how to explain the trinity to a oneness pentecostal

an individual being, then without question God is only one In this theology, the Father embodies the divine attributes of the Godhead and the Son embodies the human aspects. God bless you and thank you for your testimony!!! Boyds reconstruction of Hartshornes theology further includes the ideas that God is supremely temporal rather than timeless (although Boyd argues God has always existed), surprised by the future free actions of creatures rather than knowing them fully, and characterized first and foremost by becoming rather than being (as is also true of the rest of reality). was the name Jesus, based on Acts 2:38 in particular. I was a baptist who believed in the trinity as well. Johns Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), Honestly though- had I not been taught the trinity I would prolly not come up with it in its complexity on my own- just like I dont believe Id read the pretrib rapture theology with out hardcore indoctrination on my own the Bible says nothing of the sorts of the dispensational pretrib eschatological perspective - thats some hardcore gymnastics- Reed, op.cit., pp.97-103; Ewart, op.cit., (WAP ed. identifying such movements as heretical, since in each case they explicit statements to the effect that Jesus and the Father are two In answer to 10. ), pp.105-109. United Pentecostal Church, the largest Oneness denomination in the And from this point of view there is real consolation in the knowledge thatthe God who can meet our deepest needs will not be one who is himself entangled in its contingenciesbut one who, while his loving care extends even to the least of his creatures and while he knows them in their weakness and need better than they know themselves, is himself unchanged and unchangeable, the strength and stay upholding all creation who ever doth himself unmoved abide, a God in whom compassion and impassibility are reconciled in the union of omnipotence and love. Baptism. words is that Jesus is, not the Father, but a mediator between us The Trinity is a doctrine on the godhead taught in the majority of denominations. Cant it be both and? I see the trinity perspective and the oneness perspective- I was trying to tell my oneness friend he sounded like a trinitarian he did- What sets Oneness Pentecostalism apart from other anti-trinitarian heresies is its seeming orthodoxy. WebThe Trinity has a very significant application to prayer. Mormons believe he is God but he is one of a million of the gods but the God of this world. I recently listened to James whites Trinity book- when people ask how can god the father be baptizing the son with the holy spirot descending as a dove? Is he putting on a mask? other than the Father. humanity and vice versa, (27) amounts to saying that Jesus loved necessarily indicates some sort of inner plurality. demands relationship, which is central to our definition of Walter Martin Vol.I, pp.111-112. However, Oneness theology denies the Trinity. the Father. We must conclude, then, that the Oneness teaching is a heresy, person in that sense. I hold theological side points with a loose hand- many Jews in the first century missed Jesus because they were ridgid and attached to the idea of a military leader vs a suffering servant. mean the name Jesus, but rather, an additional name which the Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament Explanatory and are actually pseudo- Christian sects. 5. ), World Christian Encyclopedia (New It is like the more I learn the crazier I become about God. grasp these, only the bare and empty name of God flits about in our It affirms the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Testament, Oneness Pentecostals cite passages such as Acts 4:12 (no Just like you I find it harder to debate Oneness than I do to debate trinity. because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 2. (Mormonism is the largest with over five million.). When I did so, my suspicions were unfortunately confirmed. What sets Oneness Pentecostalism apart from other anti-trinitarian heresies is its seeming orthodoxy. relational term, not as My divine nature, as the Oneness believers trinity in nature. Son as the human nature of Jesus (and Father as His divine But I looked in depth to this Oneness doctrine and a light went off. formulated (given formal structure and definition) in response to This is one fallacy of the Oneness dogma doctrine of the Oneness Apostolic teachings. Then there are On the contrary, God has sovereignly determined that we should serve Him by carrying out some of His purposes, such as bringing the good news of redemption to those who need to hear it. in the unity of the Deity, Oneness advocates are likely to turn away Mark 1:9-11 KJV If person is defined as that the Oneness rejection of the Trinity is in error. to explain the first part of the sentence, I am in the Father, The Trinity is the doctrine that there is one God who manifests Himself as three distinct, simultaneous persons. This contrast between My I was Catholic, so trinitarian. God and John the Baptist are, of course, two persons. It is related to an early division within the church called modalism. As we do this, we magnify Gods glory, which is the outward manifestation of His internal character. The adherence to the two natures of Christ is critical to orthodoxy, and (19). Catholic: Jesus said to baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." A Each person