Oneness Pentecostalism

[20] It was often referred to as the Jesus Only movement in its early days—referring to its baptismal formula—which may be misleading as it does not deny the existence of the Father or Holy Spirit.

[19][22] Finished Work Pentecostals rejected the Wesleyan doctrine of Holiness, also known as entire sanctification or Christian perfection, which Holiness Pentecostals teach is an instantaneous, definite second work of grace in which the heart is cleansed of original sin and the believer is made perfect in love.

[3][22] In April 1913, at the Apostolic Faith Worldwide Camp Meeting held in Arroyo Seco, California, conducted by Maria Woodworth-Etter, organizers promised that God would "deal with them, giving them a unity and power that we have not yet known.

[4] A number of ministers claimed they were baptized in Jesus' name before 1914, including Frank Small and Andrew D. Urshan.

Divisions occurred within the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World over the role of women in ministry, usage of wine or grape juice for communion, divorce and remarriage, and the proper mode of water baptism.

[48] Beginning with 521 churches, it has become the largest and most influential Oneness Pentecostal organization through its evangelism and publishing efforts, reporting a membership of over 5.75 million.

[50] This earlier movement affirmed the two central aspects of current Oneness belief: They contend, based on Colossians 2:9, that the concept of God's personhood is reserved for the immanent and incarnate presence of Jesus only.

It should be evident that Oneness theology acknowledges a clear distinction between the Father and Son–in fact this has never been disputed by any Christological view that I am aware of.

[71] The overwhelming emphasis on the person of Jesus shapes the content of a theology based on experience among both Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostals.

[72] Critics of Oneness theology commonly refer to its adherents as "Jesus Only", implying that they deny the existence of the Father and Holy Spirit.

[79][80][81] Oneness Pentecostals insist that their conception of the Godhead is true to early Christianity's allegedly strict monotheism, contrasting their views not only with Trinitarianism, but equally with the theology espoused by the Latter-day Saints (who believe that Christ was a separate god from the Father and the Spirit) and Jehovah's Witnesses (who see him as the first-begotten Son of God, and as a subordinate deity to the Father).

For them, the contemporary Oneness Pentecostal movement came into existence in America in the early 20th century during the latter days of the Azusa Street Revival.

Restorationists such as Bernard and Norris deny any direct link between the church of the Apostolic Age and the current Oneness movement, believing that modern Oneness Pentecostalism is a total restoration originating from a step-by-step separation within Protestantism culminating in the final restoration of the early apostolic church.

He asserts that there is no evidence of these converts having any difficulty comprehending the Christian Church's teachings and integrating them with their existing Judaic beliefs; however in the post-Apostolic Age, Bernard claims that Hermas, Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Polycrates, Ignatius (who lived between 90 and 140 AD), and Irenaeus (who died about 200 AD) were either Oneness, modalist, or at most a follower of an "economic Trinity", that is, a temporary Trinity and not an eternal one.

[104] In contrast to Bernard's theory, mainstream Christian scholars suggest the writings of Ignatius and Irenaeus teach an eternal Trinity,[9][105] though Norris disagrees with them in his book I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology, writing, "While Ignatius can on occasion utilize the language of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, he does not have three persons in mind.

"[106] Oneness theology does not represent a monolithic soteriological view; however, there are general characteristics that tend to be held in common by those who hold to a Oneness-view of God.

The first mandate is true faith in Jesus Christ, demonstrated by obedience to God's commands, and a determination to submit to his will in every aspect of one's life.

According to these believers, Jesus and the apostles taught that the new birth experience includes repentance (the true Sinner's Prayer) and baptism in both water and God's Spirit.

[4] This conviction is mainly centered around the baptismal formula mandated in Acts 2:38: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

[116][117] Oneness believers insist that all Bible's texts on the subject must be in full agreement with each other; thus, they say that either the apostles disobeyed the command they had been given in Matthew 28:19 or they correctly fulfilled it by using the name of Jesus Christ.

Some Oneness believers consider that the text of Matthew 28:19 is not original, quoting various scholars and the early Church historian Eusebius, who referred to this passage at least eighteen times in his works.

[118][119][120] Eusebius' text reads: "go and make disciples of all nations in my name, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you.

They also assert that the way one exercises the authority of Jesus is by using his name, pointing to the healing of the lame man at the Gate Beautiful in Acts 3 as an example of this.

[137] Pentecostals—both Oneness and Trinitarian—maintain that the Holy Spirit experience denotes the genuine Christian Church and empowers the believer to accomplish God's will.

As do most Pentecostals, Oneness believers maintain that the initial sign of the infilling Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues and that the New Testament mandates this as a minimal requirement.

They equally recognize that speaking in tongues is a sign to unbelievers of the Holy Spirit's power, and is to be actively sought after and utilized, most especially in prayer.

[84][139] In such ecstatic experiences a Oneness believer may vocalize fluent unintelligible utterances (glossolalia), or articulate a natural language previously unknown to them (xenoglossy).

Some Oneness Pentecostals practice foot washing, often in conjunction with their celebration of Holy Communion, as Jesus Christ did with his disciples at the Last Supper.

In the early days of the Oneness movement standards, holiness was not a held belief nor required bylaw for congregants.

In fact, holiness or entire sanctification is the Wesleyan Methodist doctrine inherited by the original branch of Pentecostalism—Holiness Pentecostalism.