The Gospel of Philip is not a gospel in the ordinary sense. It contains no birth narrative, no ministry, no passion, and no resurrection account. It is an anthology of roughly a hundred short units — sayings, analogies, sacramental instruction, and etymological wordplay — gathered in a Valentinian Christian setting, probably in Syria in the third century. The only complete copy is a Coptic translation in Codex II of the Nag Hammadi library, buried in a sealed jar near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt and unearthed by farmers in December 1945.
The Mary Magdalene passage, honestly read
One passage says that three women always walked with the Lord, and that Mary Magdalene was his koinonos — a Greek loan word meaning companion, partner, or associate, used in the New Testament for business partners and fellow workers. A later passage says the Saviour loved Mary more than the other disciples and used to kiss her often on the — and here the papyrus is damaged, with the word missing. Some editions supply 'mouth', others 'cheek' or 'forehead'; the manuscript itself does not say. In Valentinian usage the kiss is a symbol of the reception of spiritual truth, and the surrounding text is about conception by a kiss of the word. Nothing in the document asserts a marriage.
What Valentinian Gnosticism taught
Valentinians held that the material world was produced by an inferior power, that a divine spark is trapped in some human beings, and that salvation comes through gnosis — secret knowledge — rather than through the atoning death and bodily resurrection of Christ. Philip's talk of the bridal chamber, the five sacraments, and the union of the self with its angelic counterpart belongs to that system. This is why the text is incompatible with the apostolic faith rather than merely supplementary to it: Paul stakes everything on a bodily resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, while John 1:14 insists the Word became flesh.
Why it is not Scripture
The book claims no apostolic author in its own text; the title 'according to Philip' appears only as a scribal subscript, and Philip is mentioned once inside it. It is far too late for apostolic authorship, it was unknown to the churches that received the four Gospels, and its theology was answered directly by Irenaeus and Tertullian in the second and third centuries. Read it to understand what the church contended against, as Jude 1:3 commands, and read the four Gospels to know what it contended for.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Gospel of Philip say Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene?
No. It calls her his koinonos — companion or partner — and says he often kissed her, but the word naming where is lost in a hole in the papyrus. No passage states a marriage.
Who wrote the Gospel of Philip?
An unknown Valentinian Christian compiler, probably in Syria in the third century. The attribution to the apostle Philip is a later scribal title.
When was the Gospel of Philip found?
In December 1945, in a sealed jar near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt, as part of Codex II of a thirteen-codex Coptic library.
What is the bridal chamber in the Gospel of Philip?
A Valentinian sacrament or symbol of the soul's union with its heavenly counterpart. It is a Gnostic concept with no basis in the New Testament.
Why was the Gospel of Philip rejected?
Because of its late date, its lack of apostolic origin, and its Gnostic teaching that salvation comes through secret knowledge rather than through the death and bodily resurrection of Christ.
Should Christians read the Gospel of Philip?
Only with discernment, as a historical window into second- and third-century Gnosticism. It is not Scripture and cannot be used to establish doctrine.
Can I share this study guide?
Yes. This Bible Sundays study guide is free to share for any personal, ministry, or educational purpose.
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Every name below appears in the King James Bible. Each page gives the meaning, the verse it appears in, and who carried it in Scripture.
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- JuniperEvergreen; Young
- LeahWeary
- LeviJoined or attached
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