Oneness Pentecostals and the Bible

2016-10-22

Oneness Pentecostalism is a subset within the Pentecostal religion that denies the doctrine of the Trinity. The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, but it is a term that is used to explain the Creator God of the Bible, who exists in three persons:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (1 John 5:7)

A friend once described the Trinity in this fashion: there is one “what” (God), but there are three “whos” (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).

Let me be clear that not all Pentecostals reject the Trinity. This summary is mainly to discuss the Oneness Pentecostals’ view of God. Oneness Pentecostals reject the doctrine of the Trinity, namely, that there are three distinct persons in the Godhead. An example of a Oneness Pentecostal group is the United Pentecostal Church International.

Jesus is Not the Father

We read in John 1:1-3:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

There is a lot of doctrine in these three verses. Let us see what this passage says about the Lord Jesus Christ.

  1. The Word is Eternal. The Word, we see later, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 1:14, 17-18). The phrase “In the beginning was the Word” tells us that at the beginning of time and creation, the Word already was.
  2. The Word is distinct from God the Father. The Word was with God, which means that He is distinct from God in some way.
  3. The Word is God. This may seem contradictory to the previous point, but we see that in the same verse the Bible affirms both.
  4. The Word was with God in the beginning. We see that He “was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2). This gives us a little more information from our previous points, in that the Word always was with God since eternity past. As the Word, this Son of God was always distinct from God the Father, yet as a being from eternity past, He is completely divine.
  5. The Word created all things. The Word created everything, without exception. This discounts any suggestion that the Word only existed conceptually in the mind of God. The Word was a literal being who created everything, both seen and unseen.

One teaching of Oneness Pentecostals is that Jesus is God the Father. However, they propose that the Son of God is distinct from Jesus, and that the Son is a non-eternal, created being. The irony in this view is that the Oneness Pentecostal mocks at the idea of the Trinity, that one God exists in three persons, but turns around and tells us he believes in one Jesus, but he exists in two separate persons: the divine Father and the human Son. The divine Jesus and the human Son of God are separate persons according to their view.

The Eternality of the Son

The Oneness Pentecostal teaches that the Son was a created being, and one day will cease to exist. He did not exist before His birth in Bethlehem in Matthew 1:25. On the contrary, the Bible teaches us that the Son of God is eternal, and distinct from God the Father:

But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? (Hebrews 1:8-13)
  1. The Son is God. In Hebrews 1:8, we see that God the Father calls the Son “God.” The Son certainly became a human being as we see in 1 Timothy 3:16, but He is truly divine.
  2. The Son is Distinct from the Father. Since the Father is speaking to the Son, we see that they must be distinct persons. The Father anointing the Son also shows us this distinction (Hebrews 1:9). Finally, the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews 1:13 shows us the Son at the Father’s right hand. For more on this distinction, refer to There Shall No Man See Me, and Live and its discussion on the Angel of the LORD.
  3. The Son of God will reign forever. The Son of God’s throne will be forever. He is always going to be King, and He will never cease to be King, let alone vanish from existence. The heavens and the earth may disappear, but the Son remains forever (Hebrews 1:10-11).
  4. The Son of God is the creator of heaven and earth. Again, we see that the Son is the creator of all things (Hebrews 1:10). Reminiscent of the merism “the heaven and the earth” in Genesis 1:1, we see in this verse that the Son is the creator of all things.
  5. The Son of God does not change. Just as God the Father does not change, the Son does not change (Hebrews 1:12). A characteristic of God is his immutability. The Son of God also has this characteristic.

The modalism taught in Oneness Pentecostalism denies all that is taught in this passage. If the Son is a temporary “mode” or role in which God operates, then we cannot interpret this passage literally. For a discussion on Colossians 2:9, proceed here.

Baptism in Jesus’ Name

According to Oneness Pentecostals, one can be baptized in Jesus’ name only. Other baptismal formulae are invalid. Their basis for this is Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38. In the former, the disciples were commanded to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” and the three have one name. When we jump over to Acts 2:38, we read that Peter commanded everyone to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.” Their conclusion, therefore, is that the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost is Jesus.

The replacement of “the name” in Matthew 28:19 with Jesus in this fashion is not warranted. Consider the following:

And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. (Acts 4:7-10)

The name of Jesus more accurately represents the authority by which the disciples baptized, and that authority and power was exercised on behalf of Jesus. The lame man, in Acts 4:10, was made whole by the power and authority of Jesus.

Consider Deuteronomy 18:5, “For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.” The Levites, according to this verse, ministered in the authority of the LORD. In 1 Samuel 25:9, the men went to Nabal on behalf of and in the authority of David. This is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, and the usage of “the name” should not change here.

Works Salvation

As we have seen, Oneness Pentecostals believe in a Jesus who has two different persons, namely the divine Father indwelling the human Son. Whenever you lower the status of Christ in any way, you always end up with works salvation. The savior is not powerful enough to save you; he will always need help! Likewise, this religion needs to “help out” their savior by certain works, namely, water baptism and the so-called speaking in tongues. I deal with those in separate writings, so I will not discuss those here. However, it is clear they preach a works salvation because it is a natural conclusion to their doctrine of Christ.

Conclusion

What makes this religion dangerous is twofold: their denial of the Biblical doctrine of Christ and their affirmation of works salvation. Our salvation depends upon a fully divine Son of God, who became a human being, that died for us and rose again. It was He who unilaterally saved us in our helpless estate. If you are a believer in the Oneness religion, and you are looking for the assurance of salvation, you should investigate the claims of the Son of God who single-handedly died for our sins and rose from the dead.

Resources and Further Reading

A. J. Ayers. Oneness Pentecostals and Colossians 2;9.

A. J. Ayers. Who is this Son of God?

Richard Bushey. Answering A Few Common Oneness Pentecostal Arguments.

Matt Slick. What is Oneness Pentecostal theology?