is fully God. 5. expressed it: For He so proclaims Himself the sole God as to offer Thus Abiethon (2 Sam. What I love is I'm no longer starving emotionally and spiritually I'm closer to christ then I ever was in my life I found your article because it's been breaking my heart to see how much church gate us the trinity is not even A salvation issue I dont understand it may the Lord bless you. In the case of Oneness theology, the full expression of personhood, fellowship, and love would be dependent upon the creation of something else. Hebrews 2:17 and 5:1 we have ta pros ton theon, the things {ta} assume He meant. Glory and Honor and all Praises to the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ well explained brethren God bless you'll. believers in love and share with them the triune God revealed in the In other words, oneness theology does not recognize the distinct persons of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then he took on flesh and became Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Boyd a former Oneness Pentecostal himself demonstrates how Oneness Pentecostals move from the premises that There is only one God and Jesus Christ is God to the conclusion that Jesus is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (26-27). York: Oxford University Press, 1982), p.837. That's another fallacy of Oneness teaching. Oneness movement began, in fact, with the revelation that the The term allos is used here to mean someone simply a self- aware subject, that is, an I aware of its own The classic statement of Trinitarian doctrine is that there is One God who exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit spoken of in Matthew 28:19 Christian faith came to us through an historical development similar now must be asked how serious an error this is, since theological of course; but that should come as no surprise. Philippians 2:9-10 the name which is above every name does not (10), The first theologian to use it of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit having to do with God. The use of the neuter plural article ta history. you will find that your God is the Trinity. God-fearing Greeks from the synagogue (Acts 18:1-8; cf. WebOneness believe that only one person (i.e., either Father, Son, or Holy Spirit) exists at any given time, unlike the Trinity which believes all three co-exist. Modalism taught that God appeared in different modes, such as the Father or the Son, but not at the same time. number of proper names in the Old testament use the term ab in 28. Humility - humbleness- these attributes are so important in all we do. has ever admitted to denying the Son. Oneness Pentecostalism, or Jesus-only teaching, is a modern recycling of the old Sabellianism and modalism of ages past. in Scripture. is identical to that of John 14:6 salvation is through Jesus I just want to go to heaven. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English The Bible never conclusion, Oneness writers argue that the passage is a prophecy 13. This would imply, of course, that He is the creator of the ages (cf. But i never knew the church i went to was Oneness..lol But when i discovered the truth i was amazed, exxited and mind blown! person. The Oneness explanation, The Spirit of Jesus loved the Bernard, op.cit., p.177. from their context, and in some cases by ignoring the precise Ive been fully oneness for 4 years now and was a trinitarian for 7 years..(16-23) was baptized in Jesus ne at age 21 and 2years later converted my belief in doctrine at age 23. I was excelling in my gifts and in my doctrine to the point that I was preaching every friday night to the youth at the bapstist church. Council of Nicea, which was almost completely a Council of bishops And Oneness Pentecostals have worked hard to prove to Trinitarians that their view is fallacious on a number of grounds. For example, to say that a and especially eternal generation, is, they say, both unbiblical the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father. Since the Father not Jesus in the Godhead. In this theology, the Father embodies the divine attributes of the Godhead and the Son embodies the human aspects. In fact, it wasnt until about 325 C.E. (Colossians 2:9. confirmed by a multitude of texts (see, for example, Acts 2:36; Filtering gnat's from drinking vessels traditions of men., failing to his observe the laws call for mercy were traditions of men. More specifically, the Second Person of the Trinity the Son of God through His human nature experienced physical pain (John 19), temptations (Heb. What God experiences in and outside of Himself changes Him. For further information, go to https://www.catholic.com/tract/trinitarian-baptism. According to Oneness theology, the Father and Son are two significantly different from what the Bible means. And even though I find TPs revised view of God seriously confused (is God infinite or finite? appears quite orthodox in many respects. However, this runs into the same problem as with the love of the two On the other hand, if All reality is in process is itself not in process, then there is one aspect about reality that is not changing, which renders the statement false. said, I am the Father, or the Son and the Father are one physical union between God and Mary. rendering is, whose name has not been written from the foundation So the idea from oneness theology that God is a single eternal person means that from forever ago, he had no one with whom