Tetrathedron - the Shape of God

Before I get too excited, I would like to stress that this article is my opinion and not the position taken by Tetramap.com - the organisation I'm such a fan of. Tetramap must necessarily take a neutral stance on such hot topics as politics and religion. These are purely my thoughts and they are pretty extreme (Lextreme, even) for a practising Christian... ('practising' because I have a long, long way to go.) I will add, then, that these thoughts do not either reflect those of most christians. Hopefully, those two caveats will hook your interest, and this article will get you thinking...

The Tetrahedron is one of the strongest structures known.

I've been drawn to it because of the Trinity - represented by a Triangle: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

But the Trinity is one face with the three expressions forming a triangle.

Adding just one more point creates the perfect three dimensional object.

That 'one more point' is you or me if you are in love with God.

The Tetrathedron

How did I come to this thought? Let me just explain the name first. "Theos" is Greek for "God". I tried Tetratheodron and Tetratheodon, but both sounded like a dinosaur. So, simply adding the "T" seemed to add God into the equation: Tetrathedron.

The deeper message is the concept.

It was something Philip, the Disciple, said. He said to Jesus, "Show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."

Jesus answered, "Philip, have I been amongst you so long and you still don't recognise the Father?" To see Jesus was to see the Father. [See John 14:8-21 - it's even more exciting in context.]

Jesus also declared that a fully-trained disciple would be indistinguisable from his Master or Teacher.

"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher."

Luke 6:40

We are supposed to be like Jesus... really like Jesus. As the world would say, "You are the spitting image of your father," or, "I can't tell you and your brother apart... which one are you?" In fact, there's an engaging account in the Book of Acts that illustrates genuine and pseudo-Christlikeness. It has to do with the seven sons of Sceva - a Jewish High Priest.

Here it is from Acts chapter 19

11 God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out. 13 But some of the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying,

“We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

14 There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did this.

15 The evil spirit answered,

“Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” 

16 The man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

[End of quote]

That's so powerful, isn't it? "Jesus I know, and Paul I know..." If you stick a cow in your garage, that doesn't make it a car. Not everyone who attends church is a christian!

Paul was so in love with God - the God who gave him a second chance - that he was able to say with all confidence:

"The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

Philippians 4:9

That's Christ-Confidence.

Becoming God-Inside-Minded

Here's what I believe.

Once you've gone deeper into God, you should look like the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He should be such a part of you (or making His home with you - as the Biblical metaphor puts it) that to see you is the see the Father.

Wowzers, I am SUCH a long way away from that, but I 'get' it.

💫 This should affect your smile.

💫 This should affect everything you let come out of your mouth...👅

👂...because to hear you should be like hearing the Father.

👂...because to hear you should be like hearing the Son.

👂...because to hear you should be like hearing the Holy Spirit.

 "If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 4:11

Peter was talking about Preaching but I see no difference between the witness someone gives from the pulpit and the witness they are when chatting in a café.

You are the Ambassador for the very Kingdom of Heaven - yes, Heaven!

"We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

2 Corinthians 5:20

Forget the United States and the United Kingdom! If you were the ambassador for either of these Nations, wouldn't that be awesome? Can you imagine the status you'd have and the privileges you'd enjoy?

But you are far far more: an ambassador for the Kingdom of Heaven.

And God wants His will to be done on Earth (through you) just as His will is done in Heaven.

So, take your place. Up your game. And speak, and live, and smile, and move, and think just like Him... in His Name.

Tetrathedron Mk II

If you're even happy to entertain the ideas I've started to share here, let's go deeper. Once the triangle of the Trinity moves to a three dimensional model, something miraculous can happen - and this has to do with the power and purpose of Tetramap as epitomised in the model of the Tetrahedron. You see, a Tetrahedron has no opposite sides. In Tetramap, we have the four elements:

• Earth, like a Mountain is Firm
• Air, like the Wind, is Clear
• Water, like a Lake, is Calm
• Fire, like the Sun, is Bright

Tetramap stands apart from every other model I know because there are no opposites. You are all four elements but when you are communicating in the language of the Earth, you are not in opposition to the Water - you are still connected. And when you speak in the language of the Air, whispering on the Wind, you are not in opposition to the language of the light of the Fire - like the Sun. Rather, you remain in harmony.

