Oneness Doctrine

Good Sabbath to everyone!  We hope you all find this to be a very refreshing day to end this week.  This Sabbath, we thought we would share the following article written by Micaela Avalos about her studies and views concerning the "Oneness" Doctrine.

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In this article, I would like to address the issue of “Oneness” in the Heavenly father and his Son and the belief that Yahweh and Yahshua are one.

Is Yahshua just the Father (or G-D) in the flesh or is he his own entity? Are there Scriptures to prove the deity of Yahshua and his relationship to the Father, Yahweh?

I personally believe that Yahweh and Yahshua are one spiritually, as in their will being one and the same. However, the belief that Yahweh and Yahshua are one physically, or that Yahshua is just the fleshly version of Yahweh, was completely foreign to me.  How could Yahshua have possibly fulfilled prophecies concerning the Messiah if he was just Yahweh in the flesh. When Yahshua constantly referred to a Father, who was he talking to? With all these questions in mind, I decided to do a little research. I have studied the doctrines of those who believe in ‘Oneness’ as well as those who believe that Yahweh and Yahshua are separate entities. With that, I would like to share what I have learned with you, the reader.

 Note: I will be using “KJV” translation basis (with the Sacred Names added) for reference, as well as the KGV+ and Strong’s to study words and phrases in the Hebrew language.

What is the “Oneness” doctrine? According to Wikipedia, “Oneness Pentecostalism” is believing that “J-sus” and “G-d” are one and the same; these names simply apply to a single deity. Some “Oneness” believers say that the Father came down to Earth as the Messiah in flesh, while others say that J-sus(the Messiah) is the manifestation of the Father and the Son and he is the only deity.

Okay, with those definitions, let’s first look at a major issue of the Messiah; the name.
Different variations of the name can seriously alter the identity of our belief in Messiah.
 Using Yeshua(Salvation) as opposed to Yahshua or Yahoshua(YAH is Salvation) can further the doctrine of a “Oneness” believer when he/she does not believe that the Son’s name comes from the Father and simply means he is “salvation.” I, personally, believe that the Messiah/Son should be called Yahshua because this rectifies the belief that Yahshua is Yahweh’s salvation and not a separate deity or Yahweh himself. However, I do not take major offense with people who use Yeshua because he IS salvation, and many of them are very learned teachers.      
Now, with that point aside; what is their backing for stating that Yahshua and Yahweh are one?
 ( I use the KJV[Sacred Names added] for these verses)

(Joh 10:30) I and my Father are one.
(Joh 17:11) …Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 
(Php 2:6)  Who, being in the form of El, thought it not robbery to be equal with El:
(Joh 13:13)  Ye call me Teacher and Master: and ye say well; for so I am.
 (Isa 9:6) … his name be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty El, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

(Mat 1:23)…and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, Elohim with us.

Let’s start with John 10:30. This verse is taken out of context to fortify the belief that Yahshua and Yahweh are one being, or at least equal to each other. That is simply NOT true! In verse 24, the Jews are demanding Yahshua to tell them plainly if he is the Messiah. All throughout this chapter, Yahshua is constantly placing his Father above him; there is no equality between them. The Jews pick up stones to kill him, and he asks for which good work would they stone him. They replied: “ For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself El(John 10:33).” 
He was not making himself a deity; he was already a deity as was given to him by Yahweh. Yahshua refutes this claim of Supreme Being in the next verse, saying: “(Joh 10:34) …Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are elohim?” (Psalm 82:6)

Gasp! We are deities? What on earth could the writer of this Psalm possibly be saying? How are we equal to the Only Supreme Deity?   

Elohim(or G-ds)  in Hebrew is translated as elohiym (H430) which is the plural of eloah (H433). If we trace eloah back one step, we get the H410 “el”. While it does mean deity, it can also be an adjective, meaning: mighty, power, strong, and great. Therefore, the Psalmist could feasibly apply this to ourselves and not blaspheme the Name of Yahweh or his deity. Now, what if I dissected John 10:30 word by word? Let’s try it: I (Yahshua) and (English conjunction) my (possessive pronoun) Father (a male parent) are (verb form of being) one. (single, joint)      Okay, so first of all, Yahshua is acknowledging someone as Father. That obviously cannot be himself, since a Father would need a Son, and Yahshua is constantly referred to the Son. (Matthew 2:15, 3:17, 4:3, 8:29…) So, MY logical reasoning is that Yahweh, being referred to as the Father by the Jews, might also be the Father and Creator of Yahshua the Messiah. Wow, that makes a lot of sense. Why? Well, if Yahshua is the Son of Yahweh, then it would seem correct that he and his Father are one.  What? How can the Father and the Son be one and still be two different entities?   I must be confusing you now? Something like this doesn’t really make sense to us who think physically.  