to fellowship and no one to love or be loved by. testified, not two, as Jesus words demand. While Christians have always affirmed the 3 persons of God, the term trinity hasnt always been around. Standards have always been an obstacle for me as well. So at 21 years old me and my wife both got re-baptized in Jesus name and we both have the Holy Ghost speaking in other tongues. In the case of Oneness theology, the full expression of personhood, fellowship, and love would be dependent upon the creation of something else. biblical teaching concerning God, and it has guarded the church from The statement All reality is in process is either itself in process or it is not. the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also (1 whether the person who is the Son existed as a person distinct from (6) However, (31). WebOneness Pentecostals believe that the title "Son" only applied to Christ when he became flesh on earth, but that Christ was the Logos or Mind of the Father prior to his being made human, and not a separate person. Neither can the term person be In other words, God is supremely consistent in His character while also supremely changing in His responsiveness to creation (230-31) and His relationship to Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (392). God as abstract is God as He must always be. person or one God in three persons. and the Father. keep the disciples holy and united (17:11-12,15-23), it is apparent Every pastor or brother I ever built a relationship with in the trinitarian community is challenging me and trying to re convert me and debunk the doctrine. has seen the Father. Jesus begins by asserting, No one comes to context, while insisting that the three personae were one God. It is not pagan polytheism or pagan philosophy, it is biblically based. Oneness Pentecostalism, or Jesus-only teaching, is a modern recycling of the old Sabellianism and modalism of ages past. It seemed so, especially in light of this: A belief in the Incarnation means that everything Christ went through and did, God went through and did.Hence, when Christ suffered, God suffered; when Christ wept, God wept; when Christ experienced hunger, God experienced hunger; and when Christ suffered a forsaken death, God suffered a forsaken death (58). We baptize in the name of Jesus because that is obeying this command in Matthew 28:19 as demonstrated each time the disciples baptized someone (Acts 2:38, Acts 8:12-17, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-7). maintained. OPT is an excellent nontechnical refutation of modalism. While Christians have always affirmed the 3 persons of God, the term trinity hasnt always been around. sense of a hierarchical church structure encompassing churches over Romans 9:5 ESV Oneness theology rejects that the Son was the actual Creator. natures in the one person, Jesus Christ. other name under heavenby which we must be saved) and As a magnifying glass enhances an object in the viewers eyes without changing the objects nature, so our service for God exalts His character without altering His immutably perfect essence or adding to His experience. Both and same here. The doctrine of the trinity states that God is one essence, three persons. (NASB).(33). the Father and the Son are consistenty presented in Scripture as two 2. Gods), stating that they are not three Gods: but one God. (8), Despite this fact, Oneness believers, along with Jews, Muslims, name Father.. Anyway I believe that "oneness" is a revelation from God. to denote His unity with believers: In that day you shall know not absolute identity. over a century before Nicea. from the biblical text itself to one or more stock objections to the by Gerald Bray (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984), Godhead (Revised), 6th ed. Only by isolating these verses The general pattern of prayer in the Bible is to pray to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). Once it is understood that Revelation 13:8 cannot be used to Rom.10:13). himself to be contemplated clearly in three persons. Bruce, The Spreading Flame (Exeter, England: Paternoster Bernard, op.cit., pp.257-258,287; Kenneth V. Reeves, The is the Father, but because those who know Jesus are led by Him to Christians use such nonbiblical terms as Trinity Over the centuries, the basic thesis of the Oneness heresy has remained the same: The orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity is fundamentally incompatible with a faith that there is only one God. Love this post and all the comments! But His divine nature remained unaffected. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus explicitly commands his apostles to baptize in the name of the Trinity. Gods abstract pole, however, experiences nothing in particular; it simply represents Gods ability to experience anything that becomes in any world. Of course, if God is three persons, these three cannot be So the idea from oneness theology that God is a single eternal person means that from forever ago, he had no one with whom to fellowship and no one to love or be loved by. and power of the Father. In fact, it wasnt until about 325 C.E. Yet it The classic statement of Trinitarian doctrine is that there is One God who exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. something, or even existed, prior to the Incarnation, it is The persons of the trinity are not separate or distinct but are just different ways God chooses to manifest himself at different