Editing Oneness Pentecostalism

{{short description|Nontrinitarian religious movement}}
{{good article}}
{{Pentecostalism|expanded=Major denominations}}

'''Oneness Pentecostalism''' (also known as '''Apostolic Pentecostalism''', '''Jesus' Name Pentecostalism''', or the '''Oneness movement''') is a [[Nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarian]] [[New religious movement|movement]] of [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] [[Christianity]] that emphasizes the absolute oneness of God and the full deity of Jesus Christ.<ref name="EGPO">{{cite encyclopedia |author1-last=Reed |author1-first=David A. |author2-last=Barba |author2-first=Lloyd |year=2019 |title=Oneness Pentecostalism |editor-last1=Wilkinson |editor-first1=Michael |editor-last2=Au |editor-first2=Connie |editor-last3=Haustein |editor-first3=Jörg |editor-last4=Johnson |editor-first4=Todd M. |encyclopedia=Brill's Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism Online |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/2589-3807_EGPO_COM_041662 |issn=2589-3807 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/2589-3807_EGPO_COM_041662 |access-date=19 July 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> It teaches that God is a singular divine spirit{{em-dash}}undivided and without distinction of persons{{em-dash}}who reveals himself in various ways, including as [[God the Father|Father]], [[Son of God (Christianity)|Son]], and [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]. This theology is often categorized by scholars as a form of [[Modalistic Monarchianism]],<ref name=fp123-4>{{cite book |last1=Patterson |first1=Eric |last2=Rybarczyk |first2=Edmund |title=The Future of Pentecostalism in the United States |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2007 |location=New York |pages=123–4 |isbn=978-0-7391-2102-3 }}</ref> though Oneness theologians have sought to distinguish their beliefs from historical [[Sabellianism]] and [[Patripassianism]].<ref name=":7">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The Oneness of God |date=1986 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, Mo |isbn=9780912315126}}</ref>

Oneness Pentecostal [[soteriology]] emphasizes [[Repentance in Christianity|repentance]], [[Immersion baptism|full-submersion water baptism]] in the [[Baptism in the name of Jesus|name of Jesus Christ]], and [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit|baptism in the Holy Spirit]] with the evidence of [[Glossolalia|speaking in other tongues]], which together constitutes the [[Born again|new birth]] experience.<ref name="New Birth">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382}}</ref> Many Oneness Pentecostal groups also promote [[Outward holiness|holiness standards]] in dress, grooming, and conduct, which are understood as outward expressions of inward [[spiritual transformation]] and obedience to biblical commands.<ref name="Synan1975">{{cite book |last1=Synan |first1=Vinson |title=Aspects of Pentecostal-charismatic Origins |date=1975 |publisher=Logos International |isbn=978-0-88270-110-3 |page=221 |language=en}}</ref>

The Oneness Pentecostal movement first emerged in [[North America]] in the early 20th century following doctrinal disputes within the nascent [[Finished Work Pentecostalism|Finished Work Pentecostal]] movement. It has since grown into a global movement with an estimated 30 million adherents worldwide.<ref name="French">{{cite book |last1=French |first1=Talmadge L. |title=Early Inter-racial Oneness Pentecostalism: G.T. Haywood and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (1901-1931) |date=2014 |publisher=The Lutterworth Press |location=Eugene, Or |isbn=978-0-227-17477-7 |page=6 |edition=1 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1cgf8cm |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1cgf8cm |access-date=8 February 2024 |quote=The number of Oneness Pentecostals, above and beyond the hard data of 27.4 million reported for specific groups by the Oneness Studies Institute in 2009, now exceeds an estimated thirty million.}}</ref> It was often referred to as the '''Jesus Only movement''' in its early days, which may be misleading as it does not deny the existence of the Father or Holy Spirit.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Vinson |last1=Synan |title=The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901–2001 |location=Nashville |publisher=Thomas Nelson |year=2001 |page=141|isbn=9780785245506 }}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Pentecostalism#Early controversies}}
The first Pentecostals were [[Holiness Pentecostal]]s teaching three works of grace: the [[Born again|new birth]], receipt of [[Christian perfection|entire sanctification]], and [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Classical Pentecostalism|baptism with the Holy Spirit]] accompanied by [[glossolalia]]. They specifically taught the [[Wesleyan theology|Wesleyan]] doctrines of [[outward holiness]] and [[Christian perfection]], an instantaneous, definitive [[second work of grace]] in which the baptized person's soul is cleansed of its [[original sin]] and perfected.<ref name="Demarest2006">{{cite book |last1=Demarest |first1=Bruce |title=The Cross and Salvation (Hardcover): The Doctrine of Salvation |date=1 August 2006 |publisher=Crossway |isbn=978-1-4335-1957-4 |page=393-394 |language=en|quote=Holiness Pentecostals ... trace their roots to the nineteenth century Wesleyan-Holiness revival. They identify three instantaneous works of grace, as follows. (1) The ''regenerating'' work of grace includes justification and the new birth. Here God forgives sins and imputes to believers Christ's righteousness. (2) A post-conversion, ''sanctifying'' work of grace eradicates the Adamic nature and completely purifies the Christian's heart and mind. Following Wesley, the believer's state following this second blessing is known as "entire sanctification," "Christian perfection," or "perfect love." The second work of grace renders believers purified vessels fit for the Spirit's filling. The Pentecostal Holiness Church affirms, "We believe that entire sanctification is an instantaneous, definite second work of grace, obtainable by faith on the part of the fully justified believer." (3) The ''empowering'' work of grace represents the Pentecostal experience of baptism in the Spirit. Here the Holy Spirit takes full possession of perfected believers. Tongues-speaking represents the initial ''sign'' that this Spirit-baptism has occurred. The Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) sums up the sequence as follows: "We believe...in sanctification subsequent to the new birth...and in the baptism of the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart." ... Other Pentecostal groups arose independently of Wesleyanism. The Assemblies of God and related groups deny the experience of entire sanctification that destroys inbred sin.}}</ref> [[Finished Work Pentecostalism|Finished Work Pentecostals]] broke away from the Holiness Pentecostals, rejecting the Wesleyan doctrines and instead teaching only two works of grace: [[Conversion to Christianity|conversion]] and baptism with the Holy Spirit.<ref name="Levinson1996">{{cite book |last=Levinson |first=David |year=1996 |title=Religion: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia |location=[[Santa Barbara, California]] |publisher=[[ABC-Clio]] |isbn=978-0-87436-865-9 |page=151 |language=English |quote=The Finished Work Pentecostals believed that conversion and sanctification were a single act of grace. The Assemblies of God, created in 1914, became the first Finished Work denomination.}}</ref><ref name="2012Stewart">{{cite book |last1=Stewart |first1=Adam S. |title=Handbook of Pentecostal Christianity |date=15 April 2012 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-60909-047-0 |language=en |quote=By 1910 Durham had become convinced that the Holiness doctrine that sanctification was a "second work of grace" was an error. This doctrine presented sanctification as something that happened at a specific moment subsequent to conversion. Holiness preachers often described this as an instantaneous experience of "entire sanctification" or "Christian perfection." Durham's strenuous opposition to the doctrine was controversial because it was a common doctrine among Pentecostals of his day; indeed, it was a doctrine that Durham himself had previously preached. ... Durham's break with the Holiness tradition was not so much that he believed sanctification was provided through the cross of Christ, but, rather, because of the implications that he made from this; namely, he taught a two-stage Pentecostal experience of conversion and then baptism in the Holy Spirit, rather than the three-stage Pentecostal experience his Pentecostal-Holiness counterparts were teaching (conversion, sanctification, and then baptism in the Holy Spirit).}}</ref> The Finished Work Pentecostal branch further partitioned into [[Trinitarian]] and [[nontrinitarian]] branches, with the latter forming Oneness Pentecostalism.<ref name="Anderson2004">{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Allan |title=An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity |date=13 May 2004 |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-53280-8 |page=47 |language=English|quote=Those who resisted Durham's teaching and remained in the 'three-stage' camp were Seymour, Crawford and Parham, and Bishops Charles H. Mason, A.J. Tomlinson and J.H. King, respectively leaders of the Church of God in Christ, the Church of God (Cleveland) and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Tomlinson and King each issued tirades against the 'finished work' doctrine in their periodicals, but by 1914 some 60 percent of all North American Pentecostals had embraced Durham's position. ... The 'Finished Work' controversy was only the first of many subsequent divisions in North American Pentecostalism. Not only did Pentecostal churches split over the question of sanctification as a distinct experience, but a more fundamental and acrimonious split erupted in 1916 over the doctrine of the Trinity. ... The 'New Issue' was a schism in the ranks of the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals that began as a teaching that the correct formula for baptism is 'in the name of Jesus' and developed into a dispute about the Trinity. It confirmed for Holiness Pentecostals that they should have no further fellowship with the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals, who were in 'heresy'.}}</ref> The Oneness Pentecostal movement began in 1913 as the result of doctrinal disputes within the nascent Finished Work Pentecostal movement,<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Gill|first=Kenneth|title=Dividing Over Oneness|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-58/dividing-over-oneness.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119024652/https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-58/dividing-over-oneness.html|archive-date=19 November 2020|access-date=19 November 2020|website=Christianity Today|date=April 1998 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/oneness-pentecostalism/|title=Oneness Pentecostalism|first1=Tal|last1=Davis|website=North American Mission Board|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119020648/https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/oneness-pentecostalism/|archive-date=19 November 2020|access-date=19 November 2020|language=en-US}}</ref> specifically within the [[Assemblies of God]], the first Finished Work Pentecostal denomination.<ref name="EGPO"/><ref name="Levinson1996"/>

===Movement beginnings===
[[File:William Howard Durham.jpg|thumb|[[William Howard Durham]], the initiator of Finished Work Pentecostalism whose Christocentric theology laid the groundwork for the later emergence of Oneness Pentecostalism]]
The emergence of Oneness Pentecostalism as a distinct movement can be traced to the doctrinal split between Finished Work Pentecostalism and Holiness Pentecostalism, known as the "Finished Work" controversy. The controversy arose from a sermon by [[William Howard Durham]] titled ''The Finished Work of [[Calvary]]''. In this message, Durham rejected the doctrine of entire sanctification as a separate and subsequent experience to [[Justification (theology)|justification]], asserting instead that both were accomplished simultaneously at conversion. He grounded his teaching in the belief that the [[crucifixion of Jesus]] constituted a "finished work," rendering unnecessary any additional second work of grace. Durham emphasized that Jesus functioned as both sanctifier and baptizer with the Holy Spirit, with all spiritual benefits flowing from the completed work at Calvary through identification with him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Faupel |first1=David W. |title=The everlasting gospel: the significance of eschatology in the development of Pentecostal thought |date=1996 |publisher=Sheffield Acad. Press |location=Sheffield |isbn=1850757615 |url=https://william-branham.org/data/people/jim_jones/publication/faupel___everlasting_gospel.pdf |access-date=17 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Farkas |first1=Thomas George |title=William H. Durham and the sanctification controversy in early American Pentecostalism, 1906-1916 |date=1993 |publisher=The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary |location=Kentucky |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/304071501 |access-date=17 July 2025 |id={{ProQuest|304071501}} |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Although Durham died before the emergence of Oneness theology, this [[Christocentric]] emphasis picked up in the Finished Work Pentecostal movement would later influence theological frameworks within the Oneness Pentecostal movement, particularly its doctrine of the oneness of God.<ref name="EGPO" /><ref name="HarvardOT">{{cite journal |last1=Macchia |first1=Frank D. |title=The Oneness-Trinitarian Pentecostal Dialogue: Exploring the Diversity of Apostolic Faith |journal=Harvard Theological Review |date=July 2010 |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=329–349 |doi=10.1017/S0017816010000660 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0017816010000660 |access-date=17 July 2025 |language=en |issn=1475-4517 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="ReedInJesusName">{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=David A. |title="In Jesus name": the history and beliefs of Oneness Pentecostals |date=2008 |publisher=Deo Publishing |location=Blandford Forum |isbn=978-1905679010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=David A. Reed |editor1-last=Barba |editor1-first=Lloyd D |editor2-last=Johnson |editor2-first=Andrea Shan |editor3-last=Ramírez |editor3-first=Daniel |title=Oneness Pentecostalism: race, gender, and culture |date=2023 |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University Press |location=University Park, Pennsylvania |isbn=9780271094540 |pages=52–54 |access-date=17 July 2025 |chapter=Evangelical Origins of Oneness Pentecostal Theology |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/2/edited_volume/book/112696/pdf |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Hogsten">{{cite journal |last1=Hogsten |first1=Chaplain Doug |title=The Monadic Formula of Water Baptism: A Quest for Primitivism via a Christocentric and Restorationist Impluse |journal=Journal of Pentecostal Theology |date=1 January 2008 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=70–95 |doi=10.1163/174552508X331989 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/pent/17/1/article-p70_8.xml |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |issn=0966-7369|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

