Did William Branham Teach Oneness?

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    The Oneness doctrine is a non-Trinitarian view of the Godhead that is a fundamental belief of a number of Pentecostal denominations (see below).

    They believe in the one God, and the complete and full deity of Jesus Christ. Oneness Pentecostals reject the doctrine of the Trinity. Oneness Pentecostals maintain that the Judeo-Christian God is not three separate and distinct Persons, but is exclusively one God without any internal distinctions of persons and site, a belief based in part on a biblical passage found in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." According to Oneness Pentecostals, God is not a plurality of persons, minds, individuals or a multiplicity of consciousnesses, but does have a plurality of manifestations, roles, titles, attributes, or relationships to man. Oneness statements of faith generally refer to God as "Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in emanation/regeneration" or that God exists in three "manifestations" throughout history.

    Oneness Pentecostals are often referred to as "Jesus Only." The label arose early on in reference to their insistence on baptizing only in the name of Jesus, but it tends to be used only by the movement's critics today, and is generally disliked by Oneness Pentecostals. "Oneness", "Apostolic" and "Jesus' Name" are adherents' preferred self-designations.[1]

    Contrast

    Trinitarian Christianity teaches that God is existent in three divine Persons or members in the Godhead (named "God the Father, "God the Son" and "God the Holy Spirit"). Only the second person of the Trinity, i.e., the Son of God, became incarnate. Neither the persons of the Father nor the Spirit were hypostatically united to a human nature and body. Historic trinitarianism places great stress on the unity of substance or essence of the three persons of the Godhead. Thus, three person are one God not three gods - historic trinitarians have spurned the title "tritheists." The term "person" refers only to relationships, not to a separate essence. Oneness theology, however, maintains that there is only one God, who was manifested in the flesh, and that He became fully known to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. To Oneness Pentecostals, the idea of God as duality or trinity is heretical. Oneness Pentecostals generally describe God in strictly monotheistic terms and do not use terms such as "trinity", "persons", "members", "separate", "they", "them", etc. to describe the Judeo-Christian God. Additionally, they avoid common para-biblical terminology as "co-existent," "co-equal," "co-powerful," "co-eternal," and do not reverse the often-used biblical phrase phrase "Son of God" to "God the Son" as is done by many Trinitarians.

    Contrary to the views held by many Trinitarians, Oneness Pentecostals do not deny the existence or divinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; they just deny that there are a multiplicity of persons, members, individuals, minds or consciousnesses within the one God. According to them, Jesus is the incarnation of the fullness of God and not the incarnation of "one third of the Godhead" ("Jehovah Junior") or one member or person of the Godhead (Template:Bibleverse). In His deity, Jesus is God (which is known in Scripture as LORD, the Spirit of GOD, the Spirit of the LORD, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, and the Father). This teaching is also referred to by many Trinitarians as Jesus-Only doctrine or Sabellianism. Many Trinitarian Christians believe it to be a heresy. Oneness Pentecostals deny that claim, and do not currently use the term "Jesus-Only doctrine" themselves. Earlier in their history, Oneness Pentecostals called themselves "Jesus Only," but today, they often describe themselves as "Jesus-Everything", in reference to their belief that the Godhead is fully manifest in Christ.

    Baptism and Soteriology

    Since the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325, the common baptismal formula used in most churches has been based on the Trinitarian formula found in Template:Bibleref where Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Oneness Pentecostals reject the decision made in A.D. 325 and instead baptize by saying "in the name of Jesus Christ" or a similiar phraseology such as "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" or "in the name of Jesus." Baptism "in the name of Jesus" (or any other synonymous Christological phrasings) is how they claim the primitive church baptized (Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse) before the ecumenical council. In contrast, there are no biblical examples of the trinitarian formula (Template:Bibleverse) being used in baptism anywhere in the Bible.

    Similar to other Pentecostal denominations, Oneness Pentecostals also believe water baptism (by full immersion) and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the immediate and outward evidence of speaking in other tongues is essential to their salvation. In addition, many, but not all Oneness Pentecostals adhere to strict holiness standards.

    Unitarianism verses Oneness

    There are many who confuse the terms unitarian and Oneness. This is because both essentially believe that God can only exist as a single "unit," or monad. He cannot be divided into separate parts, or a plurality of "persons" and still exist as a whole deity. Although unitarians and Oneness are similar in the belief that there is not a plurality of persons in the Godhead, unitarians believe that Jesus was only a moral authority whereas the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ is essential to Oneness doctrine.

    In Oneness theology there is an existential distinction, where God in the incarnation comes to exist in Christ in complete human existence and continues to exist as God eternally as Spirit ("Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" - Template:Bibleverse).

