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The Sophia of Jesus Christ · 6 of 11
The First-Begotten Androgynous Son
1.Bartholomew then asked him: “How is he named ‘the Human’ and ‘the Son of Man’ in the Gospel? So, which one of them pertains to the Son?”
2.He who is holy said to him, “I desire that you know that the Primal Human who is called ‘the Begetter,’ ‘the Self-Completed Mind,’
3.contemplated with his consort, [Great] Sophia, and manifested his first-‹begotten›, androgynous son.
4.Its male name is called ‘First-Begetting Son of God,’ its female name being ‘First-Begetting Sophia, Mother of the Universe,’ some calling her ‘Love.’
5.Consequently, the first-begotten, who is called ‘Christ,’ created a multitude of countless angels for [service] from [the Spirit and] the Light because he wields authority from his Father.”
6.His disciples said to him: “Christ, instruct us concerning the Father, who is called ‘the Human,’ so that we can also precisely understand his glory.”
7.The perfect Savior said: “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!
8.On account of his origin from light, the first-begetting Father is named ‘Adam, the Eye of Light,’ and his entire kingdom comprises shining light, and his [inexpressible, shadowless] holy angels continually rejoice in gladness over the reflections they obtained from their Father.
9.The kingdom of the Son of Man, who is called ‘Christ,’ is replete with inexpressible and shadowless joy, ‹and› rejoicing that never changes, rejoicing over his indestructible glory, until now unheard and unrevealed in ‹the› aeons and their worlds that originated thereafter.
10.[I] originated [from the self-begotten] and from the primal Infinite Light so that I could instruct you in all these things.”
Asked of Guide
Why does the chapter call the first‑begotten both male and female—‘First‑Begetting Son’ and ‘First‑Begetting Sophia’?
The chapter says the Primal Human “contemplated with his consort, [Great] Sophia, and manifested his first‑begotten, androgynous son,” then gives that being both a male name, ‘First‑Begetting Son of God,’ and a female name, ‘First‑Begetting Sophia, Mother of the Universe.’ This presents the first‑born as a single androgynous principle embodying both paternal and maternal creative powers.
That androgynous identity explains why Christ can found a kingdom of “inexpressible and shadowless joy” and also be called ‘Love’ through Sophia; the figure unites origin and reception, begetting and motherhood, so the divine fullness is both active and receptive. The idea parallels Valentinian and other Gnostic portrayals where divine pairs or syzygies produce a unified, androgynous emanation.
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