Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity

Copyright © 1992 by Baker Books

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

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Ebook edition created 2012

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ISBN 978-0-8010-1019-4

Scripture quotations not otherwise identified are from the New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

To my loving wife Shelly.

A better companion

for this spiritual journey we call life

could never be found.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Preface

Abbreviations of Works Cited

Introduction: Confessions of an Ex-Oneness Pentecostal

1   Understanding Oneness Pentecostalism

2   The Trinity: Truth or Error?

3   Is Jesus His Own Father?

4   Did the Son of God Exist Before His Birth?

5   Is Jesus the Holy Spirit?

6   Baptism, Salvation, and The Name

7   Was the Early Church Oneness?

8   The Inescapable Trinity

Appendix A: Salvation, the Spirit, and Tongues

Appendix B: The Holiness Standards and Works Salvation

Appendix C: Hair

Appendix D: Statistics on Oneness Pentecostal Groups

Notes

Back Cover

Preface

The Oneness heresy begins with the conviction that the orthodox Christian doctrine of the Trinity is fundamentally incompatible with a faith that there is only one God. Therefore, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot in this view be real, distinct, coequal persons in the eternal Godhead, but are only different roles that one divine person temporarily assumes. Though this heresy can initially appear relatively harmless, in rejecting the Trinity this belief actually cuts to the heart of all that is essential to the Christian faith.

Throughout its history, the church has occasionally confronted views similar to the Oneness belief. In the early church these views were known variously as Sabellianism, Modalistic Monarchianism, or Patripassianism. In the past these views were always rejected by the orthodox church as dangerous heresies.

Not since the early third century, however, has the Christian church had to confront the Oneness heresy to anything like the extent that it must do so today. From its informal beginnings seventy-five years ago amidst the fledgling American Pentecostal movement, different sects embracing the Oneness heresy have grown to number over one million in the United States and close to five million worldwide on conservative estimates. (For more detailed statistical information on the Oneness movement, see Appendix D.) This means that Oneness believers—almost all of whom have remained within the Pentecostal movement—constitute one of the three largest antitrinitarian professing Christian movements both in this country and in the world!

Moreover, it has been my experience, confirmed by many others who have since left the Oneness movement, that former trinitarian Christians make up the largest single group of people who become new converts in Oneness churches. In their eyes, trinitarian denominations are mission fields. I have confronted an increasing number of pastors who have lost some of their congregations to Oneness proselytizers. One pastor even reported that during a series of revival meetings where many people were coming forward in response to the evangelistic message, Oneness believers would actually pose as altar counselors in order to then steal the new converts over to their true church.

Despite these alarming facts, the majority of trinitarian Christians, and even trinitarian Christian leaders and educators, remain completely uninformed about this movement. While thousands of books and articles have been written on other antitrinitarian sects, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Armstrongism, or The Way International, next to nothing has been written on Oneness Pentecostalism. In fact, only two books have been published critiquing Oneness Pentecostalism from a theological perspective: Carl Brumback’s God in Three Persons (Tennessee: Pathway Press, 1959) and F. J. Lindquist’s The Truth About the Trinity and Baptism in Jesus’ Name Only (Minneapolis: Northern Gospel Publishing House, 1961). Neither of these works is exhaustive in its exposition or critique of the movement, and both are very dated.

Not only this, but Christian works on alternative religions or cults in America hardly ever include any discussion of Oneness Pentecostalism; and in those few instances where they do, the differences between Oneness Pentecostals and orthodox Christianity are watered down, especially concerning baptism and tongues. Hence, for example, in Ruth Tuckers work Another Gospel (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988), the author states that except for the denial of the doctrine of the Trinity, the United Pentecostal Church is not significantly different from other Pentecostal groups (p. 385). As we shall see, this view is very mistaken. This perhaps explains why she confines her treatment of the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) to one page in an appendix, whereas a cult like The Way, which is a fraction of its size, is given an entire chapter.

Finally, the doctrine of the Oneness Pentecostals is frequently misunderstood in the secondary literature, as for example in Ronald Enroth’s A Guide to Cults and New Religions (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1983). In this work Enroth compares the Oneness view of God to that of The Way International (p. 15). The antitrinitarianism of these two groups, however, has only a denial of the Trinity in common.

Given the widespread ignorance concerning Oneness Pentecostalism, it is hardly a mystery as to why this group is as successful as it is in evangelizing mainstream trinitarian Christianity.

