Thanks for the response.

Despite what you say, I consider the Thomas gospel to be Gnostic. It is included in anthologies of Gnostic scriptures, and was found amongst other so-called Gnostic documents at Nag Hammadi. It may not explain a way of achieving true Gnosis (if that is what the three texts you mention are doing), but it is in the same tradition of Jesus saying that his true teachings are for the apostles only, and that he speaks in parables so that the public will not understand. Thus in Thomas we find parables even more cryptic and esoteric than those in the canonical gospels. Only those who have ears to hear (thus those with a Gnostic frame of mind) will understand them.

If Jesus is considered in any sense to be the 'Son' of God, then this suggests that he was subservient to the Father, thus not the ultimate source, in line with Justin Martyr's thinking.

Regarding the possibility that Jesus was a person turned into a god, that makes sense according to one line of thinking, called astrotheology (although this word seems to have two different definitions). It has been noted that the gospel stories have correspondences with the movement of the sun through the zodiac (authors Acharya S, and Bill Darlison – who focusses on Mark). Acharya S concludes that the gospels are nothing but the story of the sun god. She doesn't seem to realise, however, that the spiritual journey of the esoteric initiate in his/her search for divinity is associated astrologically with the movement of the sun through the zodiac. That is why there are 12 labours of Hercules, one for each house of the zodiac. According to some versions, having completed the labours and achieved immortality he takes his place in the heavens. Is it possible that the gospel story is something similar?