Perichoresis is probably the most important word dealing with your relationship with Christ that is not found in the Bible; however, the concept is. Perichoresis is defined as “mutual indwelling.” Jesus prayed for this mutual intimacy:
"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (John 17:21-23 KJV).
When Jesus (divine) was incarnated in the flesh (human), He synthesized the two natures into a mutual incarnational dwelling of God and Man. Jesus desired to incarnate Himself in human flesh in order that He may participate in our human experience, all so that He could make atonement for our sins. Consider the following verse:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize [sumpatheo] with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."
Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)
The Greek word sumpatheo is our English word for sympathy; it is a compound word combining sum (together) and pathos (passion). Jesus not only entered into our experience as a human by sympathizing with our weaknesses, but He was a victor over sin in our behalf.
But the beauty is that God Himself, in Christ, incarnates Himself in fallen human flesh everyday — through us. Because of this amazing mystery, we become part of His body. His desire for us is to be a functional harmonious body in total unity with Him as the head. Such was why Paul reprimanded the Corinthians because of their sexual immorality, further explaining that our bodies are to be members (parts) of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:15). Therefore, we need to glorify God in our bodies (as members of God’s body), so that God is ultimately glorified in His body. Such is why each of the individual members must be pure and holy, so that the body is pure, holy, and wholly functional.
The transformation of the body occurs when the members of the body are “not conformed to this age, but rather transformed by the renewing of their minds” (Romans 12:2). Paul desired to show how important it is that this fact become our reality by telling us that our bodies are a temple (Greek: naos) — an actual dwelling place for God! Developing a daily habit of giving permission to allow Christ to come into you enables this incarnation process to take place. The whole body of Christ suffers if individual members do not allow this incarnation to take place (1 Corinthians 12:26). Only those who have allowed Christ to mutually indwell and incarnate Himself into their lives will have the privilege of displaying the true body of Christ to the world.
We can read the gospels to see what effect the incarnation had on the world. Christ setup a moral counterculture (i.e., love your enemies, serve your enemies, pray for your enemies, etc.). Even though nearly all the Judaic culture of His day misunderstood His purposes, Jesus’ social counterculture exceeded social boundaries, gender boundaries, and class boundaries (Galatians 3:28). Especially the lower caste cultures (i.e., prostitutes, beggars, lepers, etc.) followed Him. Even among the disciples, Simon the zealot would have sought to kill Matthew the tax collector, had not Jesus transformed their hearts.
Christ desires to incarnate Himself into us, His purchased dwelling place (temple) for God. God Himself desires to walk in us and talk in us, as Paul said, “in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28 NASB). Thus God aspires to have us baptized into one body through His perichoresis (mutual indwelling); not many bodies, but one body in Christ. Individually and collectively, we become the body of Christ. We become a giant reflection of Jesus on this earth, which people can and will see. As much as God desires for each individual to be incarnated with Him, when we align ourselves with His body (other members), we collectively become an incarnated giant Jesus, so that then all may see the world “made bright with his glory [character]” (Revelation 18:1 ESV).
God shall be put on display for all to behold, individually and collectively. It will be said one day that “to know my body is to know Me.” Our relationship with Christ should transform us in order to show Christ to the world. The world will be either attracted to Christ in us, or hate us for making them appear guilty to their own consciences (John 3:19-21). Jesus warned us not to be surprised when such virulent hatred comes to pass (Matthew 5:11-12). Jesus said that some will even kill you, thinking that getting rid of you is worshiping God (John 16:2).
We need to ask ourselves the following questions:
- Being part of His body, do we correctly represent Christ?
- Have we put on Christ (Romans 13:14; Galatians 3:27)?
- Do we have this perichoresis, the mutual indwelling of Christ in us and us in Christ, of which Jesus spoke (John 17)?
If we are His body and are ambassadors for Him (2 Corinthians 5:20), then we are ontologically (the very essence or nature of our being), in a mysterious way (Colossians 1:27), part of His incarnation. Christ’s whole purpose for the world is to incarnate Himself within human beings, in order that He may be glorified through His character in us.
However, it seems that the body is paralyzed. In order to meet the world’s needs, the body must first receive the perichoresis. Only then can we fulfill His purposes for us, when God’s light arises upon His people in order to lighten the world with His glory (Isaiah 60:1-3). And when we truly become His body, only then will the worlds’ needs (not wants) be met. When God mutually indwells Himself in us, then it is Christ in us that feeds the poor, heals people’s emotional needs, and takes care of orphans and widows. It will be said someday that “to see me is to see Christ in me.” He became our story, so that now we have the privilege to become His story. The center of our call must be to be in incarnated with Him, in order that His incarnational ministry might be complete (John 4:34). Then, when we sympathize (sympathos) toward others, it will be Christ in us that sympathizes with them.
Call to Remember
Because Christ was touched with the feelings of our weaknesses, when Christ is incarnated in us, we will be able to be touched with the feelings of other weakness. Rather than pointing fingers at others in order to make ourselves feel better or more righteous, we will suspend judgment by walking in Kingdom awareness of others’ needs. We will stop eating from the tree of good and evil, and cease to become gods in our own eyes, as Satan deceived Eve. The incarnational reality is that the Spirit works in the body to deliver whatever the need. Such is how the Kingdom works, being under the dome (domain) of the King; where their problem becomes our problem, their story our story. Individually, we are God’s temple (dwelling place) and collectively we are His body.
Blessings!
