Oneness Pentecostals & Jesus Christ

There is no denying that Oneness Pentecostal writers teach both monotheism and that Jesus is fully and truly God. They do not hesitate to go to all the proof-texts Christians would to prove His deity (e.g., John 1:1, 20:28; Rom 9:5; Titus 2:13; 2 Pet 1:1). At the same time, they also teach that Jesus is God in the flesh so that He is fully and truly man as well.

However, the orthodoxy of the statement “Jesus is God” is determined by how one defines the phrase "Son of God."

They affirm that “Jesus is the Son of God,” but that title refers exclusively to Jesus during His incarnation so that “the humanity of the Lord Jesus is the Son” (italics mine) (Magee, Is Jesus in the Godhead or is the Godhead in Jesus?, 32). Therefore, Jesus being the Son of God is a temporary role with a very distinct beginning and ending.

So, if Jesus is not the eternal Son of God, what was He before His incarnation? Answer: Jesus was the Father not the Son. In fact, during the Incarnation “the Father and Son are two natures in the one person, Jesus Christ” (Bowman, “Oneness Pentecostalism and the Trinity,” 25). In other words, for OP’s “to say Jesus is both the Father and the Son is to say that he is both God and man” (Boyd, Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity, 32).

When talking to OP's, one of the reasons they deny the Trinity is because it's too hard to understand. Well, rather than doing away with all mystery in their system, they instead transfer the mystery to the Incarnation. Their most respected author readily admits that people “cannot understand the dual nature of Christ and cannot correctly separate his two roles” (Bernard, The Oneness of God, 171).

Therefore, Bible verses that appear to reveal distinctions between persons (e.g., Jesus praying to the Father, loving the Father, doing the Father’s will, both Father and Son sending the Spirit, etc.) are actually the two human and divine natures interacting with each other. His human struggles (e.g., pain, thirst, not knowing information, etc.), two wills (Luke 22:42; John 6:38) and especially His death also demonstrate this—Jesus’ human body (the Son) died on the cross while His spirit (the Father) did not.

Why is this important? When speaking with an OP you must be careful because they will adamantly agree with you that “The Son of God died on the cross,” but again, “Son of God” means Jesus’ human nature not that He is God.

Be careful when doing evangelism to define your terms. Ask, "Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?" When they say "Yes," then ask "What do you mean by that?" If you don't, you’ll be “two ships passing in the night” during your conversation. You’ll get no where since you've been spinning your wheels in the mud of confusion as you talk past each other. Never assume. Always ask questions.

This is also a very good example of how important it is to know the view of the person you're trying to reach with the gospel. You may even leave thinking "This person's saved" because you didn't know the right questions to ask.