PAUL M. WILLIAMS BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE LAST DAYS [28/02/14] THE RISE OF THE CULTS – PART 21
ONENESS PENTECOSTALS – PART 1
HEADLINES
Introduction
When a Christian thinks of a cult such names as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons readily come to mind. These groups in particular are very aggressive in their proselytizing campaigns going from door-to-door spreading their message and are well known by the Christian community at large. We are warned to watch out for such groups; we are equipped to engage and tackle them, to understand and refute what they teach. Many seminars and conferences have been held exposing the error of their teaching and practise. One has only to key in the name Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon into a You Tube search and a stream of videos will appear debunking these groups. We ourselves have spent many weeks looking at these groups and refuting their false doctrines. By all accounts, no one has a problem with readily identifying these groups as a cult. However; the particular group that we are going to be looking at in this next teaching, like the Seventh-day Adventists, slip under the radar of so many professing Christians. When this group is mentioned, many find it hard to label them with the accursed title of a cult. Sadly, many within the evangelic world have embraced prominent figures who had their beginnings in this movement; men such as T. D. Jakes, Bishop Noel Jones, Tommy Tenney and the award winning Christian gospel group Phillips, Craig and Dean. Bishop T. D. Jakes is the founder and senior pastor of the non- denominational ‘Potter’s House’ mega Church. He is a national celebrity and a highly influential figure in the Pentecostal and Charismatic world. Last year his annual Mega Fest conference drew in an estimated 75, 000 people from across the world. Who is this group that I make reference to? It is none other than the group referred to as ‘Oneness Pentecostals’ aka ‘Jesus Only’ or alternatively ‘Jesus Name Pentecostals’ or ‘Apostolic Pentecostals’. On The Potter’s House official website, under their ‘Belief Statement’, it states the following about God:
“There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in three manifestations: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” - The Potter’s House Belief Statement, God – cited from www.the pottershouse.org
Do you spot anything amiss with this statement? The sad reality is that many Christians who hold to the belief in the Trinity would not spot anything amiss with the above statement. YET, when one understands the position of the proponent of Oneness theology, one can easily detect the rat when he smells it. There is one word amiss in the above statement that if it were changed would make this a Trinitarian statement. However, Potter’s House chooses to use the word ‚manifestations‛ instead of ‚persons‛ and in so doing affirms the position of Oneness Pentecostals.
On the surface Oneness Pentecostals have many similarities to mainstream Pentecostals and that is what makes them so dangerous.
‚It is a disturbing fact that the most vigorous form of anti-trinitarianism currently on the market is to be found within the sphere of conservative evangelicalism. ‚ - Fred Sanders, Oneness Pentecostalism: An Analysis – cited from pantheos.com
Oneness Pentecostals absolutely 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 there are four main fundamental beliefs that set them apart from orthodox Biblical Christianity. The first being theological (the study of God) and the remaining three soteriological (the study of salvation)
1. Their outright denial of the doctrine of the Trinity in favour of a modalistic concept of God whereby God assumes different roles i.e. a Father in creation, a Son in redemption and the Holy Spirit in regeneration. 2. Their belief in baptismal regeneration which alone is effected through the baptismal formula ‚in the name of Jesus‛. 3. Their belief that salvation is conditional upon receiving of the Holy Spirit which is evidenced through the speaking of tongues. 4. Their belief that salvation and justification is not instantaneous upon one repenting and placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ, but is rather a process – by exercising faith in Jesus Christ, one will repent, be baptised in the name of Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit and then live a life of obedience to ‚standards of holiness‛ which vary from one Oneness denomination to another (some being more liberal than others).
United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is by far the largest body of Oneness Pentecostals in the world with a membership of over 3 million worldwide in some 40 000 churches. UPCI has a presence in over 195 countries throughout the world. Other Oneness denominations include:
- Affirming Pentecostal Church International - Apostolic Assemblies of Christ - Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus - Apostolic Gospel Church of Jesus Christ - Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God - Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ - Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Churches of Jesus Christ International - Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith - Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW)
However, because UPCI are by far the largest Oneness group, we will choose specifically in this teaching to focus on the core doctrines of this particular group, which by and large should be the same across all Oneness denominations.
A Brief Examination of Their Core Beliefs
The Nature of God
On the UPCI website under ‘what we believe’ they state the following concerning the nature of God:
“There is one God, who has revealed Himself as our Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and as the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is God manifested in flesh. He is both God and man.” - What We Believe; About God (UPCI) – cited from www.upci.org
In short, Oneness Pentecostals deny the Trinity and instead are Unitarian in their understanding of God - the belief that God is not only singular in being (Monotheism) but also singular in person. Trinitarianism however stands in direct contrast to Unitarianism and defines God as singular in being yet three in persons, namely Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A simple definition of the Trinity would be as follows:
“The doctrine of the Trinity is simply that there is one eternal being of God – indivisible, infinite. This one being of God is shared by three co-equal, co-eternal persons, the Father, the Son and the Spirit.” - James White, A Brief Definition of the Trinity – cited from vintage.aomin.org
The above has been the historic orthodox position on the nature of God down through the centuries, despite the continual assertion by Oneness Pentecostals that belief in the Trinity is a pagan conception introduced in the 4th century at the Council of Nicea. As we shall see, the great councils that were convened in the life of the early Church were reactionary in nature; responding to the early heresies of heretics such as Arius (early 4th century A.D) and Sabellius (early 3rd century B.C). Arianism taught that Jesus was not Almighty God but rather was a created lesser god (demigod) subordinate to the Father. This heresy is embraced today by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Even earlier than that, Sabellianism aka Modalism taught that God is singular in person manifesting/expressing Himself in three modes. This heresy is embraced today by Oneness Pentecostals.
Fundamental to correctly understanding the position of Oneness Pentecostals concerning the nature of God is to understand that they hold the belief that God singular in person. On that basis, they vehemently deny the Trinity which sets forth a plurality of persons within the Oneness of God and conclude that names such as Father, Son and Holy Spirit are mere titles used to express the various roles that the one person of God assumes for the purpose of manifesting/revealing Himself to man. Furthermore, they teach that Jesus Christ is the name of the one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The following quote is taken from a classic book titled ‚The Oneness of God‛, written by leading Oneness Pentecostal apologist and General Superintendent of the UPCI David K. Bernard.
“Father, Son and Holy Ghost all describe the one God Oneness Pentecostals arrive at the above conclusion by taking Matthew 28:19 and combining it with Acts 2:38. 19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Mat 28:19) Robert K. Bernard argues that in Mat. 28:19, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost and not ‚names‛. He therefore asserts that Father, Son and Holy Ghost are not ‚names‛ but titles that sum up the different roles that the one ‚name‛ assumes. “Matthew 28:19 does not teach three persons in one God, but rather it gives three titles of God, all of which properly apply to Jesus Christ. These titles sum up different roles of God or modes of His revelation; by its singular reference to “name,” it focuses upon the one name of God revealed in the New Testament. That name is Jesus” - David K. Bernard, The Oneness of God, p136-137 Oneness Pentecostals argue that the ‚name‛ Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize in is revealed in Acts 2:38 as Jesus: 38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Act 2:38) Such scriptural trickery and biblical gymnastics betrays the plain literal reading of scripture! The New Testament abounds with passages that show a clear distinction in the persons of the father, Son and Holy Spirit; passages such as Matthew 3:16-17: 16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mat 3:16-17) What we have touched upon here in the introduction is only the beginning of the ice tip. We shall in the succeeding parts of this teaching on Oneness Pentecostals delve further into the theological conundrum and paradox that surrounds their understanding of the single personhood of God; for it impacts their whole understanding of the Godhead and in particular the person and nature of Jesus Christ. Due to their obstinate refusal to allow the Bible to speak for itself, they are forced to read into the text something that is so blatantly not there and in so doing run rough shot over the clear language of the text. Water Baptism Jesus Only, aka Oneness Pentecostals derive this name from the position they take concerning baptism. Not only do they hold to the heresy of baptismal regeneration, but they hold to an exclusive form, namely that baptism by immersion in the formula of ‚in the name of Jesus‛ is the only valid formula for baptism. “The Bible describes salvation both as a new birth and as an adoption. Viewed either way, we must take on the legal name of our new family. This occurs at baptism since it is part of the new birth and part of our identification with Christ< Jesus is the name by which the Father has revealed Himself to us. The whole spiritual family of God has taken on the name of Jesus They argue that baptism ‚in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit‛ is invalid because they are not names but titles. Their favourite verse for putting this view forward is Acts 2:38 (already quoted above) which states, ‚Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…‛ They thus argue that in order to receive the remission of sins one must be baptized in the name of Jesus. They get around the charge of adding works to salvation by insisting that baptism is an act of faith and an evidence of true repentance. ‚Christian water baptism is a ceremony in which one who has repented of his sins is immersed in water in the name of Jesus for the remission of those sins. It is an act of faith in Jesus Christ.