Oneness or Trinity
How Many Do You Pray To?
The Revelation of Who Christ Is
Matthew 16:15
“He saith unto them,Butwhom say ye that I am?
16 - And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17- And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in heaven.
18 - And I say also unto thee, That thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
It is most commonly believed, especially through Catholicism, that Peter was the rock upon which the church was built.
However, it was not so. After the day of Pentecost, Peter referred to this stone/rock.
Acts 4:8-12
“Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel... Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole... This is the stone which was setatnought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other...”
More times than not, Trinitarian versus Oneness Bible studies end with the scripture concerning the mystery of Godliness with the Trinitarians claiming that the deity of Christ cannot be understood. However, if the church was built upon the revelation of who Christ is, and if Peter understood who Christ is, then it is evidently not a mystery. Do you see why it is so important for us to know exactly who God is? If this is the foundation of our salvation, we cannot be saved unless we know exactly who Christ is.
1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory.
1 Timothy 3:16 (CEB)
Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory.
Both translations, among myriad others, indicate that God was manifest from a spirit form to human form. This is the “mystery of godliness”; how an infinite and omnipresent God could become a finite human being to be tempted as we are and die a human death while maintaining His power.
What Oneness is:
In Zechariah 14, Zechariah prophecies of the second coming of Christ, and mentions the singularity of his deity.
Zechariah 14:9
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
When we call upon God, we call upon the name of Jesus. We return to Acts 4 to solidify through which name we call on for God’s power.
Acts 4:
7- And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
8- Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them...
10- Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here whole.
11- This is the stone which was setatnought of you builders, which is become the head corner.
12- Neither is there salvation in any other: for there isnoneother name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Thus quoted, we must tie up the loose ends of the string. Zechariah speaks of last days where “there will be one Lord, and his name one”. Peter then expounds part of this prophecy by preaching that the only “name given among men, whereby we must be saved” is the “head corner” stone, who is “Jesus Christ of Nazareth”.
What Happened to the Father and Holy Spirit?
At this point in the study, we are probably somewhere near the state of understanding of that of Phillip. In John 14, we read of Phillip’s confusion, as we too are often confused by scriptures such as “I am intheFather, and the Father in me”.
He clearly didn’t understand, and we watch the dialogue as Jesus simplifies it for him.
John 14:8-9
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
To wrap up the deity issue in its entirety, let’s consider when Jesus spoke of the Comforter that was to return after His ascension.
In John 15:26, Jesus said that He would send the Comforter via the Father.
“But when theComforteris come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”
In John 16:7, Jesus terms the return of the Comforter as being sent from himself.
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
John 14:18 piques the controversy. Speaking of the same Comforter (Holy Ghost), Jesus said that He himself would return.
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
In all regards, this article is not meant to insult the intelligence of the reader, for this discussion has numerous avenues of debate and the simplicity of the issue is not always clear. However, this article was written to give a clear and precise foundation to work from in explaining the truth of who our Father is, and how he reveals himself to man. We return to Timothy 3:16, “for the Father manifest(revealed) himself to us, clothed in flesh(Jesus), and justified in the Spirit (Holy Spirit)”. Similar to the burning bush, the pillar of fire, and the visitor to Abraham, Jesus too was a manifestation and revelation of the Father to us as human beings, although he played a more definitive and important role.
If you would like to gain a deeper understanding, email me at SquareOneQuestions@gmail.com. . I would like to have the opportunity to speak with you!
Food for thought:
1. If the Son had a name, by which all power was given, where is the equality within the three deities of the unified Trinity? Does this not make him greater than the Father?
2. If the three deities are equal and in agreement in governance, was Jesus unequally pleading with the Father in the garden before his death on the cross?