 Let us see; in Genesis2:24, Ephesians 5:31, and Matthew 19:5, it says that a man will leave his parents and cleave unto his wife and they shall “become one.”(Some say “one flesh”) “One” translated into Hebrew is “echad” (H259), meaning: united, alike, alone. Um, I haven’t seen every single married couple, but the ones I HAVE seen, they are not one single fleshly body OR two people merged together into one, joined at the hip or something. That would be ridiculous.  Rather, to Yahweh, they are looked at as one in mind, and (hopefully) one will. We already know that the husband is the head, and the wife is in submission, therefore they are not equals.     
Now, let’s look at John 17:11. The full verse is:  (Joh 17:11)  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. This verse is part of a prayer to his Father shortly before his death. Once again, Yahshua is placing the Father’s position above him, and once again he claims he and his Father are one. Therefore, we can apply the same definition above with John 10:30 to this verse also. Yahshua does not make himself Yahweh; he simply notes that he is one, or echad, with Yahweh. (You may notice that I use the Hebrew and not Greek for the NT. Greek is very convoluted and uses abstract-thinking, while Hebrew is concrete and easy–to-understand.)    

 Third, there are many verses where Yahshua says that the Father has sent him and he does the will of the Father. 

Who died on the torture stake? Who did he cry out to in the hour of his death (Matthew 27:46)? Who called out from heaven when Yahshua was baptized, calling this man his Son (Luke 3:22), and glorified his name (John 12:28)? How was Yahshua born to a virgin? And, tell me, who raised Yahshua from the dead? The Messiah was not Yahweh in the flesh, but another entity. His only begotten Son was sent down to earth in the form of a human, born a miraculous birth of a virgin, repeatedly verified his Father’s deity, and obeyed Yahweh’s will until his death and Resurrection. Could it possibly any other way? Of course, Yahweh can do anything; he just as well could have come down here himself and saved us, but we know Yahweh doesn’t do everything for the sake of our understanding. If everything was laid out before us, no study needed, there wouldn’t be such a thing as having a deeper truth, and I wouldn’t be writing this article for you to read. J

 Aha!! So Yahweh and Yahshua are NOT one single being, but they ARE one in mind and will. If Yahweh and Yahshua’s will are one, then other verses giving the same titles to the Messiah/Son as well as the Father can be accurate. Both Yahweh and Yahshua can be called Savior (Hosea 13:4, Isaiah 33:22) because Yahweh, through sending Yahshua, is our Savior. Yahshua is called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty El, the everlasting Father (in a figurative sense), the Prince of Peace, (Isaiah 9:6), the Word and El (John 1:1), Teacher and Master (John 13:13), and our soon-to-be husband.  2 Corinthians 4:4 calls the Messiah the image of Elohim. Do you recall Adam being made in the image of Elohim? Yahweh could not be the image of himself, and Yahshua could not be the image of himself either.  Yahshua asked in Matthew 16:14 who his disciples thought he was. Simon Peter answered, ”You are the Messiah, the Son of Elohim”. Even unclean spirits recognized who he was: Mark 1:24, calling him the Holy, or Set-Apart One of Elohim. How much more should we, Yahweh’s people, recognize his Son? Yahshua told people to believe not only in Yahweh, but in him also (John 14:1) John wrote at the end of his epistle that these things were written that we might believe in Yahshua the Messiah, the Son of Elohim, and through believing we might have life through his name.

Okay, now you’ve read my take on this doctrine. Let’s go over the major points in this article…  So, I addressed using Yahshua as opposed to Yeshua and how that might affect our view of his deity. I also pointed out how the Messiah refers to the One who sent him, and how others (even spirits), saw the Messiah. Lastly, I defined the true meaning of “oneness,” and why we should recognize the deity of Yahshua and his relationship to Yahweh. Don’t you think that we should honor Yahshua the Messiah for who he is, what he has done, and his relationship to the Father?

Praise Yahweh that he would show us the greatness of his Son, and send his Son a living sacrifice and example for the rest of us!

I pray this article has been a blessing to you, and I would like to end with some verses that prove the deity of Yahshua:

1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of Elohim: Every spirit that confesseth that Yahshua the Messiah is come in the flesh is of Elohim: 

1Co 8:5 For though there be that are called elohim, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be elohim many, and masters many,

1Co 8:6 But to us one Elohim, the Father, of whom all things, and we in him; and one Master Yahshua the Messiah, by whom all things, and we by him.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.

Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with Elohim.

Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.   

If you have any questions, comments, or constructive criticism/arguments; please  email contact@praisesforyahweh.org  

My many thanks to:
*my Heavenly Father and his Son for the inspiration, guidance and strength to write this article
* Jared Leys for taking the time to help me edit this article, and for his constructive criticism. J

* the people who took the time to read this article; really, it means a lot to me
* and my family, who encourage me continuously