Oneness Pentecostalism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Son of God=== According to Oneness theology, the Son of God did not exist (in any substantial sense) prior to the incarnation of [[Jesus of Nazareth]] except as the Logos (or Word) of God the Father. They believe that humanity of Jesus did not exist before the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation]], although Jesus (i.e. the Spirit of Jesus) [[Pre-existence of Christ|pre-existed]] in his deity as the eternal God. This belief is supported by the lack of Jesus' incarnate presence anywhere in the Old Testament.<ref name=":5">{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch5.htm|title=The Oneness of God|publisher=Word Aflame Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-912315-12-6|chapter=Begotten Son or Eternal Son?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411183805/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch5.htm|archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref> Thus, Oneness Pentecostals believe that the title "Son" only applied to Christ when he became flesh on earth. In this theology, the Father embodies the divine attributes of the Godhead and the Son embodies the human aspects. They believe that Jesus and the Father are one essential person, though operating in different modes.<ref name=":4" /> Oneness author W. L. Vincent writes, "The argument against the 'Son being his own Father' is a red herring. It should be evident that Oneness theology acknowledges a clear distinction between the Father and Son–in fact this has never been disputed by any Christological view that I am aware of."<ref name=":12" /> ====The Word==== Oneness theology holds that "the Word" in [[John 1:1]] was the mind or plan of God. Oneness Pentecostals believe that the Word was not a separate person from God but that it was the plan of God and was God Himself. Bernard writes in his book ''The Oneness View of Jesus Christ'', {{Blockquote|In the Old Testament, God's Word (dabar) was not a distinct person but was God speaking, or God disclosing Himself (Psalm 107:20; Isaiah 55:11). To the Greeks, the Word (logos) was not a distinct divine person, but reason as the controlling principle of the universe. The noun logos could mean thought (unexpressed word) as well as speech or action (expressed word). In John 1, the Word is God's self-revelation or self-disclosure. Before the Incarnation, the Word was the unexpressed thought, plan, reason, or mind of God.<ref name=":OnenessJesus">{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|title=The Oneness View of Jesus Christ|publisher=Word Aflame Press|year=1994|isbn=1-56722-020-7}}</ref>}} Additionally, Bernard claims that the Greek word ''pros'' (translated "with" in John 1:1) could also be translated as "pertaining to," meaning that John 1:1 could also be translated as (in his view), "The Word pertained to God and the Word was God."<ref name="The Oneness of God">{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |pages=60–61 |archive-date=16 February 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6}}</ref> In the incarnation, Oneness believers hold that God put the Word (which was His divine plan) into action by manifesting Himself in the form of the man Jesus, and thus "the Word became flesh" ({{bibleverse|John|1:14|KJV}}). In this, Oneness believers say that the incarnation is a singular event, unlike anything God has done prior or will ever do again.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=David |title=I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology |date=4 September 2009 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-1565630000 |page=161 |chapter=The Man Who Preexisted |quote=...and of course, the Incarnation is one of a kind-it is unique, as it is expressed in the rest of the verse.}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals believe that the Word of John 1:1 does not imply a second pre-existent, divine person, but that the Word is simply the plan of God, which was put into action through the incarnation.<ref name="The Oneness of God"/> ====The dual nature of Christ==== {{Main|Hypostatic union}} When discussing the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation]], Oneness theologians and authors often refer to a concept known as the dual nature of Christ, which is understood as the union of human and divine natures in the man Jesus. Bernard describes this concept in his book ''The Oneness of God'', stating that Jesus "is both Spirit and flesh, God and man, Father and Son. On his human side He is the Son of man; on his divine side He is the Son of God and is the Father dwelling in the flesh."<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |chapter=Jesus is God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |pages=69–70}}</ref> They see this not as two persons in one body but rather as two natures united in one person: Jesus Christ.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dulle |first1=Jason |title=The Dual Nature of Christ |url=https://www.onenesspentecostal.com/dualnature.htm |website=Institute for Biblical Studies |access-date=6 November 2021 |quote=...Jesus' natures never worked independent of one another. His two natures exist "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the difference of the natures having been in no wise taken away by reason of the union, but rather the properties of each being preserved...."}}</ref> Oneness believers see the mystery referred to in [[1 Timothy 3:16]] as referencing this concept of two natures being united in the one person of Jesus Christ.<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |pages=63–64 |chapter=Jesus is God}}</ref> Although the Oneness belief in the union of the divine and human into one person in Christ is similar to the [[Chalcedonian]] formula, Chalcedonians disagree sharply with them over their opposition to Trinitarian dogma. Chalcedonians see Jesus Christ as a single person uniting God the Son—the eternal second person of the Trinity—with human nature. Oneness believers, on the other hand, see Jesus as one single person uniting the one God himself with human nature as the Son of God. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page