The Deity

Introduction:

The denomination known as “Jesus only” is the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI ). Some of its congregations use the name “The Apostolic Church.” This denomination was formed in 1945 by the union of the “Pentecostal Church Incorporated” and the “Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ.”

The majority of UPCI doctrines are the same as other Pentecostal groups, with the exceptions of their doctrine of salvation and their doctrine of the Godhead. The UPCI believes in baptism for the remission of sins. However, the difference in their baptism and the baptism in the Bible is that they reject what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19. According to the UPCI , the only baptism that is valid is one where the one doing the baptizing specifically says, “in the name of Jesus…,” or says something that refers to Jesus Only.

The formula used by the UPCI for baptism stems from their misunderstanding of what the Bible teaches about the Godhead. They believe that Jesus is the name of God and that He was manifested in three forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Historically this view is called “Modalism” and is not accepted by orthodox Christianity. The way Modalism is sometimes illustrated is that God separated a portion of Himself and sent it to earth as His Son. Later the Son returned to God and reincorporated. Then God separated another portion of Himself and sent it to earth as the Holy Spirit.

There are several texts that at first glance might appear to support both sides of the debate. One example is found in John’s first epistle.

1 John 5:7 ⁷For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.^(NKJV)

As the UPCI see it God is One. Thus it must be explained “how” He can also be “Three.” As traditional Christianity sees it, God is Three. Therefore, we must explain how three can also be “One.” As with any subject, what really counts is what the Bible says. Let us “search the Scriptures” to see what the truth is.

Body:

In the beginning there was a plurality in the Deity.

Genesis 1:1 ¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.^(NKJV)

In this text “God” is plural. Some have argued that grammatically, this is an example of a “plural of majesty” where the plural is used to underscore the greatness of a king or god. Scholarly evidence, however, shows that this literary technique began much later than the date of Genesis.

Other Scriptures support the fact that we are to understand that God is intentionally in the plural.

Genesis 1:26 ²⁶Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”^(NKJV)

Some have tried to explain this by saying that God was talking to an angel. But, angels are not made in the image of God.

Jesus confirmed the plurality of Deity in the beginning.

John 1:1-3 ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made.^(NKJV)

[If we accept that the Word was Jesus, what is the name of the God that was with Jesus?]

John 17:1-5 ¹Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ²as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. ³And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ⁴I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.^(NKJV)

John 17:24 ²⁴“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.^(NKJV)

Inspired men also confirmed this.

Colossians 1:15-17 ¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.^(NKJV)

Ephesians 3:9 ⁹and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;^(NKJV)

Hebrews 1:1-2 ¹God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ²has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;^(NKJV)

Obviously while Jesus was on earth He and His Father were separate individuals.

Jesus said that He was not the Father.

Jesus came to do the Father’s will, not His own will.

John 4:34 ³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.^(NKJV)

John 5:30 ³⁰I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.^(NKJV)

John 6:38 ³⁸For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.^(NKJV)

Jesus said He did not come from Himself.

John 7:28-29 ²⁸Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ²⁹But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”^(NKJV)

John 8:42 ⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.^(NKJV)

Jesus did not speak on His own authority.

John 7:17 ¹⁷If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own ^(NKJV)

John 12:49 ⁴⁹For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.^(NKJV)

John 14:10 ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.^(NKJV)

Jesus prayed to the Father. (John 17:1-26) [Was He talking to Himself?]

From the cross Jesus cried out because God had forsaken Him.

Mark 15:34 ³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”^(NKJV)

[Had He abandoned Himself? If so then why did He want to know the reason?]

They continued to be separate after Jesus ascended back to heaven.

Jesus said:

John 20:17 ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”^(NKJV)

[What is the name of the Father of Jesus? What is the name of the God of Jesus?]

When He ascended He sat at the right hand of the Father (He did not reincorporate into the Father).

Mark 16:19 ¹⁹So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.^(NKJV)

Romans 8:34 ³⁴Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.^(NKJV)

Colossians 3:1 ¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.^(NKJV)

Hebrews 1:3 ³who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,^(NKJV)

Hebrews 1:13 ¹³But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?^(NKJV)

Hebrews 10:12 ¹²But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,^(NKJV)

1 Peter 3:21-22 ²¹There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.^(NKJV)

He stood at the right hand in heaven and Stephen recognized Him.

Acts 7:55-56 ⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, ⁵⁶and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”^(NKJV)

Jesus is the mediator between God and man.

1 Timothy 2:5 ⁵For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,^(NKJV)

Jesus is our advocate with the Father.

1 John 2:1 ¹My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.^(NKJV)

Jesus said His disciples would no longer ask Him anything, but would pray to the Father in Jesus’ name.

John 16:23 ²³“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.^(NKJV)

Jesus will either confess us or deny us before the Father.

