Jesus had two natures. The main problem is the Oneness Pentecostal doctrine implicitly denies this absolutely fundamental truth. (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? Oneness advocates routinely ignore the logic of how the Trinity is deduced from Scripture. 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.. talk like me! Once they do, they are declared to be saved. 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). ' The relationship and communication between the Father and the Son become incoherent if we say that Jesus is identical with the Father. The following section of scripture contains which nature was speaking at what time according to the Oneness people Ive spoken to. Sometimes the agent standing for the principal is treated as if he were the principal himself, though this is not literally so. 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. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: 41 Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you., Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. It regards Jesus as God but fails to distinguish his personal existence from that of God the Father (or the Spirit). The Oneness Pentecostal would agree with Arius who said that "there was a time when the Son was not." PDF The Oneness Theology of The United Pentecostal Church International As He said that it is an example of the Father communicating with the Son. 38 For I[DIVINE NATURE] have come down from heaven, not to do My [HUMAN NATURE] own will, but the will of Him who sent Me [DIVINE NATURE]. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me [HUMAN NATURE], that of all that He has given Me [HUMAN NATURE] I [HUMAN NATURE] lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 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. Here, Jesus is distinguished from God in four ways: These four aspects of who Jesus is affirm that the humanity of Jesus is core to the Gospel message. This is not a novel objection to the oneness view of God. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. What Is Wrong With The Oneness View Of God? - Therefore, God Exists This entails that there is one God who is one person. Fortunately for those who do believe in such a God, Atterton is wrong. This verse, then, would be expressing that Jesus is totally God, not that Jesus is the Father and the Holy Spirit. If Jesus was praying to the divine side of Himself, then isn't He still praying to Himself? Was Jesus praying to Himself? (Luke 3:22), If Jesus is himself, God, why would an angel be needed to strengthen him? The problem is that a group's denial of an essential biblical teaching excludes that group from Christianity. 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. The trinitarian believes that there is only one God. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions., 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. Did the Father die on the cross? 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. This charge I have received from my Father.. 30 I can do nothing on my own. The principal and agent remain two distinct persons. References are provided as to the necessity of the Messiah of prophecy being an agent of God, and we will look at why the humanity of Christ is essential to the Gospel. They deny the Trinity and teach that there is one person in the Godhead whom they call Jesus. 17 And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. (Heb 9:24) Did God go into heaven to appear in the presence of God? The Trinity is one God in three distinct simultaneous, coeternal persons. They must be different considering that the Father sent the Son (Matt. Problems with oneness Archives Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry Does God need to learn anything? What is wrong with the Oneness view of God? lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 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. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God., 14 I am the good shepherd. Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and . Further, we will look at how Jesus acted according to Gods plan as a servant, that God exalted/appointed Jesus. Oneness Pentecostalism teaches what is known as modalism. Oneness Delusion - Let God Be True! Philosophical and Theological Essays on the Trinity The problem with this is that they do not realize what the apostolic age entails. The hypostatic union is the teaching that in the single person of Christ are two distinct natures: divine and human. What is this core truth? 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. 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 argue that this was fulfilled in Acts 2:38, which says that Peter baptized in the name of Jesus. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 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. But his name was not Immanuel. How can this be if they are the same person? Did He ascend to His OWN right hand? In other words, oneness theology does not recognize the distinct persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When one speaks in tongues, then we can say that they are born again. Oneness Pentecostalism - Apologetics The Messiah of prophecy is a human agent of God the Son of Man. But Christ stepped in and paid our fine when he was murdered. Personhood (i.e., self-awareness, awareness of others, rationality, the ability to love, speak, etc.) 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 They teach people that they saved when in fact, they are not. OnenessRefutation.com | The problems with Oneness doctrine (Modalism) What I am explaining here is a form of monotheism. Ibid., p. 22. In the green section are the characteristics of personhood. They problem is that when the apostles did acted in the name of Jesus, it was not a formula. What are the beliefs of Jesus only / oneness Pentecostals? 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. 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? This known as patripassionism and it is the pervasive view among many Oneness Pentecostals. God is not and cannot become a man. 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. Furthermore, this negates the sufficiency of the atoning sacrifice of Christ because it negates the divine quality of that sacrifice. Although there are over 760 NT passages that make a clear distinction between God and Jesus, we will focus on the most compelling verses covering Jesus and the Father being separate witnesses, the explicit distinction between the person of God and Jesus, common distinctions in the New Testament, and verses that show a visual distinction. But typically, God became a man. Atonement is through the flesh and blood of the human Messiah (Christ). 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. Does this make any sense if Jesus is Lord to begin with? The idea of God is coherent. Any time God says something, it is Jesus speaking. Why Bishop Jakes and Oneness Pentecostals Are WRONG About the - YouTube That is to say that they are telling future events. This means that when God says in Isaiah 43:10 There is no other Godthere never has been, and there never will be, God the Trinity is talking. Thus, it is obviously not literally when Jesus said, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Fathers who sent me. PDF Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity - isca-apologetics.org It was Jesus. Accordingly, it only the one God and Father who is literally God, and Jesus acts on behalf of God as Gods right-hand man. 13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. The Trinity would solve this problem. 12 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. In other words, can he think about what hes going to do and draw conclusions and make decisions based on that contemplation? 1:3). (https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/the-distinction-of-persons-between-god-the-father-and-jesus). What is wrong with the oneness view of God? . The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each exemplify attributes of personhood. (Acts 2:36), If Jesus is God, why doesnt say that Jesus gave himself according to his will, rather than the will of our God and Father (Gal 1:3-4). 56 And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God., 6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. If you would like to discuss this further, come join our Theology Discussion Group. The mediator is a man. (Luke 22:42-43), God has no need to anoint himself. After He rises out of the water, the Holy Spirit comes down from Heaven in the form of a dove and rests upon Him. It affirms the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is spoken of as the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) and the exact representation of His [Gods] nature. Is He a copy of Himself? Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. When the apostles were on trial, the Jewish court asked them, by what power, or in what name do you do this? (Acts 4:7). These "forms" are not three distinct persons, but one person who occupied consecutive modes. How can you say, Show us the Father? 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. There is no talk of repentance or being born again. The human nature is the Son, and the divine nature is the Father. All of the wrath of God that we deserve went out upon him. 1:3; 1 Thess. This is problematic because the very nature of God is love (1 John 4:8). They are all each fully God, but they are the one God in the sense that they are united in one purpose. The Hebrew term for an agent or legal emissary isShaliachwhich is comparable to the Greek worldApostolosand the English word Apostle. In short, oneness theology is not Christian since it denies the True God, the True Incarnation of Christ, and the True Atonement. 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? American Christianity teaches people that if they are sprinkled with some water, then they are saved. There is absolutely no place in Scripture that says that everybody who has the Holy Spirit will speak in tongues. Hence, there is just no contradiction when Peter baptizes in the name of Jesus because it is the same authority. This site is made by those who have also come from a oneness background. But Colossians 2:9 says that in Christ, the fullness of deity dwells bodily. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. On October 1, 1915, 525 delegates met in St. Louis, ready for a confrontation. 3 They condemn anybody who does not speak in angelic tongues. 42 Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. (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.