Recently, I received a phone call from a reader of Gospel Gazette Online who posed a question of sorts, or more correctly, made fast and furious affirmations that there is only one person in the Godhead, and that person, he said, is the Father. He based his conclusion on John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” I have had lengthy conversations in the past with members of the United Pentecostal Church respecting their oneness doctrine respecting the Godhead, where they claim Jesus Christ is the only person in the Godhead. However, I had never before come across anyone arguing for oneness doctrine respecting the Godhead where the Heavenly Father was claimed to be the only person therein.
Since the caller was unwilling to submit a question for my response as Gospel Gazette Online requests, I proceeded to offer a couple of Scripture references for his consideration that clearly indicate that there are three persons in the Godhead: (1) the account of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 and (2) the baptism of Jesus Christ. In both instances, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are mentioned together. The caller summarily dismissed those passages by redefining the words and terms of Matthew 28 and suggesting that I must admit that there are four persons in the Godhead because John the Baptist is mentioned in the context of the baptism of Jesus Christ.
The caller intended to talk over top of me while I attempted to offer some response to a supposed question he offered, and he was more interested in making an affirmation than obtaining any information. Whenever someone proceeds to redefine biblical terms to satisfy his own preconceived notions and resorts to ridiculous and nonsensical statements, there is no possibility of a fruitful discussion and exchange of ideas.
The Bible is an able commentator on itself, and one passage of Scripture does not contradict another passage of Scripture. The sum of God’s Word (Psalm 139:17) proves that there are three persons in the Godhead. Logic or sound reasoning is essential to properly understand the Word of God, whereas not handling aright the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15) and twisting Scripture is harmful rather than helpful (2 Peter 3:16). From some, we must turn away because in their present state of mind, we cannot help them with understanding the Word of God more perfectly (Matthew 7:6; Luke 9:5).
For a treatment of the number of persons in the Godhead, please see my article at the following URL:
https://www.gospelgazette.com/gazette/2003/mar/page2.htm.