There are, I believe, two basic reasons for this ongoing ignorance. First, whereas most other antitrinitarian sects tend to be tightly structured in an authoritarian fashion and are thus easily identifiable as opponents to traditional Christianity, Oneness Pentecostalism has always been a relatively disunited movement. The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is the largest of all the Oneness denominations, having approximately half a million members in the United States and roughly the same number elsewhere. But there are in fact several hundred much smaller Oneness Pentecostal organizations, and even the UPCI is the result of a merger between two smaller Oneness denominations. Its presence on the Christian scene is thus much less conspicuous than that of other heretical Christian groups.

Second, whereas other antitrinitarian groups reject the Trinity by denying that Jesus Christ is equal with the Father, the Oneness Pentecostals reject the Trinity by denying that Jesus Christ is in any sense distinct from the Father. But because the doctrine of Christ’s divinity hits closer to home than the doctrine of the Trinity for most Christians (and especially for most Pentecostals), the Oneness error on the Godhead can seem more innocuous than the subordinationist error. So again, the error of Oneness Pentecostalism has largely escaped the attention of Christian leaders.

As a matter of fact, however, the inconspicuousness and apparent harmlessness of this theological aberration renders it all the more dangerous and makes the need for Christians to be informed about it all the more urgent. The rapid growth of the Oneness movement testifies to its profound impact—despite its inconspicuousness. And the dangerous nature of this form of antitrinitarianism is no less real because of its affirmation of the deity of Christ As the early Fathers who first fought this heresy saw, and as I shall maintain in this book, the denial that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are eternally distinct persons within the Godhead indirectly undermines the Christian view of God’s character, God’s revelation, and God’s salvation by grace.

It is, I shall therefore argue, no mere coincidence that the present form of this Oneness antitrinitarianism is also accompanied by a number of other radical theological aberrations that run directly counter to some of the most fundamental concepts Christians have always believed about God and about salvation. Hence almost all Oneness Pentecostals today not only deny the Trinity, they also deny that one is saved by grace through faith alone. Almost all Oneness Pentecostals also maintain that one must be baptized by immersion in Jesus’ name (not the traditional Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and that one’s salvation hangs on this mode and formula. Furthermore, one must speak in tongues if one is to claim to have the Holy Spirit and be saved. Finally, it is usually held that one must live a strictly regimented holy life worthy of the Lord, involving various extreme standards, if one is to be saved. Indeed, I shall maintain that it is not an overstatement to see this particular antitrinitarian heresy as teaching salvation-by-works to an extent almost unparalleled in the history of Christianity.

The Oneness belief, then, is as harmful as it is influential, and I believe it is time that trinitarian Christians begin to take notice of it.

Throughout this work, I shall primarily have the United Pentecostal Church International in mind in my polemic against Oneness Pentecostalism. There are four reasons for this. First, the UPCI is by far the largest and most influential of the Oneness organizations. Second, the UPCI publishing house, Word Aflame Press, publishes and distributes almost all of the Oneness apologetic material circulating in the United States today. Third, the UPCI is very representative of what is standard among almost all Oneness Pentecostal groups (a modalistic view of God, Jesus’ Name baptism, and tongues as the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit), while avoiding many of the various eccentricities that sometimes characterize its smaller Oneness counterparts. Finally, because my own four-year involvement in Oneness Pentecostalism was primarily (though not exclusively) in a UPCI church, it is the one I am most familiar with on a firsthand basis.

There are three purposes that have governed the writing of this work.

1. It has been the ongoing task of the church to reaffirm in diverse times and places its trinitarian faith over and against alternatives, which continually assail the church. The church needs to reflect continually on the meaning and validity of its trinitarian faith in each new situation in which it finds itself and against each new challenge it confronts.

This book therefore seeks to be a reflection and reaffirmation of the decision the third-century church made when it opted for its trinitarian faith over and against the very popular, and less metaphysically demanding, modalistic monarchian belief that was then sweeping Western Christianity. As this belief has again arisen to a degree that must give us some concern, we must seek once again to reaffirm the biblical foundation and central theological significance of the trinitarian view of God that has nurtured the church throughout the ages. If successful, we shall have thoroughly refuted the Oneness heresy and reaffirmed the validity and centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity.

It is hoped, then, that this work will prove informative and helpful to any who seek to understand more clearly the church’s trinitarian faith.

2. In keeping with the above point, this work seeks to serve as a guide to individuals involved in any way with Oneness Pentecostalism. It is hoped that this work will prove helpful to believers who come in contact with, or are even evangelized by, Oneness adherents, as well as to questioning individuals who are either still in this movement or who have left the movement but remain confused by it.

3. Finally, I have written this book with a special eye toward Christian leaders who have been or will be confronted with Oneness Pentecostalism. I have each year received an increasing number of calls from pastors or other church leaders who are having any number of members in their congregations negatively influenced by the Oneness teaching and want to know how to combat it. Indeed, recently a sizable trinitarian congregation in my locale completely converted over to the Oneness Pentecostal doctrine. This is tragic and entirely unnecessary. It is simply the result of a lack of understanding of what this teaching is all about and why it is fundamentally unbiblical.