    History

    Pentecostalism began in the early 20th century, in the waning days of the Azusa Street Revival. In contrast to the Charismatic movement, Oneness adherants claim that they are following the original doctrine of the Apostles (the etymology of one of the denominational classifations, "Apostolic"), which can be traced back to the "Day of Pentecost" in the Upper Room in Jerusalem as recorded in the Book of Acts of the Bible.

    Both 1913 and 1914 have been said to be when the birth of Oneness Pentecostalism occurred. Both dates are correct, but must be examined as a whole. In 1913, John Schaepe (whose name is often misspelled in a number of sources) claimed to receive a revelation that the baptismal formula posited by Peter in Acts 2:38 - i.e., baptism in the name of Jesus - was the fulfillment of the baptismal formula commanded by Jesus in Template:Bibleref - i.e., baptism in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In 1914, Frank Ewart and Glenn Cook publicly baptized each other in "the name of Jesus." Thus, in 1913 Oneness Pentecostalism was "revealed" to a handful of individuals, and in 1914 it was first publicly practiced. Later, a number of ministers claimed that they baptized "in the Name of Jesus" long before 1914, including Frank Small and Andrew D. Urshan. While this may or may not be true, it was not their baptismal formula which was the issue, but rather the rejection of the Trinity that was the bigger issue to other Pentecostal ministers.

    Shaepe's revelation caused a great stir within Pentecostalism. During the next year, Frank J. Ewart, another Pentecostal minister, struggled between his Trinitarian teachings and the new issue. He often spent hours debating with R. E. McAlister, attempting to bring the two doctrines together. It was also Schaepe's 1913 "revelation" on the Godhead that brought about the end of William Seymour's Asuza Street Mission. By 1920, Seymour's audience soon dwindled to a fraction of what it was prior to 1913. The camp ground where the revelation occurred was also owned by Seymour's Mission. Many were rebaptized in the new formula in an attempt to bring unity within the new Assemblies of God. In 1916, the issue finally came to the boiling point.

    After Oneness Pentecostals separated from the Assemblies of God in 1916 over the issue of the Godhead, they have been plagued with fractures over a number of issues such as baptism, racism, and legalism. From 1920-1950, many ministers split from the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, a predominantly black church as a result of racial tensions. In 1945, the UPCI was formed as a predominately white Oneness Pentecostal organization after a disagreement over the correct baptismal formula. In 1986, Pastor L.H. Hardwick, a UPCI pastor in Nashville, TN, broke away from what he called "legalists," took his church (Christ Church) and formed Global Christian Ministries (now Global Network of Christian Ministries).

    Organizations

    There are many Oneness Pentecostal organizations. Here are the larger ones:

    House of God, Holy Church of the Living God, The Pillar and the Ground of the Truth, The House of Prayer for All People (Sabbath Keeping Apostolic Church)

    Consider themselves non-denominational but believe the Oneness doctrine:

    While not as large as some of the above organizations, the following groups have made a significant impact on Oneness Pentecostalism:

    • Church of Jesus Christ of Prophecy (AKA Mercy Tabernacle, Headquarters: Benton, Tennessee)
    • International Church of Jesus Christ (Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio)
    • Apostolic Brethren (Headquarters: Columbus, Ohio)
    • Christ Church (Home church to Steve and Annie Chapman, The Katinas, Lee Greenwood, Tanya Goodman Sykes, who have all made strong ties with Trinitarians)
    • Liberty Harvest Ministries In Jesus Inc., Texas

    International

    Oneness Pentecostal groups with headquarters in other countries include the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia, an indigenous church and the largest non-Catholic church in the country; the United Pentecostal Church of Australia; the Apostolic Church of the Faith in Christ Jesus, with headquarters in Mexico; the Oneness Pentecostal movement in the former U.S.S.R.; and the True Jesus Church], an indigenous church founded by Chinese Christians on the mainland but whose headquarters is now in Taiwan. At times they have affirmed to be the only true church. There are many smaller organizations (approximately 130 worldwide), independent churches, and charismatic fellowships that are Oneness in doctrine.

    In existence is also the Apostolic World Christian Fellowship which has been trying to unite all Oneness Pentecostal denominations in existence through a loose fellowship. There are some Oneness denominations that have refused to join -- for example the United Pentecostal Church.

    References

    1. ↑ Dr. David K. Bernard, Unmasking Prejudice, Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research

    "The Pentecostals", by Walter J. Hollenweger, Professor of Mission at the University of Birmingham

    External links

    Favoring Oneness view

    Opposing Oneness view

    Oneness organizations

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