INNER CIRCLE: Christ Revealed In Us

“The Logos is the secret of all. Some who know themselves have known it.” (The Gospel of Philip v.24-26)

The Apostle Paul uses similar language in one of his earliest epistles when he speaks of the connection between baptism [immersion] and “putting on Christ”:

“…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

These are metaphorical ways of speaking about the transformation that takes place whenever we recognize the Christ that is revealed in us, as Paul says earlier in the same letter to the Galatians:

“But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…” (Gal. 1:15-16, emphasis mine)

In other words, Christ is revealed in us because Christ is already alive within everyone. What we need is to have the Christ in us revealed, and the sacrament of baptism is one sign of that revelation.

Interestingly, this same idea of Baptism with “sacred fire” and “living water” mentioned here in the Gospel of Philip is also referenced in one of the recently discovered missing fragments of the Gospel of Mary [P. Oxy 5577] which reads:

“Therefore, I say to you, Mary: ‘Seek to mix water and fire and you will no longer appear as an image of flesh, but an image of the eternal incorruptible light, bringing together for you, Mary, intellectual spirits from the two intertwined and dissolved elements.’”

So, the garment spoken of above is Christ.

“In the kingdom of God, the garments are as precious as those who wear them, for they have been immersed in a fire and in a water that purifies all.” (Gospel of Philip v. 24)

But this baptism isn’t merely the symbolic ritual of being immersed in water as a testimony of faith. To the author of this Gospel and to the Apostle Paul, there is a very real and literal transformation that takes place within us as Christ is revealed in us and we put on Christ as a garment. There is something like a spiritual chemical reaction that takes place within us as we “mix water and fire” and are transformed by “intellectual spirits from the two intertwined and dissolved elements.”

Both fire and water are symbols of purification. Water cleans the outside, and Fire purifies from within. Echoes of this are seen when John the Baptist says: “I baptize you with water, but there is one who is coming who will baptize you with fire.” (Mark 1:8)

All metaphors aside, this simply resolves to the reality that, when Christ is revealed in us, we are transformed into the image of Christ. It is as if we are wearing Christ as a garment, but this is not a disguise. It does not cover our inward un-Christlikeness, because we are all filled with Christ. What happens is that the Christ that is already within us is revealed in us. As we are transformed into the image of Christ, we are covered as with a garment so that our outward appearance matches the inward reality.

Perhaps another metaphor for this could be a cocoon. In the same way, the butterfly is always within the caterpillar, Christ is always within us. As the caterpillar begins to recognize this new nature within itself, a garment is fashioned around it, and eventually, what was inside is revealed through a mysterious process of transformation.

“Jesus took all of them by stealth, because he didn’t appear as he was, but according to their capacity to see him. To the great, he appeared as great, to the small, he appeared small, to the angels as an angel, to human beings as a man.” (Gospel of Philip v. 26)

This verse echoes the Biblical concept that God meets us where we are. To the wrathful, God is wrathful, but to the merciful God is merciful. In other words, God reflects ourselves back to us. Or, as Voltaire phrased it: “God made man in his image and man returned the favor.”

This is a slight twist on the idea that whatever we have done to the least of these, we have done it to God. Because when we see God in one another, our response should reflect our idea of God. If we see God as angry and unyielding, we will treat those who bear God’s image with anger and impatience. If we see God as merciful and kind, we will treat those who bear this image of God with kindness and mercy.

God’s image is reflected everywhere, but we do not always see this image clearly. We often see God’s image as we have distorted it. If our image of God within is warped, our projection of God will be equally malformed.

Yet, what the Gospel of Philip suggests is that we can know the true image of Christ by knowing ourselves. By looking within, we can truly know the Christ which is alive in us.

“The Logos is the secret of all. Some who know themselves have known it.” (v. 26)

As the great mystic Rumi said, “I looked for God and found only myself. I looked for myself and found only God.”

Have you known the Logos by knowing yourself? Or do you project the image of the God you have imagined upon the world around you?

When Christ is revealed in you, the secret of the Logos will be revealed and when you know yourself, you will know the face of God which is your own.

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Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has been interviewed on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Coast to Coast Radio with George Noory, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.”

He co-hosts The Heretic Happy Hour Podcast and his solo podcast, Second Cup With Keith which are both available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Podbean or wherever you find great podcasts.