If an individual believes that there are three gods, then they have, in effect, denied the doctrine of the trinity. The context is obvious: by knowing and seeing Jesus (as the only way to the Father; cf. 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. Now, I recognize that this may be vulnerable to the counter-strike that the author simply did not record them speaking in tongues, but they probably still did. Closed-Mindedness How To Be A Good Agnostic Skepticism is Not Worthy of Belief Faith Has Its Reasons A Balanced Perspective on Reason and Faith Investigating Faith: Placing Religious Truth Back Into the Arena of Knowledge Eternity is Not Forever: An Argument for Theism Responding to the Jesus' Words 1:2). Now, I want to use an argument that the Oneness Pentecostals use all the time in this vein of thought, who will often counter the argument opposing Acts 2:38 (Salvation) . Modalism rips the heart out of Christianityit denies Christ by misrepresenting Him. including terms like Trinity, Unitarianism, Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2017. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down ek tou ouranou, and gives life to the world. 34 Then they said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread., 35: Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. Michael Burgos is a Bible teacher at Northwest Hills Community Church in Torrington, CT, and has a Master of Theological Studies from Andersonville Theological Seminary. Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique. They had come to love their Messiah over the years. This is an important reminder of the need to respond to contemporary . Oneness Pentecostals will point to John 3:5 as evidence of that. I wont give him this web page..too bad. Thus, because God is tri-personal He can be described as both Maker and Makers and as Creator and Creators. He is one Being, not one persona point that is repeatedly brought to bear by the OT authors. . (BDAG, 46). Every time somebody is saved throughout the book of Acts, we will see them speaking in tongues. While pastors generally understand apologetics, we often misunderstand the apologist. How did the Son have (literally, actively possessed) glory with (para) the Father before time if the Son did not exist before Bethlehem? Acquire a basic knowledge of Oneness Pentecostals' beliefs and practices. Michael Burgos Jr., Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique (Winchester, CT: Church Militant, 2016). 42:8). Does the long ending of Mark vindicate the Oneness Pentecostal position about speaking in tongues? Oneness theology distorts and thus rejects the biblical concept of the Son being Mediator (Intercessor) between the Father and men (cf. He says in verse 14 that he will ask the Father, and the Father will send the Holy Spirit. This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. John 1:14). 1:21-22; 13:14; 1 Pet. In point of fact, The triquetra is a very old symbol and dates back perhaps to around 500 BC. They do not know how to deal with the texts that are often cited. How To Implement Apologetics into the Church, The Differences Between the Prosperity Gospel and the Biblical Gospel. There are tongues for edification (this one is necessary for salvation) and the gift of tongues (this one is not necessary for salvation). ISBN-13: 9780692644065. Why did I do this? Behind this question lay a criticism of the commonly-held Trinitarian Pentecostal argument that the name of Jesus in baptismal texts from . Also, throughout chap 14 Jesus distinguishes Himself from the Father. 1:20-21). 1:33): 'I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he . More than 160 oneness ministers who were expelled from the AOG quickly formed their own alliances to promote their doctrines. The Oneness Pentecostal is making the claim that everybody who was filled with the Spirit also spoke in tongues. Well, there are a number of reasons that I think that interpretation is implausible. But again Only by removing this passage from the document and immediate context can Oneness teachers posit a modalistic Oneness understanding. There are four exegetical features, which provide a cogent refutation to the Oneness handling of this passage. After all, he did not say, I am the Father, in this verse. Wallace, GGBB, 368; Greenlee, A Concise Exegetical Grammar of New Testament Greek, 5th ed. 4. asserting that God is one person) and (b) the basic theological errors of Oneness theology (e.g., denying the deity of the Son). Grammatically, when dia is followed by the genitive (as in these passages), the preposition indicates agency (cf. Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021. Let's look at the Foursquare Church and United Pentecostal Church International and see how hey differ. How can they ask him to Show us the Father when he is the Father? : . The Holy Spirit is God applying (3rd Edition) is a thoroughly researched critique of Oneness Pentecostalism. The same can be said in Ecclesiastes 12:1, where the Hebrew literally reads, Remember also your Creators (plural in Heb.). 