Written by Daniel Bediako
The Christian doctrine of God is important, yet difficult to comprehend and explain. This is not surprising because the finite human mind cannot fully comprehend the infinite God. At the center of the doctrine of God is the Godhead or Trinity, by which is meant that “God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.” Thus, Christians generally believe in one multi-personal God–a triune God—not three Gods. The concept of the Godhead is central to the Christian understanding of God and the work of salvation through Jesus Christ. But fundamental as it is to Christian theology, the concept is nevertheless shrouded in mystery: “The Trinity is an absolute mystery in the sense that we do not understand it even after it has been revealed.” For this reason, the subject has been studied throughout the ages of Christianity. While for some Christians the subject is “only a matter of intellectual curiosity,” for others it is a “somewhat arbitrary test of faith.”The extreme perceptual polarization notwithstanding, the Christian understanding of God cannot adequately be expressed apart from the concept of the Trinity. There is the need, therefore, to continue the study of this subject.