It is never used apart from God's incarnation, however; it never refers to deity First, it is not an assumption- For nowhere did Jesus ever state that He was the same person as the Father, nor did anyone in the NT ever call him Father. Scripture presents in plain and normal language that the preexistent person of the Son was sent from the Father (e.g., John 3:13; 16-17; 6:33, 38, 44, 46, 50-51; 62; 8:23, 38, 42, 57-58; 16:28; Gal. As Hebrews 1:3 tells us, The Son is the radiance of Gods glory and the exact representation of his being If we want to know who God is, then we need to look to Jesus Christ. However, this seems to be far too simplistic of a reading. 4. How Can a Pastor Stay Engaged in Apologetics? Oneness Pentecostals have an anti-trinitarian view of God, an unbiblical doctrine of Jesus Christ, and unbiblical requirements for salvation (speaking in tongues, water baptism in Jesus name, and a legalistic moral code). In speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus tells them, I will come to you. Is this not a clear identification of the Holy Spirit with himself? Both Oneness believers and Trinitarians agree that the Father is invisible and does not have a physical body. [hereafter BDAG], 225). $22.00. In Ephesians 2:18, Paul teaches that by the agency of the Son, Christians have access to the Father by means of the Spirit: For through Him [di autouthe Son] we both have our access in [en] one Spirit to the Father [pros ton patera] (Eph. Salvation is entirely based on grace through faith in Christ. They are not three distinct persons. Consider this, Trinitarians, not Oneness believers, conducted all of the major revivals worldwide. They maintain that God exists in two modes, as the Father in heaven, and as Jesus the Son on earth. 4:4-5; Eph. UPCI: Apostolic Bible Institute-St. Paul, Minn. 6. Biblical Response: The Oneness Pentecostal view of God is similar to the ancient heresy of Modalism. Well, Oneness Pentecostalism has a lot of subtleties. They are manifestations that one God takes on, sometimes simultaneously. The Holy Spirit is not regarded as a person at all, merely a manifestation of Jesus power or a synonym for Him. So there are good reasons to think that the disciples were not concerned with the words that were recited but with the power and authority of the Trinity. Pentecostals are so certain of this logic that many consider it to be a key teaching of the Christian faith. 1 Thess. Let's look at the Foursquare Church and United Pentecostal Church International and see how hey differ. Zen is the ultimate self-help because it helps you see that the self does not exist. Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique In the Incarnation, God in his divine nature is the Father; the Son is the perfect man in whom God was incarnate; Jesus is the one God manifested in the flesh. In this theology, the Father embodies the divine attributes of the godhead and the Son embodies the human aspects. 1:8; Lu. as well as found on early Germanic coins-with no religious significance at all. Why did I do this? In this theology, the Father embodies the divine attributes of the Godhead and the Son embodies the human aspects. But in verse 5, he says that he wishes everybody spoke in tongues, indicating that everybody does not speak in tongues. In addition, many Oneness advocates rely on the unbiblical revelations received by various Oneness leaders whom they regard as divinely inspired or anointed interpreters of the Bible. Indiana Bible College-Seymour, Ind. Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2018. This view of the Trinity is connected with Oneness Pentecostals' Christology. In Revelation 5:13, the Lamb and the Father are presented as two distinct objects of divine worship, as they are clearly differentiated by the repetition of the article t: To Him who sits (t kathmen [lit. 2022 Department of Christian Defense Third, how could we recognize tongues for edification as opposed to the gift of tongues? 8. That the Son was the Creator clearly disproves the Oneness position. These false doctrines can affect teachings about justification, sanctification, the role and work of the cross and an understanding of the nature of God. Now I will switch gears from Oneness to their view of water baptism. Oneness adherents (along with Muslims and Jehovahs Witnesses) wrongly assume that the concept or word one when referring to God (e.g., Deut. ISBN-10: 0692644067. If God is unitarian, why is it that there are so many places in the Bible where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are clearly distinguished from each other in the same verse? Oneness Pentecostal Be prepared to explain biblically why you do not believe these are necessary ingredients for salvation or eternal security. It is noticeably absent. 