Zusammenfassung / Summary
That which surpasses our natural understanding-namely, that the space-time world in which we live and the overwhelmingly vast richness of its manifestations actually has a centre that gives it life and meaning-the Christian faith gives us the power to conceive and proclaim: Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word of God, the fulfilment of the promises made to Israel; and through his life and work, through his death and resurrection he is the heart of this world, its life-giving and meaning-giving centre. That is what the New Testament witnessed to in its hymns and proclamations, that is what Christian theologians have unfolded in their reflections. However, Jesus Christ can be this all-encompassing centre of creation and redemption only if he is unus ex sanctissima trinitate, and thus both one with the Father and guided by and in procession with the Holy Spirit. In numerous biblical and patristic witnesses, and in the subsequent plumbing into the depths of their meaning, what becomes clear is the rich gift of the message of the Christian faith that gives final, imperishable meaning to all that is and all that takes place.