‛ - David K. Bernard, The New Birth, p122 The problem with saying this however is that saving faith is defined in scripture to be an act that takes place in the heart resulting in salvation and then later having its outward work in demonstration. 8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Rom 10:8-9) We shall explore in much more detail the many passages that proponents of Jesus Only baptism use to argue their case. Suffice it for now simply to say, there is a not a contradiction between Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:28 if we understand baptism in Jesus name to be baptizing believers in the authority of Jesus as He instructed in Matthew 28:19 – ‚in the name of the Father and of the Son and Holy Spirit‛. The book of Acts is not a doctrinal discourse; we have the epistles for that, which incidentally, do not contain instructions on how to baptise believers. If baptism was essential to salvation and furthermore, baptism in Jesus name; why is it not expounded in the epistles as we find the topic of faith being? The Baptism of the Holy Spirit The third heresy of Oneness Pentecostals is their insistence that unless one is baptized with the Holy Spirit, then one cannot be saved! “The baptism of the Spirit is the same as the birth of the Spirit The Bible flatly contradicts this position and repudiates the claim being made by Oneness Pentecostals. 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (Eph 1:13) At the heart of Oneness error is their failure to distinguish between the receiving of the Holy Spirit upon conversion and the baptism of the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation. The disciples received the indwelling Holy Spirit unto salvation as Christ breathed upon them YET received the power of the Holy Spirit upon them to be His witnesses on the day of Pentecost. This is the fundamental difference that Oneness Pentecostals fail to distinguish! Furthermore, Oneness Pentecostals assert that baptism of the Holy Spirit is always evidenced through the speaking in tongues. “Do tongues always accompany the baptism of the Spirit? The book of Acts indicates this to be so; it describes tongues and nothing else as the initial sign associated with the individual filling. A Spirit baptism without tongues is a nonbiblical concept; the Bible does not discuss this possibility” - David K. Bernard, The New Birth, p191-192 Once again, whilst speaking in tongues did often accompany the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We have already pointed out that baptism of the Holy Spirit and the receiving of the indwelling Holy Spirit are NOT the same event. One precedes salvation and the proceeds salvation. In the case of Peter, he received the baptism of the Spirit a second time and scripture records that they spoke the word with boldness; no tongues was mentioned in this case. Paul wrote to Christians in 1 Cor. 12 that all do not speak in tongues! 29Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 30Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? (1Co 12:29-30) Yet he also wrote telling the Corinthians in the same chapter: 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1Co 12:13) How can they all have been made to drink into one spirit and yet some did not speak in tongues? Standards of Holiness Once one has demonstrated true saving faith by repenting of sins, being baptized in Jesus name and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit evidenced through the speaking in tongues; can one finally let out a sigh that he is finally saved? The answer according to Oneness doctrine is no!! “At the close of this book we return to our original question: “What must I do to be saved?” the New Testament answer is to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus, by repenting from sin, being baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, receiving the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking in tongues, and continuing to live a holy, separated life by the power of the indwelling Spirit.” - David K. Bernard, The New Birth, p336 Depending on the Oneness Pentecostal group and church that one is a member of, will determine the strength of force exerted upon them to abide by the ‚standards of holiness‛. These standards include the adherence to legalistic codes of conduct such as women not wearing trousers, not cutting their hair, not using make-up or jewellery. Men are expected to dress in conservative attire, white shirts and dark trousers, hair short and neat and face clean shaven. Alcohol and tobacco are strictly forbidden. Failure to adhere to these ‚standards of holiness‛ may result in dis-fellowship and ultimately to loss of one’s salvation!! Brethren, the Bible declares salvation to be simple; when the Philippian jailor cried out ‚what must I do to be saved‛, Paul’s simple answer was ‚Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved‛. Yet the Oneness Pentecostals frustrate the gospel message equating saving faith with a system of manmade rules and regulation. Let us now look at the history of this movement. HISTORY The History of Modern Oneness Pentecostal Church History “In 2013-2014 we celebrate one hundred years of the