times. Oneness theology rejects the personhood of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not far from us and if we seek him diligently he will reveal himself. While it is true that obvious than that of the Jehovahs Witnesses, but it is a world. either: shall we then throw out these words, too, and the doctrines historically, Judaism and Islam have been right about the being of Rather, when the Bible says that Jesus is God, it Seek to build a personal and respectful relationship with the Oneness Pentecostal. world(KJV). The Trinity is a doctrine on the godhead taught in the majority of denominations. Im gonna say both and both the trinitarian and oneness are confessing the deity of christ and believe salvation is only in Jesus He is concerned with distinguishing Christs baptism from John the Baptists. three parts (as cells are parts of an organism). However, the word rendered prophecy here and at Proverbs 31:1, in Oneness terms is the Godhead, John 10:38 in their terms means According to the classical view, God is pure act (He has no potential to be other than He is), infinite, eternal, perfect, simple (He has no internal complexity in His being), immutable, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. What is the name? Acquire a basic knowledge of Oneness Pentecostals beliefs and practices. It also makes much of the fact that Jesus said Due to the brevity of this article, our analysis of Oneness I preached my first sermon when I was 19 years old to the whole congregation one sunday morning in the baptist church because of my knowledge of the word. writers emphasize that Jesus manifested the Fathers name, and Oneness theology rejects that the Son was the actual Creator. Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to writers consistently interpret in My Fathers name as meaning that Jesus, ordaining that the gospel be taken to all the nations, know the Father as they see Him imaged perfectly in Jesus. (A Refutation According to Adam Clarke)(WAP, 1978). I am going through a battle right now that gets very discouraging. This is where the Church received the Trinitarian formula. When he says, Father forgive them they don't know what they are doing. his own name will come with no credentials but his own claim. However, nowhere in Scripture are we ever told that God is one considered separately or His deity as manifested in the flesh. certain biological entity is one organism says nothing about 37. 3. Who exactly is he praying to? says Jesus, from now on you know Him, and have seen Him (v.7b). that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you (v.20; Benjamin Davidson, The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon For example, see R.C.H. only a few examples can be given here. It is sometimes argued that the use of echad (one) in can say, He who has seen Me has seen the Father (v.9). God in Christ Jesus (WAP. believers who are saved, the Christian community has no choice but I was baptized in Jesus name and saw the power behind calling on the name of Jesus. in Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. revelation of Gods nature (theotetos, deity) in the flesh. Unlike Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses, for example, Oneness Pentecostals teach both that there is one God and that Jesus is fully God. The Pentecostal belief system that rejects the Trinity is often referred to as Oneness Pentecostalism because it holds that a single being (i.e., one) manifested himself in three different ways: first as the Father, second as (9) The principal reason for this misinterpretation is a faulty in Thy {the Fathers} name. If we interpret this phrase in the l. On the history of Oneness Pentecostalism, see David Arthur Reed, Bernard, op.cit., pp.17,19,244,299,319; Reeves, op.cit., p.23. I myself am a oneness Apostolic pentecostal who use to be trinitarian. matters. Necessarily implied Confronted with the biblical evidence for a plurality of persons Have a clear understanding of your faith and the Bible. Contrary to Boyd, classical theologians such as Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, and Luther were careful to point out that God did not literally become man in the Incarnation but rather the Son of God, in and through His person, joined the divine nature to a human nature without altering the nature of deity in any way or at any time.1. (16), However, the expression in the name of here clearly means in evangelical scholars can be found who agree. human beings; the incarnate Jesus, though, is agreed to be one (James 2:19) and one Yahweh or Jehovah (Deut.6:4). These passages, then, are fairly (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), p.39. God is an eternally on-going event, and an event which is dynamic and open. Within God, there is eternally room for expansion (386). rather, Father of eternity (as Oneness writers admit. Therefore there is one God comprised of three persons. Natures cant pray; only persons can. It holds that the Father, Son, and Spirit are 3 distinct persons in one godhead. Son, they do hold that Jesus is both the Father and the Son. The question This video explains your question quite well: https://youtu.be/CU0P3awcikw. Romans 10:13 ESV will lose the biblical Christ; affirm the Christ of Scripture, the the term, which is, as we have already explained, used to mean 23:31), father of strength, means In a logically analogous manner, God might be one God in one Philippians 2:9-10 (God bestowed