Amen. They are different roles that he takes in the world. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Israel Folau's problem with the Trinity - Eternity News 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. If God knows all things from all eternity, then can he contemplate? Why is the Father referred to as the one God and source of all things, while Jesus is referred to as the one Lord (as a distinction between him and God) in 1 Cor 8:5-6? Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. There is no doubt that there is some form of tongues in the Bible. 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? The Bible is God's inerrant word. This is exactly how the Trinity doctrine is arrived at. Accordingly, it only the one God and Father who is literally God, and Jesus acts on behalf of God as Gods right-hand man. Jesus is just part of God. PDF Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity - isca-apologetics.org And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It is the Father who said to the Son, In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth. But just so the reader will understand his theological meaning, the author of Hebrews adds the word, LORD (taken to indicate YHWH) into the sentence so as to underline the point. This is precisely what happens to many people. If Jesus was praying to the divine side of Himself, then isn't He still praying to 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. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness., 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. But Christ stepped in and paid our fine when he was murdered. A declaration of YHWH to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, || Until I make Your enemies Your footstool.. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence., 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Why would God need to learn obedience? 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. Given here are 25 arguments that demonstrate Jesus is not God. That is how the trinitarian will understand these passages. It was Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I love questions. 1:3). (https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/the-distinction-of-persons-between-god-the-father-and-jesus). When somebody is born again, they must speak in angelic tongues. The primary problem with theology is that it asks questions. In Oneness Pentecostalism, there is no distinction between the Father, Son and. The eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. The Father in Heaven is one nature, and the Son on earth is another nature. 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.. But typically, God became a man. Thus Saith Putin: Christianity Invaded by the Religious Right, Church Is Not Seminary: Why Young Theologically-Informed 20-Somethings Should Manage Their Expectations of Their Pastors, Why Jesus looked and acted like me, not you, Minimizing The Maximally Great Argument For Arminianism, How apologetics bloggers caused the downfall of the United States, Why Christians should apologize for using apologetics, Why apologetics is not necessary to evangelism, Something Greater Than The Crucifixion Is Here: How Jesus Shocked The Pharisees, Social Issues, Politics & Biblical Ethics. Oneness Pentecostals often mistakenly think that this is what the doctrine of the trinity represents. 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. Any time God says something, it is Jesus speaking. Many past oneness believers have come to the realization the doctrine is inconsistent with the balanced testimony of scripture. In the light blue section in the table below are the characteristics of God. This paper briefly address three aspects of christological monotheism from a Oneness perspective. In this work, Michael Burgos has outlined in a systematic fashion the chief theological assertions of Oneness theology and then provides a point-by-point exegetical refutation. 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. Oneness presents the problem of eternal love and fellowship inherent in a god consisting of one person that is rectified after creation, denying Gods aseity. But if the Father is a conscious being and the Son is a conscious being and they are distinct from one another, then in what sense can it be said that they are truly one? They held to a modalist conception of God. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. Oneness theology has deep roots in Christian history and its weaknesses have a habit of showing up in surprising places. That is a problem for oneness. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. There are not three gods. Oneness has a problem concerning the person of Jesus being the eternal God. Anybody reading the gospels will see that there is some sort of distinction between Jesus and the Father. But the Oneness Pentecostal church teaches that we are still in the apostolic age. If you have any issues, please call the office at 385-246-1048 or email us at [emailprotected], by Luke Wayne | Jan 6, 2023 | Islam, World Religions. If Jesus is the Father, how could someone else, who is called the Father in the text, speak from Heaven? The infinite cannot be finite and remain infinite. If you were to encounter a normal Oneness Pentecostal, this is probably the view that they would advocate. But this raises the question, whose wrath was satisfied on the cross? 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. 30 I can do nothing on my own. Pay attention to my reasoning, because this is important. Agents of God are called God. 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. Philosophical and Theological Essays on the Trinity 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. (ESV) ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version),copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. (1 Peter 2:23), Did God highly exalt Christ and give him the name that is above every name because he was obedient to himself? He is absolutely divine, possessing an absolutely uncompromised divine nature. God, the one divine. It seems problematic. He is self-aware and aware of others. The answer would be no, because if he knows everything already, how could he think about what He knows? If you act in somebodys name, you are acting under their authority. "Oneness theology is nothing more than the crass unitarianism of Judaism and Islam. When he ate, the Father was hungry. The agent acting and speaking for the principal is the principal by proxy (a person authorized to act for another). The conviction that this multitudinous world is illusory can also encourage. Oneness theology denies the eternal distinctions among the three persons, insisting there is only one actual person in the Godhead . Automated page speed optimizations for fast site performance, The problems with Oneness doctrine (Modalism), One Mediator - The essential humanity of the one mediator Jesus Christ, Biblical Agency - A Key Biblical Concept Pertaining to Christ, Jesus Is The Model - Understanding how Jesus is the model for us, I am Statements - Understanding how Jesus identifies himself in the Gospels, Understanding Logos - The true meaning of the Word in the prologue of John, One God One Lord - For us there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, Understanding the true meaning of the Logos in the Prologue of John, Who do you say that I am? Who poured out his wrath upon Jesus? As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 3 They condemn anybody who does not speak in angelic tongues. It affirms the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Denouncing Izzy's Heresy? Check Your Own Oneness First This is because in Jewish thought, a title and a name are inextricably linked. Oneness Pentecostalism: Heresy, Not Hairsplitting The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Christians have classically said that there is only one God who is eternally present in three persons. This doesn't sound like a problem, until you realize the danger of questions. Jesus said, I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me. (John 8:18). 