After Durham’s death, many Finished Work Pentecostals remained expectant for further restoration of apostolic teachings and anticipated a greater "[[Latter Rain (post–World War II movement)|Latter Rain]]."<ref name="ReedIJN Revelation">{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=David A. |title="In Jesus name": the history and beliefs of Oneness Pentecostals |date=2008 |publisher=Deo Publishing |location=Blandford Forum |isbn=978-1905679010 |chapter=Revelation of the Name}}</ref> In July 1912, [[Maria Woodworth-Etter]] was invited by [[Dallas]] pastor [[F. F. Bosworth]] to hold [[Revival meeting|revivial services]] at his church. Although initially scheduled for two weeks, the meetings extended for over five months, with nightly services drawing significant crowds.<ref name="FaupelGrowth">{{cite book |last1=Faupel |first1=D. William |title=The Everlasting Gospel: The Significance of Eschatology in the Development of Pentecostal Thought |date=2010 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden Boston |isbn=9789004397057 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004397057_010 |access-date=19 July 2025 |chapter=Growth: Defining the Parameters of Pentecostal Thought |pages=228–306 |doi=10.1163/9789004397057_010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> According to reports in ''Word and Witness'', a Pentecostal periodical edited by E. N. Bell, more than 5,000 people attended the meetings, which featured reports of [[Faith healing|miraculous healings]] and over 1,200 individuals embracing the Pentecostal experience.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alexander |first1=Kimberly Ervin |editor1-last=Wilkinson |editor1-first=M. |title=Woodworth-Etter, Maria |journal=Brill's Encyclopedia of Global Pentecostalism Online |date=2019 |doi=10.1163/2589-3807_EGPO_COM_038329 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/2589-3807_EGPO_COM_038329 |access-date=19 July 2025 |publisher=Brill |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="FaupelGrowth" /> These events contributed to a growing sense among many Pentecostals that a new work of God was imminent.<ref name="ReedIJN Revelation" />

Following the success of the Dallas meetings, Canadian preacher R. J. Scott approached Woodworth-Etter with the idea of organizing a large-scale revival focused on spiritual unity.<ref name="ReedIJN Revelation" /> The resulting event, known as the Apostolic Faith World-Wide Camp Meeting, was held in [[Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)|Arroyo Seco]], [[California]] beginning on April 15, 1913.<ref name="FaupelGrowth" /> Organizers anticipated that God would "deal with them, giving them a unity and power that we have not yet known."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Warner |first1=Wayne |date=Spring 1983 |title=World-Wide Apostolic Faith Camp Meeting |url=https://archives.ifphc.org/pdf/Heritage/1983_01.pdf |website=The Assemblies of God Archives |publisher=Assemblies of God Heritage}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Edith Waldvogel |last1=Blumhofer |year=1993 |chapter=Baptism and the Trinity |chapter-url={{Google books|tKuTIfCPeJwC|page=127|plainurl=yes}} |page=127 |title=Restoring the Faith: The Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism, and American Culture |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-06281-0 }}</ref> The meeting opened with a sermon on [[Jeremiah 31:22#Verse 22|Jeremiah 31:22]], proclaiming that God was imminently about to perform a "new thing" during the gathering.<ref name="ReedIJN Revelation" /><ref name="UPCIDKB">{{cite book |last1=Gimpel |first1=Richard W. |title=The Oneness Theology of the United Pentecostal Church International as Articulated by David K. Bernard |date=August 2016 |publisher=Reformed Theological Seminary |location=Charlotte, North Carolina |url=https://cdn.rts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/201608-Gimpel-Richard.pdf |access-date=19 July 2025}}</ref> A few days later, during a scheduled baptismal service,<ref name="HarvardOT" /> Canadian minister [[R.E. McAlister]] preached a "[[Revelation|new revelation]]" (considered a theological restoration by those who adopted the teaching)<ref name="Hogsten" /> that a baptismal formula in "the name of Jesus" only was to be preferred over the mainstream [[Nicene Christianity|Nicene Christian]] [[Trinitarian formula]] ("Father, Son, and Holy Ghost") found in [[Matthew 28:19]], pointing rather to [[Acts 2:38]] ("in the name of Jesus") as the authoritative model.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weaver |first1=C. Douglas |author1-link=Doug Weaver |title=The healer-prophet, William Marrion Branham: a study of the prophetic in American Pentecostalism |date=2000 |publisher=[[Mercer University Press]] |location=Macon, GA |isbn=9780865547100 |page=16 |edition=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0mQUxz82-08C&pg=PA16 |access-date=3 November 2023 |quote=In 1913, at a World Wide Pentecostal Camp Meeting in Los Angeles, a well-known Canadian Pentecostal, Robert T. McAlister, preached a sermon in which he declared that the baptismal formula of Acts 2:38 (in the name of Jesus Christ) was to be preferred over the Trinitarian formula of Matthew 28:19 (in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost), because the former was the one used by the early Church.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oneness Pentecostalism |url=https://religionfacts.com/oneness-pentecostalism |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109041333/https://religionfacts.com/oneness-pentecostalism |archive-date=9 January 2022 |access-date=9 January 2022 |website=ReligionFacts}}</ref> The statement caused immediate controversy, and Frank Denny, a Pentecostal missionary to China, jumped on the platform in an attempt to censor McAlister and avoid being associated with Joshua Sykes who was baptizing in that way.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barba |first1=Lloyd |last2=Johnson |first2=Andrea Shan |date=2018 |title=The new issue: Approaches to Oneness Pentecostalism in the United States |url=https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec3.12288 |journal=Religion Compass |language=en |volume=12 |issue=11 |article-number=e12288 |doi=10.1111/rec3.12288 |issn=1749-8171|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="RGCOPI">{{cite book |author1=Lloyd Daniel Barba |author2=Andrea Shan Johnson |author3=Daniel Ramírez |editor1-last=Barba |editor1-first=Lloyd Daniel |editor2-last=Johnson |editor2-first=Andrea Shan |editor3-last=Ramírez |editor3-first=Daniel |title=Oneness Pentecostalism: race, gender, and culture |date=2023 |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University Press |location=University Park, Pennsylvania |isbn=9780271094540 |chapter=Introduction |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/2/edited_volume/chapter/3630470 |access-date=4 August 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

However, McAlister's revelation inspired a young minister named John G. Schaepe. After all-night prayer and bible study, he proclaimed the following day that he had also received a [[private revelation]] against Trinitarian baptism.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Reckart|first1=Sr. Gary P.|title=Great Cloud Of Witnesses|publisher=Apostolic Theological Bible College|page=124}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=[[Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements]]|first1=C. M. Jr.|last1=Rabic|chapter=John G. Schaepe|last2=Burgess|last3=McGee|pages=768–769}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=J.|last1=Schaepe|title=A Remarkable Testimony|journal=Meat in Due Season|date=21 August 1917|page=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=French |first=Talmadge L. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cgf8cm |title=Early Inter-racial Oneness Pentecostalism: G.T. Haywood and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (1901-1931) |date=2014 |publisher=The Lutterworth Press |isbn=978-0-227-17477-7 |edition=1 |pages=63 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1cgf8cm |jstor=j.ctt1cgf8cm |quote=John Schaepe, who received Spirit baptism at Azusa, February 23, 1907, received a "revelation" six years later of Jesus' Name baptism at Arroyo Seco. Many, including Harry Morse, heard him shouting the news throughout the camp in the early morning hours, persuading many of the new doctrine, and impacting Ewart himself, with whom Schaepe's Los Angeles ministry was associated.}}</ref> His judgment was accepted by several others in the camp and given further theological development by a minister named [[Frank Ewart]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|title=A History of Christian Doctrine, Volume Three: The Twentieth Century A.D. 1900–2000|date=1999|publisher=Word Aflame Press|location=Hazelwood, MO|page=87|isbn=978-1567222210}}</ref> Ewart also continued to promote the theology of the movement through his periodical ''Meat in Due Season'' and became the primary developer of the doctrine in its early stages.<ref name="EGPO" /><ref name="RGCOPI" /><ref name="BellAG">{{cite journal |last1=Fudge |first1=Thomas A. |title=Did E.N. Bell Convert to the 'New Issue' in 1915? |journal=Journal of Pentecostal Theology |date=1 January 2001 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=122–140 |doi=10.1163/17455251-00901007 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/pent/9/1/article-p122_7.xml?rskey=jPuhlN&result=6 |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |issn=0966-7369|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Another attendee of the camp meeting, [[Itinerant preacher|evangelist]] Glenn Cook took the message with him back to the [[Midwestern United States]].<ref name="UPCIDKB" /> Although early proponents described their doctrinal insights as a "revelation," both Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostals affirmed that all doctrine must be grounded in Scripture, not independent of it.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Oneness-Trinitarian Pentecostal Final Report, 2002-2007 |journal=[[Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies]] |date=2008 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=203–224 |doi=10.1163/157007408X346311 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/pneu/30/2/article-p203_2.xml |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |issn=0272-0965|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:Urshan-andrew-fig1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Andrew David Urshan|Andrew D. Urshan]], an early leader in the Oneness Pentecostal movement]]
A year later, on April 15, 1914, Ewart and Cook publicly baptized each other specifically in "the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" in a tank set up in Ewart's [[Tent revival|crusade tent]].<ref name="Ewart and Cook Rebaptized">{{cite book |last1=Tyson |first1=James L. |title=The Early Pentecostal Revival |date=1992 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, Missouri |isbn=0-932581-92-7 |page=171}}</ref><ref name="Ewart and Cook Rebaptisms2">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David |title=A History of Christian Doctrine 1900-2000 Volume 3 |date=1999 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, Missouri |isbn=0-932581-91-9}}</ref> This is considered to be the historical point when Oneness Pentecostalism emerged as a distinct movement.<ref name="fp123-4" /> As it grew, the movement added prominent leaders as [[Garfield Thomas Haywood|G. T. Haywood]], the African-American pastor of a large Assemblies of God church in [[Indianapolis]]; Franklin Small from [[Winnipeg, Canada]]; and [[Andrew David Urshan|Andrew Urshan]], a [[Persians|Persian]] evangelist.<ref name="EGPO" /> The [[soteriology]] of the Oneness movement was primarily outlined by these three men, who identified Acts 2:38 as the primary [[plan of salvation]].<ref name="Pneuma1979">{{cite journal |last1=Reed |first1=David Arthur |last2=Benthe |first2=H. F. |last3=Haberland |first3=G. |title=Origins and Development of the Theology of Oneness Pentecostalism in the United States |journal=[[Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies]] |date=1 January 1979 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=31–37 |doi=10.1163/157007479X00046 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/157007479X00046 |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |issn=0272-0965|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A number of ministers claimed they were baptizing in Jesus' name before 1914, including Urshan and Small. Urshan claimed to have baptized others in Jesus' name as early as 1910,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Urshan |first1=Andrew D. |title=Pentecost as it was in the early 1900's |date=1 January 1987 |publisher=Apostolic Book Publishers |page=77 |edition=revised}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Urshan |first1=Andrew D. |title=The Life story of Andrew Bar David Urshan: An autobiography of the author's first forty years |date=1 January 1967 |publisher=Apostolic Press |page=102}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=E. N. |last1=Bell |title=The Sad New Issue |journal=Weekly Evangel |year=1915 |issue=93 |pages=3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Robert |title=Vision of the Disinherited: The Making of American Pentecostalism |date=July 1, 1980 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1565630000}}</ref> and Small claimed to have baptized 30 in Jesus' name only at the Annual Pentecostal Convention in Winnipeg in November 1913.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=David A. |title=Winds from the North |date=1 January 2010 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-19251-5 |pages=191–213 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004192515/Bej.9789004185746.i-293_011.xml |access-date=8 May 2025 |language=en |chapter=Chapter Nine. Oneness Seed On Canadian Soil: Early Developments Of Oneness Pentecostalism}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Michael |title=Canadian Pentecostalism: transition and transformation |date=2009 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Montréal |isbn=9780773534575 |edition=1}}</ref> In addition, [[Charles Parham]] was recorded baptizing using a similar formula during the Azusa Street revival;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Robin |title=Howard A. Goss: A Pentecostal Life |date=24 September 2010 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |language=English|isbn=978-0757740299
}}</ref> until 1914, both Parham and [[William J. Seymour]] baptized using this [[Christology|Christological]] formula but repudiated the new movement's nontrinitarian teachings amidst the controversy as they baptized as [[Christocentrism|Christocentric]] Trinitarians.<ref>{{Cite book |last=French |first=Talmadge L. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cgf8cm |title=Early Inter-racial Oneness Pentecostalism: G.T. Haywood and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (1901-1931) |date=2014 |publisher=The Lutterworth Press |isbn=978-0-227-17477-7 |edition=1 |pages=57–58|doi=10.2307/j.ctt1cgf8cm |jstor=j.ctt1cgf8cm }}</ref> Other baptisms in the name of Jesus were performed as far back as the [[19th century]], prior to the development of Oneness Pentecostal theology{{em-dash}}though some used justification similar to that of the later Oneness Pentecostals.<ref name="Hogsten" />