15:33? First and third person personal pronouns and verb references: Throughout John 14 and 16 Jesus clearly differentiates Himself from the Father. He comes from a United Pentecostal, or Oneness Pentecostal, background. Do not get sidetracked defending your denomination. For an expanded exegetical refutation of Oneness unitarian theology see Oneness Theology (Modalism). The first two chapters of the text outline the basis for the Oneness Pentecostals' disbelief in the Holy Trinity - and their belief that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are simply . 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. UPCI: Apostolic Bible Institute-St. Paul, Minn. References of the Son coming down from the heavenappear eight times in John chapter 6 alone! to the one sittingthe Father]) and the Lamb (kai t arnithe Son) are grammatically differentiated by the repeated article t (the), which precedes both nouns and are connected by the one conjunction kai (and). We dont share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we dont sell your information to others. Westminster Confession of Faith, 1:9. Some scholars believe it to be Celtic in origin, and it is sometimes called the Irish Trinity Knot. Regardless, handling snakes or drinking poison is a misuse of that Scripture and has resulted in the deaths of many practitioners. Use Amazon Smile for all your purchases to support the Department of Christian Defense. Disagreement over the Trinity vs. Oneness of God and water baptism caused the original split of Oneness Pentecostals from the Assemblies of God in 1916. Further, in the Gospels, almost one hundred and eighty times, Jesus referred to the Father as the Father, my Father, or your Father- thus, as a distinct person from Himself. They maintain that God exists in two modes, as the Father in heaven, and as Jesus the Son on earth. The participle describes the means or manner of the emptying. Jesus asked in verse 11, Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Nicodemus should have understood as the teacher of Israel. 31; A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures, 4:478-79; and cf. They believe that God is ONE and not one in three persons. He was making claims that no mere human could make. Note also that in 14:10, Jesus clearly differentiates Himself from the Father when He declares: The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. To reiterate, the undisputable fact is this: not one time in the New Testament does Jesus (or any other person) state that He Himself is the Father. Other preachers, such as Frank J. Ewart and John G. Scheppe, joined McAlister in his non-trinitarian perspective. While many studies have been written to provide a critique of other heterodox Christian groups (e.g., Jehovah's Witnesses, the LDS Church), there is a general lack of careful scholarship examining the theological claims of Oneness Pentecostals. 1. 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. 6th ed. Atlanta: Atlanta Christian Apologetics Project, 1994. 4:4-5; Eph. Further, almost one hundred and eighty times, Jesus is presented as referring to the Father, My Father, or your Father in the Gospels as distinct from Himself, and at no time does Jesus refer to my Son. Forty times, in the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to Himself as Sent by the Father, but never does Jesus refer to Himself as the Father who sent the Son (cf. Now revised, updated, and expanded. Was the Trinity Conceived in the 4th Century? [2] Cf. The PAW formed in 1918, but split along racial lines in 1924. It says that one must be born of water. But what does it mean to be born of water? Research resources on religious movements, cults, sects, world religions and related issues . Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW)-1,000,000 reported Preexistence of the Son - Is the Son pre-existing like the Father or did the Father become the Son. I will come to you. God is absolutely and unqualifiedly one. The Bible teaches that the one God exists eternally in three separate and distinct Persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Previous page of related Sponsored Products. Answering A Few Common Oneness Pentecostal Arguments The reason that I am doing that is because Oneness Pentecostalism is often not understood by trinitarian Christians. John 9:39) the invisible Father (cf. If you have a friend who is trying to understand the Trinity, first the worst thing you can you is to confuse him with unclear and erroneous information. An Antichrist who denies the power thereof, that The Apostle Paul warned us to turn away from! Virtually all Oneness churches reject that water baptism should be done in the *triune* formal as instructed by Jesus in Matthew 28:19, rather, as they insist, it should be dome in the name of Jesus only. [3] BDAG defines allos here as pert[aining] to that which is other than some other entity, other . also John 4:40; 14:17, 25). Something went wrong. During the Last Supper, the disciples were distraught. They were strongly rejected by the denominations council that year, and the AOG adopted a strong trinitarian stance in its statement of faith. The Pentecostal arguments defending this special blessing are interesting and important. Oneness movements emphases on personal holiness and healthy lifestyles are commendable. sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:64). On that first day, something looking like split tongues of fire fell from the sky onto the followers of Jesus. . Yes, the Jesus of Oneness theology is a false Jesus. Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique. Check out John 14:8-9, Philip said, Show us the Father and that will be enough. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you such a long time, and yet you have not known Me Philip? 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.. He who has seen Me has seen the Father. If you read on, however Jesus goes on to say, The Father is greater than I. clearly establishing the Trinitarian concept. The only thing that keeps me from fully accepting Oneness at this point is Christology. Note, that over two hundred times, the Father is referred to by Jesus or someone else as being clearly distinct from Jesus. Note: Nowhere in Scripture is God defined as one person, but rather as one Being: mono (from monos, meaning, alone or only one) and theism (from theos, meaning, God). But what good reasons are there to think that? Why is snake-handling not a criteria for salvation? So when a Oneness advocate says that the Son did not exist before time, remember, that assertion is not based on biblical exegesis, but rather on what he or she has been taught by Oneness pastors/teachers. John 1:18; Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. also Walter Bauers, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament, 3rd ed. If Jesus is the Father, why is it that Jesus is explicitly referred to as the Son over two hundred times in the NT, and never once is he called Father? 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). After all, it says that one must be born of water and Spirit. Indiana Bible College-Seymour, Ind. It is never used apart from God's incarnation, however; it never refers to deity Note that while Boyd offers sound arguments against Oneness Pentecostalism in this book, he elsewhere expresses belief in open theism, an unorthodox view. Please try again. If an individual believes that there are three gods, then they have, in effect, denied the doctrine of the trinity. This argument can be deflected simply by explaining that the trinity is strictly monotheistic, claiming that there is one God who is eternally present in three persons. Number eight is this: "The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking . And when did the Son have this glory? as well as found on early Germanic coins-with no religious significance at all. Oneness Pentecostal churches are, therefore, cultic in nature and outside the theological parameters of historic Christianity. The Son is speaking of something that He had, that He shared with the Father; the Son is not speaking of something that the Father had (in view). Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2018. Boyd's arguments are dependant mainly on Scripture but he does take some time to delve into the writings of the early Church Fathers (chapter 7) in order to show that the early church was far . Jesus is a perfect representation of the person of the Father. Further, the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus should not be overlooked. If God is unitarian, why are there so many plural descriptions in the OT (viz. They could also cite many of the various declarations of monotheism throughout the Old Testament, thus establishing that there is only one God. Oneness Pentecostals take issue with the Trinity doctrine chiefly for its use of the term "person." If an individual believes that there are three gods, then they have, in effect, denied the doctrine of the trinity. And you are pretexting the passage with no consideration of the context of chap. Please try again. Of course, this is a mischaracterization. Assemblies of the Lord Jesus, Inc. (ALJI)-50,000 Again, in its proper sense, a mediator is one who is other than or distinct from the parties, which are being mediated. Noted Greek grammarian, A. T. Robertson says of the passage that This is not just ideal pre-existence, but actual and conscious existence at the Fathers side (para soi, with thee) which I had (h eichon, imperfect active of ech. To be sure, Modalism embraces another Jesus, another Gospel, and another Spirit. First, that seems to be an ad hoc measure to circumvent the meaning of the text. This doctrine is called Oneness of God or Jesus Only. Oneness Pentecostals are vehement anti-trinitarians who commonly maintain that the doctrine of the trinity states that there are three gods. an outline of some early heresies in the Church. 