Oneness Pentecostals affirm there is only one person of God, Jesus. They say God has never been but one person, first manifested in creation as “Father,” in redemption as “Son,” and by emanation or in the church as “Holy Ghost.” If that is true, there are several serious consequences they face:
- While Jesus was on Earth, heaven was empty, if the Son and the Father are one person.
- If Jesus Christ and the Father are the same person, then when the Jews killed Christ they killed God the Father and for three days there was no living God. Therefore, God was not in heaven or on earth for three days.
- Peter declares that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24). But how could that be if Jesus and the Father are the same person? The Father would have been as dead as the Son if they are the same person.
- If Jesus and the Father are the same person, then when Jesus intercedes at right hand of God the Father for us he is merely talking to himself (Romans 8:34).
- Christ was confessed as God’s Son when He said, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it … but my Father which is in heaven.” Christ says, “I have a Father;” the Oneness Pentecostal says, “No, you have no father.” Who will you believe?
- On the cross Jesus asked God to receive His spirit (Luke 23:46). How could He do it if the Son and the Father are the same person? If one was dead on the cross, both were dead on the cross and one could not receive the spirit of the other.
- When Stephen died, he saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand (Acts 7:55). This could not be true if Jesus and the Father are one person.
- Paul declares that Christ will deliver the kingdom to God (1 Corinthians 15:24). Will he just deliver the kingdom to himself? This is the ridiculous conclusion if Jesus and Father are same person.
- The apostle said that God called or named Jesus “Son” (Hebrews 1:5). Did Jesus’ name himself “Son”? This would be true if Jesus and the Father are one person.
- Paul states Jesus entered heaven to appear in the presence of God for us (Hebrews 9:24). Did He merely appear in His own presence?
- The Oneness Pentecostal says that because Jesus said He was in the Father and the Father was in Him that makes them one person (John 10:38; 14:10). Then because the New Testament says we are in Christ (Galatians 3:27), it would mean that we are Christ, and when it says that the church is “in God” (1 Thessalonians 1:1), it would mean that we, the church, are God. The Oneness Pentecostal deifies man and makes Christ a mere man.
- Jesus said that the Father is “greater” than He (John 14:28). How could that be true, if they are one person?
- The sin against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31) would be more grievous than for the Jews to have sinned against the Father or the Son. Why would that be if the three are one person?
- Of the Son, God said, “God, even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:8-9). How could this be if the Father and Son are the same person? Does God anoint Himself?
Kyle Campbell
