Incarnation (Christianity)

=== Oneness Pentecostalism===
In contrast to the traditional view of the incarnation cited above, adherents of [[Oneness Pentecostalism]] believe in the doctrine of Oneness. Although both Oneness and traditional Christianity teach that God is a ''singular'' Spirit, Oneness adherents reject the idea that God is a Trinity of persons. Oneness doctrine teaches there is one God who manifests Himself in different ways, as opposed to a Trinity, where God is seen as one being consisting of three distinct persons.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boyd |first1=Gregory A. |title=Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity |date=1992 |publisher=Baker Books |location=Grand Rapids |isbn=9781441214966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnVhHShvOgwC |access-date=9 January 2023}}</ref>

To a Oneness Pentecostal, Jesus is seen as both fully divine and fully human. The term Father refers to God Himself, who caused the conception of the Son in Mary, thus becoming the father of the child she bore. The term Son refers to the fully human person, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost refers to the manifestation of God's Spirit inside of and around His people. Thus the Father is ''not'' the Son – and this distinction is crucial – but is ''in'' the Son as the fullness of His divine nature.<ref>David K. Bernard (1994-09-30). The Oneness View of Jesus Christ (Kindle Locations 362-367). World Aflame Press. Kindle Edition.</ref> Traditional Trinitarians believe that the Son always existed as the eternal second person of the Trinity; Oneness adherents believe that the Son did not come into being until the incarnation, when the one and only true God took on human form for the first, last and only time in history.<ref>Oneness doctrine is explained in detail in [[United Pentecostal Church International|UPCI]] minister Dr. David K. Bernard's [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm The Oneness of God] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |date=2008-02-16 }}, David K. Bernard (1994-09-30);The Oneness View of Jesus Christ (Kindle Locations 362-367). World Aflame Press. Kindle Edition; David S. Norris (2013-11-12). I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology (Kindle Locations 190-192). Word Aflame Press. Kindle Edition.</ref>