Also known as Apostolic Pentecostals. What do they teach?
1. There is One God with no distinction of persons. God is indivisible in His nature and substance (Deuteronomy 6:4)
2. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the one true God manifested in the flesh. He is the One God incarnate. The human personification of God.
- All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily (Colossians 2:9)
We claim that the Biblical teaching of theology by Isaiah, the Apostles and all the other prophets in the Bible is the Orthodox Christian teaching. We do not consider the later creeds, such as Nicene to be "orthodox" but are based in part on extra-Biblical revelation. We reject extra-Biblical revelation in forming theology doctrine. We acknowledge "Sola scriptura" seriously.
We are not against church history but if we have to choose, we go with the Bible over church history, church councils, and creeds.
We believe in Father, Son and Holy Ghost but do not hold that these are three distinct persons, but God is indivisible without distinction of persons.
The OT establishes that there is One God without distinction of persons. (Isaiah 45)
The One God is known to us as "Father" and is a term of relationship. He is our Creator, our source of life and our authority.
The Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit or Spirit of God is God but not another person of God. A human spirit is never thought of as another person of himself or herself but is the invisible essence of that person (1 Cor 2:12-13). The Holy Spirit is not another person of God but is God Himself in his spiritual essence, his spiritual presence, his spiritual action. When we pray to God and He responds to us, we feel His presence, we say 'that is the Holy Spirit'. We don't mean someone different than the one we just finished praying to. We mean that is God moving in our lives and world. The same God who we prayed to when we said 'Our Father who is in heaven', we then feel His presence and we say, 'that is God's Spirit'.
The Bible uses the term "Son of God" or "only begotten Son:", but never "God the Son" or "eternally begotten Son". The term Son has reference to the incarnation of God. Or, God manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). The term Son indicates a beginning. The Son was called the Son because he was born of Mary (Luke 1:35). When the Bible says "the Son died" we don't mean that the eternal God ceased to exist, but the man whom God became died as to his flesh like other men die. The Son was the one true God manifested in the flesh as a genuine man (human body, human soul, human spirit).
What about Stephen seeing Jesus at the right hand of God?
Psalm 110:1 "The LORD said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool" This is when the man Jesus ascended to the heavens and is in the highest place of authority. Stephen didn't see God standing next to Jesus. Stephen literally "saw" only one (Jesus) and Jesus and the "glory of God" (acts 7:54-60). This is not something we explain away, but it needs to be Biblically understood in the context of what the "right hand of God" means as it was originally understood, not our forced interpretation through modern English. It is not to be taken as a literal two bodies next to each other. Even Martin Luther said the heretics are mistaken if they think this means Jesus sitting in a golden chair next to someone else.
God is Spirit, God is invisible and fills the heavens. So to think of two different bodies of God is a mistake. The OT indicates that the "right hand" indicates a place of power (Exodus 15:6). In Matthew 26:64 Jesus said, "you will see the Son of man coming in the clouds on the right hand of power". No one believes that Jesus will come back a 2nd time standing on top of a big right hand as he descends from heaven! Are two coming back with a bigger one holding out his hand and Jesus sitting on it? Of course not! Which perspective North America or Asia is it the right hand? Colossian 1:15
Stephen prayed only to Jesus. He didn't say "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" as he was dying.
Jesus praying (John 17) - Why did Jesus pray to the Father? Not only is Jesus God, but to understand the prayers of Jesus we must also fully accept that he was truly man. Psalm 65:2 says all flesh comes to God. So, as God manifested in flesh as a genuine man, Jesus prayed. If you are a human being you are going to pray to God. Jesus was tempted in all points like we are yet without sin. The prayers of Christ prove that He was a genuine human being just like us except for sin. It would be shocking if He didn't pray because how could he be a righteous man and not pray and submit to the will of God.?
The prayers do not indicate a distinction in the Godhead, but they tell us that he was an authentic human being. Out of his human identity He prayed. This is the mystery of the incarnation. Saying that there are multiple persons in the Godhead doesn't solve this mystery it makes it worse because then you have one person of God praying to another person of God. This makes one person inferior and subordinate and the other is superior and supreme. If the Trinitarian response is that it is just according to the flesh, then this is what we are saying. If only one God person became man, then you have a question as to how the man related to not just God the Father but God the Son. Was the human son praying to the eternal Son, the Trinity or just one member of the Trinity? You have three God persons and a man and thus six possible relationships.
What about Jesus praying, "Father, not my will but thy will be done"? This is not speaking of two divine wills of two eternal persons but the will of the man to the will of God or the Godhead.
1 Timothy 3:16 "Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifested in the flesh". The mystery is the incarnation, not an incomprehensible three persons in God.
The amazing thing is that God loved us so much that he permanently became one of us to save us.
Things Oneness isn't:
Oneness people deny the Father and Holy Spirit. - Not true
God and Jesus are two persons - Not true
God is sometimes the Father and sometimes the Son and sometimes the Holy Spirit - not true
Jesus is a ventriloquist - not true
God jumps from one role as Father to another role as Son and then back and forth - not true
Acknowledgements to the teaching of Dr. David Bernard and Dr. David Norris
1. There is One God with no distinction of persons. God is indivisible in His nature and substance (Deuteronomy 6:4)
2. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the one true God manifested in the flesh. He is the One God incarnate. The human personification of God.