1:2). First and third person personal pronouns: Throughout chapter 14, Jesus clearly differentiates Himself from the Father by using first person personal pronouns (I, Me, Mine) to refer to Himself and third person personal pronouns (He, Him, His) to refer to His Father (e.g., John 14:7, 10, 16). The Trinitarians won the majority and a "Statement of Fundamental Truths" was adopted that affirmed the Trinity. 2:18). No one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from [the] heaven [ek tou ouranou]: the Son of Man (John 3:13). 5:13 et al. a. Spatial: near, beside, b. Many small Oneness groups formed after 1916, though many have remained independent. By promoting the Son as a temporary mode or a role of the unitarian deity whose life started in Bethlehem, denies the Son, as well as the Father. Well, first, you need to be baptized with the baptismal formula, In the name of Jesus. They will re-baptize you if you were baptized In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Second, you will need to receive the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues. Both of these are essential ingredients to salvation. Oneness folks like yourself typically cherry-pick passages (esp. Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique I always say at the onset to one like yourself, who make the incorrect uninformed assertion regarding the triquetra symbol being derived from Wicca, paganism, etc. United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI)-500,000 (1.5 million worldwide), Other Designations: Jesus Only churches; Apostolic Pentecostals; The Oneness Movement; The Jesus Name Movement, Pentecostal Herald (UPCI) Wallace, GGBB, 368; Greenlee, A Concise Exegetical Grammar of New Testament Greek, 5th ed. Learn more. Further, the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus should not be overlooked. 4:30; Heb. Nearly twenty years ago a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Greg Boyd wrote a book defending the doctrine of the Trinity against the objections of Oneness Pentecostals. The answers do not represent a *full exegetical presentationrather it simply and basically demonstrates (a) the fundamental Oneness unitarian assumptions (viz. And those (like yourself) who object (due to a mass of misinformation) to the Trinitarian symbol, since they do not have a problem with pagan-origins calendars in their homes, do they have a problem with the Apostle Pauls quotations of pagans writers to make a biblical pointnamely, Epimenides of Crete in Titus 1:12 and Acts 17:28 (referring to Zeus); Aratus of Cilicia in Acts 17:28 (also referring to Zeus); and Menander in 1 Cor. Westminster Confession of Faith, 1:9. Following these beginnings, Pentecostal preachers and churches spread rapidly coalescing into various denominations and factions. More than 160 oneness ministers who were expelled from the AOG quickly formed their own alliances to promote their doctrines. Book of Kells was an exemplified manuscript book in Latin containing all four Gospels together with various prefatory texts contained also figures of triquetras. the God)], and [kai] the fellowship of the [tou] Holy Spirit be with you all. . Oneness theology rejects the personhood of the Holy Spirit. Thanks! In many debates and particularly in his book The Oneness of God, Dr. David K. Bernard argued that the declarations in the Old Testament are so powerful that they dismiss any conception of plurality within the Godhead. If Oneness Pentecostalism is true, how do we avoid the absurd image of Jesus asking himself permission and then sending himself? 2. Third, it may be that Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the one name under which we are baptized. Thus, in spite of the arguments of Oneness advocates against the triune God and the the person of Christ, it is the gospel that must be proclaimed to them-, which the power and ordained means of God for setting them free from the darkness of Oneness theology and bringing them to the true Jesus Christ, as He wills. Something went wrong. In doing so, they will think that they have mounted a proper argument against trinitarian theology because they believe that the doctrine of the trinity states that there are three gods. 6:4). Question for Oneness regarding "modes of existence." - CARM Forums AGAINST ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. Oneness View Seriously Flawed 1:21-22; 13:14; 1 Pet. Behind this question lay a criticism of the commonly-held Trinitarian Pentecostal argument that the name of Jesus in baptismal texts from . If the Son did not eternally exist with the Father as a distinct person why is it that the Son can say, Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had [or shared, eichon] with You before the world was.? Different prepositions: Throughout John chapter 14 (and chaps. Jesus was claiming