In the Assemblies of God, the re-baptisms in only Jesus' name caused a backlash from many Trinitarians. Particularly controversial was the re-baptism of E. N. Bell{{em-dash}}who was the chairman of the Assemblies of God at the time{{em-dash}}by Indianapolis pastor L.V. Roberts at a camp meeting in [[Jackson, Tennessee|Jackson, TN]] in 1915. Though he remained Trinitarian, the re-baptism remained a source of confusion over his views.<ref name="BellAG" /> The dispute between Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostals on baptism and the Godhead became known as the "New Issue", a term widely used during the controversy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Josiah |title='One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism'?: Between Trinitarian Ecumenism and Oneness Pentecostals |journal=Journal of Pentecostal Theology |date=17 February 2020 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=95–112 |doi=10.1163/17455251-02901006 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/pent/29/1/article-p95_95.xml |access-date=7 May 2025 |issn=0966-7369|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It became an issue in the General Council of 1914, and in 1915, the General Council specifically focused on the issue, resulting in an "appeal for tolerance" by the Assemblies of God.<ref name="BrillPCs">{{cite web |last1=Johns |first1=Jackie David |title=Pentecostal Churches |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/ECO/P.65.xml |website=The Encyclopedia of Christianity Online |publisher=Brill |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |date=2011}}</ref> The issue finally came to a head in October 1916 at the fourth General Council, where the mostly Trinitarian leadership, fearing that the new movement might overtake their organization, drew up a doctrinal statement affirming the truth of Trinitarianism.<ref name="Pneuma1979" /><ref name="Chryssides 2012">{{cite book |last=Chryssides |first=George D. |author-link=George Chryssides |year=2012 |title=Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements |chapter="Jesus Only" Pentecostalism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WA12nHRtmAwC&pg=PA189 |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |edition=2nd |series=Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements Series |pages=189–190 |isbn=978-0-8108-6194-7 |lccn=2011028298}}</ref> When the resulting [[Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths]] was adopted, a third of the Assemblies' ministers left to form Oneness congregations.<ref name="Magist">{{cite journal |doi=10.1163/157007403776113224 |title=An Emerging Magisterium? The Case of the Assemblies of God |journal=[[Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies]]|volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=164–215 |year=2003 |last1=Robeck |first1=Cecil }}</ref> After this separation, most Oneness believers became relatively isolated from other Pentecostals and mainstream Nicene Christianity more broadly.<ref name="fp123-4" />

===Forming organizations===
Several small Oneness ministerial groups formed during and after the controversy between 1914 and 1916. Many of these groups ultimately merged into the [[Pentecostal Assemblies of the World]] (PAW), while others remained independent (e.g., the [[Apostolic Faith Mission Church of God]]).

The early PAW was racially diverse: it had both strong African-American representation in the [[Northern United States|North]] and white representation in the [[Southern United States|South]]. The organization's headquarters was located in [[Indianapolis]], and many of the organization's conferences were held in the North where segregation laws were not in place.<ref name="BrillPCs" /> However, as the organization grew, divisions occurred within the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World as there were reports of racial tension in the organization, particularly over the many African Americans that held significant leadership positions. White Southerners expressed objections to the logistical and financial burdens associated with annual travel to the North,<ref name="BrillPCs" /> and Haywood signed all ministerial credentials as the PAW's general secretary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clanton |first1=Arthur L. |last2=Clanton |first2=Charles E. |title=United we stand |date=1995 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567221343}}</ref>

Amid these tensions, White Southerners broke away from the PAW in 1924,<ref name="BrillPCs" /> and three new organizations were formed by 1925: the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ, and the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance (1924 - 1932) |url=https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/group-profiles/groups?D=1205 |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=Association of Religion Data Archives}}</ref> The former two later merged to become the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ,<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ|url=https://www.acjcii.org/history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119011948/https://www.acjcii.org/history|archive-date=19 November 2020|access-date=19 November 2020|website=ACJC International|language=en}}</ref> and the latter became the Pentecostal Church, Inc. (PCI). In 1945, a merger of two predominantly-white Oneness groups—the PCI and the [[Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ]]—resulted in the formation of the [[United Pentecostal Church International]] (UPCI).<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the UPCI |url=https://upci.org/about-the-upci/ |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=United Pentecostal Church International |language=en-US}}</ref> Toronto pastor [[Howard A. Goss|Howard Goss]] became the first UPCI general superintendent after previously holding credentials with the PCI and preaching the Oneness message, despite being affiliated with the [[Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada]] until 1937.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Melton |editor1-first=J. Gordon |title=Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions |date=2017 |publisher=Gale |pages=1178–1179 |edition=9th |url=http://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3709002347/GVRL |access-date=7 May 2025 |chapter=2140 {{!}} United Pentecostal Church International [Canada]}}</ref> Starting with 521 member-churches, it became the largest and most influential Oneness Pentecostal organization, reporting a membership of over 5.75 million in 2024.<ref name="1Mil'>{{cite web |author1=UPCI Communications |title=The UPCI Now Has One Million Constituents in the US and Canada |url=https://upci.org/one-million-constituents/ |website=UPCI |access-date=19 April 2024 |date=18 March 2024}}</ref>

Oneness theology has also influenced independent Oneness Pentecostal movements that, while not officially affiliated with major denominations, embrace Jesus' name baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost as central to salvation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=French |first1=Talmadge L. |title=Early Inter-racial Oneness Pentecostalism: G.T. Haywood and the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (1901-1931) |date=2014 |publisher=The Lutterworth Press |location=Eugene, Or |isbn=978-0-227-17477-7 |edition=1 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1cgf8cm |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1cgf8cm |access-date=24 February 2025}}</ref>

===Contemporary movement===
Estimates suggest there are approximately 30 million Oneness Pentecostals worldwide. Demographically, the movement is notably diverse: around 40% of adherents are Black, 30% are Asian, 20% are Hispanic and Latino, and approximately 9% are White.<ref name="EGPO" /><ref name="French" /><ref name="RGCOPF">{{cite book |author1=Gilbert T. Rowe |editor1-last=Barba |editor1-first=Lloyd Daniel |editor2-last=Johnson |editor2-first=Andrea Shan |editor3-last=Ramírez |editor3-first=Daniel |title=Oneness Pentecostalism: race, gender, and culture |date=2023 |publisher=The Pennsylvania State University Press |location=University Park, Pennsylvania |isbn=9780271094540 |chapter=Foreward}}</ref>

====United States and Europe====
A majority of Black Pentecostal churches in both the [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom]] remain Oneness Pentecostal.<ref name="BrillPent">{{cite web |last1=Hollenweger |first1=Walter J. |title=Pentecostalism |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/ECO/P.66.xml |website=The Encyclopedia of Christianity Online |publisher=Brill |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |date=2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In [[Great Britain]] particularly, there is a substantial presence of Oneness African-[[Caribbean]] churches, originating from Oneness Pentecostal influence in the poor urban centers of [[North America]] and the villages of the Caribbean islands.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jelks |first1=Randal M. |last2=Gerloff |first2=Roswith I. H. |title=Black Churches |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/ECO/B319.xml |website=The Encyclopedia of Christianity Online |publisher=Brill |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |date=2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Additionally, Oneness Pentecostalism has seen growth in [[Western Europe]] through the [[Evangelism|evangelistic]] efforts of African organizations.<ref name="EGPO" />

====South America====
The Oneness movement has grown throughout [[South America]]. The United Pentecostal Church of [[Colombia]] (the national branch of the UPCI) is the second-largest denomination in the country behind the [[Catholic Church]] and the largest Protestant denomination with over one million constituents,<ref name="RGCOPF" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Zurlo |first1=Gina A. |title=World Christian Database |url=https://worldchristiandatabase.org/data/ |website=World Christian Database |access-date=7 May 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="FacesofOP">{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=David A. |title=The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-00709-3 |pages=52–70 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-pentecostalism/then-and-now/9F977119102F107BE3576F84C7ED4410 |chapter=Then and Now: The Many Faces of Global Oneness Pentecostalism |url-access=subscription}}</ref> whereas countries such as [[Brazil]], [[Argentina]], and [[Chile]] have seen indigenous growth complemented by denominations from the United States.<ref name="EGPO" />