If this work does anything to better inform and equip those in leadership positions who are responsible for others, and if this work thereby reduces the number of such incidences of individuals and churches being swept away by this heresy, it will have accomplished its goal.

There are numerous individuals to whom I am indebted in writing this work. The idea for it arose out of my conversations with a number of close friends who have, with me, struggled in their spiritual journey out of the UPCI. Dave and Terri Churchill as well as my sister Anita Boyd deserve special mention for their insights and feedback. I am also greatly indebted to my good friend Robert Bowman of the Christian Research Institute for his continual input, and especially for his skillful help in editing this book. I am greatly indebted to my wife, Shelley, whose love and support have remained constant throughout the difficulty and confusion of leaving the Oneness Pentecostal movement together, and without whose patience this work would not have been possible. Finally, I am of course eternally grateful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who revealed his grace and truth to me and who has called me to his ministry. My prayer is that this work will glorify him as one aspect of this ministry.

Abbreviations of Works Cited

Oneness Pentecostal Works

(The following are published by Pentecostal Publishing House or Word Aflame Press, Hazelwood, Missouri, unless indicated otherwise.)

Oneness Tracts

(All published by Word Aflame Press)

Other Works Cited

Introduction

Confessions of an Ex-Oneness Pentecostal

The present status of the Oneness heresy on the world scene and the present lack of reliable information on this movement are themselves enough season to render a work such as this necessary and even urgent. But this work also represents a more personal urgency, for it is the result of my own wrestling with the theology of the Oneness movement over the past sixteen years. It may prove helpful to share some of this with the reader.

My involvement with Oneness Pentecostalism began when I was, at the age of sixteen, converted into a United Pentecostal Church. Like many teenagers, I was searching for something to belong to, to believe in, to identify with. Moreover, my involvement with drugs and the party scene was already growing old for me, and I wanted something different—radically different.

Well, I certainly found it. In this strict religious community I found a highly structured lifestyle, which on the surface made my initial break with my past life of sin relatively easy. I also found a belief system that initially made pretty good sense to me and supplied clear answers to almost all the questions about life I had been asking for so long.

The UPCI also supplied me with a strong sense of community I could identify with; coming from a broken home, this was something I longed for. Indeed, I soon internalized the certain elitist mentality that largely characterizes many Oneness communities, for we all believed we had a truth possessed by very few others. In our view, we alone were the people who knew the one true God; we alone knew who Jesus truly was; we alone were baptized correctly; we alone walked worthy of the Lord; we alone, in a word, were saved. Other so-called Christians—the trinitarians—were deceived into believing in three gods, but we had the genuine apostolic faith. Belonging to this group, I was certainly a somebody, which at this point in my life was extremely important.

My honeymoon with the Oneness faith, however, was quite short-lived. I quickly discovered that the holiness standard (the community lifestyle rules), which initially seemed freeing to me, became very burdensome. I discovered that even the threat of hell, spoken of so often from the pulpit, was not enough to motivate me to change permanently certain aspects of the sin-character that I had acquired in my pre-UPCI life. I thus spent a lot of my time feeling like God didn’t like me very much and believing that I was in fact going to end up in hell. This is not an uncommon feeling among Oneness Pentecostals (though they rarely admit it until they are out of the movement).

All of this changed, however, about a year and a half after my conversion, and that is what began to initiate my departure from the UPCI. For the first time in my life I experienced God’s grace. Standing in a church parking lot one October Sunday evening in 1976, feeling hopelessly sinful and lost, having just heard yet another powerful live-holy-or-go-to-hell sermon, I happened to open up my Bible to Romans, chapter 8.

As I read the first verse, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus . . .(KJV) my spiritual eyes were opened in a way they had never been opened before. The words NO CONDEMNATION reverberated in my mind like a thousand church bells chiming at once. The eternal and infinite love, joy, peace, and freedom of God Almighty flooded my heart that moment in a manner impossible to describe adequately. That moment I knew I was saved, for I knew I was—because of Jesus’ sacrifice alone—loved just as I was. I was accepted unconditionally.

My motivation for living for God was instantaneously changed from the fear of hell to a gratitude for heaven. And the bondage of sin I had previously been experiencing through legalism was now obliterated by grace. Because this way of thinking and living was diametrically opposed to the theology of Oneness Pentecostalism, however, my experience of grace was the beginning of the end of my journey through this movement.

Once the sect’s legalism had lost its grip on my mind, other aspects of its teaching slowly began to lose their grip on me. I