Topic(s): Denominationalism

Todd Clippard

Is a question that has created controversial in some religious circles, but it shouldn't. If people would just spend a little time with the Scriptures and exercise a little common sense, the "oneness doctrine" as it is known would vanish.

The Bible clearly teaches the oneness of God - "Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut 6:4). But does this mean the three personalities in the Godhead are all the same person? No. It means they are one in essence and purpose.

The Father is God (Eph 4:6); the Son is God (John 1:1-4, 14); and the Holy Spirit is God (Gen 1:2; Acts 5:1-4). All three are Divine in every facet of their character. All are omniscient (all knowing); omnipotent (all powerful); omnipresent (seeing all things at all times); and omnibenevolent (all loving). They are holy in every way, and in them is absolute perfection.

In the Old Testament, the word for God is the Hebrew Elohim. This is a plural word, as is evidenced from Genesis 1:26-27 where God said "let us (plural) make man in our (plural) image." In John 1:1-4, the text says of Jesus, "the same was with God in the beginning."

There are several passages in the New Testament which show the three are separate personalities. At Jesus' baptism in Matthew 3:13-17, we see the Spirit descending upon Jesus, so we know Jesus is not the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit was resting upon Jesus, a voice from heaven came saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." So we know the Father is a separate person from the Spirit and the Son.

In giving the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, Jesus told His disciples to "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." If all three were the same person, this would be a redundancy and wouldn't make any sense to the disciples or to us today.

For further consideration, one can also read John 14-16 and see the many distinctions made by Jesus between Himself, His heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit.

To help us see the difference between being one in purpose and one person, look at how the Bible describes marriage. In Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:4-5, we see that when a man and woman are joined together in marriage, the two become one flesh. Does this mean they are the same person? Hardly. It simply means the two now become one in purpose and direction. The husband is admonished to love his wife as his own body (Eph 5:28). The husband and wife are said to have power of the body of the other (1 Cor 7:2-4). Each is to seek the best interest of the other. This is oneness in marriage.

There is also an Old Testament example that helps us understand the "three as one" concept. In Daniel 1-5, both Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar ruled the Babylonian empire as co-regents. Each was a king in his own right. In chapter 5, after seeing "the hand writing on the wall," Belshazzar promised that whoever could interpret the writing would be given a purple robe (a sign of royalty), a gold chain around his neck, and would be the "third ruler in the kingdom." The term third does not mean third in rank, but rather that he would rule alongside Belshazzar as the third ruler in the kingdom. A similar situation occurred immediately after the fall of Babylon when Daniel was made one of three Presidents to rule over the 120 princes who were over the entire Medo-Persian empire (Dan 6:1-3).