====Asia====
The [[Asian Pacific]] region has seen substantial growth by Oneness Pentecostal organizations, especially in countries such as [[Indonesia]] and [[Australia]]. Particularly, in the [[Philippines]], there are over two million adherents across more than 120 different Oneness organizations.<ref name="EGPO" /> In [[China]], [[True Jesus Church]] became the largest indigenous Christian group in the country in 1949 and has a membership estimated at at least 500,000, possibly reaching up to one million.<ref name="FacesofOP" /> TJC has also seen extensive growth in [[Singapore]], the [[Philippines]], Australia, [[Europe]], and the Americas.<ref name="EGPO" /> Other Oneness Pentecostal groups account for at least one million adherents in China, though estimates are difficult to determine.<ref name="FacesofOP" />

==Theology==
Oneness Pentecostalism has a historical precedent in the [[Modalistic Monarchianism]] of the second and third centuries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Modalistic Monarchianism|url=https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/modalistic-monarchianism/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119015708/https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/modalistic-monarchianism/|archive-date=November 19, 2020|access-date=19 November 2020|website=Ligonier Ministries|language=en}}</ref> The early movement affirmed two central aspects of later Oneness belief:
#There is one indivisible God with no distinction of persons or components within God's eternal essence.
#Jesus was the manifestation, human personification, and/or incarnation of the same singular God.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Wolfgang |last1=Vondey |title=Pentecostalism, A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=T&T Clark |year=2012 |page=77 }}</ref>

Oneness Pentecostals contend, based on [[Colossians 2:9]], that the concept of God's personhood is reserved for the immanent and incarnate presence of Jesus only.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Kerry D. |last1=McRoberts |chapter=The Holy Trinity |title=Systematic Theology |editor1-first=Stanley M. |editor1-last=Horton |location=Springfield, MO |publisher=Logion |year=2007 |page=173 }}</ref>

===Doctrine of God===
Oneness theology maintains that God is a singular spirit who is absolutely and indivisibly unitary, not three persons, individuals, or minds.<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |page=10}}</ref><ref>Talmadge French, ''Our God is One'', Voice and Vision Publishers, 1999, {{ISBN|978-1-888251-20-3}}.{{page needed|date=September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=David |title=I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology |date=4 September 2009 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-1565630000 |page=5 |chapter=Oneness Pentecostalism |quote=On the other hand, Oneness adherents decry any ontological distinction between persons "in the Godhead."}}</ref> They contend that the terms "[[God the Father|Father]]", "[[Son of God|Son]]", and "[[Holy Ghost]]" (or "Holy Spirit") are titles reflecting the different personal manifestations of God in the universe.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=10 June 2009|title=Oneness Pentecostalism: Heresy, Not Hairsplitting|url=https://www.equip.org/article/oneness-pentecostalism-heresy-not-hairsplitting/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119015133/https://www.equip.org/article/oneness-pentecostalism-heresy-not-hairsplitting/|archive-date=19 November 2020|access-date=19 November 2020|website=Christian Research Institute}}</ref> To Oneness believers, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three manifestations of one personal God.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oneness Pentecostalism|url=http://www.religionfacts.com/oneness-pentecostalism|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119024500/http://www.religionfacts.com/oneness-pentecostalism|archive-date=19 November 2020|access-date=19 November 2020|website=ReligionFacts|language=en}}</ref>

Oneness theologians often quote a phrase used by early pioneers of the movement: "God was manifested as the Father in creation, the Son in redemption, and the Holy Ghost in emanation."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upcbaypoint.com/onegodtruth.html |title=The Truth About One God |website=United Pentecostal Church of Bay Point |access-date=21 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817001820/http://www.upcbaypoint.com/onegodtruth.html |archive-date=17 August 2015}}</ref> However, Oneness theologian David Norris points out that this does not mean that Oneness Pentecostals believe that God can only be one of those manifestations at a time, which may be suggested by the quote.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=David |title=I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology |date=4 September 2009 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-1565630000 |page=238 |chapter=Epilogue |quote=Sometimes, in a kind of echo of Haywood's profession, one will encounter a Pentecostal preacher offering a sound byte about God: "He is the Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in sanctification." But they do not mean (as Haywood did not) that there is some sort of "dilation" where the Father became the Son (without remainder and ceased to be the Father) and then, subsequently the Son became the Spirit (and ceased to be the Son).}}</ref> Oneness theologian [[David K. Bernard]] also teaches that God is not limited to these three manifestations.<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch6.htm |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |chapter=Father, Son, and Holy Ghost |quote=The Bible speaks of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as different manifestations, roles, modes, titles, attributes, relationships to man, or functions of the one God, but it does not refer to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as three persons, personalities, wills, minds, or Gods. God is the Father of us all and in a unique way the Father of the man Jesus Christ. God manifested himself in flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, called the Son of God. God is also called the Holy Spirit, which emphasizes his activity in the lives and affairs of mankind. God is not limited to these three manifestations; however, in the glorious revelation of the one God, the New Testament does not deviate from the strict monotheism of the Old Testament. Rather, the Bible presents Jesus as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus is not just the manifestation of one of three persons in the Godhead, but he is the incarnation of the Father, the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Truly, in Jesus dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209202633/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch6.htm |archive-date=February 9, 2008}}</ref>

According to Oneness theology, the Father and the Holy Spirit are the same personal God. It teaches that the term "Holy Spirit" is a descriptive title for God manifesting himself through the broader Christian Church.<ref name=":12">{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch6.htm|title=The Oneness of God|publisher=Word Aflame Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-912315-12-6|chapter=The Father is the Holy Ghost|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209202633/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch6.htm|archive-date=February 9, 2008}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{cite book|first1=David| last1=Bernard| title=A Handbook of Basic Doctrines|publisher=Word Aflame Press|date= 1 September 1988|isbn=978-0932581372}}{{page needed|date=September 2017}}</ref> These two titles—as well as others—do not reflect divisible persons within the Godhead, but rather two different ways in which the one God reveals himself to his creatures. Thus, when the [[Old Testament]] ([[Hebrew Bible]]) speaks of "the Lord God and his Spirit" in [[Isaiah 48]]:16, it does not indicate two distinct persons, according to Oneness theology. Instead, "the Lord" means God in all his glory and transcendence, while "his Spirit" refers to his Holy Spirit that moved upon and spoke to the Hebrew prophets. Bernard states that this passage does not imply two persons any more than the numerous scriptural references to a man and his spirit or soul (such as in [[Luke 12]]:19) imply two "persons" existing within one body.<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |chapter=The Lord God and His Spirit |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212180425/http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch7.htm |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=16 February 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 }}{{page needed|date=September 2017}}</ref> Bernard asserts that it is unbiblical to describe God as a plurality of persons in any sense of the word, "regardless of what persons meant in ancient church history."<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |chapter=Trinitarianism: An Evaluation |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212180425/http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch7.htm |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=16 February 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |page=287 |quote=Speaking of God as a plurality of persons further violates the biblical concept of God. Regardless of what persons meant in ancient church history, today the word definitely connotes a plurality of individuals, personalities, minds, wills and bodies. Even in ancient church history, we have shown that the vast majority of believers saw it as a departure from biblical monotheism.}}</ref>

Oneness Pentecostals maintain that early Christianity taught a form of strict [[monotheism]] consistent with their view, contrasting their views not only with Trinitarianism but equally with the theology espoused by [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saints]] (who believe that Jesus is a separate god from the Father and the Spirit), and by [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] and [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]] (who deny the full deity of Jesus and view him as a created being distinct from and subordinate to the Father).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bowman, Jr. |first1=Robert M. |title=Oneness Pentecostalism |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/oneness-pentecostalism-2/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=9 December 2025 |date=23 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Evangelism 2,10 – Personal Evangelism, Continued |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/evangelism-210-personal-evangelism-continued/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=9 December 2025 |date=10 December 2014}}</ref> The Oneness position as [[Nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarian]] places them at odds with most mainstream Nicene [[List of Christian denominations|Christian denominations]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trinity |url=https://religionfacts.com/trinity |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109041633/https://religionfacts.com/trinity |archive-date=2022-01-09 |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=religionfacts.com |language=en |quote=Christianity is a monotheistic religion, meaning that it teaches the existence of one God (specifically, the God of the Jews). It shares this belief with two other major world religions, Judaism and Islam. However, Christian monotheism is a unique kind of monotheism. It holds that God is One, but that three distinct "persons" constitute the one God: the Father, the Son (Christ), and the Holy Spirit. This unique threefold God of Christian belief is referred to as the Trinity (tri + unity). The doctrine of the Trinity is accepted by all "mainstream" branches of Christianity (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican) and in fact is one of the major defining factors for what is considered mainstream. But the doctrine of the Trinity is rejected by a number of other faiths that consider themselves Christian, including Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Unitarian Universalism.}}</ref> and some [[apologetics]] ministries and writers have categorized Oneness groups as [[cult]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=J. Stephen |date=1 April 2002 |title='Jesus Only' Isn't Enough |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/april1/22.60.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119024127/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2002/april1/22.60.html |archive-date=19 November 2020 |access-date=19 November 2020 |website=Christianity Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|title=The Other Pentecostals|last1=Grady|first1=J.|journal=Charisma Magazine|date=June 1997}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=S|first1=Fred|last2=On|first2=Ers|date=3 May 2014|title=Oneness Pentecostalism: An Analysis|url=https://scriptoriumdaily.com/oneness-pentecostalism-an-analysis/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109042320/https://scriptoriumdaily.com/oneness-pentecostalism-an-analysis/|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=The Scriptorium Daily|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Burgos Jr., Michael R., ''Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique'', 2nd Ed., (Winchester, CT: Church Militant Pub., 2016), {{ISBN|978-0692644065}}, 181-191; Hindson, Ed, Caner, Ergun eds., ''The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics'', (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub., 2008), 371-376, {{ISBN|978-0736920841}};  Nichols, Larry A., Mather, George A., Schmidt, Alvin J., ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and World Religions'', Rev. and Updated Ed., (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 221-225, {{ISBN|978-0310239543}}.</ref> However, David A. Reed, a Trinitarian scholar at [[Wycliffe College, Toronto|Wycliffe College]] and a leading academic authority on Oneness Pentecostalism,<ref name="UPCIDKB" /> disagrees.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reed |first1=David |title=Oneness Pentecostalism: Problems and Possibilities for Pentecostal Theology |journal=Journal of Pentecostal Theology |date=1 January 1997 |volume=5 |issue=11 |pages=73–93 |doi=10.1177/096673699700501104 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/pent/5/11/article-p73_4.xml |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |issn=0966-7369|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He contends in his book ''"In Jesus' Name": The History and Beliefs of Oneness Pentecostals'' that the movement should be considered theologically [[Heterodoxy|heterodox]], rather than [[Heresy|heretical]] or cultish.<ref name="ReedInJesusName" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=French |first1=Talmadge |title="In Jesus' Name": A Key Resource on the Worldwide Pentecostal Phenomenon & the Oneness, Apostolic, or Jesus' Name Movement |journal=[[Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies]] |date=2009 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=267–274 |doi=10.1163/027209609X12470371387921}}</ref>