absolute unity with the Father. Matthew 28:19 includes the marching orders for Christians. But what good reasons are there to think that? For example in the late 8th cent. Colossians 2:9 does not teach that the totality of the Godhead was in the body of Jesus, but rather that Jesus embodied the totality of the divine nature and God is totally revealed in Him. Share your personal testimony of Gods grace and your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. He was making claims that no mere human could make. Oneness theology is the doctrine that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not distinct persons. A Definitive Look at Oneness Theology: In the Light of Biblical . However, this doesn't fit with this passage, because these still hadn't received the Spirit at all. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. Read the entire account. Anyways, I would change that symbol. 51: I am the living bread that came down ek tou ouranou, 58: This is the bread which came down ex ouranou; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.. . Jesus is said to have two natures: human and divine. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. They accomplish this by adhering to modalism, more commonly referred to as oneness theology. 3:11; 1 John 1:3; 2:22-23; Rev. Other preachers, such as Frank J. Ewart and John G. Scheppe, joined McAlister in his non-trinitarian perspective. Some Pentecostal denominations, often referred to as Apostolic Pentecostals, Oneness Pentecostals or Jesus-Only Pentecostals, take the . John 14:23: Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and we will make Our abode with him [par aut]. Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2016. 9. (or that God exist as one person?). His insight is edifying. It may also be that Father, Son, and Spirit is the name by which we know God. Answering A Few Common Oneness Pentecostal Arguments It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. In John 1:18, John wrote, No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Jesus is the only begotten God and he is at the Fathers side, and he explains him. In this piece he critically interacts with the following argument of mine ( from this blog post ). Noted Greek scholar Daniel Wallace provides the precise meaning of the preposition para followed by the dative: In general, the dative uses suggest proximity or nearness. Oneness Pentecostalism: Heresy, Not Hairsplitting [5] Beisner, Jesus Only Churches, 34. They are one in being but distinct in person. While this is not a good argument that Jesus is the Father, it is a good argument that Jesus is God. There is no indication that it, or any other spiritual gift, is required to receive Gods gift of salvation by grace or to be filled with His Holy Spirit (see Eph. John 9:39) the invisible Father (cf. 10. I will come to you. 13:14; also cf. John 3:5 should not be read in a vacuum. The argument isn't against modesty, but that the descriptions the New Testament gives are examples from the first century and aren't universal prohibitions for every time and culture . It is very well organized. Oneness Pentecostals have a distorted notion of the Trinity and need someone to show them the scriptural teaching of the Trinity, David Kowalski writes. I found this web page, looked promising to refute Oneness theology. Does the long ending of Mark vindicate the Oneness Pentecostal position about speaking in tongues? [1] In Phil. They maintain that the only real person in the Godhead is Jesus. The Oneness Pentecostal may try to convince you that you need to speak in tongues, be baptized in Jesus name, and live according to their strict moral code. Oneness Pentecostals believe that the trinity is ONLY one entity. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we dont use a simple average. It would be to cherry-pick the verse that fits into ones doctrine. Oneness Pentecostals believe that there is one God and God is one. 6:16). Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity - Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth Christian Life College-Stockton, Calif. So they will use this proof-text that they think 9. 45:6-7; Hos. , Paperback What Michael Burgos Jr. has produced in Against Oneness Pentecostalism is a helpful book for pastors or churchmen needing a polemical approach against the anti-Trinitarians embedded in our communities and occasionally, our churches. Present the basic plan of salvation and encourage the Oneness Pentecostal to receive Jesus Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior. Phil. After all, it says that one must be born of water and Spirit. Focus the discussion on the essential elements of the Christian faith. . Further, how do you know that you do not merely possess the gift of tongues?
arguments against oneness pentecostals