But following the theme of Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time to ask questions, and there is a time to shut up and . The Oneness Pentecostal believes that Jesus is the proper name of God, something like the name Jehovah or YHWH. So the idea from oneness theology that God is a single eternal person means that from forever ago, he had no one with whom to fellowship and no one to love or be loved by. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Fathers who sent me. It would mean that God was eternally knowing and experiencing the mutual contemplation of the three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Son did not send the Father. 5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you; 6 as he says also in another place, You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.. Many numerous scriptural references (15x) say that God raised Jesus from the dead, indicating a distinction between Jesus who was raised, and God who raised him. But, if God is one person from all eternity as Oneness teaches, then was it possible for him to experience fellowship or love if he was by himself from forever ago? 16 So Jesus answered them, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. Please note, though, this is not saying there are three competing and separate gods (polytheism). This means that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, rather than being three distinct persons, are just manifestations of one person, in the same way that a man can be a father, a son, and an employee. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him., 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandmentwhat to say and what to speak. If you would like to discuss this further, come join our Theology Discussion Group. This implies that God is not eternally self-sufficient in all areas. 13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. This passage shows they are two separate, simultaneous persons who each have their own will. Oneness Pentecostalism denies the Trinity and claims that instead of God being three persons, He is one person. Sometimes the agent standing for the principal is treated as if he were the principal himself, though this is not literally so. (John 8:54), If Jesus himself is the Father, what sense does it make to say that the Father loves Jesus because he lays down his life? This is because in Jewish thought, a title and a name are inextricably linked. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. It would mean then that God was eternally capable, in and of Himself, to experience the fellowship and the love among the persons of the Trinity. They are all each fully God, but they are the one God in the sense that they are united in one purpose. Oneness theology denies the eternal distinctions among the three persons, insisting there is only one actual person in the Godhead . Jesus is presented in Heaven in His glorified human state in Revelation 1. 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. Bernard, The Oneness of God, pp . (Luke 22:42-43), God has no need to anoint himself. Hear, O Israel, The Lord Our God Is One. Deuteronomy 6:4 In an attempt to establish the oneness view of God, Oneness Pentecostals will often appeal to passages that prove that there is one God. Similarly if you do not speak in tongues, then you have not been filled with the Holy Spirit and consequently are not saved. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Since the Trinity doctrine states there are three persons who, in union are the one God, and Oneness Pentecostal theology states there is only one person, it is not possible for both to be right. What is wrong with the Oneness view of God? While there may be some Christians in Oneness churches, the movement as a whole is non-Christian. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. 2 The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Nestorianism, the logical result of oneness theology regarding the person of Christ, leads to a scenario where the different natures of Christ speak alternately at different times even though theyre in the same sentence. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Fathers who sent me. It was Jesus. That is because he is totally divine. Of course I went into this thoroughly in my subsection Oneness Pentecostal Heresy but I think it would be profitable to briefly lay out 5 problems with Oneness Pentecostal doctrines. 1 Timothy 2:5-6, summarizes the Gospel in one sentence, For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. It is this which Paul refers to as the knowledge of the truth in verse 4 that God wants all people to come to and be saved by. In a strict sense, there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist and one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. This is not social trinitarianism with three separate centers of consciousness. 