“HERETIC” AND “GNOSTIC”

“HERETIC” AND “GNOSTIC”

These are two terms or words that have wrongly been misused and abused by Christians, starting after the last Apostle of Jesus died.

This is a Study on Words, their true meanings versus their misrepresentation.

This study endorses only what Jesus taught His Apostles. 

In other words, all “historical terms” are examined strictly by the original meanings of these two words, and NOT by later doctrinal “labels” of “heretics and gnostics” to discredit and shame fellow Christians.

I fully understand that many who were called Gnostics and heretics, did indeed teach things that did not AGREE with the Scripture.

But at the same time, THOSE who called or LABELED them as heretics and Gnostics, ALSO taught things that CONTRADICTED the Scriptures!

And there were some TRUE Gnostic Christians who held fast to what the Apostles of Jesus taught!

For SIMPLICITY, there were three groups of Christians:

#1. There were Catholics that mixed TRADITION with Scripture that later developed into the Roman Catholic Church!

#2. There were “Carnal” Christians, who converted to Christianity, but were babes in Christ. Some were ever learning but not able to come to the Knowledge of the TRUTH!

See 1 Corinthians 3:1-11 and 2 Timothy 3:1-8.

#3. And then there were the TRUE Gnostic Christians, who had the Spirit of God dwelling in them, according to Romans 8:6-19 and 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

The TRUE Gnostic Christians referred to all other Christians as being CARNAL Christians.

So then, being a TRUE Gnostic Christian is actually a GOOD thing, but the “Carnal” Christians made us out to be the “BAD GUYS’ so to speak.

And this study is to SET the TRUE RECORD STAIGHT and endeavor to DISARM Christians from wrongfully misusing and abusing the terms or LABELS of “Heretics” and “Gnostics” as derogatory terms to try to shame fellow Christians

Brother Mark.

INTRODUCTION

Throughout church history, certain words have been wrongly used as weapons. Two of the most abused are:

• Heretic

• Gnostic

And today, because of their misuse and abuse, these words carry heavy emotional weight. Good sincere Christians are made to FEEL as outcasts, simply because they cannot agree with doctrines that have been made MANDATORY church denominations to be believed.

Yet, the Bible itself is completely SILENT concerning COMMANDING that they MUST be believed in order to be saved.

Rather, words like “heretic” and “Gnostic Christians”  are used to discredit, shame, or silence believers, who hold a different interpretation of Scripture. 

But the original meanings of these words were not negative at all.

This study is being written to RESTORE the true definitions to show how the labels were later weaponized in an attempt to shame Christians who did not hold to what is called “Orthodox” Christianity. 

I want to  explain how early Christians, especially those who did not accept the developing Trinity doctrine, were often misrepresented by these terms.

Please understand that this study does not endorse Gnostic “theology or any FALSE doctrines that contradict the Scriptures. I simply want to clarify the TRUE  meanings of the words themselves and how they were WRONGLY used in the first centuries of Christianity.

And are still being misused to “abuse” fellow Christians in our day.

PART 1 — WHAT STARTED all of the ARGUING?

Sometimes we, as Christians, make things harder than they need to be. But when you strip away all the church politics, all the councils, all the name‑calling, and all the labels, you’re left with something pretty simple!

Most of the time throughout church history, people weren’t arguing about Jesus, they were arguing about definitions.

And at times they were saying pretty much the same things, but in different ways.

Arguing turned into throwing about “LABELS” to discredit the other side.

And once the labels start flying, the truth gets buried under a pile of words nobody ever stops to define.

That’s exactly what happened with “heretic” and “gnostic.”

PART 2 — HOW THE LABEL GAME WORKED

Here’s the pattern you see over and over:

1. A group of Christians reads the Bible one way.

2. Another group reads it differently.

3. Instead of talking it out, somebody slaps a label on the other group.

4. Suddenly the label becomes the argument.

And once you’re labeled, people tend to stop listening simply because someone else “LABELED” you as being a false teacher.

In other words, they do not SEARCH the TRUTH out for themselves.

And that is what happened way back in the fifth century. Christians stopped listening to the TRUE Gnostic Christians simply because the Roman Catholic Church "LABELED" them as “Gnostic Heretics”.

That’s why I’m taking the time to show what these words actually mean.

Not the “Sacre Tactic” versions.

Not the church‑politics versions.

Just the dictionary‑and‑Bible versions.

For you see, once you understand the words, the whole picture changes.

PART 3 — JESUS HIMSELF USED “REVEALED KNOWLEDGE”

Let’s all be honest to ourselves and to Almighty God!

If the word “gnostic” simply means “someone who receives knowledge,” then Jesus Himself fits that definition better than anyone.

