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). Is he but one-third, 33% of God? (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 Trinity is the teaching that there is one God who exists in three distinct, concurrent, persons. Does this make any sense if Jesus is Lord to begin with? He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. He can only represent fully in His nature another person that exists. "Oneness theology is nothing more than the crass unitarianism of Judaism and Islam. Matthew 28:19, while Oneness proponents kept going back to Acts 2:38, in which Peter commands his Jewish listeners to "be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins." Eventually, an explanation was given by the Oneness side that the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spiritwhich Jesus mentions in Matthew 28:19is Jesus. They have the wrong view of. If this were a formula, we would see consistency. 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. Is Jesus His own Father? monotheism, belief in the existence of one god, or in the oneness of God. It is not a contradictory notion. The eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. It should be noted that the phrase in the name of, is an idiom for power and authority. 44. (1 Cor 15:24-27). You must be indwelled by God himself and have a born again experience. 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. (John 8:28), If Jesus is God, he would have the Holy Spirit within himself. 2 They teach people that they are saved when they are not. Thus, it is obviously not literally when Jesus said, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.. God is a personal being. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Fathers who sent me. He would already know everything he would contemplate. 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. 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. This is exactly how the Trinity doctrine is arrived at. Just as a man can be a father, a son, and an employee, so also God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The apostles directed their prayer to the Father and in doing so, they referred to Jesus as your holy servant Jesus. They understood that Jesus is an agent of God. Jesus will be in us and we will be in Jesus, but that does not literally make us Jesus. However, at the Council of Nicea, which arose in response to the Arian heresy (the view that Jesus is merely a creature), there were a few oneness representatives. Therefore the sacrifice is not of divine quality, and it cannot be said that God is who was pierced. In other words, oneness theology does not recognize the distinct persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 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.. Jesus is said to have two natures: human and divine. These references include Romans 1:7, Romans 15:6, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 2 Corinthians 1:2-3, 2 Corinthians 11:31, Galatians 1:1-3, Ephesians 1:2-3, Ephesians 1:17, Ephesians 5:20, Ephesians 6:23, Philippians 1:2, Philippians 2:11, Colossians 1:3, 1 Peter 1:2-3. The trinitarian would object to that on the basis that sometimes the Father is talking, others the Son is talking, and others the Holy Spirit is talking. It is something like an executioner acting in the name of the king. This doesn't sound like a problem, until you realize the danger of questions. To the best of my recollection, not a single oneness person has ever refuted how the doctrine of the Trinity is arrived at using the Scriptures. But every time they said to baptize in the name of Jesus, they said it differently, whether in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38) in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:16) or even without invoking the name, just in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:48; 22:16). It would mean that God was eternally knowing and experiencing the mutual contemplation of the three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While most parishioners are unaware of this, the leading Oneness Pentecostal organization, the United Pentecostal Church International, denies patripassionism. The key to understanding the context of John 14;9-10 is John 14;20 where Jesus says, in that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.. Over the years, Ive spoken to many people within the oneness Pentecostal movement. 22 Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (1 Cor 8:6) Correspondingly, numerous scriptural references (15x) use the term God in reference to the Father and the term Lord pertaining to Jesus. He possesses all divine attributes. This is because, in verse 17, Jesus referred to the Law stating that the testimony of two people is true. Jesus counts himself and his Father as two people when he says in verse 18, I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me., 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. But, there are numerous problems with their position. Here we will outline the problems with oneness doctrine, including the key scriptural references. Is he only part of the Godhead? He is still fully God and fully man. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. When I ask them for an analysis of John 6:37-39, I get some very interesting responses. This is because prior to the incarnation of Christ Jesus, there was no Jesus. They were in different locations at the same time (Matt. His most recent contribution, In Jesus Name, goes into detail on Oneness history and theology, but he primarily focuses his latter efforts on the significance of the name of Jesus. What I am explaining here is a form of monotheism. They go to a Oneness Pentecostal Church, have no repentance in their heart, do not know anything about Christ or the Bible. In Hebrew thought, the first cause or ultimate cause is not always distinguished from secondary or proximate causes. The Bible teaches there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10:44:6, 8; 45:5). Please note, though, this is not saying there are three competing and separate gods (polytheism). 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.. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. 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. 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Does God need to learn anything? If you were to encounter a normal Oneness Pentecostal, this is probably the view that they would advocate. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. Therefore, the Son created the universe and existed alongside the Father. Oneness promotes Nestorianism, which attributes to Jesus the quality of two persons in one body. These references include Acts 2:23, Acts 2:32, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:10, Acts 5:30, Acts 10:40, Acts 13:30, Acts 13:37, Romans 6:4, Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 6:15, 1 Corinthians 15:15, Galatians 1:1, Colossians 2:12, and 1 Peter 1:21. It entails that people can speak authoritatively, in inerrancy and inspiration, and write Scripture. Zechariah 12:10, I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. Oneness Pentecostalism does the exact same thing. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. What is wrong with the Oneness view of God? there is no God but one. 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earthas indeed there are many gods and many lords 6 yet for us 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. The eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Is this belief true? To start saving items to a SermonFolder, please create an account. I would like to suggest that what the Oneness Pentecostal has misunderstood is that a title is a name. 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). First, trinitarians do not believe that in the Son resides 33% of God. 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. The Oneness Pentecostal believes that Jesus is the proper name of God, something like the name Jehovah or YHWH. We might pull our cars over for a police officer in the name of the law. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Oneness theology is false. Often when engaging in dialogue with a Oneness Pentecostal, they will refer to God in every context in the Old Testament as Jesus. 1:3). (https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/the-distinction-of-persons-between-god-the-father-and-jesus). 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. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. This is how the early church sprang out of an obscure village in the middle east on the backs of 11 peasants. So rather from descending from heaven and residing with him, wouldnt it rather emanate from him? 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. This means that the name of Jesus is Immanuel, Son, everlasting father, prince of peace, wonderful counselor, mighty God, and YHWH. The Father in Heaven is one nature, and the Son on earth is another nature. This paper briefly address three aspects of christological monotheism from a Oneness perspective. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. If He werent, He would not qualify to be our High Priest. God the Trinity is the only God worthy of worship. 3:21), separate wills (Luke 22:42), and Jesus is now presently at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 7:56; Heb. Man is dependent on oxygen, food, and water. Ibid., p. 22. 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. 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.
