21.1 Placing the Ekenosis
© 2018 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
Ekenosis: The transformation of God by which He becomes part of His creation, that He might be seen and known by all; the means by which God enters into His creation to become visible and tangible in heaven and earth.
Ekenosis: The highway of God – the path God takes to reach His Desire: that all may know Me.
Ekenosis: No man {or angel} has seen God at any time. – He that has seen Me [a man] has seen the Father.
The great issue in the Garden of Eden was the appearance of God. What does God look like? When God shows up inside His creation, what is His form? When you see a created form, how can you identify that bounded form as being God Himself?
Three Parts. What image shows us God? That is the issue, but “image” is just the third part of the Ekenosis.
Ekenosis Part 1. God – invisible and unknowable, all here now and Personal in every place yet unknown. Ekenosis Part 2. Symmorphy – an invisible God inhabiting other persons, Person inside of person. Ekenosis Part 3. Image – the outward appearance, the created form, that is God making Himself known to all.
Here is the strongest statement of the entire Ekenosis in the Bible – These God determined symmorphosed with the image of His Son. God – Symmorphy – Image.
God – Symmorphy – Image. And again. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? …the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me…” (John 14:7-11 – reduced).
God (the Father) – Symmorphy (I am in the Father and the Father in Me) – Image (He who has seen Me). God’s desire – what God WANTS – is to enter His creation as part of His creation, that He might be known by all.
The GREAT Issue. Now, this conversation with Philip took place less than twelve hours before Jesus’ crucifixion. The great issue of that day was – what does God look like? When God appears in His creation, what form does He take? When you see a bounded form, how do you know that form is God Himself showing up? The Jews and the Romans were in 100% agreement, entirely on the same side. – God does NOT look like a man. A human does NOT show us God.
Now, this lesson is “Placing the Ekenosis,” and a later lesson is “Living as the Ekenosis.” In that lesson, I hope to expand on this great issue from the Garden to the Cross to the Throne, especially as it applies to us.
The Word Became Flesh. In this lesson, I am simply placing all these things out together, so we can have a look at them. Paul, the writer of Hebrews, and John were all equally concerned about understanding and expressing this incredible reality – as John stated it. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. “God became a created being, and I and the other disciples touched and visited with this Image and Revelation of God.”
Now, Paul wrote about Christ as a many-membered body in the spring of AD 57. He wrote Romans 8:29, inventing the word “symmorphosed” in the early months of 58. But he did not invent the word “ekenosis” until sometime in 63, with the writer of Hebrews laboring over the same issues in AD 65.
Different Views of the Ekenosis. None of these writers of the gospel “knew” everything of the revelation of God right from the start. They were humans, and their understanding of God making Himself known increased step by step, just as ours. And John did not KNOW any of this until years later. All John knew through the AD 60’s was the earnest, but limited gospel of James.
Paul gave us the mechanics of the ekenosis. The writer of Hebrews expanded that with a number of practical and human considerations (who, in the days of His flesh, when He had…). John, however, is a very different sort of writer and thinker. And thus John gave us the ekenosis inside of story and symbolism. Let’s start with John’s version.
John’s View. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain (John 12:24).
– Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. …And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to shepherd all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was seized into God and into His throne (Revelation 12:1-5 – reduced and partially JSV).
The serpent is directly present in all three of the developments of God entering into His creation as part of the creation. Again, we will place the issue of the serpent’s presence into “Living as the Ekenosis.”
The Mercy Seat. Both Paul and John make it quite clear that the final Ekenosis, God’s permanent “form” inside His creation, is the Body of Christ, the Church, a family of people, many brethren just like Jesus and in fellowship together.
Let me remind you also of that primary symbol in the Old Testament of God’s side of the Ekenosis, one piece of pure gold, beaten and beaten by hammers into the form of the Mercy Seat. It is this very process that John is picturing through two great metaphors, both the reproduction of life – the planting of a seed into the ground and the development of a child in the womb.
The Seed in Me. Annie Schissler, in her visions in the early seventies, was shown God’s side of the final and permanent Ekenosis. Understand that I read this vision when I was around 21 years old. When I read it, it was not something “isolated” coming to me; rather, it was a confirmation of the word that had been preached into me over the prior several months.
Jesus planted His Word of the revelation of Jesus Christ into me first through the preached word, and then He awakened that Seed in me through Annie’s prophetic vision confirming the word preached. And it is this SEED planted in my heart, as the Shepherd placed the seed of love into Much-Afraid’s heart, to which I committed myself while still a boy and which is the spring from which all this precious word flows.
THAT HOLY THING
As I entered His presence, He showed me something so impressive and frightening that I feared greatly. Although He specifically told me not to fear, even so, I could not feel completely at ease, for in almost unbearable pain and in great love, He tore open, as it were, His own spiritual form or body. Even though He had told me to look at it, I feared to and wanted to hide my eyes, for after this great tearing open of Himself I could see within. There I beheld something so terribly perfect in its holiness, that even the word perfection seems to sully it in my memory. This living something was very much a part of Himself, yet it seemed as though He were bringing forth, in a tremendous beginning, a new being from His own person. It was the same beginning in God that He had shown me several days before, in "The Place of a Beginning". For long eons He has waited to manifest this most Holy Thing which He is about to bring forth.
The tremendous, radiant perfection - the holy glory of this beginning that He showed me - was so far beyond expression and so filled with holiness and God-life, that I felt greatly perturbed, and trembled even though He told me over and over again not to fear. It was something too high, holy and perfect to look upon.
When He said, "The hour has now come," it seemed that He was about to explode, not in an explosion of terrible, destructive violence, but rather a pacific explosion. Then He came forth, as it were, in this explosion, and it was tremendously sweet. From this sweet, explosive breaking forth, He extended Himself over all; that is to say, He desired to manifest Himself, pouring this forth upon those of His own ones who were waiting upon Him. To me it seemed so immanent that it appeared to be right now, yet I know it was not at this moment in our time.* Wherever He broke forth in this manifestation it began to extend, and the wonderful glory and ineffable sweetness of that perfect thing that He was bringing forth made such an impact upon my being that it greatly troubled me; because I could in no way understand the vision.
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* Annie saw this vision over 45 years ago, the time is now. – It is from this vision that I draw the phrase, "sharing heart with God.” Here are the words that captured my heart. “Pouring this forth upon those of His own ones who were waiting upon Him.” Do you suppose for one moment that I would be anywhere else than together with these? If this is God making Himself known, how could anyone live anywhere else? – that I cannot comprehend!
Brand New to God. Annie is also giving us God’s side of things, the transformation that must take place inside an invisible and unknowable all-here-now God before He can become part of His creation, the same thing represented to us by the crafting of the Mercy Seat.
Now, let’s think about this. Time cannot describe God Himself, in any way. All of God is always all now. Nonetheless, a huge part of God fitting Himself into His creation is fitting Himself into time. That is something beyond our ability to envision, yet we must accept it to be true. And so, in our own sense of time, God being part of His creation is entirely BRAND NEW to God. God has never experienced being seen and known through a family of people, His Church.
The New Testament Writers. Part of the joy of doing the JSV translating is that I am coming to know firsthand the personality and manner of thinking of each writer of the New Testament with whose words I work. John was very different than the others and from me. I have only a vague understanding of how John saw the world.
The writer of Hebrews was very precise. Yes, he or she reasoned in the same manner that Paul did, BUT, not one phrase in Hebrews is out of place, every single line or concept is carefully chosen to build the one argument. Paul is a disaster. Yes, he builds argument like the writer of Hebrews, but Paul is quick to run down any irrelevant rabbit trail he comes across. And Paul writes to people with whom he has had private conversation, shooting off-the-cuff answers at any number of private questions not in the text.
Bizarre and Extravagant. You see, Paul writes to the Galatians or to the Colossians; writing to “all Christianity” was not in Paul’s mind. On a regular basis, Paul leaps from one thought to an entirely different thought without taking his readers with him. Paul assumes that the reader knows why he is saying this or that, EXCEPT we don’t – not at all. And because so many of Paul’s bizarre bouncing-around comments have no visible context as to why he is saying this or that, Christians have turned things NOT understood into “gospel truth.”
Working through Paul’s opening chapter to the Philippian church, then, leaves me wondering, “Goodness, Paul, what on earth is all this extravagance really for?”
Paul’s Thesis. Paul does not settle down into building a serious argument until he begins what is now Chapter 2.
Paul’s thesis, which he sets forth to the Philippian church has four large parts. First is a description of the mechanics of the Ekenosis through Jesus (2:5-8). Second is the placing of the Energeia of God energeoing all things inside of us that transfers the Ekenosis from Jesus to us (2:13). Third is our knowing of Christ through Symmorphy (3:7-10). And fourth is God made visible through us, His Church, through a Symmorphic transformation (3:21).
Opening Lines. Now, we have already referenced Philippians 2:1-4, but we have not positioned these lines where they fit. Let’s do that now.
Therefore, if there is any encouragement inside of Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of Spirit, if any affections and compassions, fulfill my joy, by being of the same mind, having the same love, being united in soul {sym-psuchos – sharing the same soul}, in the same gut-level thinking. Do nothing according to rivalry or according to empty conceit, but in lowliness of mind, esteem one another as better than themselves {this must be poorly worded for English if we are to keep the reciprocity of “one another”}, each considering not just their own things, but also the things of each other (Philippians 2:1-4 – JSV).
Be Just Like God. Now, Paul might not be conscious of Matthew’s words, here, but the Spirit of God certainly was. “I AM gentle and lowly of heart.” – Inside of lowliness of mind, inside of the same gut-level thinking that is God Himself, esteem one another as better.
And then Paul gives us one of the most incredible BE JUST LIKE GOD commandments in the New Testament. Let this same mind be in you (Philippians 2:5).
My great task is to teach myself, and you as well, to obey this most explicit and direct Bible COMMANDMENT. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Ekenosis.
Let this gut-level manner of thinking {the story you tell yourself about yourself} be inside of you, the exact same gut-level manner of thinking that was inside of Christ Jesus [a Man] {that is, a life-giving Spirit}, who, existing in the form of God {that is, all here now and Personal in us} THINKS [in His gut] {in the essence of His inward story} that being equal in substance with God is not something to be actively held onto. Thus, having willingly taken to Himself the form of a servant, Himself ekenosen {Himself calls forth an invisible God into visibility} and becomes [by the faith of others] the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbles Himself {He acts just like God} …that inside of the name of Jesus, all [sentient beings in creation] {will know God, God made visible} (Philippians 2:5-11 – condensed – JSV).
Placing Family. Jesus is able to call forth an invisible God into visibility BECAUSE that is God’s entire intention and desire. And when God shows up inside His creation as part of His creation, He is, in appearance, a man – Let this same mind BE in you – sharing together the same soul.
Now, we have taught the specifics of the Ekenosis in prior Symmorphy texts. Our purpose here is not to re-teach these things. Rather, our purpose is to place the revelation of God, an Invisible and Almighty Being appearing as He IS inside of and to His creation THROUGH Christian Community, through life together as FAMILY, through regular folks, you and me, loving one another with a pure heart fervently.
Love One Another. In the next lesson, we want to look at how we KNOW the Ekenosis, how God Himself comes into visibility through our knowing of Father as He is.
Jesus stated it this way: This is My commandment, that you love one another in exactly the same way that I have loved you. Let’s say exactly the same thing with slightly different wording. – This is My commandment, that you together BE the revelation of God in exactly the same way that I have shown God to you.
The Ekenosis of God, Father becoming seen and known inside of His creation as part of His creation, is what family life in Christ Community is all about.