Please understand that I am NOT talking about the later “Gnostic religions”  that formed from mixing “paganism” with Christianity.  I’m talking about any of the FALSE teachings mixed with Greek “Philosophy”.

Rather, I’m talking about the literal meaning of the words “Heretic” and “Gnostic”.

Jesus said:

“To YOU it has been given to KNOW the mysteries of the kingdom.”

That is what “Gnosticism” is when defined CORRECTLY

Gnostics simply RECEIVE revealed knowledge for the truthful God, Almighty God the Father.

TRUE Gnostics receive spiritual understanding.

That’s exactly what the word meant before it got hijacked by the name throwers tossing around any and every label to discredit the TEACHINGS of the other side.

We all agree that Jesus wasn’t teaching cosmic myths.

He wasn’t teaching secret passwords to enter into heaven.

He was teaching his God and Father’s truth! 

However, He taught it in a WAY that only those who followed Him would understand.

That’s not heresy. That’s discipleship. That is LEARNING from MATURE Spirit filled Christians who were given the GIFT of teaching by the Holy Spirit.

As I said in the beginning of the study to see, 2 Timothy 3:1-8, let’s take time to do that right now.

2 Timothy 3:1-8.

“This also know, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 

2 Timothy 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 

2 Timothy 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 

2 Timothy 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 

2 Timothy 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 

2 Timothy 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 

2 Timothy 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

2 Timothy 3:8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”

In other words, they were “Carnal” Christians who either did not have God’s Spirit, or they did not listen to the Holy Spirit.

I am not here to JUDGE any Christians in regard to them being truly saved.

I simply present what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me.

And when the Holy Spirit led me to read an article on the debate during the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, and I saw that every Christian believed in the DEITY of Jesus, that came as a surprise to me.

The debate was NOT about whether or not Jesus was DEITY!

Rather, the debate was over WHEN was Jesus DEITY!

In other words, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Son of God was ALWAYS Deity.

But Jesus and the Apostles teach us that the Son of man was MADE and then CRONED with Glory, Honor and Power AFTER the cross and Resurrection.

And the TRUE Gnostic Christians, who taught the SAME things as Jesus and his Apostles were LABELED as being HERETICS just because they refused to accept the man-made doctrine of the Trinity.

PART 4 — THE REAL ISSUE: SPIRITUAL VS. CARNAL DISCERNMENT

Paul said it plainly:

“The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit.”

That’s the whole issue right there.

In other words, some Christians leaned on philosophy.

While other Christians leaned on revelation for the Holy Spirit, also known in the early church as Gnostic Christians.

Not referred to as heretics until all the arguing began. At first, any Christian that did not teach what the Apostles taught were called “Carnal” Christians and “Babes” in Christ.

The word “heretic” is found in Titus 3:10. And the word “hereisies” is found three times in the following verses: 1 Corinthians 11:19, Galatians 5:19, and 2 Peter 2:1.

And in all of those verses, anything that OPPOSED or differed from what the Apostles taught was ‘Heresy”.

But Church TRADITION that was ADDED after the last Apostle died is NOT what Jesus taught his Apostle to teach, which is recorded in the New Testament,

Therefore, any and every Church “TRADITION” that does Not AGREE with what is specifically written in the “Greek Language” of the New Testament is “Heretical” false teaching.

I emphasized what is specifically written in the “Greek Language” of the New Testament, because the English “TRANSLATION” came after the man-made doctrine of the Trinity became the “predominately” accepted belief.

Therefore, the Biblical Unitarian translations were LABELED as heretical BY Trinitarian Christians.

And, as I said before, once a Christians is LABELED as a heretic, that WORD “Heretic” is all it takes to discredit them even when they are teaching EXACTLY what Jesus and his Apostles teach us in the New Testament.

Some Christian are just plain lazy and do not desire to search for the TRUTH for themselves.

And by “lazy” I mean that they ONLY research their OWN side of the debate.

This was also the case in early church history.

Some trusted church councils.

Others trusted Scripture.

Some followed tradition.

Others followed what Jesus taught His apostles.

And instead of admitting the difference, the “philosophy side” started calling the “revelation side” names.

That’s where the labels “heretic” and Gnostic heretics became extremely derogatory.

PART 5 — THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON: WHAT THEY WERE REALLY ARGUING ABOUT

Let me put this in plain English.

At Chalcedon, the big question wasn’t:

“Is Jesus called God or is Jesus Divine, or is Jesus Deity?”

Everybody in the room already believed Jesus was divine in some way.

The real debate was:

WHEN did Jesus become divine?

Two sides:

1. Always‑God View

Jesus was God from eternity and simply took on flesh.

2. Exalted‑Messiah View

Jesus was the human Son of God whom the Father exalted and glorified.

That’s it.

That was the whole fight.