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. If you would like to read a critique of some of these corollary views, I invite you to browse my series Oneness Pentecostal Heresy. The main sticking point among oneness believers is maintaining the deity of Christ. That is why John 1:18 says that he explains the Father. It is simple. Oneness Delusion - Let God Be True! But following the theme of Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time to ask questions, and there is a time to shut up and . God is one substance, a triune substance. We are left to say that nobodys wrath was poured out, because the Father was the one who was dying. Since the Spirit teaches us that Jesus is in bodily form now (Col. 2:9), then how does the Oneness Pentecostal person maintain that God is in the form of the Holy Spirit? He is self-aware and aware of others. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, A PSALM OF DAVID. I would like to suggest that what the Oneness Pentecostal has misunderstood is that a title is a name. If He werent, He would not qualify to be our High Priest. talk like me! Once they do, they are declared to be saved. Does God need to learn anything? Fair use is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. They are all each fully God, but they are the one God in the sense that they are united in one purpose. He would already know everything he would contemplate. This is derived from Matthew 28:19 which reads that we should baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 22 Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. Despite that, the Bible teaches that it pleased the Lord to crush Jesus (Isaiah 53:10), and that Jesus entrusted his Spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46). They problem is that when the apostles did acted in the name of Jesus, it was not a formula. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. In this, Jesus, the single person designated by the word I claims the attributes of both natures. Mark 16:9, Luke 22:69, Acts 2:33, Acts 5:31, Acts 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:17-19, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 8:1, Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 12:2, and 1 Peter 3:22. However, a few seconds of reflection or perusing the gospels will reveal the problem with this view. 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? authority on Oneness Pentecostalism, David Reed.2 Reed has spent much of his academic life researching and writing on Oneness Pentecostals, especially the UPCI. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. Within Orthodoxy There is only one God in all existence. But it would be a mistake to say that it is always Jesus who is speaking. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. 17 Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.. How can you say, Show us the Father? 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. If you want to know who the trinity is, you look to Jesus. He said that it is an example of the Father communicating with the Son. While most parishioners are unaware of this, the leading Oneness Pentecostal organization, the United Pentecostal Church International, denies patripassionism. Fortunately for those who do believe in such a God, Atterton is wrong. In other words, can he think about what hes going to do and draw conclusions and make decisions based on that contemplation? Problems With Oneness Theology - Sermon Central Was Jesus praying to Himself? (1 Cor 15:24-27). He is totally God. In distinction to God, Jesus is referred to as a man who is the one mediator between God and men in 1 Tim 2:5-6. The Bible teaches there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10:44:6, 8; 45:5). Jesus can be called God because he represents God. The Trinity is the teaching that there is one God who exists in three distinct, concurrent, persons. Jesus is totally God. An apostle is an agent commissioned by a principal. How can Jesus ascend to the right hand of God if He is the only person of the godhead? That is what this article seeks to explore. 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. It is something like an executioner acting in the name of the king. (John 10:29, John 14:28), Why does Jesus refer to the Father as the only true God and as himself as the one that he had sent? The apostolic age, in addition to all of these signs and wonders, entails that there are apostles. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentilesto whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. 19 Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. Thank you for your interest in supporting CARM. But the Oneness theology poses problems by restricting Gods ability in and of himself to have fellowship and to love and be loved until something other than himself exists. 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. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. That is why they often champion themselves Apostolic Pentecostal, or something similar. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Passages are quoted in the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise indicated. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 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 Bible defines the Son of God as the child born of Mary, not as the eternal Spirit of God (Luke 1:35). One page 87, he says that it is the Son who died, but not the Father. Why Bishop Jakes and Oneness Pentecostals Are WRONG About the - YouTube 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. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ., 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.. Oneness Pentecostalism teaches that when you are water baptized, the baptizer must recite the words in the name of Jesus. If he does not recite those words, the baptism is illegitimate, and you cannot be saved. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Fathers commandments and abide in his love. What is wrong with the Oneness view of God? He was the full expression of the trinity. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. 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. 10:40; John 5:23; 6:38-39; 8:42; 12:44-45, 49; 13:20). What Does Jesus Died For Our Sins Mean? 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. What is Oneness Pentecostal theology? - carm.org 3:21), separate wills (Luke 22:42), and Jesus is now presently at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 7:56; Heb. To explain the doctrine as saying that one person is three people, or that there are three separate, competing deities is a misrepresentation of the doctrine. CARM |P.O. You will see the inconsistency and problems that arise from their position. Over the years, Ive spoken to many people within the oneness Pentecostal movement. (John 10:17), Jesus said that Father is greater than all. 25 For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. If Christ is God, how can it be said that Christ has entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf? He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Instead, they ignore the facts of distinction and force scriptures into a oneness interpretation while ignoring the very nature of personhood. It should be noted that the phrase in the name of, is an idiom for power and authority. The book of Acts chronicles exactly what those chosen by Christ proclaimed about who Jesus is. The Hidden Cult of Oneness Pentecostalism - MarketFaith Ministries God is infinite, man is finite. It negates Nestorianism, which states that in the body of Christ are two distinct persons. They each had a will, and Jesus submitted his will to the Father, whose will was different than His. The Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament describe the coming son of man as an agent of God through whom God will establish an everlasting priesthood and kingdom. 5For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,6who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (Acts 3:26), Does God need to entrust himself to himself as at says he continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly?