“AN AFRICAN INTERPRETATION OF PAUL’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE

HOLY SPIRIT”

Dr. David T. Ejenobo

Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy

Delta State University, Abraka

ABSTRACT

The doctrine of the trinity has generated a lot of controversies down the centuries among New Testament scholars. The problem generated by an attempt by scholars to dissect the Personhood of God has resulted in various shades of interpretations on the relationship between God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  It is against this background that this paper seeks to examine Paul’s understanding of the Holy Spirit viewed against the backdrop of the doctrine of the Trinity.  The various nuances of Paul’s allusion to the Holy Spirit are therefore examined with a view to situating them within a proper understanding of the concept of the trinity.  It is the author’s contention that for Paul there is no personality distinction between God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, since man encounters these “persons” in the spiritual realm.  For the African, conceptualizing God within the realm of the Spirithood of God would be a more practical way of describing the activities of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit than the Western conceptualization of the Three Persons in on Godhead.