Thus is we move the Three Persons of the Trinity onto the faces of a Tetrathedron that makes you or me the fourth face. Unlike my original graphic, you now have a model where every part of this symbiotic association connects with every other part.

I am in connection with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I've chosen the positions above because Jesus is at the right hand of the Father at the moment, and the Holy Spirit has been sent 'down' to Earth to help us finish making everything that is against God a footstool for His feet. This means the hidden face is us! I rather like us being the hidden face of God! Paul tells that the whole of Creation moans in the pains of childbirth until we are revealed!!!

I hope you are excited by this.

I know the critical position is to assert, "Are you claiming to be God?" And I think that's not only a fair point but also a massively important Theological point. My answer is that you can tell a tree by its fruit. With that measure in place, I am not God! I don't think you are too. But this is to raise important questions about our identity, Nature, and role in Christ.

Jesus, as the Christ, was the Model of Perfection. But He was the Model of Perfection as a Man in Harmony with God. In Philippians chapter 2, the Word of God says

Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

Years ago, I coined a new word: Symzoeosis. This came from 'Symbiosis' - where two organisms live as one in harmony (in the highest form like a Lichen) or work together in harmony (like an Oxpecker and the Oxen it tends).

I use the Greek 'Zoe' instead of 'Bios' because zoe is the word for 'Life' used in Jesus' great declaration of His Mission:

I have come that you may have Life, and have it to the full

John 10:10

Today, I think I'll coin another word: Symtheosis. Why? Because whilst God is 'Life' (and 'Truth' and 'The Way' and 'Love') - Life is a characteristic of His Nature. How much better to talk about Life in partnership with God (Theos in the Greek).

Jesus when He chose 'emptied' Himself, not grasping equality with God, lived His Life on Earth as an example of Perfect Symtheosis.

He was the Perfect Partner of His Constant Companion, The Holy Spirit.

And therein, Brothers and Sisters, we have our mission. He must increase, we must decrease (as John the Baptist said in another context.) Sanctification is the progressive process of become more aligned in symtheosis so that, progressively, people see more and more of the Nature and Character of God in your words, face, deeds, and body language and less of the pre-regenerate you. This has nothing to do with losing your identity and everything to do with developing your ultimate potential.

The Fast Track is the Faith Track

Jesus modelled the Way:

For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.

John 3:34

If you want to 'up' the level of Symtheosis you enjoy with your Constant Companion, The Holy Spirit, start reducing what you say and increase the number of God's Words that come out of your mouth.

Speak the Word without Measure =

Receive the flow of The Holy Spirit without Measure, without Limit

A Good Confession

If the above resonates as truth for you, here's my daily confession, and it is working as a 'brake' on less than Christian language coming out of my mouth!

To see me

To see me is to see Abba, Father

To see me is to see Yeshua Hamashiach

To see me is to experience The Holy Spirit, my constant companion

For we are One

To hear me

To hear me is to hear Abba, Father

To hear me is to hear Yeshua Hamashiach

To hear me is to hear The Holy Spirit, my constant companion

For we speak as One

To respect me

To respect me is to respect Abba, Father

To respect me is to respect Yeshua Hamashiach - the One Who sent me and in Whose Name I come

To respect me is to respect and not grieve The Holy Spirit, my constant companion

For to respect me is to respect the One who sent me.

A couple of notes here. I do not believe there is anything magical in the Name of Yeshua (Hebrew) over Jesus (Anglicised), I'm simply more interested in the Aramaic and Hebraic roots of Christian Faith. What matters is the Name representing the Nature. When you come in the name of the Law, you come as a representative of Law and Order. When you are the British Ambassador, you represent Great Britain. When you come in the Name of Yeshua, you should be like Him in Nature, Character, Behaviour, and Language.

Then, and only then, all Heaven breaks loose.