Can the Godhead Be Understood?
Many people today declare that the Godhead is a great mystery which cannot be understood. As a result of the application of man’s wisdom and in the absence of spiritual comprehension, you will hear such statements as “The nature of God CANNOT be understood”; “No man can understand the Godhead”; “It (the Godhead) cannot be understood nor explained”; “It is a great mystery”; “It is beyond our comprehension”, and others along the same line of thinking. None of these statements concerning the Godhead are true! The bible tells us that we CAN understand the Godhead and that we should understand!
Acts 17:28-30: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
Did you catch that last part? God commandeth all men every where to do what? Repent. Repent of what? Is the passage speaking of our sin or of something else?
While it is true that we MUST repent of our sin, that is not what this passage is referring to. Look at verse 30: “the times of this ignorance” (Now remember the word ignorant is not really a bad word. It just means that you DON’T know).
Ask yourself concerning verse 30 of Acts 17: WHAT TIMES OF IGNORANCE? Ignorance of what? The answer is found in verse 29: “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”
How then, or what then, should we think about the Godhead? Surely if we must repent of the ignorance of our thinking when it comes to the Godhead, God must have given us an explanation somewhere of one of the following: (1) How we must think about the Godhead (2) What we must think about the Godhead or (3) A good clear explanation of the Godhead. Do you agree? Did God give us more information?
Yes he did! Look at Romans Chapter 1.
Romans 1:20 reads ” For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
What is it that is “without excuse”? Is it the “things” that are without excuse or is it the UNDERSTANDING of them that is without excuse?
It is the UNDERSTANDING of them…read the passage again, this time listed here with my emphasis placed into the passage: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
… EVEN HIS ETERNAL POWER AND GODHEAD…
This section of verse alone tells us that the GODHEAD CAN BE UNDERSTOOD and there is really no excuse for not understanding.
NOTE THE COLON at the end of that verse. The thought of the sentence doesn’t stop here! Let’s continue to verse 21: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” “WHEN THEY KNEW GOD?” When do you think they “knew God”? What an interesting statement from the heart of scripture. I believe the answer is obvious to us, but let’s continue into the study of the Godhead in order for us to gain a full understanding!
* This is a VERY LONG study, and I trust you will approach it with sincerity of heart and a willingness to challenge yourself.