And here’s the part most people don’t know:

The “exalted‑Messiah” view existed long before Arius.

It was held by many early Christians.

And it never disappeared, That false evil spirit of “labeling” Christians is still around today.

A doctrine is not false simply by someone “labeling” it as being false.

No! A false doctrine must be proven to be false by the Scriptures.

If you want to read more about that debate, here are some solid, mainstream places to look:

• Encyclopaedia Britannica — “Council of Chalcedon”

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — “The Trinity”

• Cambridge University Press — The Christological Controversy

• Bart Ehrman — How Jesus Became God (historical, not doctrinal)

• Larry Hurtado — Lord Jesus Christ (early Christian worship)

These aren’t fringe sources.

They’re just historians explaining what actually happened. They give both sides and are not biased toward either side.

PART 6 — WHY I’M EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS

Let me be as clear as I can.

I’m not defending Gnostic theology.

I’m not defending heresy.

I’m not promoting any group or movement.

I’m simply saying:

Words have meanings, and those meanings matter.

If someone calls you a “heretic,” that doesn’t automatically make you wrong.

So, do NOT TAKE Offense, even when offense is intended. You cannot be offended unless you TAKE or RECEIVE it as the intended offense given.

It SIMPLY means you’re in a different school of thought.

If someone calls you a “gnostic,” that doesn’t automatically make you dangerous.

It SIMPLY means that you may understand something they don’t.

Labels don’t determine truth.

Jesus does.

And Jesus taught His apostles, not church councils, not philosophers, not theologians.

Jesus EXPOUNDED the Scriptures to His apostles.

That’s the only teaching I’m interested in, and it’s to ONLY teaching that I explain to my readers of my studies and viewers on my YouTube Channel called Mark At AMatterOfTruth.

PART 7 — BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

So here’s the bottom line:

• “Heretic” originally meant someone with a different viewpoint.

• “Gnostic” originally meant someone who understands or knows.

• Jesus Himself taught in a way that fits the literal meaning of “gnostic.”

• The apostles received revealed knowledge.

• Later on, church leaders “weaponized” these words to silence people.

• The Council of Chalcedon argued about when Jesus became divine! It was not over Jesus being a deity. It was over two questions; Did God BECOME a Man? Or Did a Man BECOME a God under and subject to his God and Creator?

• And none of this changes what Jesus ACTUALLY taught.

If we stick with Jesus and His apostles, we don’t need labels.

We don’t need name‑calling.

We don’t need philosophical gymnastics.

We just need God’s  truth.

And the truth doesn’t need a label either, such as a church denominational NAME.

It just needs to be spoken.

In other words, search out what Jesus and the Apostles CLEARLY teach in the New Testament and TEACH what THEY teach!

CLOSING PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I come to You with a thankful heart.

Thank You for giving us Your Word!

And thank You for giving us the wisdom to slow down, read it for ourselves, and let Your Spirit guide us into truth. 

You know how many labels people throw around, and how easy it is for words to get twisted and used as weapons. 

Help those who are being wrongly treated as outcasts to not take offense. You know the hearts of those who truly want to follow Jesus and learn what He taught His apostles.

So I ask You, Father, to help us keep our eyes on Your Son, as being Your Anointed one. Help take our minds off of man‑made labels, church denominations, and PHD’s from denomination schools. For they all teach doctrines that DIFFER

Help us stay humble, teachable, and willing to grow in Your WORD.

Help us recognize the difference between what people say and what Scripture actually says.

And most of all, help us walk in the kind of revealed understanding that Jesus gave to His disciples to be DOERS of Your word and NOT just hears only.

Help is to not be prideful, not secretive to KEEP what you teach us to ourselves.

Open Your truth to us as You have been doing in these last days. You reveal through Your Spirit that bears witness to Your WRITTEN word.

Guard our hearts from confusion.

Guard our minds from the fear of being misunderstood.

And give us the courage to stand on what is true, even when others don’t see it yet.

Thank You for being patient with us.

Thank You for leading us step by step.

And thank You for the peace that comes from knowing that You are our Heavenly Father, Jesus is our Lord that You made to become Lord after the cross.

You have given us Your Spirit to dwell in us as the One who teaches us.

In the mighty name You gave Jesus after the cross we pray. Amen.

Thanks for reading and as always, May God bless you richly as you continue to seek the Truth of the Whole word of Almighty God.

Brother Mark.

Here is the LINK to the MENU list of **ALL of the studies** that I have on my new website at AMatterOfTruth.

The RED TITLE WITHIN the Studies themselves will take you to my Google Docs page to read the SAME studies on a WHITE BACKGROUND page WITH COLOR HIGHLIGHTING, which is great for STUDYING the Bible!

And the red TITLES with ** the number 0 ** between the double stars are SUBJECT heading MENU lists of LINKS to studies on my website.

