What excites me most about this understanding is the mystery of salvation that accompanies the concept of perichoresis. God’s salvific work is not restricted by human limitations or understanding. In many ways, the missionary must adopt a posture of humility, recognizing that we do not fully understand the extent or methods of God’s saving grace. We know that salvation comes through Christ (John 14:6), but we also see, through testimonies of dreams and visions, that God can make Christ known in ways that defy our expectations and therefore respecting Peter’s message that there is no other name under heaven by which someone might be saved (Acts 4:12).

This is a crucial point for missiology: while the missionary is called to make the gospel explicit through proclamation (Rom 10:14-15), he must also be aware that God is not dependent on human efforts to reveal Himself. There are places where the missionary has not yet arrived, but Christ is already at work, indeed already present, calling people to Himself in mysterious and supernatural ways. The missionary, then, participates in God’s mission, not as the sole agent of salvation, but as one who helps to make visible and explicit what God is already doing in the hearts and lives of people.

This understanding of perichoresis—that God’s self-revelation is continuous, relational, and sometimes hidden from our view—should encourage missionaries to approach their work with a sense of wonder and expectation. The missionary is invited to join in God’s mission, but he is not the initiator. God is already moving toward all people, revealing Himself, even in the remotest parts of the earth (Psalm 19:1-4). We are participants in the divine dance – the coordinated mission – tasked with making known what is often hidden or only partially understood (1 Cor 4:3).

Perichoresis and Ecclesiology: Participating in the Divine Dance

If perichoresis helps us understand God’s self-revelation, it also has profound implications for ecclesiology. Just as the Trinity exists in a relational, outward-moving dynamic, so too is the church called to reflect this relationality and participate in God’s self-revelation. The missio ecclesiae is not an independent task but an extension of the missio Dei, the ongoing mission of God. Missionaries are not simply planting a church in a culture. Rather, they are invited into the coordinate mission of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are actively drawing people to God. The missionary, then, is privileged to bring together His people – adopted sons and daughters – as a single body called, elected, and predestined to participate in uniting all things in Christ (Eph 1:3-14). This is the will of God in His coordinated mission as Trinity.

Perichoresis reminds us that the church is not a static institution; it is called to embody the relational movement of the Trinity. The motus ecclesiae—the movement of the church—reflects the motus Dei, God’s movement toward the world. In mission, the church is not just proclaiming a message; it is participating in the dynamic, self-revealing nature of God, helping to make explicit what is already implicit (2 Cor 5:19-20). In this way, the church becomes a living expression of the Trinity, moving toward the world as God eternally moves toward it. Mission, when viewed through the lens of perichoresis, is not merely an external action; it is an internal reflection of the church’s identity – ekklēsia – as a community that mirrors the relationality and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church, as the body of Christ, is drawn into the divine dance, called to engage the world in ways that reflect the unity and distinctiveness of the Trinity (John 17:21).

Making Explicit the Implicit Revelation of God

As we’ve explored, God’s self-revelation is often implicit—working in subtle, mysterious ways to reveal Christ to people, even in the absence of formal missionary efforts. The church’s role, then, is to make explicit this implicit revelation. In the context of so-called unreached people groups (UPGs), this means helping people recognize the God who has already been working in their lives, even if they have not yet fully understood His revelation. In line with Romans 10:14-15, where Paul highlights the need for missionaries to proclaim the gospel, the church must embrace its role in making known the name of Christ where it is not known and bringing to light God’s ongoing work.

This is not to suggest that the church’s mission is unnecessary; rather, it highlights the honored role the church plays in God’s plan. We are invited to join in the work God has already begun, revealing Christ more fully and clearly to those whom He has already called. The church, through its witness to the world, becomes the means by which people move from implicit knowledge of God to a saving relationship with Christ (Acts 4:12).

This is why mission, when viewed through the lens of perichoresis, is so exciting. It is not a matter of bringing God to places where He is absent, but rather recognizing God’s presence and activity, and partnering with Him in revealing the fullness of Christ’s love and redemption.