{"id":11528,"date":"2025-06-20T14:28:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T14:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/?p=11528"},"modified":"2025-06-20T14:28:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T14:28:44","slug":"inner-circle-a-great-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><figure id=\"attachment_11531\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11531\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11531\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/833\/2025\/06\/MARYMARYMARY.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11531\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IMAGE: Keith Giles [MidJourney]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><em>\u201cThere were three who traveled with the Lord all the time: His mother Mary, her sister, and Magdalene, who is called his companion; because Mary is his sister, his mother, and his partner (companion). Miriam is a sister, a mother, and a wife (koinonos). \u201cThe Father\u201d and \u201cThe Son\u201d are single names; \u201cthe Holy Spirit\u201d (Breath) is a double name, because they are everywhere: above, below, in the visible and the invisible. Spirit [Pneuma] becomes manifest when descending, and hidden when ascending.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe holy ones make use of threatening powers. These powers are blinded by the Breath (Holy Spirit) to believe they are serving the human, but in truth they are working for the holy ones.\u201d <\/em>(The Gospel of Philip vs. 32-34)<\/p>\n<div id=\"premium-content\">\n<p>There are three Marys, and there are three names of God. The third Mary is Magdalene. The third name of God is the Spirit (Breath).<\/p>\n<p>The name of Magdalene is <em>Koinonos<\/em>. The name of Spirit is <em>Pneuma<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Mary is a name for a spiritual companion. Spirit is a name for Divine Presence.<\/p>\n<p>The awakened ones make use of all powers, recognizing that all things are connected to the Divine. The Spirit, which is everywhere, collaborates with us so that all things work together for our good. For if God\u2019s Spirit fills all things, then no weapon formed against us may prosper, and whatever they intend for evil will become our greatest blessing.<\/p>\n<p>These cryptic ideas from the Gospel of Philip invite us to dig deeper into their possible meanings. Why are we told that there were Marys who traveled with Jesus? Why does his mother and her sister have the same name? Or, is the second Mary his sister (and not his mother\u2019s sister)? Was Mary Magdalene his wife? Is that the deeper meaning of \u201c<em>Koinonos<\/em>\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Why are these three Miriams juxtaposed with the Father, Son and Spirit? How are Magdalene and the Holy Spirit analogous? Is Magdalene his \u201ccompanion\u201d in the same way the Spirit is \u201cthe comforter\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>If \u201cthe Holy Spirit is a double name\u201d does that suggest that \u201cMagdalene\u201d is also a double name? The Tower? The Companion?<\/p>\n<p>What are we to make of this idea that \u201cthe holy ones use threatening (or harmful) powers\u201d? What do we mean by \u201cuse\u201d? Are these powers merely principles? Or are they spirits? Or are they people who are still unaware of their Oneness with the Divine? Why does the Holy Spirit blind them rather than heal their blindness? Is this a temporary arrangement until the day these blind ones awaken on their own to the truth of Divine connection?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve done my best to suggest possible answers to these questions, but I\u2019m not entirely confident in my assumptions.<\/p>\n<p>Is Mary \u201ca sister, a mother, and a wife,\u201d in the same way that God is a Father, a Son and a Spirit? What are we to make of this comparison? Perhaps Magdalene is a soul companion to Jesus in the same way God\u2019s Spirit is our companion. We can never escape God\u2019s Spirit. If we ascend to the Heavens or make our bed in the grave, God\u2019s Spirit is there with us, always.<\/p>\n<p>What are the implications of the similarities between <em>Koinonos<\/em> and <em>Pneuma<\/em>? The Spirit of God is the Breath, and God breathed into the first Adam his own breath of life, so God\u2019s presence is as near as our own breath. Is this a metaphor for the companion of Jesus? Is she as near to him as his own breath? Are they one in the spirit and the flesh?<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes all we have are mysteries. Sometimes the questions are the answer. Awe and wonder are companions of curiosity, and as children of God, we are encouraged to become changed and transformed by the renewing of our minds.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s okay to step into the unknown. There is no shame in admitting we do not understand everything. What matters most is that we are not offended by the mystery or discouraged by the unanswered questions.<\/p>\n<p>We trust in our experience of God. We trust when we don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n<p>This is faith. Not certainty.<\/p>\n<p>This is hope. Not confidence.<\/p>\n<p>This is love. And the greatest of these is love.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11431\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/833\/2025\/05\/quantum-mary3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"637\"><\/p>\n<p>The new book,\u00a0<a class=\" decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/a.co\/d\/6K9xz27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>\u201cThe Quantum Gospel of Mary and the Lost Gospel of Truth\u201d<\/strong><\/a>is now available on Amazon.The book from Keith Giles, \u201c<strong>The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas<\/strong>\u201d is available now on Amazon. Order\u00a0<a class=\" decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/a.co\/d\/crCqv3k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">HERE&gt;<\/a><em>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\u00a0<a class=\" decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnfugelsang.com\/podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">John Fugelsang\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0\u201cTell Me Everything.\u201d<\/em>He co-hosts\u00a0<a class=\" decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/heretic-happy-hour\/id1289432463\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>The Heretic Happy Hour Podcast<\/strong><\/a>and his solo podcast,\u00a0<a class=\" decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/second-cup-with-keith\/id1595608177\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><strong>Second Cup With Keith<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0which are both available on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Podbean or wherever you find great podcasts.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u201cThere were three who traveled with the Lord all the time: His mother Mary, her sister, and Magdalene, who is called his companion; because Mary is his sister, his mother, and his partner (companion). Miriam is a sister, a mother, and a wife (koinonos). \u201cThe Father\u201d and \u201cThe Son\u201d are single names; \u201cthe Holy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3089,"featured_media":11531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260,587,420,536,416,586],"tags":[39,421,35],"class_list":["post-11528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cosmic-christ","category-gospel-of-philip","category-inner-circle","category-mystery","category-non-duality","category-quantum-theology","tag-christ","tag-premium","tag-scripture"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three Marys travelled with Jesus: A Sister, a Mother, and a Wife. How do they correspond to Father, Son and Spirit?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three Marys travelled with Jesus: A Sister, a Mother, and a Wife. How do they correspond to Father, Son and Spirit?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Keith Giles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/keithagiles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-20T14:28:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/833\/2025\/06\/MARYMARYMARY.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Keith Giles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@keithgiles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Keith Giles\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/\",\"name\":\"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-20T14:28:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-20T14:28:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#\/schema\/person\/c026ed8e596e36501a693dc33b7053be\"},\"description\":\"Three Marys travelled with Jesus: A Sister, a Mother, and a Wife. How do they correspond to Father, Son and Spirit?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/\",\"name\":\"Keith Giles\",\"description\":\"This former pastor left the pulpit to follow Jesus and started a church where 100% of the offering goes to the poor.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#\/schema\/person\/c026ed8e596e36501a693dc33b7053be\",\"name\":\"Keith Giles\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e8627889b20205ea8636cd77bad9d415?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e8627889b20205ea8636cd77bad9d415?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Keith Giles\"},\"description\":\"This former pastor left the pulpit to follow Jesus in Orange County, California and started a house church where 100% of the offerings go to help the poor in their community.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/keithagiles\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/keithgiles\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/author\/kgiles\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery","description":"Three Marys travelled with Jesus: A Sister, a Mother, and a Wife. How do they correspond to Father, Son and Spirit?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery","og_description":"Three Marys travelled with Jesus: A Sister, a Mother, and a Wife. How do they correspond to Father, Son and Spirit?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/","og_site_name":"Keith Giles","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/keithagiles","article_published_time":"2025-06-20T14:28:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/833\/2025\/06\/MARYMARYMARY.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Keith Giles","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@keithgiles","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Keith Giles","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/","name":"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-06-20T14:28:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-20T14:28:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#\/schema\/person\/c026ed8e596e36501a693dc33b7053be"},"description":"Three Marys travelled with Jesus: A Sister, a Mother, and a Wife. How do they correspond to Father, Son and Spirit?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/2025\/06\/inner-circle-a-great-mystery\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"INNER CIRCLE: A Great Mystery"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/","name":"Keith Giles","description":"This former pastor left the pulpit to follow Jesus and started a church where 100% of the offering goes to the poor.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#\/schema\/person\/c026ed8e596e36501a693dc33b7053be","name":"Keith Giles","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e8627889b20205ea8636cd77bad9d415?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e8627889b20205ea8636cd77bad9d415?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Keith Giles"},"description":"This former pastor left the pulpit to follow Jesus in Orange County, California and started a house church where 100% of the offerings go to help the poor in their community.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/keithagiles","https:\/\/twitter.com\/keithgiles"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/author\/kgiles\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/keithgiles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}