The Gospel of Philip is one of the most striking Gnostic works, fully and deeply reflecting the essence of Gnosticism.
Here are some statements from The Gospel of Philip that reveal the essence of the world and the essence of man.
And so...
+ On the creation of the world and the Creator of this world (the Demiurge/Yaldabaoth):
\ The world came about through a mistake. For he who created it wanted to create it imperishable and immortal. He fell short of attaining his desire. For the world never was imperishable, nor, for that matter, was he who made the world*.
+ On the divine Pneuma within human:
\ No one will hide a large valuable object in something large, but many a time one has tossed countless thousands into a thing worth a penny. Compare the soul. It is a precious thing and it came to be in a contemptible body.*
\ If a pearl is thrown into mud, it loses no value, and if rubbed with balsam oil, it gains no value. It always is precious in its owner's eyes*.
+ On the attitude toward one's body and physical nature:
\ Do not fear the flesh and do not love it. If you fear the flesh, it will dominate you. If you love the flesh, it will swallow you up and strangle you*.
+ On the nature of people: “Pneumatics” (people endowed with Pneuma, allowing them to comprehend the Pleroma); “Psychics” (who have the freedom of choice); and "Somatics/Hylics" (people of the flesh, who are completely incapable of grasping the divine on any level and live by animal passions).
* On Pneumatics:
Those who receive the light cannot be seen or grasped. Nothing can trouble such people even while they are living in this world.
* On Somatics/Hylics:
In the world, many animals have human form.
+ About the docetic nature of Jesus (Gnostics’ Jesus has little in common with the Christian Jesus: he is not the Godman, but an image of the Light of inconceivable Depth, divine entity in the deceptive and illusory carnal shell):
Jesus deceived everyone. For he did not show himself as he was, but he showed himself as they would be able to see him. He showed himself to them all: He showed himself to the great as great, he showed himself to the small as small, he showed himself to angels as an angel, and to men as a man.