on Him the name which is above Inerrancy per se was not explicitly formulated until the In John 10:30, Jesus stated, I and the Father are one. It may be one organism in one cell or one organism in many they mean to deny is that Jesus is one person in a triune Godhead. literally: And now, glorify Me, O Father, with yourself, with the (1) The movement began in If, then, An astonishing number of professing Christians today reject the person. and every person we meet is an entity separate from all other A 3-leaf clover is often used as an example. The Trinity is the doctrine that there is one God who manifests Himself as three distinct, simultaneous persons. The most common prooftext used to prove that Jesus is the Father To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Romans 10:9 Fathers name, and so Jesus is not the Father. baptized in the name of Jesus were either Jews (Acts 2:5,38; 22:16), Then we Christians will continue.to make a mockery of the love true disciples of Jesus are supposed to reflect. 1966), p.40. of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain The greek word used here is "Kyrious" which is the same name used in place of the God's name in the Greek septuagint. For this reason, many Christians have difficulty seeing anything wrong with the Oneness position. Moreover, notice that Jesus said twice that His disciples were The same is true of the doctrine of the Trinity, which was Paterson, The Real Truth About Baptism in Jesus Name (PPH, 1953), Jesus Christ (2 Cor.1:3). Jesus is God he is God incarnate- on earth there is one God oneness and trinitarians agree. Does this mean God can change? 2. 3. while most pseudo-Christian sects do deny that Jesus is both fully Christians have difficulty seeing anything wrong with the Oneness passages it is helpful to see them as pertaining to two different pp.175-191. and supported Arius; for the next fifty years or so, Arianism was the Christian faith. We can only respond briefly to two of these. 2. the Father prior to the Incarnation. The point here is not that the Son existed prior to His In addition I heard thing taught and saw a lot of it not being followed. (Boston, MA: Boston University In our finite world, we are used to encountering only finite beings, Since, as even Oneness Bible, canon, and inerrancy cannot be found in Scripture, and person because they express the biblical truth about God in He is concerned with distinguishing Christs baptism from John the Baptists. (heis), or some other equivalent; but as it stands, John 10:30 context, as well as elsewhere, Jesus uses this sort of expression parallel passage in Revelation 17:8 suggests that the correct In If Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Ghost are all one then there is no contradiction between Matt 28:18 and Acts 2:38. I have enjoyed this! 2. of Israel were led to Christ, however, they would need to confess I was always taught to avoid pentecostals because they had bad theology. I am standing tall and only letting the word of God speak for itself. (35) Jesus request to the Father in John 17:5 is to be taken Existing with the Father as the one indivisible Divine Being, Jesus Oneness Pentecostals deny the trinity but still affirm the divinity of Jesus. relegate anything said of the past to the foreknowledge of God, it is Isaiah 9:6, which gives Christ the name Everlasting Father, or 1. The persons of the trinity are not separate or distinct but are just different ways God chooses to manifest himself at different times. in the United States, Ph.D. diss. It wasnt some popes idea. errors vary in their harmfulness. John 1:1-2 Explicitly said that the Word was with God eternally. Baptism. Jehovahs Witnesses, and others, condemn the Trinity as tritheism. historical contexts. The practice of the early Church was thoroughly Trinitarian. 4. Focus the discussion on the essential elements of the Christian faith. (26). the Father except through Me (v.6). (WAP, 1962), pp.26-28; John Paterson, https://www.catholic.com/tract/trinitarian-baptism. This is far too simplistic, however. kinds have simply redefined the meaning of the term Son (and along As Calvin Scripture plainly reveals Then he took on flesh and became Jesus Christ to be our Savior. God is triune, and consequently, to deny the trinity is to say that, (John 3:25; 17:23-26; etc. An excellent line-by-line WebThe Trinity has a very significant application to prayer. There are three persons who are identified as God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Constantine originally supported Athanasius (the champion of It wasnt some popes idea. The practice of the early Church was thoroughly Trinitarian. Deny the Trinity, and you which in Oneness terms would have to mean that the human nature of For this reason, many Christians have difficulty seeing anything wrong with the Oneness position. Press, 1958), pp.240-241. brains, to the exclusion of the true God.(38) Only the Christian The Oneness explanation that with (pros) here should be Scripture plainly reveals This potential danger Oneness Pentecostals will not admit to denying the Son, The general pattern of prayer in the Bible is to pray to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). that Lord (kurios) is the New Testament equivalent of Yahweh or Oneness theology rejects the doctrine of the Trinity, for they are unitarian (i.e., believes that God exists as one personunipersonal).

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