Matthew 10:32-33 ³²“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ³³But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.^(NKJV)

Inspired men testified to this

God is the Head of Christ

1 Corinthians 11:3 ³But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is^(NKJV)

The Father never submitted to the Son

1 Corinthians 15:27 ²⁷For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.^(NKJV)

That God the Father continues being the “Father” and the “God” of Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:6 ⁶that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.^(NKJV)

2 Corinthians 1:3 ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,^(NKJV)

2 Corinthians 11:31 ³¹The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.^(NKJV)

Ephesians 1:3 ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,^(NKJV)

Ephesians 1:17 ¹⁷that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,^(NKJV)

Ephesians 3:14 ¹⁴For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(NKJV)

Colossians 1:3 ³We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,^(NKJV)

1 Peter 1:3 ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,^(NKJV)

1 John 1:3 ³that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.^(NKJV)

The one who denies this doctrine of Christ has neither the Father nor the Son.

2 John 9 ⁹Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.^(NKJV)

The Father has given judgment to the Son.

John 5:22 ²²For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,^(NKJV)

Acts 17:30-31 ³⁰Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”^(NKJV)

Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess

Philippians 2:10-11 ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.^(NKJV)

One Spirit…one Lord…one God

Ephesians 4:4-6 ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.^(NKJV)

Ephesians 2:18 ¹⁸For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.^(NKJV)

Matthew 28:19 ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,^(NKJV)

2 Corinthians 13:14 ¹⁴The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.^(NKJV)

[How many is that?]

They will be separate individuals forever.

[The Holy Spirit revealed it to Paul]

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 ²⁴Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶The last enemy that will be destroyed is ²⁷For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.^(NKJV)

Arguments:

“They are One”

The question really is not “are they One, but HOW are they One.

1 John 5:7 ⁷For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.^(NKJV)

Three what? One what? Only one person or entity? Three persons or entities?

Jesus explained HOW They are One…

John 17:11 ¹¹Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We ^(NKJV)

John 17:20-23 ²⁰“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²²And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. ^(NKJV)

Were the apostles one? How are all believers to be one? One person or entity?

Obviously, it speaks of their unity. The unity of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is perfect. Not only that, but God wants the unity of all believers to be perfect, also.

1 Corinthians 1:10 ¹⁰Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.^(NKJV)

Romans 12:16 ¹⁶Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.^(NKJV)

Romans 15:5-6 ⁵Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.^(NKJV)

2 Corinthians 13:11 ¹¹Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.^(NKJV)

Ephesians 4:1-6 ¹I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ²with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.^(NKJV)

Philippians 1:27 ²⁷Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,^(NKJV)

Philippians 2:1-2 ¹Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ²fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.^(NKJV)

Philippians 3:16 ¹⁶Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.^(NKJV)

1 Peter 3:8 ⁸Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;^(NKJV)

Jesus said that this is the same way that He and the Father are one!

[If saying that the Father and the Son are one means that Jesus is both the Father and the Son, then what does it mean that the believers are to be one with them?]

John 17:21 ²¹that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.^(NKJV)

God was “manifested” in flesh; seeing Jesus one had seen the Father, and Jesus was the “image” of the invisible God

1 Timothy 3:16 ¹⁶And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.^(NKJV)

John 14:9 ⁹Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?^(NKJV)

Colossians 1:15 ¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.^(NKJV)

It is not enough to say “God.” It is necessary to examine the context to see if the text speaks of God, the Father, God, the Son, or God, the Holy Spirit.

John said that the Word, or God, the Son was manifested in the flesh.

John 1:14 ¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.^(NKJV)

Paul said:

Colossians 4:2-4 ²Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; ³meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, ⁴that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.^(NKJV)

He also said:

Galatians 2:20 ²⁰I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.^(NKJV)

Does this mean that Paul was the mystery of Christ?

Does this mean that looking at Paul one would see Jesus?

Galatians 4:19 ¹⁹My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,^(NKJV)

Paul said that all Christians should have Christ formed in them. Does that mean that we really become Christ?

“The fullness…”

Colossians 2:9 ⁹For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;^(NKJV)

Does not say that Jesus and the Father were only one person.

Ephesians 3:17-19 ¹⁷that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.^(NKJV)

Does this mean that we are the Father?

“No evidence of anyone being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…”

Matthew 28:19 ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,^(NKJV)

Then how do you explain Paul’s question?

Acts 19:1-3 ¹And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ²he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” ³And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”^(NKJV)

“Father and Son” are not names.

This has nothing to do with the subject, because it refers to the authority.

Acts 4:7-10 ⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.^(NKJV)

[“Power” means “authority”]

Saying that “I am a father and I am a son…” is not enough.

Non-parallelism … “I am not MY father and I am not MY son.

That is what they say of Jesus.

They like to read Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah 9:6 ⁶For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.^(NKJV)

A difficult passage for us…

“Everlasting Father”

But, it doesn’t say Jesus would be His own Father…

Difficult for them, too…

They say “father” is not a name…

The text says that his name will be called … Everlasting Father”

In a spiritual sense Jesus could be called a father

Paul referred to himself in this sense

1 Thessalonians 2:11 ¹¹as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,^(NKJV)

1 Corinthians 4:15 ¹⁵For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.^(NKJV)

John did the same