Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty." (29 Thomas)

The antinomies of spirit and flesh, mind and body, ideal and material have their origin in Greek understandings that are in tension with Jewish tradition and the Jesus we know in the canonical gospels.

Here the Gospel of Thomas betrays its Greek predisposition, but also embraces the "marvel of marvels" that spirit exists to serve the body. God created both spirit and flesh and each are very good.

Spirit and flesh each require attention and care. Neglect of either diminishes the other. Both are great gifts. When used together each is strengthened. When carefully and thoughtfully calibrated one may even be mistaken for the other.

Above is Thomas and the Risen Christ by Peter Paul Reubens. So often Thomas is critiqued for insisting on his need to encounter the physical Jesus. But his confidence that body and spirit would not be separated can also be understood as profound insight.