Oneness Pentecostals
An in-depth teaching series that looks at what the Oneness Pentecostals believe and teach and how as Christian's we are to respond. Please click on the PDF links to read each article in full.
Part 1 - An Introduction to the Oneness Pentecostals
On the surface, Oneness Pentecostals have many similarities to mainstream Pentecostals, and that is what makes them so dangerous. They affirm the deity of Jesus Christ, they believe in the continuing gifts of the Holy Spirit, they believe the Bible to be the inspired and infallible word of God, they believe in the literal Second Coming of Jesus Christ, they believe in the final judgment of the wicked and in a literal hell. On the surface, one would not find a great deal of disagreement; YET four main fundamental beliefs set them apart from orthodox Biblical Christianity.
This first teaching part examines, by way of introduction, these four fundamental differences.
Part 2 - History of Oneness Pentecostals
No movement ever existed in a vacuum. From revolutions to reformations, whether political, social or religious, no movement ever begun in a vacuum. Each was a product of their times, and it is no different when tracing the origins of the modern Oneness Pentecostal movement. It too has a beginning that arose out of Classical Pentecostalism in the early 20th Century.
However, the heresies espoused by Oneness Pentecostals as they relate to the nature of God are not new. Their denial of the Trinity in favour of a modalistic view of God did not have its origins in the 20th Century but in the 3rd Century, as shall be demonstrated in this second teaching part, examining the history of Oneness Pentecostals.
Part 3 - The Doctrine of the Trinity (Pt. 1)
The doctrine of God as it relates to the nature of His being is no small matter. The first three centuries of Church history were consumed with this central issue. In the second and third centuries, men like Praxeas and Sabellius argued that God was singular not only in being but also in person. Sabellius taught that, like an actor wearing different masks on stage, God likewise assumed different modes at different times to manifest Himself to man. In the Old Testament, God assumed the role of a Father; in the incarnation, the role of a Son, and in regeneration, the role of the Holy Spirit. Modalistic Monarchianism was soundly defeated in the early centuries of the Church; yet, over the last one hundred years, this ancient heresy has resurfaced amongst those identifying themselves as Oneness Pentecostals.
In this third teaching part, we begin to examine the Biblical evidence for the doctrine of the Trinity while at the same time looking at early Church history and those heresies which confounded the persons of the Godhead.
Part 4 - The Doctrine of the Trinity (Pt. 2)
In attempting to interpret passages in the Bible which clearly point to a distinction in the persons of the Father and the Son, Oneness Pentecostals obfuscate the meaning of these passages by making an artificial distinction between Jesus’ human nature and His divine nature.
In responding to this position, one cannot do so without referring to early Church history. Does Jesus have a dual nature such that His divine self-consciousness can be distinguished from His human self-consciousness? When Jesus forgave sins, calmed the storm, and cast out devils, did He do so as God but not as man? When Jesus grew weary, hungered and thirsted, did he do so as man but not as God? These questions and more shall be discussed in relation to the doctrine of the incarnation in this fourth teaching.
Part 5 - Responding to Jesus Only Proof Texts
When engaging with an Oneness Pentecostal, as with all cults, they have their favourite go-to passages that they hope will prove their case for the particular doctrine they are seeking to substantiate. Admittedly, as one gives ear to their arguments, they appear at first to be convincing. Obscure texts and isolated verses are lifted out of context; difficult verses to understand are presented as though they support the erroneous heresies being propagated. The man standing on the Word of God ought never to be afraid of the cultist. No matter how convincing his opponents' arguments may be against the historical position of orthodoxy, the man standing opposite has been labelled a heretic for a reason. He is a heretic because he has deviated from the straight path and turned aside to damnable doctrines against the clear testimony of Holy Scripture.
When dealing with the nature of God, Oneness Pentecostals have several passages that they hope to use for their own advantage. This fifth teaching aims to discover what these are and to offer a sound exegesis of the passages to refute the error of the Oneness understanding.
.png)