==== Accusations of Modalism and Arianism ====
Oneness believers are frequently identified with [[Modalism]].<ref name="Bernard The Council of Nicea">{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |chapter=The Council of Nicea |chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130181956/http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch11.htm |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=16 February 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6}}</ref> Additionally, some critics{{em-dash}}usually individuals rather than denominational bodies{{em-dash}}have also alleged that Oneness theology bears resemblance to [[Arianism]] or [[Semi-Arianism]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Exchanged Life Outreach |url=http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/topical/trinity.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710211315/http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/topical/trinity.shtml |archive-date=10 July 2011 |access-date=20 May 2009}}</ref> While Bernard acknowledges similarities between Oneness theology, [[Modalistic Monarchianism]], and the teachings of [[Sabellius]], he rejects associations with [[Patripassianism]], [[Arianism]] or [[Subordinationism]] that have historically been linked to some modalistic views. Bernard argues that Oneness theology represents a distinct, biblical form of modalism that differs from some traditional formulations and interpretations historically deemed heretical.<ref name=":7"/><ref name="Bernard The Council of Nicea"/>

===Son of God===
According to Oneness theology, the Son of God did not exist (in any substantial sense) before the incarnation of [[Jesus of Nazareth]] except as the ''[[Logos (Christianity)|logos]]'' (or word) of God. They believe that the humanity of Jesus did not exist before the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation]], but that Jesus [[Pre-existence of Christ|pre-existed]] in his deity (not his humanity) as the eternal God. This belief is supported by the lack of Jesus' incarnate presence anywhere in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible).<ref name=":5">{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch5.htm|title=The Oneness of God|publisher=Word Aflame Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-912315-12-6|chapter=Begotten Son or Eternal Son?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411183805/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch5.htm|archive-date=11 April 2008}}</ref> Thus, Oneness Pentecostals believe that the title "Son" only applied to [[Christ (title)|the Christ]] when he became flesh on earth. The Father in this theology embodies the divine attributes of the Godhead, and the Son embodies the human aspects. Oneness Pentecostals believe that Jesus and the Father are one essential person, though operating in different modes.<ref name=":4" />

Oneness author W. L. Vincent writes, "The argument against the 'Son being his own Father' is a red herring. 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."<ref name=":12" />

====The Word====
Oneness theology holds that "[[Logos (Christianity)|the Word]]" in [[John 1:1]] was God's mind or plan. Oneness Pentecostals believe that the Word was not a separate person from God but that it was the plan of God and God itself. Bernard writes in his book ''The Oneness View of Jesus Christ'', 
{{Blockquote|In the Old Testament, God's Word (dabar) was not a distinct person but was God speaking, or God disclosing Himself (Psalm 107:20; Isaiah 55:11). To the Greeks, the Word (logos) was not a distinct divine person, but reason as the controlling principle of the universe. The noun logos could mean thought (unexpressed word) as well as speech or action (expressed word). In John 1, the Word is God's self-revelation or self-disclosure. Before the Incarnation, the Word was the unexpressed thought, plan, reason, or mind of God.<ref name=":OnenessJesus">{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|title=The Oneness View of Jesus Christ|publisher=Word Aflame Press|year=1994|isbn=1-56722-020-7}}</ref>}}
Bernard additionally claims that the Greek word ''pros'' (translated as "with" in John 1:1) could also be translated as "pertaining to", meaning that John 1:1 could also be translated as (in his view) "The Word pertained to God and the Word was God."<ref name="The Oneness of God">{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |pages=60–61 |archive-date=16 February 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6}}</ref>

In the incarnation, Oneness believers hold that God put the Word (which was his divine plan) into action by manifesting himself in the form of the man Jesus, and thus "the Word became flesh".<ref>{{bibleverse|John|1:14|KJV}}</ref> As an extension, Oneness Pentecostalism argues that the incarnation was a singular event unlike anything God has done prior or will ever do again.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=David |title=I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology |date=4 September 2009 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-1565630000 |page=161 |chapter=The Man Who Preexisted |quote=...and of course, the Incarnation is one of a kind-it is unique, as it is expressed in the rest of the verse.}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals believe that the Word of John 1:1 does not imply a second pre-existent, divine person but that the Word is simply the plan of God, which was put into action through the incarnation.<ref name="The Oneness of God"/>

====The dual nature of Christ====
{{Main|Hypostatic union}}

When discussing the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation]], Oneness theologians and authors often refer to a concept known as the dual nature of Christ, which is understood as the union of human and divine natures in the man Jesus. Bernard describes this concept in his book ''The Oneness of God'', stating that Jesus "is both Spirit and flesh, God and man, Father and Son. On his human side, He is the Son of man; on his divine side, He is the Son of God and is the Father dwelling in the flesh."<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |title=The Oneness of God  |chapter=Jesus is God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |pages=69–70}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals see this not as two persons in one body but instead as two natures united in one person: Jesus.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dulle |first1=Jason |title=The Dual Nature of Christ |url=https://www.onenesspentecostal.com/dualnature.htm |website=Institute for Biblical Studies |access-date=6 November 2021 |quote=...Jesus' natures never worked independent of one another. His two natures exist "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the difference of the natures having been in no wise taken away by reason of the union, but rather the properties of each being preserved...."}}</ref> Oneness believers see the mystery referred to in [[1 Timothy 3:16]] as referencing this concept of two natures being united in the one person of Jesus.<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |pages=63–64 |chapter=Jesus is God}}</ref>

Although the Oneness belief in the union of the divine and human into one person in Jesus is similar to the [[Chalcedonian]] formula, Chalcedonians disagree sharply with them over their opposition to Trinitarian dogma. Chalcedonians see Jesus as a single person uniting God the Son—the eternal second person of the Trinity—with human nature.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Hypostatic Union |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07610b.htm |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Weinandy |first=Thomas |title=The Hypostatic Union: History and Dogmatic Reality |url=https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/the-hypostatic-union-history-and-dogmatic-reality/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223032701/https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/the-hypostatic-union-history-and-dogmatic-reality/ |archive-date=2024-02-23 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Church Life Journal |date=3 April 2023 |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref> Oneness believers, on the other hand, see Jesus as one single person uniting the one God himself with human nature as the Son of God.

===Scripture===
Oneness Pentecostalism subscribes to the doctrine of ''[[sola scriptura]]'' in common with mainstream Pentecostals and other Protestants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pentecostals and Sola Scriptura|url=https://www.apostolictheology.org/2008/10/pentecostals-and-sola-scriptura.html|access-date=13 April 2021|language=en-GB|date=30 October 2008|website=Apostolic Theology}}</ref> They view the Bible as the [[Biblical inspiration|inspired]] Word of God, and as absolutely [[Biblical inerrancy|inerrant]] in its contents (though not necessarily in every translation). They specifically reject the conclusions of church councils such as the [[First Council of Nicaea]] and the [[Nicene Creed]]. They believe that mainstream Christians have been misled by long-held and unchallenged "traditions of men".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1lord1faith.org/wm/Oneness/1TrinDebate.htm|last1=Raddatz|first1=Tom|title=A Response to the Oneness-Trinity Debate|date=20 March 2005|access-date=31 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050320000616/http://www.1lord1faith.org/wm/Oneness/1TrinDebate.htm |archive-date=20 March 2005}}</ref>

===The name of Jesus===
The overwhelming emphasis on the person of Jesus shapes the content of a theology based on experience among both Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostals. In principle, the doctrinal emphasis on Jesus attributes all divine qualities and functions to the Christ. What might, therefore, be called a 'Christological maximalism' in the Pentecostal doctrine of God among Oneness Pentecostals leads to a factual substitution of the three divine persons with the single person of Jesus. At the same time, Trinitarian Pentecostals typically elevate Jesus from the second person of the Trinity to the [[Christocentrism|central figure of Christian faith and worship]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Wolfgang |last1=Vondey |title=Pentecostalism, A Guide for the Perplexed |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2013 |page=84|isbn=978-0567522269
}}</ref>

Critics of Oneness theology commonly refer to its adherents as "[[Baptism in the name of Jesus|Jesus Only]]", implying that they deny the existence of the Father and Holy Spirit.<ref name=fp123-4/> Most Oneness Pentecostals consider that term to be pejorative and a misrepresentation of their true beliefs on the issue.<ref name="RGCOPF" /><ref name=":History59">{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|title=A History of Christian Doctrine, Volume Three: The Twentieth Century A.D. 1900–2000|date=1999|publisher=Word Aflame Press|location=Hazelwood, MO|page=59|isbn=978-1567222210
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/pentecostal_1.shtml| title=Pentecostalism |website=BBC |access-date=18 October 2021 |date=2 July 2009 |quote="The Oneness movement is sometimes referred to as the "Jesus Only" churches, but this is a somewhat derogatory name and should be avoided." }}</ref> Oneness believers insist that while they do indeed believe in baptism only in the name of Jesus Christ, to describe them as "Jesus Only Pentecostals" implies a denial of the Father and Holy Spirit.<ref name=":History59" />

===View of the Trinity===
Oneness Pentecostals assert that the doctrine of the Trinity is not explicitly found in Scripture and view it as a post-biblical development. They argue that the concept of God as three co-equal persons is not explicitly taught in the Bible, noting the absence of terms such as "Trinity" or "persons" in reference to God in the Bible. Instead, they believe the doctrine emerged gradually over the first few centuries of the church and was formalized through [[creed]]s at the [[Ecumenical council|councils]] of [[First Council of Nicaea|Nicaea]] (325 AD) and [[First Council of Constantinople|Constantinople]] (381 AD).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yong |first1=Amos |title=Oneness and the Trinity: The Theological and Ecumenical Implications of Creation Ex Nihilo for an Intra-Pentecostal Dispute |journal=[[Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies]] |date=1 January 1997 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=81–107 |doi=10.1163/157007497X00064 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/pneu/19/1/article-p81_6.xml |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |issn=0272-0965|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The Jesus Name Movement |url=https://www.apostolicarchives.com/articles/article/8795236/172416.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119023034/https://www.apostolicarchives.com/articles/article/8795236/172416.htm |archive-date=19 November 2020 |access-date=19 November 2020 |website=www.apostolicarchives.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |page=263|chapter=Trinitarianism: Definition and Historical Development|quote=There is no question that Christian trinitarianism developed over several centuries of time after the New Testament was written.}}</ref>

