**Pleroma and Kenoma: Unseen vs. the Seen**
The distinction between *Pleroma* and *Kenoma*—fullness and emptiness—captures the essence of spiritual reality as opposed to material illusion. These two terms define more than just opposing states; they are paradigms for understanding existence, perception, and the journey of inner transformation. As 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV) declares:
“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
This passage gives a clear framework for discerning between the *Kenoma*—the realm of appearances, temporality, and decay—and the *Pleroma*—the realm of fullness, stability, and eternal being. But how does one “look” at what is unseen? Not through the physical senses, but through an awakened mind—what ancient texts referred to as the *nous*—a perceptive faculty distinct from both flesh and spirit.
In the *Gospel of Mary*, we encounter a dialogue between the Savior and the disciple that sheds light on this concept:
> “I said to Him, ‘Lord, how does he who sees the vision see it? Through the soul or through the spirit?’
> The Savior answered and said, ‘He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but through the mind which is between the two—that is what sees the vision.’” (Gospel of Mary 10–11)
This *mind*—the *nous*—functions as the organ by which one perceives the *unseen*. It is not rooted in the world of sensory input (Kenoma), nor is it a mere abstract spiritual intuition. It is a cultivated awareness that can discern truth beyond appearances.
The *Kenoma* is the visible world. It includes systems, structures, pleasures, and all the things that seem solid yet will eventually pass away. “The world is passing away, and the lust of it,” wrote the apostle John (1 John 2:17, NKJV). In this temporal world, things are defined by lack, change, and decay. It is a domain that appears full yet is hollow. This aligns with Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7:31 (NKJV):
“…For the form of this world is passing away.”
In contrast, the *Pleroma* is that which is truly full—eternal, incorruptible, invisible. It is not merely a place, but a state of being that transcends conceptual thought. It is not seen by the eye of flesh but revealed through *gnosis*—an inward knowing that arises when the mind is purified of illusion and opened to divine reality.
Philippians 2:7 (NKJV) offers insight into the dynamic between fullness and emptiness:
“But made Himself of no reputation \[ἐκένωσεν], taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”
Here, Christ *emptied* Himself (*ekenōsen*)—the Greek verb for “emptied”—to take on human likeness. He descended into the *Kenoma*, the realm of visibility, temporality, and death. But this was not a loss of divinity; it was a demonstration of divine love entering the lowest state in order to bring fullness to those trapped in emptiness.
To live in the *Pleroma* is to align one’s vision with the unseen reality. As Ephesians 3:19 (NKJV) expresses, the goal is:
“…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
This fullness is not a possession, but a state of being—the body of Believers collectively becoming the vessel of God’s presence. The *Pleroma* is described further in Ephesians 1:10 (NKJV):
“…that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”
There is a cosmic restoration at work: a movement from *Kenoma* to *Pleroma*, from fragmentation to unity. This does not mean the physical world is inherently evil, but rather that it is a shadow of a greater reality. The visible points toward the invisible, as symbols gesture toward meaning.
Romans 8:24–25 (NKJV) speaks to this unseen hope:
“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
To hope in what is not seen is to live in *Pleroma* while walking through *Kenoma*. It is to recognize that true treasure is not located in what decays, but in what is eternal. As the Savior says in the *Gospel of Mary*, “Where the mind is, there is the treasure.” The locus of value shifts from the material to the noetic, from form to essence.
Gnosis is not merely intellectual knowledge. It is relational, existential, and transformative. It allows the mind to behold what the eye cannot grasp. It reveals the *Pleroma* not as a distant heaven but as a present, hidden reality into which one enters through renewal of perception.
Colossians 2:9–10 (NKJV) concludes this mystery:
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
To be “complete in Him” is to be filled with *Pleroma*, to have the mind attuned not to appearances but to substance. It is to live by the light of the unseen and to walk in the reality of what endures forever.
Thus, the contrast is not simply visible versus invisible, but illusory versus real, temporary versus eternal, empty versus full. One must not merely believe in the *Pleroma*—one must see it, not with the eyes of flesh or even with emotion, but with the mind illumined by gnosis. Only then does one transcend the *Kenoma* and enter the true, incorruptible realm of fullness.