restoration of water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We find examples of this practice throughout church history, but key events in the early twentieth century led to the greatest revival of this message since the third century.” - David K. Bernard, Superintendent of the UPCI, The Jesus Name Centennial – cited from the homepage of upci.org In tracing the roots of the Oneness Pentecostal movement, we must trace the roots of Classic Pentecostalism from whence it sprang! The Pentecostal movement grew out of the Holiness movement of the second half of the 19th century. Here in England we had the world famous Keswick Convention, a holiness movement which up in the mid 1870’s. At the turn of the 20th Century, a holiness teacher by the name of Charles Fox Parham started a Bible school near Topeka, Kansas in which he stressed to his students that speaking of tongues was the initial evidence of one being baptized in the Holy Spirit, an experience which he believed followed salvation and sanctification. On January 1, 1901 a small revival broke out in which students of the Bible school received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. Parham began a four-year revival tour teaching this new found experience. In 1905 Charles Parham moved to Houston, Texas where he started another Bible school. One of his students was a black preacher by the name of William J. Seymour. Aged 34, Seymour carried the teaching of Parham to Los Angeles where in 1906 he set up a church in a run-down building at 312 Azusa Street downtown L.A. where he preached the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A revival broke out which became known as the Azusa Street revival. This revival saw the birth of Pentecostalism which literally spread across the world. Pentecostals today, make up the largest proportion of evangelical Christians, numbering some 279 million adherents (compared to 100 million Baptists, 85 million Anglicans and 75 million Methodists); the largest Pentecostal denomination being Assemblies of God (65 million members). In April 1913, a Pentecostal camp meeting called ‚The Worldwide Apostolic Faith Camp Meeting‛ held at Arroyo Seco, not far from Los Angeles. The main speaker at the meeting was a woman by the name of Maria Woodworth-Etter (Azusa Street allowed for women preachers and pastors). At this meeting, a Canadian evangelist by the name of Robert E. McAlister observed that baptism in Jesus name was the biblical method of baptizing as outlined in the Apostles practise in the book of Acts. It was said by a Pentecostal by the name of Frank Ewart: “The gun was fired from that platform which was destined to resound throughout all Christendom” - Frank Ewart, cited from Chritianity Today, Dividing over Oneness This same Frank Ewart met up with McAlister to discuss the theological implications of the link between baptism in Jesus name and the name Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Matthew 28:19. Ewart also began working with a noted evangelist by the name of Glenn Cook who had been the full-time business manager of the Azusa Street Mission. “Ewart and Cook concluded that, following the apostolic pattern, water baptism should always take place with the invocation of the name of Jesus. They also concluded that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not three distinct persons but three manifestations of the one God, and Jesus is the revelation of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The reason why there is such power when believers preach, pray, and baptize in Jesus’ name is that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Jesus.” - David K. Bernard, Superintendent of the UPCI, The Jesus Name Centennial – cited from the homepage of upci.org Frank Ewart and Glenn Cook pitched a tent in Belvedere, California, just outside Los Angeles and began holding meetings. On April 5, 1914, Ewart preached his first sermon proclaiming his new discovered doctrine, which became known in the early Pentecostal movement as ‚the new issue‛. At this same meeting, Ewart and Cook publicly re-baptized each other in sole name of ‚Jesus‛. The Assemblies of God was founded in 1914 and the ‚new issue‛ of Oneness Pentecostals threatened the denominations orthodox position on the Trinity as those within its ranks began pushing the Oneness doctrine. In 1916, the 4th General Council met in St. Louis to resolve the ‚new issue‛. As a result a Statement of Fundamental Truths was introduced, which emphasised the denominations belief in the Trinity. Former preaching credentials were retracted and new ones issued in agreement with the new Statement of Fundamental Truths. Oneness believers and a third of their ministers were forced to leave the Assemblies of God, resulting in them setting up their own group called the ‚General Assembly of the Apostolic Churches‛, which later merged to form the ‚Pentecostal Assemblies of the World‛ (PAW), which today has an approximately 1.5 million members. In 1924 due to segregation laws together with widespread racism in the USA; white leaders separated from PAW which had as its leader, an African-American by the name of G. T. Haywood, to form what later became known as the United Pentecostal Church, Incorporated (UPC), which subsequently merged again in 1945 to form the united Pentecostal Church International. This body today is the largest of all the Oneness Pentecostal denominations with a membership of over 3 million. Next week we shall look at the early history of the Oneness theology which dates back over 1800 years to men such as Sabellius. We shall explore what really happened at the Council of Nicea and begin also to explore in finer detail, the heresies of the Oneness view of God.