21.3 Symmorphosed with His Body
© 2017 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
When God as He IS shows up in His creation to be seen and known by all, He appears as one thing only, a family of humans walking together in love. He that has seen Me has seen the Father. – Christ is a many-membered body. Humans together are the appearance of God.
We are talking about “image,” that is, God made visible. Remember our analysis, in Symmorphy III: Kingdom, of how a computer operates. I am using my computer now. I have NO thought of either the power or the code working inside the computer. My only concern is the image appearing on the screen.
The Image. It is by the image on my screen that I am formulating this communication to you. Yet, even though I have no thought for either power or code, I am fully aware that I would have no image with which to work if they were not in full and continuous operation together.
And thus we see that, even though image seems to come last, after the other four BIG words, pro-thesis and pro-knowing, pro-determined and symmorphosed, image is what everything is all about. Thus the next course, Symmorphy V: Life, is all about image, God’s appearance, a family of people walking together in love. And notice that I am working together with the image in the generation of my words to you.
Working with Image. Working together with the image on my computer screen to formulate my words to you is simply the most fun thing I have ever done in my life. Father, working together inside of us as His image, generating His knowledge through us in every direction, is simply the most fun thing God has ever thought to do.
Yet, this course is Covenant, and thus we want to base all that we are, think, and do entirely on the foundation of Spirit Word by which we live. If a family of humans walking together in love IS the appearance of God inside His creation, we want to KNOW the Word by which such a reality is generated. We stand firm on no other foundation.
The New King James’ Version. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself (Philippians 3:20-21).
This is the New King James’ interpretation of what Paul wrote. Yet these particular English words are chosen out from an ignorance of Paul’s gospel of Christ now our only life and inside a definition of God seen through the lens of the serpent. Before attempting our own translation/paraphrase of the Greek, we must include another verse after looking at the Greek word analysis.
From Whom. After looking through the Greek word analysis, consider this verse. We will draw from these words to formulate our paraphrase of Philippians 3:20-21.
But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:15-16).
It is clear that Paul understands Christ to be personal and real inside of His Body, which is the Church – note the words “from Whom.” Thus I submit that this body in Ephesians 4:16 and the glorious body of Philippians 3:21 ARE the same body.
His Glorious Body. There is one body and one Spirit (Ephesians 4:4). Jesus has only one body/spirit form, and that is the Church. Philippians 3:20-21 modified by the Greek and paraphrased (in parenthesis) to Christ our only life.
Our citizenship (our inclusion in God’s ecosystem) exists right now active in the heavens (in the realms of spirit), out from which we (continuously and) eagerly welcome our Savior (and Life), the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the outer appearance of our lowly (individual) physical bodies, symmorphosed with (sharing the same form with) His (entire) glorious Body (the Church), down to the finest details of the energeia (the mighty continuous and swirling action) of His ability to cause ALL (by symmorphy) to be subject to Himself.
Our Present Reality. Now if that ain’t something to make us grab one another arm across arm dancing together in a mighty circle in all hilarious joy, I don’t know what is.
The ONLY thing future in this mighty declaration of our present symmorphy together is the change of the outer appearance of our individual physical bodies. Everything else is our present reality now – by the Greek words.
Notice that I am again using the word form “symmorphosed with.” You see, “symmorphic” is the adjective form of symmorphy, but “symmorphosed with” is also an adjective, that is, a verbal, a verb form used as an adjective, and thus more active in its representation. Both adjective forms are fully useful to us.
Bedrock Assumption. Paul’s final assumption is actually the bedrock from which we must start. His ability to cause ALL (by symmorphy) to be subject to Himself.
There are three ways by which all things could be subject to Jesus. The first is by human action (strange fire), you and I, out from our own capacity (which we don’t have), making Jesus “Lord” by our performance (which we never do). Now, even though this is how most Christians define “being subject to Jesus,” they KNOW they don’t, so they do a fall-back on the second definition. “When Jesus comes back” He will FORCE (by violence) everyone to do exactly what He says.
Symmorphy. But few ever consider the third possibility – that all things are, in fact, right now, in all ways, entirely and only subject to Jesus. That all things are proceeding in every moment out from the good speaking of Jesus, and that Jesus with Father sees all things good and by Their seeing are bending every action meant for evil into the result of unending goodness.