- All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily (Colossians 2:9)
We claim that the Biblical teaching of theology by Isaiah, the Apostles and all the other prophets in the Bible is the Orthodox Christian teaching. We do not consider the later creeds, such as Nicene to be "orthodox" but are based in part on extra-Biblical revelation. We reject extra-Biblical revelation in forming theology doctrine. We acknowledge "Sola scriptura" seriously.
We are not against church history but if we have to choose, we go with the Bible over church history, church councils, and creeds.
We believe in Father, Son and Holy Ghost but do not hold that these are three distinct persons, but God is indivisible without distinction of persons.
The OT establishes that there is One God without distinction of persons. (Isaiah 45)
The One God is known to us as "Father" and is a term of relationship. He is our Creator, our source of life and our authority.
The Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit or Spirit of God is God but not another person of God. A human spirit is never thought of as another person of himself or herself but is the invisible essence of that person (1 Cor 2:12-13). The Holy Spirit is not another person of God but is God Himself in his spiritual essence, his spiritual presence, his spiritual action. When we pray to God and He responds to us, we feel His presence, we say 'that is the Holy Spirit'. We don't mean someone different than the one we just finished praying to. We mean that is God moving in our lives and world. The same God who we prayed to when we said 'Our Father who is in heaven', we then feel His presence and we say, 'that is God's Spirit'.
The Bible uses the term "Son of God" or "only begotten Son:", but never "God the Son" or "eternally begotten Son". The term Son has reference to the incarnation of God. Or, God manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). The term Son indicates a beginning. The Son was called the Son because he was born of Mary (Luke 1:35). When the Bible says "the Son died" we don't mean that the eternal God ceased to exist, but the man whom God became died as to his flesh like other men die. The Son was the one true God manifested in the flesh as a genuine man (human body, human soul, human spirit).
What about Stephen seeing Jesus at the right hand of God?
Psalm 110:1 "The LORD said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool" This is when the man Jesus ascended to the heavens and is in the highest place of authority. Stephen didn't see God standing next to Jesus. Stephen literally "saw" only one (Jesus) and Jesus and the "glory of God" (acts 7:54-60). This is not something we explain away, but it needs to be Biblically understood in the context of what the "right hand of God" means as it was originally understood, not our forced interpretation through modern English. It is not to be taken as a literal two bodies next to each other. Even Martin Luther said the heretics are mistaken if they think this means Jesus sitting in a golden chair next to someone else.
God is Spirit, God is invisible and fills the heavens. So to think of two different bodies of God is a mistake. The OT indicates that the "right hand" indicates a place of power (Exodus 15:6). In Matthew 26:64 Jesus said, "you will see the Son of man coming in the clouds on the right hand of power". No one believes that Jesus will come back a 2nd time standing on top of a big right hand as he descends from heaven! Are two coming back with a bigger one holding out his hand and Jesus sitting on it? Of course not! Which perspective North America or Asia is it the right hand? Colossian 1:15
Stephen prayed only to Jesus. He didn't say "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" as he was dying.
Jesus praying (John 17) - Why did Jesus pray to the Father? Not only is Jesus God, but to understand the prayers of Jesus we must also fully accept that he was truly man. Psalm 65:2 says all flesh comes to God. So, as God manifested in flesh as a genuine man, Jesus prayed. If you are a human being you are going to pray to God. Jesus was tempted in all points like we are yet without sin. The prayers of Christ prove that He was a genuine human being just like us except for sin. It would be shocking if He didn't pray because how could he be a righteous man and not pray and submit to the will of God.?
The prayers do not indicate a distinction in the Godhead, but they tell us that he was an authentic human being. Out of his human identity He prayed. This is the mystery of the incarnation. Saying that there are multiple persons in the Godhead doesn't solve this mystery it makes it worse because then you have one person of God praying to another person of God. This makes one person inferior and subordinate and the other is superior and supreme. If the Trinitarian response is that it is just according to the flesh, then this is what we are saying. If only one God person became man, then you have a question as to how the man related to not just God the Father but God the Son. Was the human son praying to the eternal Son, the Trinity or just one member of the Trinity? You have three God persons and a man and thus six possible relationships.
What about Jesus praying, "Father, not my will but thy will be done"? This is not speaking of two divine wills of two eternal persons but the will of the man to the will of God or the Godhead.
1 Timothy 3:16 "Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifested in the flesh". The mystery is the incarnation, not an incomprehensible three persons in God.
The amazing thing is that God loved us so much that he permanently became one of us to save us.
Things Oneness isn't:
Oneness people deny the Father and Holy Spirit. - Not true
God and Jesus are two persons - Not true
God is sometimes the Father and sometimes the Son and sometimes the Holy Spirit - not true
Jesus is a ventriloquist - not true
God jumps from one role as Father to another role as Son and then back and forth - not true
Acknowledgements to the teaching of Dr. David Bernard and Dr. David Norris
Last edited: