THE UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH INTERNATIONAL (5)

The Oneness Doctrine (1)

Victor M. Eskew

 

          The United Pentecostal Church International believes in the Oneness Doctrine.  They affirm the “oneness” of God.  They emphasize that they teach monotheism.  “Mono” means “alone, single, one.”  “Theos” is the Greek word for God.  Thus, the meaning of monotheism is “one God.”  When Pentecostals use this term, they mean that there is only one being in Godhead.  Pentecostals do not believe in the doctrine of the trinity, that is, God in three persons.  They believe that those who affirm the trinity are theistic, meaning, they believe in three gods, not one.

          The first article of faith in the UPCI Manual involves their belief about God.

 

“We believe in the one ever-living, eternal God: infinite in power, holy in nature, attributes and purpose; and possessing absolute, indivisible deity. This one true God has revealed Himself as Father; through His Son, in redemption; and as the Holy Spirit, by emanation (I Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; II Corinthians 5:19; Joel 2:28).

 

“The Scripture does more than attempt to prove the existence of God; it asserts, assumes and declares that the knowledge of God is universal (Romans 1:19, 21, 28, 32; 2:15). God is invisible, incorporeal, without parts, without body, and therefore free from all limitations. He is Spirit (John 4:24), and “a spirit hath not flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39).

 

“’The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord’ (Mark 12:29). (See also Deuteronomy 6:4.) “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:6).

 

“Before the incarnation, this one true God manifested Himself in divers ways. In the incarnation, He manifests Himself in the Son, who walked among men. As He works in the lives of believers, He manifests Himself as the Holy Spirit” (2019-upci-manual.pdf (dividetheword.blog).

 

Some might read this description of God and think that it teaches absolute truth.  However, there are some words that clue the reader into the doctrine of oneness.  In the first paragraph, we read the words “indivisible deity.”  Also, in the first paragraph, the Manual teaches that the one true God revealed Himself “as the Holy Spirit, by emanation.”  In the fourth paragraph, they affirm that this one God “manifests Himself in the Son” and “manifests Himself as the Holy Spirit.”  The words “indivisible,” “emanation,” and “manifests” have significant meaning for those who believe in the Oneness Doctrine.

          In his book, The Oneness of God, David K. Bernard, affirms the oneness of God.  In the chapter entitled, “Christian Monotheism, he writes:  “The second class of true monotheists believes in one God, but further believes that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were manifestations, modes, offices, or relationships that the one God has displayed to man” (p. 15).  Notice again the use of the word “manifestations” in Mr. Bernard’s comment.

          In their attempt to prove their doctrine, the Pentecostals will use five primary arguments.  First, they set forth passages from the Old Testament that declare that there is one God.  “Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4).  The prophet exhorted Israel with these words:  “Remember the former things of old:  for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isa. 46:9).  There are several passages that make a similar statement about God in the book of Isaiah.  Mr. Bernard makes this statement about these verses in his book on the oneness of God.

 

                   “Suppose He did want to exclude any belief in a plurality in the                                            Godhead.  How could He do so using then-existing terminology?                                          What strong words could He use to get His message across to                                              people?  When we think about it, we will realize that He used                                               the strongest possible language available to describe absolute                                              oneness.  In the preceding verses of Scripture in Isaiah, we note that                                    the use of words and phrases such as ‘none, none else, none like                                         me, none beside me, along, by myself,’ and ‘one.’  Surely, God                                              could not make it plainer that no plurality whatsoever exists in                                            the Godhead” (pp. 19-20).

 

Second, the Pentecostals will set forth verses from the New Testament that affirm there is one God.  “Seeing is it one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith” (Rom. 3:30).  In 1 Corinthians 8:4, Paul writes:  “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.”  Ephesians 4:6 concludes the “Seven Ones” with these words:  “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”  The third argument for the oneness of God is called “the Holy One” argument.  In both the Old Testament (Ps. 71:22; 78:41; Isa. 1:4) and New Testament (1 John 2:20), God is referred to as “the Holy One.”  Bernard argues:  “Many times the Bible calls God the Holy One…but never the ‘holy two, the holy three,’ or ‘the holy many’” (p. 19).  Fourth, Pentecostal will argue the oneness of God based on the nature of God.  They will quote John 4:24.  “God is a Spirit…”   “As a Spirit, he is an intelligent, supernatural Being who does not have a physical body” (Bernard, 24).  Since, God is a Being who has a distinct personality, He cannot be divided, they argue.  Remember the words used in the UPCI Manual to describe God, “indivisible Spirit.”  They claim, if He is divided into three, He is no longer one.  Too, if He is divided into three, each part is less than the one combined.  They see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as three manifestations of the one God.  “The Son of God is not a separate person in the Godhead, but the physical expression of the one God” (Bernard, 99).  “The one God is Father of all, is holy, and is a Spirit.  Therefore, the titles Father and Holy Spirit describe the same being.  To put it another way, the one God can and does fill simultaneously the two roles of Father and Holy Spirit” (p. 99 ).  The fifth argument is a negative argument.  They argue against the trinity.  Once more, we quote from Bernard.  “Within the ranks of trinitarianism, one can discern two extreme tendencies.  On the one hand, some Trinitarians emphasize the unity of God without having carefully developed an understanding of what is meant by three distinct persons in the Godhead.  One the other hand, other Trinitarians emphasize the Threeness of the trinity to the point they believe in three self-conscious being, and their view is essentially tritheistic” (Bernard, 14).