The only way Jesus can be Lord right now is symmorphy, that is by carrying all creation inside Himself all the way through death and into life. IN HIM all things consist (are commended) (Colossians 1:17). Symmorphy is, most certainly, a mystery. Yet our Savior is quite capable of being what He is.
Eagerly Welcome. Having embraced the only real meaning of His ability to cause ALL (by symmorphy) to be subject to Himself, we now look back at the third most important word in this passage – apekdechomai, translated by most as “eagerly waiting” for a far-away Jesus someday. Certainly, the concept of waiting (being braided together with) is inside the Greek word, but so is the concept of “welcoming now.”
It is entirely legitimate to translate ek apekdechomai as out from which we (continuously and) eagerly welcome our Savior (and Life). The choice of interpretation is ours. And thus we see that “out of the heavens” is the recognition that Jesus exists now and forever as a Human Life-giving Spirit, all here now and Personal in each one of us.
Energeia. With this understanding, we see that “symmorphosed with” does not refer to our individual physical bodies in the resurrection to be merged together in the same form, but rather, that this life-giving Spirit, Jesus our Savior, is symmorphosed with His entire glorious Body, the Church. It is the resurrection of our lowly bodies, transformed, that reveals to all creation what is always and already true.
And so the word “energeia” - down to the finest details of the energeia, the fire, the alternating current that Jesus is, connecting us with Father’s Person by every Word that He is, is placed here by Paul as the cause of all symmorphy. Here, then, is the foundation of the Covenant that causes the Body of Christ to be the Image, the appearance of Father – Fire.
Connecting Fire. Jesus lives in my heart; Fire lives in my heart, not consuming fire, but connecting fire, the Power of Spirit Word. I am filled with Jesus; I am filled with God-Fire.
BUT – then we look again at Paul’s incredible statement of this same Fire now in us, yet working out from each one of us to cause us together to be all the Body of God. Speaking the truth (Christ is all there is in you) in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head— Christ—out from whom the whole body (Jesus’ only physical body), joined and knit together by what every joint (you and I) supplies (gives to one another), according to the effective FIRE by which every part (you and I) does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
We Are that Fire. This is the work of God – to believe in Jesus (John 6). – For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).
As we are that Fire, Christ as us, we send forth that same fire (the working by which every part does its share) from one to the other, Fire receiving Fire from Fire, and by so doing we are all drinking of one Spirit. You see, it’s God who mixes the metaphors, for this same Holy Spirit in whom we live, in one place is called Water into which we drink and in another place is called Fire in which we are immersed – the Spirit of Life.
The Rock of the Covenant. I am fully confident, now, that we possess the full rock of the Covenant upon which we can go forward, not just in study, but in all the reality of full expression – that Communities of Christ are forever the Body of God. Family, living life together, loving one another with a pure heart fervently.
Jesus does not live as each one of us only, but He is fully symmorphosed within and among His entire Body, the family of God. This reality is present in all fulness right now. We know it is true as we practice seeing one another with eyes of Fire, speaking the truth, Jesus Himself, into one another in love.
Of His Same Kind. But let’s pull all this back into Paul’s use of the word “image” in Romans 8:29. For whom He pro-knows, He also pro-determines them symmorphosed with the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The image, the outward appearance of Jesus is the revelation of Father on the one hand and you and me together on the other. This is why Jesus must be the first One of our Kind. For just as He is that Fire, coming as Spirit Word into each one of us, so we also speak that same Fire into one another – you together are the image, the revelation of Father.
The Image of God. Here is the disconcerting, but glorious truth concerning these my brethren living now in Christian community to whom I have referred in these recent letters. They ARE already, in all ways, in every aspect of their lives, the very Face of Jesus Christ. They already are living only in Jesus. They already are without fault inside the throne of God.
When I see them, I see Jesus, entirely as He is. And, with all the longing of my heart, I would that they also see and know what I see and know.
They are, in all of their life together, in every circumstance and expression, in every moment, in all the ups and the downs, the ins and the outs, HUMANS together – the very image and likeness of God.