This historical claim is not unique to Oneness Pentecostals. Some editions of the ''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', and the ''[[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'', among others, note that Trinitarianism formally developed over the early centuries as a response to theological controversies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cross |first1=F. L. |last2=Livingstone |first2=E. A. |editor-first1=F. L. |editor-first2=E. A. |editor-last1=Cross |editor-last2=Livingstone |title=Trinity, doctrine of the |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780192802903.001.0001/acref-9780192802903-e-6964?rskey=c5EMNA&result=6941 |website=Oxford Reference |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=6 May 2025 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780192802903.001.0001 |date=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Trinity |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trinity-Christianity |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=6 May 2025 |language=en |date=22 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Baber |first1=H.E. |title=Trinity |url=https://iep.utm.edu/trinity/ |website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=6 May 2025}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{cite journal |last1=Tuggy |first1=Dale |title=Trinity |journal=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=20 November 2020 |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/index.html |access-date=14 July 2025 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University}}</ref> The ''[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]'' states that no Christian theologians were Trinitarian for the first three centuries, with a diverse range of views regarding the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tuggy |first1=Dale |title=History of Trinitarian Doctrines (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) |journal=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=2020 |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/trinity-history.html |access-date=14 July 2025 |language=en |quote="No theologian in the first three Christian centuries was a trinitarian in the sense of believing that the one God is tripersonal, containing equally divine “Persons”, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... As this sort of theology features no tripersonal God, it is misleading to call it 'trinitarian.'"}}</ref> Prominent biblical scholars such as [[James D.G. Dunn]], [[Raymond E. Brown]], [[N.T. Wright]], and [[Larry Hurtado]], affirm that while the [[New Testament]] portrays Jesus and the Holy Spirit in ways that laid the groundwork for later formalized Trinitarian theology, it does not present the fully developed doctrine. They describe the Trinity as a theological synthesis formed in the post-apostolic era, drawing on the New Testament's presentation of Jesus and the Spirit within a monotheistic framework.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dunn |first1=James D. G. |title=Christology in the making: a New Testament inquiry into the origins of the doctrine of the Incarnation |date=1996 |publisher=W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co |location=Grand Rapids, Mich |isbn=0802842577 |edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Raymond Edward |title=An introduction to New Testament Christology |date=1994 |publisher=Paulist Press |location=New York |isbn=0809135167}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=N. T. |title=Paul and the Faithfulness of God: Two Book Set |date=2013 |publisher=Fortress Press |location=Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar |isbn=978-0800626839}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hurtado |first1=Larry W. |title=God in New Testament theology |date=2010 |publisher=Abingdon Press |location=Nashville, Tenn |isbn=978-0687465453}}</ref>

Other scholars argue that Trinitarian doctrine represents a theological departure from the [[wikt: Unitarian|unitarian]] [[monotheism]] of the [[Early Christianity|earliest Christians]].<ref name="GezaBook">{{cite book |last1=Vermès |first1=Géza |title=Christian beginnings: from Nazareth to Nicaea |date=2013 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=978-0300205954}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ehrman |first1=Bart |title=The Trinity! A Final Summation |url=https://ehrmanblog.org/the-trinity-a-final-summation/ |website=The Bart Ehrman Blog |access-date=21 November 2025 |date=10 June 2021 |quote=The earliest Christians inherited a strict monotheism from Judaism.}}</ref> [[Bart Ehrman]], an [[agnostic]] historian of [[Early Christianity]], and [[Jews|Jewish]] scholar [[Géza Vermes]] contend that neither Jesus nor his earliest followers taught Trinitarian concepts and that the doctrine was a product of later reflection.<ref name="GezaBook"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ehrman |first1=Bart |title=Is the Trinity in the Bible? |url=https://ehrmanblog.org/is-the-trinity-in-the-bible/ |website=The Bart Ehrman Blog |date=6 January 2021}}</ref> Jewish scholars such as [[Daniel Boyarin]], and [[Alan F. Segal]] have examined how [[Second Temple Judaism|Second Temple Jewish]] concepts—such as divine agency and the "two powers" tradition—provided theological categories that early Christians adapted in ways that eventually contributed to Trinitarian thought. Both Jewish scholars document how concepts of divine agency informed early Christian understandings of Jesus, but neither identifies the Trinity as a biblically or historically continuous doctrine.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Segal |first1=Alan F. |title=Two powers in heaven: early rabbinic reports about Christianity and Gnosticism |date=2012 |publisher=Baylor University Press |location=Waco, Tex |isbn=978-1602585492}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Boyarin |first1=Daniel |title=The Jewish gospels: the story of the Jewish Christ |date=2013 |publisher=The New Press |location=New York |isbn=978-1595588784 |edition=Paperback}}</ref> 

Trinitarian theologians and apologists maintain that the doctrine represents a faithful synthesis of biblical revelation, developed more fully in response to early heresies and theological disputes. Figures such as [[Alister McGrath]] and [[Karl Rahner]] argue that the Trinity accurately expresses both the unity of God and the relational distinctions found in Scripture.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McGrath |first1=Alister E. |title=Christian theology: an introduction |date=2017 |publisher=Blackwell |location=Chichester, West Sussex |isbn=9781118869574 |edition=25}}</ref> Rahner, for instance, argued that "the [[Trinity#Economic and immanent Trinity|economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity]]," proposing that God's self-revelation in salvation history corresponds to his eternal triune identity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rahner |first1=Karl |last2=Donceel |first2=J. |title=Trinity |date=2001 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing |location=London |isbn=0860120155}}</ref> They maintain that the Trinity, though not formulated in creedal terms during the apostolic era, accurately expresses the unity and distinction presented in Scripture.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Doctrine of the Trinity at Nicaea and Chalcedon|url=https://www.str.org/w/the-doctrine-of-the-trinity-at-nicaea-and-chalcedon|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109040544/https://www.str.org/w/the-doctrine-of-the-trinity-at-nicaea-and-chalcedon|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Stand To Reason}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wayne|first=Luke|date=7 January 2017|title=The Trinity before Nicea|url=https://carm.org/doctrine-and-theology/the-trinity-before-nicea/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109040812/https://carm.org/doctrine-and-theology/the-trinity-before-nicea/|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Jehovah's Witnesses: Masters of Misquotation|url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-witnesses-masters-of-misquotation|access-date=13 January 2022|last1=Brumley|first1=Mark|date=1 April 1990|website=Catholic Answers}}</ref>

===Views of the early church===
Scholars within the Oneness movement differ in their views on [[church history]]. Some church historians, such as Dr. Curtis Ward, Marvin Arnold, and William Chalfant, hold to a [[Successionism|Successionist view]], arguing that their movement has existed in every generation from the original day of [[Pentecost]] to the present day.<ref>{{cite book |first1= William |last1= Johnson |title= The Church Through the Ages |publisher= Bethesda |year= 2005 |page= 25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Arnold |first= Marvin M |title= Pentecost Before Azusa: The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter Two; Fanning the Flames of International Revival for Over 2000 Years |year= 2002 |publisher= Bethesda Ministries |isbn= 978-1-58169-091-0}}{{page needed|date= September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1= William B. |last1= Chalfant |title= Ancient champions of oneness: an investigation of the doctrine of God in church history |publisher= Word Aflame Press |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-0-912315-41-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4oOXAAAACAAJ }}{{page needed|date= September 2017}}</ref> Ward has proposed a theory of an unbroken Pentecostal church lineage, claiming to have chronologically traced its perpetuity throughout the church's history.<ref>{{cite book |first1= William |last1= Johnson |title= The Church Through the Ages |publisher= Bethesda Books |year= 2005 |page= 27 }}
</ref>

Others hold to a [[Restorationism|Restorationist]] view, believing that while the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] and their church clearly taught Oneness doctrine and the Pentecostal experience, the early apostolic church went into [[apostasy in Christianity|apostasy]], which eventually developed into the institutional forms seen in [[Catholic church|Roman Catholicism]]. For them, the contemporary Oneness Pentecostal movement began 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|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.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last1=Bernard|first1=David|url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm|title=The Oneness of God|publisher=Word Aflame Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-912315-12-6|chapter=Oneness Believers In Church History|chapter-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130145231/http://ourworld.compuserve.com:80/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch10.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm|archive-date=16 February 2008}}{{page needed|date=September 2017}}</ref><ref name="IAMNorris">{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=David |title=I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology |date=4 September 2009 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-1567227307 |pages=224–225 |chapter=Rediscovering Covenant}}</ref>

Both Successionists and Restorationists among Oneness Pentecostals assert that the early apostolic church believed in the Oneness and [[Baptism in the name of Jesus|Jesus name baptism]] doctrines. David K. Bernard, a leading Oneness scholar, has written extensively on this subject in works such as ''The Oneness of God'' and ''A History of Christian Doctrine''. Bernard traces Oneness adherents back to the first [[Jewish Christians|converted Jews]] of the Apostolic Age and asserts that there is no evidence of these converts having any difficulty comprehending the [[Christian Church]]'s teachings and integrating them with their existing [[Judaism|Judaic beliefs]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=A History of Christian Doctrine - Volume 1 |date=1995 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=9781567220360}}</ref> In the post-apostolic era, Bernard contends that the earliest believers, including [[Hermas of Dalmatia|Hermas]], [[Clement of Rome]], [[Polycarp]], [[Polycrates of Ephesus|Polycrates]], [[Ignatius of Antioch|Ignatius]], and [[Irenaeus]] either held to a Oneness-like view of God or followed an "economic Trinity" model that did not reflect eternal personal distinctions within the Godhead.<ref name=":7" /> Bernard theorizes that the majority of all believers were Oneness adherents until the time of [[Tertullian]], quoting Tertullian as writing against [[Praxeas]]:
{{Blockquote|The simple, indeed (I will not call them unwise or unlearned), who always constitute the majority of believers, are startled at the dispensation (of the Three in One), on the very ground that their very Rule of Faith withdraws them from the world's plurality of gods to the one only true God; not understanding that, although He is the one only God, He must yet be believed in with His own economy. The numerical order and distribution of the Trinity, they assume to be a division of the Unity.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tertullian|title=Sundry Popular Fears and Prejudices. The Doctrine of the Trinity in Unity Rescued from These Misapprehensions|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.ix.iii.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119022850/https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.ix.iii.html|archive-date=19 November 2020|work=Against Praxeas}}</ref>}}

As part of his broader critique, Bernard briefly references 19th-century [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] minister [[Alexander Hislop]], who associated Trinitarian doctrine and other early Christian practices with pagan religious influence.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|last=Bernard|first=David|url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch11.htm|title=The Oneness of God|publisher=Word Aflame Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-912315-12-6|chapter=Trinitarianism: Definition and Historical Development|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130181956/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Ch11.htm|archive-date=30 November 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Contemporary scholars widely reject Hislop's claims as unreliable;<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grabbe|first=Lester L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2hIY_E_ngYC&pg=PA28|title=Can a 'history of Israel' be Written?|date=1997-01-01|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-85075-669-9|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Blind Spot: A Tale of Two Babylons|url=https://www.historicalblindness.com/blogandpodcast//blind-spot-a-tale-of-two-babylons|access-date=7 November 2021|website=Historical Blindness|language=en-US|date=26 March 2019|first1=Nathaniel|last1=Lloyd}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=23 April 2021|title=No, Easter wasn't named after a Mesopotamian goddess|url=https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/no-easter-wasnt-named-after-a-mesopotamian-goddess/|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Australian Associated Press|language=en|quote=Church historian and emeritus professor of history at Massey University in Auckland, [[Peter Lineham]], told AAP FactCheck: "Hislop's tendency was to think if it sounds the same it must be connected. That was the logic he used. It's a wonderful book because it's full of imagination and nonsense. It's fantastic but utterly misconceived."}}</ref> however, Bernard's core argument rests not on Hislop but on patristic sources and the biblical absence of explicitly tri-personal language.<ref name=":7" /> Oneness theologians such as Norris have also advanced alternative lines of argument based on biblical exegesis and early Christian texts.<ref name="IAMNorris" />

