In short, oneness theology is not Christian since it denies the True God, the True Incarnation of Christ, and the True Atonement. The problem with this is that they do not realize what the apostolic age entails. When I ask them for an analysis of John 6:37-39, I get some very interesting responses. 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). They teach people that they saved when in fact, they are not. What is this? While there may be some Christians in Oneness churches, the movement as a whole is non-Christian. The following points of doctrine are generally held to by the Oneness Pentecostal groups. 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. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. These "forms" are not three distinct persons, but one person who occupied consecutive modes. The apostolic age, in addition to all of these signs and wonders, entails that there are apostles. But the author suggests that this psalm is referring to Jesus. It was a time in which Jesus promised that the Father would answer all of their prayers for the growth of the church (John 14:13-14), people would instantaneously learn other human languages so that non-believers would be convinced (1 Corinthians 14:22), people would be able to handle snakes and drink poison (Mark 16:17-18), and perform many miraculous signs. Oneness Pentecostal Doctrine: What do they teach? | Carm.org It is based upon a faulty conception of the trinity. They must be different considering that the Father sent the Son (Matt. 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.. Philosophical and Theological Essays on the Trinity Put another way, in the one substance of divinity, in the one being that is God, there are three co-eternal, co-existent, simultaneous persons: The Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. On several occasions, Ive had in-depth discussions with oneness believers. Oneness risks denying the sufficiency of the atonement of Christ. What is the proper name of God? OnenessRefutation.com | The problems with Oneness doctrine (Modalism) Oneness Refutation Understanding Logos Understanding the true meaning of the Logos in the Prologue of John Read More I am Statements Who do you say that I am? 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. monotheism, belief in the existence of one god, or in the oneness of God. The eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. Instead, it is one God, one divinely simple being who expresses himself to us in three distinct simultaneous persons. 30 I can do nothing on my own. Agents of God are called God. 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.. The Father is presented as on the throne and Heaven, and Jesus is presented as a lamb beside the throne. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. If God is only one person, why does Jesus say, "we"? Regarding Revelation 5, If you say the Lamb (between the throne and the four living creatures) is Jesus and God (who sits on the throne) is also Jesus. But the Trinity would solve this problem. Corresponding to these criteria, Jesus cannot be God in a literal ontological sense: 1. You will see the inconsistency and problems that arise from their position. 27 For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says, all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under 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? And the word that you hear is not mine but the Fathers who sent me. Jesus is just part of God. The mediator is the Messiah (Christ) of Gods plan foretold by the prophets. Does God need to learn anything? (Phil 2:8-9), Does it make any sense to say that God exalted himself? 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Jesus is, by definition, one person with two distinct natures: a divine nature and a human nature. What Is Wrong With The Oneness View Of God? - Therefore, God Exists The threefold answer given by Peter to those who sought to know how to respond to the good news repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is interpreted within the multi-tiered "full gospel" theology inherited from the Wesleyan tradition. Within Orthodoxy There is only one God in all existence. They have realized that the doctrine is apparently supported by a handful of vague verses when interpreted in a particular way. Prior to that, the pre-incarnate Christ existed as the word (John 1:1). (John 10:17), Jesus said that Father is greater than all. Similarly, the Father is totally God and the Spirit is totally God. We'd love to keep you up to date with what is happening at CARM. This entails that there is one God who is one person. He is totally God. It should be noted that the phrase in the name of, is an idiom for power and authority. It can be credited to Oneness Pentecostal theology that they teach that before you can be saved, you must be born again by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The Son did not send the Father. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me., These verses provide the strongest distinctions between God and Jesus not only in reference to them being separate persons but also provide distinction with respect to ontology (the Father is identified as God who is greater than all). There are numerous scriptural references (13x) that refer to Jesus being at the right hand of God indicating a distinction of God and Jesus who is at his right hand. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. The Trinity, the Definition of Chalcedon, and Oneness Theology That is what this article seeks to explore. Oneness Pentecostalism - Apologetics This is not a novel objection to the oneness view of God. Oneness Pentecostalism does the exact same thing. To save items to a SermonFolder, please sign in to your account. He was not establishing a baptismal formula. These formal arguments are based on rules of deductive reasoning, not fallacious syllogism. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name., 36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. . The primary problem with theology is that it asks questions. The Messiah of prophecy is a human agent of God the Son of Man. "Oneness theology is nothing more than the crass unitarianism of Judaism and Islam. The Trinity is the teaching that there is one God who exists in three distinct, concurrent, persons. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Oneness teachers would agree that salvation requires putting one's full faith in the Jesus of Oneness doctrine. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. There are two responses to this worth noting. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. (John 8:28), If Jesus is God, he would have the Holy Spirit within himself. 3This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight ofGodour Savior,4who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. This site is made by those who have also come from a oneness background. It would mean that God was eternally knowing and experiencing the mutual contemplation of the three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Oneness has a problem concerning the person of Jesus being the eternal God. That is because he is totally divine. We greatly appreciate your consideration! The principal and agent remain two distinct persons. What is wrong with the Oneness view of God? What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.. American Christianity teaches people that if they are sprinkled with some water, then they are saved. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. That is why John 1:18 says that he explains the Father. 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet., 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hence, there is just no contradiction when Peter baptizes in the name of Jesus because it is the same authority. There is no place at all. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 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). 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. However, Oneness theology denies the Trinity. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. It was Jesus. Personhood (i.e., self-awareness, awareness of others, rationality, the ability to love, speak, etc.) The Trinity is one God in three distinct simultaneous, coeternal persons. 1 Tim 2:5-6is framed as the truth of the Gospel. The humanity of Christ is essential to the gospel, as shown at the link below. Oneness theology denies the Trinity doctrine and claims that there is one person in the Godhead who has manifested himself in three different forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Regarding the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Oneness folks have corrupted the word of God ( 2 Cor 2:17, Rom 16:17-18) by rejecting the Son of God, hallucinating that Jesus is the Father while swapping roles in heaven and denying His existence at the right Hand of God the Father ( Psa 2:7-9, Psalms 110:1-2, Heb 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2, Mark 16:19, Eph 1:20, Acts 2:33, Rom 8:34, 1 Peter Matthew 28:19 also affirms their views that Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize in the "name" (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But, there are numerous problems with their position. The problem is that they attempt to tie angelic tongues, necessarily, with salvation. What is wrong with the oneness view of God? 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, A PSALM OF DAVID. When Jesus said, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit, (Luke 23:46), what in the world was he talking about, if in fact, he is the Father? Oneness Pentecostalism: Heresy, Not Hairsplitting This means that Jesus would say, I am thirsty (John 19:28)and I will be with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. Thus, if you have been baptized in a trinitarian formula, you must be re-baptized into a oneness formula. In his masterful critique of patripassionism, Against Praxeas Tertullian wrote, Quoting Psalm 110:3 If you want me to believe Him to be both the Father and the Son, show me some other passage where it is declared, The Lord said unto Himself, I am my own Son, today I have begotten myself. 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? (John 20:17). Personhood is having the quality or characteristic of self-awareness, awareness of others, rationality, the ability to love, speak, recognize others and ones self, etc. What is Oneness doctrine? | GotQuestions.org They often say that Jesus is one person, but when cross-examined, they affirm two persons in one body. His wrath abides upon us, he must give us just condemnation for our sins. However when the Oneness Pentecostal see messianic statements in the Psalms that seem to regard the Son as existing presently, they are viewed as prophetic. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The hypostatic union is the teaching that in the single person of Christ are two distinct natures: divine and human. They go to a Oneness Pentecostal Church, have no repentance in their heart, do not know anything about Christ or the Bible. Fair use is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit do not represent different persons within the Godhead, but rather, there are different modes that God takes. (John 17:1-3), Why does Jesus refer to God as His God and his Father if he himself is the Father? The mediator gave himself as a ransom for all. This is exactly how the Trinity doctrine is arrived at. They each had a will, and Jesus submitted his will to the Father, whose will was different than His. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. 17 If anyones will is to do Gods will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. In the light blue section in the table below are the characteristics of God. Therefore when Christ, the person, died on the cross, then the sacrifice was of divine value. That is, a mediator is a third party. If you would like to get in on the discussion about this, join my Theology Discussion Group! As such, it is distinguished from polytheism, the belief in the existence of many gods, from atheism, the belief that there is no god, and from agnosticism, the belief that the existence or nonexistence of a god or of gods is unknown or unknowable. If that is the case, that means that Jesus is both the Father, and the Son. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 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. In John 8:16, Jesus says that he does not judge alone, but I and the Father who sent me. Nowhere in the New Testament is the distinction between the Person of God and that of Jesus more explicit. 3. A declaration of YHWH to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, || Until I make Your enemies Your footstool.. To sum up: The mystical doctrine of oneness is metaphysically disturbing, and it can foster authoritarian behavior. 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. The idea of God is coherent. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each exemplify attributes of personhood. The table below shows the supporting scriptures. Oneness theologians would argue that if the Father and the Son were separate, then the Godhead could not fully dwell in Christ. But despite that, they are surrounded by members of the congregation and told talk like me! lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. What are we to call him? We read inHebrews 3:1-2, Jesus is the apostleand high priest of our confession and was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses was also faithful in all Gods house. But that is not to say that he is the totality of divinity. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. The Sinners Prayer teaches people that if they recite this prayer once in their life, then they are saved. 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. The following points should focus on the particular problems: A) The Oneness position cannot explain logically or Biblically the clear references to the pre-existence and Creatorship of the Son such as Colossians 1, Hebrews 1 and John 1. . When he ate, the Father was hungry. 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 1:3). (https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/the-distinction-of-persons-between-god-the-father-and-jesus). Muslims routinely claim that the Bible has been corrupted. 29 And he who sent me is with me. How can Jesus ascend to the right hand of God if He is the only person of the godhead? Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and . If the Father and the Son are both God, distinct and conscious entities with their own nature (divine and human, respectively), then this logically entails polytheism. (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? There are not three gods. But upon close examination, nowhere does the New Testament suggest that we have to believe that Jesus the one God and Father. They were in different locations at the same time (Matt.