4:30; Heb. But in spite of where or when it first appeared, it has been associated to a vast number of meanings through time. His will is one with the will of the Father. All Rights Reserved. Thus, the person of the Son of Man was in heaven prior to being sent. Speaking in tongues is listed among several other practices, including casting out demons, resisting a snake bite and healing the sick. If the Son has not eternally existed with (personally distinct from) the Father why then is the Son presented as the agent of creation, that is, the Creator Himself? Further, turning to 1 John 1:3, not only does John show that believers have fellowship with both the Father and the Son, but the Father and the Son are clearly distinguished as two persons by the repeated article tou (the) and the repeated preposition meta (with): We proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with [meta] us; and indeed our fellowship is with the [meta tou] Father and with [kai meta] His Son [tou huiou], Jesus Christ (see esp. At the 1986 Oneness Symposium, Robert Sabin addresses the charge of whether the UPCI is Christian group or a cult. Jesus then reiterates (as a corrective) that by seeing Him they can see, that is, know or recognize the invisible Father (v. 9). How would anybody understand what he is saying? the God)], and [kai] the fellowship of the [tou] Holy Spirit be with you all. . The *Son* said that He possessed (note the imperfect of ech) the glory WITH (para, in the presence of) the Father (not in the Fathers mind, for eh Son had it). 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. Significantly, there are two instances in which that pattern is broken. II. It would be to cherry-pick the verse that fits into ones doctrine. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Since Oneness Pentecostalism maintains that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all different manifestations of the same person, it follows that Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Of course, this is a mischaracterization. If you are interested in learning, I recommend you view my series Oneness Pentecostal Heresy. 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. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. When they see Jesus raised from the dead, they will realize that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2020. Phillip asked him, Show us the Father, Lord, and it will be enough for us. Jesus replied that Phillip should not need to ask this question, because, He who has seen me has seen the Father. Oneness Pentecostals will argue that Jesus was saying that he is the Father. While this book may be helpful insofar as it rehearses typical Oneness Pentecostal views and arguments, it is far from providing a substantial treatment of Scripture or a meaningful interaction with trinitarianism. Better books written by an ex UPC theologian, Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2018. So they will use this proof-text that they think They will see that because he lives (he was raised from the dead), they too will live (be raised from the dead). a. Spatial: near, beside, b. To see our price, add these items to your cart. biblical case against Oneness unitarianism. First, there are no good reasons to think that obedience to this command necessarily entails that those words are recited. So Christians should strive to do the objective research, in order that they not provide bad untruthful arguments and appear unread. If you were to ask a Oneness Pentecostal to provide a proof-text for Oneness Theology, it is very likely that first passage that you will hear is Deuteronomy 6:4, which is Israels shema, essentially the thesis statement on the paper of the Jews. The North American Mission Board is not affiliated with SEND International or its SEND events. One cannot have the Father except through the Son, Jesus Christ: Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:23; see also John 17:3). A better work to understand the balance between " oneness" and "trinitiarisism" is the works of Thomas Fudge. 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. Where in the Scripture does it say that God is unitarian? Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app. Lastly, There has never been a recognized biblical scholar, commentator, NT Greek grammar, nor Lexical source that has ever interpreted John 14:9 in a Oneness-unitarian way as you do.- because neither this text, nor Johns entire theology supports the Oneness idea that Jesus is the same person as the Father. 32, 33, 41, 42, 50, 51-ek tou ouranou;verse 38 apo tou ouranou;and verse 58 came downex ouranou). That the Son of Man was in heaven prior to Bethlehem creates a theological problem for Oneness doctrine. 4:4). In this piece he critically interacts with the following argument of mine ( from this blog post ). Jesus Only Churches. 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? As we read through the New Testament, we will encounter what boggled on Why Calvinists And Catholics Share The Nicene Faith, on Why Charismatics Should Cut Glossolalia (Tongues) Out of Their Theology, on Why Christians Should Empty Themselves of Kenotic Christology, The Shortcoming of Christian Apologetics From An Apologist. 6. If God is unitarian, how do you explain passages such as Genesis 19:24 where Yahweh (LORD), rained brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven? United Pentecostals, also called Oneness Pentecostals, are known for their rejection of the Trinity, which is a hallmark doctrine in orthodox Christianity. That may be the case. Specifically, in John 1:3;1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2 and 2:10, the Greek preposition dia (though) is followed by a pronoun (autou, Him)in the *genitive* case (or possessive case). 1986 Oneness Symposium Tape 7- "UPCI: Christian or a Cult?" Robert Sabin Watch on It may also be that Father, Son, and Spirit is the name by which we know God.