24 they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The following points of doctrine are generally held to by the Oneness Pentecostal groups. There is no doubt that there is some form of tongues in the Bible. If you would like to get in on the discussion about this, join my Theology Discussion Group! American Christianity teaches people that if they are sprinkled with some water, then they are saved. Many of my followers are aware that I have come from a Oneness Pentecostal background, and I often make harsh comparisons, in saying that they are similar to the Mormon church or the Jehovahs Witnesses. This entails that there is one God who is one person. Therefore the sacrifice is not of divine quality, and it cannot be said that God is who was pierced. Oneness theology denies the true God by denying the Trinity and proposes a Nestorian view of Christ where the two natures (human and divine) are actually two persons who speak alternately even in the same sentence. But Christ stepped in and paid our fine when he was murdered. Furthermore, the communication of the properties means that the attributes of both natures are ascribed to the single person of Christ. The name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thus, it is obviously not literally when Jesus said, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.. The author of Hebrews clearly applied this creation psalm intended for YHWH to the Son, and even added the word YHWH so that there would be no misunderstandings. In other words, oneness theology does not recognize the distinct persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (John 14:12, John 14:28, John 16:17, John 16:28), How can God be tempted in every way we are and also sympathize with our weaknesses? 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. But his name was not Immanuel. The Bible is God's inerrant word. The Hebrew term for an agent or legal emissary isShaliachwhich is comparable to the Greek worldApostolosand the English word Apostle. It seems problematic. To be in the Father does not literally mean to be the Father. 5 They think that we are still in the apostolic age. The Oneness Pentecostal movements generally teach that to receive and maintain salvation, a person must adhere to four essential requirements. Understanding how Jesus identifies himself in the Gospels, Understanding how Jesus is the model for us, The essential humanity of the one mediator Jesus Christ, Understanding The Law of Agency - A Key Biblical Concept Pertaining to Christ, Understanding the distinction between one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, Analysis of Philippians Chapter 2: Form of God is exaltation, not preexistence, Refuting erroneous conflations of Scripture used to infer Jesus is ontologically God, www.21stcr.org/subjects/oneness-pentecostalism/oneness-pentecostalism-articles/, www.21stcr.org/subjects/oneness-pentecostalism/oneness-pentecostalism-videos/, www.21stcr.org/subjects/oneness-pentecostalism/oneness-pentecostalism-audio/, www.21stcr.org/subjects/oneness-pentecostalism/oneness-pentecostalism-books/, There is one God (God is our Savior and desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth), There is one mediator between God and men, The mediator is Christ (the Messiah) Jesus, The mediator gave himself up as a ransom for all, The testimony of the Messiah was given at the proper time. How can Jesus, if He is the same person as the Spirit, say that He is going to send the Spirit to earth when He returns to Heaven? So what is wrong with the oneness view of God? The agent acting and speaking for the principal is the principal by proxy (a person authorized to act for another). 7For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle(I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Given here are 25 arguments that demonstrate Jesus is not God. I would like to suggest that what the Oneness Pentecostal has misunderstood is that a title is a name. Since they believe that Jesus was, and is, the Father, then when he took a drink, the Father was thirsty. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. 28:20). (Heb 5:8), If Jesus himself is the Father, wouldnt it be pointless to say I have kept my Fathers commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:10), Does God raise himself up as a servant? The Oneness adherents did not present an aggressive front, so no strong effort was made to censure them. How can you say, Show us the Father? This means that when Jesus commands his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the name in this formula is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is because prior to the incarnation of Christ Jesus, there was no Jesus. Why does Jesus say numerous times he is going to the Father if he is the Father? But this raises the question, whose wrath was satisfied on the cross? The text reads, In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. In context, this psalm is clearly referring to YHWH (v. 1). This will raise the question of why Peter and the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus. 28 So Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. But Colossians 2:9 says that in Christ, the fullness of deity dwells bodily. Oneness Pentecostalism teaches what is known as modalism. But as I pointed out in my article, Was There A Time When The Son Was Not? 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.. This seems to me to be more peer pressure than the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, who is God incarnate, is baptized in the water. 17 And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. Jesus said that the Father is greater than he is (John 14:28). This group vociferously criticizes trinitarians, arguing that if one is to be saved, they cannot believe in the trinity. The Oneness Pentecostal would agree with Arius who said that "there was a time when the Son was not." So rather from descending from heaven and residing with him, wouldnt it rather emanate from him? But this makes little sense of the biblical data concerning the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son, such as the messianic statements in the psalms, like God, your God has anointed you. (Psalm 45:7).