In contrast to Bernard's theory, Trinitarian scholars suggest the writings of Ignatius and Irenaeus teach an eternal Trinity,<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|title=What the Early Church Believed: God in Three Persons|url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/god-in-three-persons|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929014304/https://www.catholic.com/tract/god-in-three-persons|archive-date=29 September 2021|access-date=13 April 2021|website=Catholic Answers}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hanson |first1=Mark |title=Tracing the Thread of Trinitarian Thought from Ignatius to Origen |url=https://www.mbu.edu/seminary/tracing-the-thread-of-trinitarian-thought-from-ignatius-to-origen/ |website=Maranatha Baptist Seminary |access-date=30 September 2021 |date=30 December 2011 }}</ref> though Norris disagrees with them in his book ''I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology'', arguing that writers like Ignatius should not be retroactively read through the lens of fourth-century Trinitarian orthodoxy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=David |title=I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology |date=4 September 2009 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-1565630000 |page=161 |chapter=Moving Away from Orthodoxy}}</ref>

==Soteriology==
In common with most [[Protestant]] denominations, Oneness Pentecostal [[soteriology]] maintains that all people are born with a sinful nature, sin at a young age, and remain lost without hope of [[salvation]] unless they embrace the Gospel that Jesus made complete [[Atonement in Christianity|atonement]] for the sins of all people, which is the sole means of human redemption; and that salvation comes solely by [[Divine grace|grace]] through [[Faith in Christianity|faith]] in Jesus.<ref name=fp123-4/><ref>{{cite book |chapter=Only through faith in Jesus Christ |first1=David |last1=Bernard |title=A Handbook of Basic Doctrines |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1988 |pages=31–2 }}</ref> Oneness doctrine also teaches that true faith results in obedience, and that salvation is not only to profess faith but to demonstrate it as well in action.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Salvation is through faith |first1=David |last1=Bernard |title=A Handbook of Basic Doctrines |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1988 |pages=31–5 }}</ref> Oneness churches teach the following as the foundation of Christian conversion:<ref name=fp123-4/>
* [[repentance]];
* [[water baptism]] in the name of Jesus Christ;<ref>[[Acts 2:38]]; [[Acts 10:48]]</ref>
* [[baptism in the Holy Spirit]] with the evidence of [[speaking in tongues]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|2:4|KJV}}; {{bibleverse|Acts|10:46|KJV}}; {{bibleverse|Acts|19:6|KJV}}</ref>

Oneness Pentecostals generally accept that these are the minimal requirements of conversion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=9 August 2020 |title=The "Oneness" Heresy Exposed |url=https://thebereans.net/2020/08/09/the-oneness-heresy-exposed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119014839/https://thebereans.net/2020/08/09/the-oneness-heresy-exposed/ |archive-date=19 November 2020 |access-date=19 November 2020 |website=The Bereans Apologetics Research Ministry |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Grace and faith===
Oneness Pentecostals maintain that no good works or obedience to the law can save anyone apart from God's grace. Furthermore, salvation comes solely through faith in Jesus; there is no salvation through any name or work other than his ([[Acts 4:12]]). Oneness teaching rejects interpretations that hold that [[Predestination|salvation is given automatically to the elect]]; they believe that all humans are called to salvation, and "whosoever will, may come" ([[Revelation 22:17]]).<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last1=Slick |first1=Matt |date=8 December 2008 |title=What is Oneness Pentecostal theology? |url=https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal-theology |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119015348/https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal-theology |archive-date=19 November 2020 |access-date=19 November 2020 |website=Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry |language=en}}</ref><ref name="New Birth Grace and Faith">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |chapter=Grace and Faith |page=38}}</ref>

While salvation is indeed a gift in Oneness belief, it must be ''received''.<ref name="New Birth" /> This reception of salvation is generally considered conversion and is accepted in most evangelical Protestant churches. The first mandate is true faith in Jesus, demonstrated by obedience to God's commands and a determination to submit to his will in every aspect of life. Oneness adherents reject the notion that one may be saved through what they call ''mental faith'': mere belief in Jesus without life-changing repentance or obedience. Thus, they emphatically reject the idea that one is saved through praying the [[Sinner's prayer]], but rather the true saving faith and change of life declared in scripture. Oneness Pentecostals have no issue with the prayer itself but deny that it alone represents saving faith, believing the Bible accordingly mandates repentance, baptism by water and spirit with receipt of the Holy Spirit as a ''manifestation'' of the spirit part of the rebirth experience and the actual, godly faith obeyed and done by the early Church's believers. Thus, one who has truly been saved will gladly submit to the biblical conditions for conversion. According to these believers, Jesus and the apostles taught that the [[Born again (Christianity)|new birth]] experience includes repentance and baptism in both water and God's Spirit.<ref name="New Birth Exceptions">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |chapter=Are There Exceptions? |page=314}}</ref>

===Repentance===
Oneness Pentecostals maintain that salvation is not possible without repentance. While repentance is, in part, godly sorrow for sin, it is as much a complete change of heart and mind toward God and his word. This is why Oneness churches expect a complete reformation of life in those who have become Christians.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Hidden Cult of Oneness Pentecostalism|url=http://www.marketfaith.org/the-hidden-cult-of-oneness-pentecostalism/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119011745/http://www.marketfaith.org/the-hidden-cult-of-oneness-pentecostalism/|archive-date=19 November 2020|access-date=19 November 2020|website=www.marketfaith.org}}</ref>

===Water baptism===
Oneness Pentecostals believe that water baptism is an essential component of salvation, not merely a symbolic act.<ref name="New Birth Baptism">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |chapter=Water Baptism |pages=132–134}}</ref> They cite Acts 2:38, where Peter says to "be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" as evidence that baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sins.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huston |first1=David |title=Into Forgiveness of Sins |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/into-forgiveness-of-sins/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |access-date=25 February 2025 |date=11 July 2009 |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]]}}</ref> They also appeal to passages such as Mark 16:16 ("He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved") and John 3:5, where Jesus states, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," interpreting "born of water" as a direct reference to baptism.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Haywood |first1=G.T. |title=The Birth Of The Spirit In The Day Of The Apostles |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/the-birth-of-the-spirit-in-the-day-of-the-apostles/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |access-date=25 February 2025 |date=5 November 2009 |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |quote=To be born of “water and the Spirit,” and “believe and is baptized” (John 3:5 and Mark 16:16), are proven to be synonymous terms expressing the one and self-same thing, by reading, or comparing the words of Jesus in John 10:9 . All three of these expressions are spoken by the same Person. In the first’ mentioned scripture He says that if a man is not born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God, while in the second, He says that he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals reject the idea that baptism is a mere public declaration of faith, arguing that it plays an active role in salvation by uniting believers with Christ and applying his atoning blood.<ref name="Comparison">{{cite web |title=Comparing Beliefs: Baptists vs. Oneness Pentecostals |url=https://www.sermondownload.net/post/comparing-beliefs-baptists-vs-oneness-pentecostals |website=Ready Made Sermons |access-date=25 February 2025 |language=en |date=2 August 2024}}</ref> They cite Romans 6:3-4, which states that believers are "baptized into Christ" and "buried with him by baptism into death," as evidence that baptism is the moment when one is spiritually united with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Similarly, they reference 1 Peter 3:21, which states that "baptism doth also now save us," reinforcing their belief that baptism is not optional but an integral part of the salvation process.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huston |first1=David |title=Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/11271-2/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |access-date=25 February 2025 |date=11 July 2009 |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]]}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostals also insist that baptism must be preceded by faith and repentance, rejecting infant baptism and baptisms performed by compulsion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cooljc.org/AboutUs/StatementofFaith/tabid/70/language/en-US/Default.aspx|title=Church of our Lord Jesus Christ Statement of Faith|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824233306/http://www.cooljc.org/AboutUs/StatementofFaith/tabid/70/language/en-US/Default.aspx|archive-date=24 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aljc.org/doctrine-statement/|title=Doctrine Statement|work=ALJC|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=2 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302170309/http://aljc.org/doctrine-statement/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

This doctrinal emphasis on baptism as a salvific act is one of the key distinctions between Oneness Pentecostals and many other Protestant groups, which often view baptism as an outward testimony of an already completed salvation rather than an essential step in the process of being saved.<ref name="Comparison" /> 

====Baptismal mode====
{{Main|Immersion baptism}}

Oneness Pentecostal theology maintains the literal definition of baptism as being completely [[Immersion baptism|immersed]] in water. They believe that other modes have no biblical basis or are based upon inexact Old Testament rituals and that their mode is the only one described in the New Testament.<ref name="New Birth Baptism 2">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |chapter=Water Baptism |pages=128–129}}</ref> The Articles of Faith of the UPCI state that "the scriptural mode of baptism is immersion and is only for those who have fully repented."<ref>{{cite book|title=Manual, United Pentecostal Church International|chapter=Articles of Faith|page=33|date=2017|url=http://www.pentecostalsofdadeville.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017upcimanual.pdf|access-date=13 January 2022|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025737/http://www.pentecostalsofdadeville.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017upcimanual.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Baptismal formula====
{{Main|Baptism in the name of Jesus}}

Oneness adherents believe that for water baptism to be valid, one must be baptized "in the name of Jesus Christ",<ref name=":10">See "The Baptismal Formula: in the Name of Jesus" and "The One Name in Matthew 28:19, in David Bernard, A Handbook of Basic Doctrines, Word Aflame Press, 1988, pp. 43-45.</ref> rather than the Trinitarian baptismal formula "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=What the Early Church Believed: Trinitarian Baptism|url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/trinitarian-baptism|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929022050/https://www.catholic.com/tract/trinitarian-baptism|archive-date=29 September 2021|access-date=13 April 2021|website=Catholic Answers}}</ref> This is referred to as the "Jesus' name doctrine". "Jesus' name" is a description used to refer to Oneness Pentecostals and their baptismal beliefs.<ref name=fp123-4/>

Oneness Pentecostals mainly center their belief around the baptismal formula found 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." Other passages cited include:<ref name="New Birth Formula">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |pages=156–157 |chapter=Baptismal Formula: In the Name of Jesus}}</ref>
* [[Acts 8:16]] – Samaritans were baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus."  
* [[Acts 10:48]] – Cornelius and his household were commanded to be baptized "in the name of the Lord."  
* [[Acts 19:5]] – Disciples of John the Baptist were re-baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus."  
* [[Acts 22:16]] – Paul was baptized "calling on the name of the Lord"

Oneness Pentecostals assert that these five mentions of baptism in the Book of Acts were performed in the name of Jesus and that no Trinitarian formula is ever referred to therein.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Schoolcraft|first1=Ron|date=11 July 2009|title=The Name in Matthew 28:19|url=https://www.apostolic.edu/the-name-in-matthew-2819/|access-date=13 April 2021|website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]]}}</ref> In addition, {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|1:13|9}} is taken by Oneness Pentecostals to indicate baptism in Jesus' name as well;<ref name="New Birth Formula" /><ref name="New Birth Singular">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |page=172 |chapter=Baptismal Formula: In the Name of Jesus}}</ref> Oneness author William Arnold III explains their reasoning: "If we follow Paul's train of thought, his obvious implication is 'No, Christ was the one crucified for you and so you were baptized in the name of Christ.' So the believers at Corinth as well as those in Rome were baptized in Jesus' name."<ref name="Arnold Baptism">{{cite web |last1=Arnold |first1=William |title=Baptism in Jesus' Name |url=https://www.onenesspentecostal.com/name.htm |website=Institute for Biblical Studies |access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref> 