Below at the bottom of the page is an explanation of the four colors that I use for highlighting words and phrases.

Also, if you are NOT ABSOLUTELY SURE that you are saved, then please read all the studies under the heading ** E-0 What MUST I Do to be SAVED? **

And if you are a Calvinist Christian, then I implore you to read the studies under the heading ** Cc-0. Is CALVINISM BIBLICAL? **  

Now, if you already know all there is to know concerning being RECONCILED to God or ** What MUST We Do to be SAVED! ** 

And you already know all that you MUST do in order to receive eternal life in the world to come.

And if you already know what NOT to do AFTER you are reconciled to God concerning WHICH Covenant to keep.

In other words, if you already know NOT keep the WORKS of the law contained in ORDINANCES in the commandments under the OLD Covenant that Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross to keep Jesus, our NEW Covenant, as our ** TRUE Sabbath! **

Then there are still many other things yet to learn that will help keep you strong in your faith and help you to continue to grow stronger in your faith and closer to God.

I have studies on the subjects ** G-0. How to PRAY and STUDY the BIBLE! ** and about ** H-0. DIVINE HEALING! ** 

And I have studies on the second coming of Jesus under the heading at the top of the page called ** J-0. PROPHECY the COMING of Jesus! ** 

And I have many studies covering the many false teachings about how to not be deceived by those false teachings.

At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of **ALL the Studies ** I have written on that particular subject. 

Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well. 

But if you know the subject it may be under, then it might be easier to use the links at the top of the page. 

I will do my best to keep the lists of studies updated as I ADD NEW studies in that category.

Please read all the studies linked within this study and all the studies linked below. 

Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 

And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. 

Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands. 

And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels. 

Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels. 

For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here?  Is God at WAR? **.

More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God. 

If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.

For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING! 

And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD! 

At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.

Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well. 

Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. 

And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus. 

And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **

And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! ** 

This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.

Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Brother Mark.

My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. 

So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament. 

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Always be faithful to share, to preach, and to teach the whole gospel of Jesus Christ!

COLOR CODING EXPLANATION of HIGHLIGHTING!

Please notice the studies I write, I have three options, Bible studies on a light blue page background, Bible studies on a white page background, and on my Google Docs page, I have Bible studies on a white page highlighted colors for emphasis, which is great for STUDYING the Bible.

To find my color highlight version of any study, simply click on the RED TITLE.

I basically use FOUR main colors when highlighting in my Bible studies. 

Each of the four colors have a coded representation or meaning. 

Below is a list of the four colors and what each color represents.

#1. The ORANGE highlighting refers to Yahweh, Almighty God the Father as being the ONE TRUE God in ONE person.

#2. The YELLOW highlighting refers to Jesus, the Son of God, DURING the days of his FLESH. 

In other words, the color yellow represents the HUMAN Son of God BEFORE his God and Father highly exalted the Son of MAN, Jesus. 

I also use the color yellow just as an emphasis to draw your attention to key words and phrases.

#3. The BLUE highlighting refers to Jesus AFTER God highly exalted His human Son and CROWNED him with glory and honor to be MADE Lord after the cross and resurrection, according to Acts 2:36.

God made or SET His human Son on His throne as His King and Lord to rule in PEACE over the earth for 1000 years in the world to come. 

The light blue color also represents TRUTH.

#4. The GREEN highlighting refers to FALSE doctrines of devils. 

I use the color green in most cases to draw attention to things that the word of God teaches AGAINST.

In other words, I use the green color to point out things in the Scriptures that do NOT FIT or do NOT AGREE with the man-made church doctrines.  

But in SOME cases, the color green is for emphasis only. 

In other words, when I want words like AND, ALSO, FOR, and THAT to stand out in a phrase that is highlighted in all yellow, then I will also use the green and or blue color just to emphasize a word.

With my color coding being explained, here is a list of LINKS to each of the in-depth Bible studies on that subject. 

For example, here is a link to the SUBJECT heading called ** E-0. WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? ** 

The RED Title of the subject HEADING MENU list of Studies with LINKS will always be placed the between two stars like so, **E-0. Subject Heading Menu List of Studies**. 

I do this to let you know that the RED LINKS will always take you to my Google Docs page to read the studies in the COLOR HIGHLIGHTED format.

Each SUBJECT Heading MENU List of Studies is coded with a LETTER of the alphabet followed by a ZERO.

And then, each study listed under that subject heading will have a number in the ORDER that I suggest them to be read. 

For you see, each study builds or adds more understanding to the previous study above it. 

Thus, learning God’s word is kind of like learning math or arithmetic, you need to learn the BASICS before you can know HOW to solve the more complicated mathematical problems.

Brother Mark At A Matter Of Truth.