As I have pointed out to you before, Paul and Jesus were essentially Gnostics, although the Christian Gnosticism may not have been named as such until a bit later.
Gnostics were suppressed by the early church, because they had no need of priests or church authorities.
Jesus spoke directly to the topic, right in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount, when he said: “...if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Matthew 6:22 KJV)
“Single” means the spiritual eye and the physical senses are in accord. It is describing the direct experience of God, something to which we are all entitled by the grace of God, who made us His children.
This is the greatest treasure. It is salvation. It is what I believe Jesus was referring to when he said: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” (Matthew 13:44 KJV)
The first ideological statement of Gnosticism was spoken by Satan in the Garden (Genesis 3: 4-5)
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“you will be like (equal to) God.”
Must have missed it the first time. but the stupidity of the idea that the Son of God and he Apostle He called would be heretics is Bidenesque of the first order.