Based on these New Testament accounts, Oneness proponents maintain that baptism in the name of Jesus Christ reflects the earliest apostolic tradition. They view the later emergence of the Trinitarian formula as a doctrinal innovation that diverged from the original practice. As additional support for their claim, Oneness Pentecostals also cite editions of [[Encyclopædia Britannica|Britannica]], the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]], [[Interpreter's Bible series|Interpreter's Bible]], and various other scholars and [[encyclopedia]]s to justify this claim.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of Baptism in Jesus' Name|url=https://www.apostolicarchives.com/articles/article/8801925/180090.htm|access-date=7 November 2021|website=Apostolic Archives International Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Trapasso|first=Michael|date=8 October 2009|title=History Authenticates That the Early Church Baptized In The Name of Jesus: Part V|url=https://www.apostolic.edu/history-authenticates-that-the-early-church-baptized-in-the-name-of-jesus-part-v/|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Apostolic Information Service|language=en-US |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartman |first1=Lars |title='Into the Name of Jesus': A Suggestion Concerning the Earliest Meaning of the Phrase |journal=New Testament Studies |date=July 1974 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=432–440 |doi=10.1017/S002868850001225X |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S002868850001225X |access-date=15 July 2025 |language=en |issn=1469-8145|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hartman |first1=Lars |title=Baptism "into the name of Jesus" and early Christology: Some tentative considerations |journal=Studia Theologica - Nordic Journal of Theology |date=1 January 1974 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=21–48 |doi=10.1080/00393387408599940 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00393387408599940 |access-date=15 July 2025 |issn=0039-338X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> For example, [[James Hastings]]' ''[[Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible|Dictionary of the Bible]]'' states that "The original form of words was 'into the name of Jesus Christ' or 'the Lord Jesus.' Baptism into the name of the Trinity was a later development."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hastings |first1=James |last2=Selbie |first2=John A. |title=A Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1: Dealing With Its Language, Literature, and Contents, Including the Biblical Theology |date=1889 |publisher=[[T&T Clark]] |pages=241 |url=https://archive.org/details/b24749163_0001_201710/page/240/mode/2up |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref> Likewise, in Maurice A. Canney's ''An Encyclopaedia of Religions'', it states that "Persons were baptized at first 'in the name of Jesus Christ' or 'in the name of the Lord Jesus'. Afterwards, with the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, they were baptized 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost'".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Canney |first1=Maurice A. |title=An encyclopaedia of religions |date=1921 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London |page=53 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofr00cann/page/52/mode/2up |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref> Norris explains that "there is a strong scholarly consensus that the earliest Christian baptism was practiced in Jesus' name."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Norris |first1=David |title=I AM: A Oneness Pentecostal Theology |date=4 September 2009 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-1565630000 |page=193}}</ref>

The ''[[Didache]]'', an early Christian manual of instruction generally dated by scholars to the late first or (less commonly) early second century AD,<ref>{{cite web |title=Didache |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Didache |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=20 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schachterle |first=Josh |date=2023-10-20 |title=The Didache: Author, Dates, and Why it's Not in the Bible |url=https://www.bartehrman.com/the-didache/ |access-date=2025-11-26 |website=Bart Ehrman Courses Online |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ehrman |first1=Bart |title=What Is the Didache & When Was the Didache Written |url=https://ehrmanblog.org/what-is-the-didache-when-was-the-didache-written/ |website=The Bart Ehrman Blog |access-date=20 November 2025 |date=1 May 2022}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> includes a reference to baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (''Didache'' 7:1).<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Didache|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04779a.htm|access-date=7 November 2021|website=Catholic Encyclopedia|publisher=New Advent|quote=This (vii-x) begins with an instruction on baptism, which is to be conferred "in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" in living water, if it can be had — if not, in cold or even hot water.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Brickley|first=Ralph|date=24 October 2018|title=Schisms: Baptism in Jesus Name or…|url=https://dividetheword.blog/2018/10/24/schisms-baptism-in-jesus-name-or/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107222101/https://dividetheword.blog/2018/10/24/schisms-baptism-in-jesus-name-or/|archive-date=7 November 2021|access-date=7 November 2021|website=DivideTheWord.blog|language=en|quote=Now concerning baptism, baptize thus: Having first taught all these things, baptize ye into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. And if thou hast not living water, baptize into other water; and if thou canst not in cold, then in warm (water). But if thou hast neither, pour [water] thrice upon the head in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.}}</ref> This text is cited by some Trinitarian theologians as early support for the threefold baptismal formula.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=O'Loughlin|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfpqBgAAQBAJ|title=The Didache: A window on the earliest Christians|date=15 February 2011|publisher=SPCK|isbn=978-0-281-06493-9|language=en}}</ref> However, the document also describes individuals being "baptized into the name of the Lord" (''Didache'' 9:5), a construction that Oneness Pentecostals claim parallels references to baptism found in the book of Acts.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weisser |first1=Thomas |title=Was the Early Church Oneness or Trinitarian? |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/was-the-early-church-oneness-or-trinitarian/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=8 May 2025 |date=20 June 2009}}</ref> Oneness Pentecostal writers such as David K. Bernard interpret references to baptism "in the name of" as pointing exclusively to the name of Jesus, and they highlight the absence of any recorded apostolic use of a triune formula.<ref name="New Birth Didache">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |pages=257–281 |chapter=The Witness in Church History: Baptism}}</ref> Some Oneness writers have raised concerns about the ''Didache'''s reliability, noting that the only complete Greek manuscript, discovered in 1873, was dated to the 11th century (although an additional Latin manuscript was discovered in 1900).<ref>{{cite book | last1=Chapman |first1=Henry Palmer | date=1908 | chapter=Didache | title=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |edition=4 | quote="It was rediscovered in 1883 by Bryennios, Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Nicomedia, in the codex from which, in 1875, he had published the full text of the Epistles of St. Clement. The title in the MS. is Didache kyriou dia ton dodeka apostolon ethesin, but before this it gives the heading Didache ton dodeka apostolon. The old Latin translation of cc. i-v, found by Dr. J. Schlecht in 1900, has the longer title, omitting "twelve", and has a rubric De doctrin' Apostolorum."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Drysdale |first1=Ross |title=The Ante-Nicene Fathers |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/the-ante-nicene-fathers/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=8 May 2025 |date=6 August 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ritchie|first=Steven|date=22 October 2016|title=The Didache – Can We Trust It?|url=https://www.apostolicchristianfaith.com//post/2016/10/22/the-didache-can-we-trust-it|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109044830/https://www.apostolicchristianfaith.com//post/2016/10/22/the-didache-can-we-trust-it|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Apostolic Christian Faith|language=en|quote=Falsely Called "The Teaching(s) of the Twelve Apostles." The only manuscript we have of the Didache (which means "Teaching") was discovered in 1873 in Constantinople (modern day Turkey). The manuscript is signed, "Leon, notary and sinner," and bears the date, A.D. 1056.}}</ref> Trinitarian scholar Willy Rordorf summarizes scholarly conversation surrounding the baptismal formula in the ''Didache'' by stating that ''Didache'' 7:1 was likely a later interpolation and that ''Didache'' 9:5 "preserved the most ancient baptismal formula. At the beginning of Christianity, one baptized 'in the name of Jesus.'"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rordorf |first1=Willy |title=The Didache in Modern Research |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-33249-2 |pages=212–222 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004332492/BP000013.xml |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |chapter=Baptism According to the Didache}}</ref>

Mainstream Trinitarian Christians exegete "in the name of Jesus Christ" as by the "authority of Jesus," which denotes baptism in the name of the three persons of the Trinity.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Slick |first1=Matt |date=8 December 2008|title=Must baptism be "in Jesus' name"?|url=https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/must-baptism-be-in-jesus-name-baptize/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109044313/https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/must-baptism-be-in-jesus-name-baptize/|archive-date=9 January 2022|access-date=9 January 2022|website=Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Don't We Baptize in the Name of Jesus? |url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/why-dont-we-baptize-in-the-name-of-jesus |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref> In response, Oneness Pentecostals have claimed that the wording of Acts 22:16 requires an oral invocation of the name of Jesus during baptism (''calling'' on the name of the Lord). 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.<ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216034825/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pentecostal/One-Top.htm |pages=137–138 |archive-date=16 February 2008 |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6|chapter=Father, Son, and Holy Ghost|quote=Acts 22:16 says, "Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." The Amplified Bible says, "Rise and be baptized, and by calling upon His name wash away your sins." The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament says, "Invoking the name." Therefore this verse of Scripture indicates the name Jesus was orally invoked at baptism. James 2:7 says, "Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?" The Greek phrasing indicates that the name was invoked over the Christians at a specific time. Thus, TAB says, "Is it not they who slander and blaspheme that precious name by which you are distinguished and called [the name of Christ invoked in baptism]?" (brackets in original). For an example of what "in the name of Jesus" means, we need only look at the story of the lame man's healing in Acts 3. Jesus said to pray for the sick in His name (Mark 16:17-18), and Peter said the lame man was healed by the name of Jesus (Acts 4:10). How did this happen? Peter actually uttered the words "in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 3:6). The name Jesus invoked in faith produced the result. The name signifies power or authority, but this signification does not detract from the fact that Peter orally invoked the name of Jesus in effecting the healing.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Arnold III |first1=William |title=More On Baptism In Jesus' Name |url=https://www.onenesspentecostal.com/morebaptism.htm |website=Institute for Biblical Studies |access-date=12 January 2022 |quote=Jesus is the one who personally commissioned the disciples to go and baptize and they went "on behalf of him," or "in his name." He also sent them to heal people and work miracles. When Peter healed the man at the Gate Beautiful in Jesus' name, scripture tells us that he actually spoke the words "in the name of Jesus Christ" when he did it (Acts 3:6). Even when Trinitarian Christians pray for someone for healing they speak the words "in Jesus' name." They realize that they are doing it "on behalf of" or "in the name of" Christ. Why would baptism be any different? Jesus said that when we pray we are to ask the Father in him name (John 14:13; 15:16; 16:23, 26). And so when many Christians pray, they end their prayer with the actual words "in Jesus name."}}</ref>

====View of Matthew 28:19====
Oneness Pentecostals insist that there are no New Testament references to baptism by any other formula—save in [[Matthew 28:19]], which most hold to be another reference to baptism in the name of Jesus.<ref name=":16" /> Although Matthew 28:19 seems to mandate a Trinitarian formula for baptism, Oneness theology avows that since the word "name" in the verse is ''singular'', it must refer to Jesus, whose name they believe to be that of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.<ref name="New Birth Singular" /><ref>{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bernard |title=The Oneness of God |publisher=Word Aflame Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6|chapter=Father, Son, and Holy Ghost |pages=136–137|quote=In this passage, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." However, this verse of Scripture does not teach that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate persons. Rather, it teaches that the titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost identify one name and therefore one being. The verse expressly says "in the name," not "in the names." ... Jehovah or Yahweh was the revealed name of God in the Old Testament, but Jesus is the revealed name of God in the New Testament... Father, Son, and Holy Ghost all describe the one God, so the phrase in Matthew 28:19 simply describes the one name of the one God. The Old Testament promised that there would come a time when Jehovah would have one name and that this one name would be made known (Zechariah 14:9; Isaiah 52:6). We know that the one name of Matthew 28:19 is Jesus, for Jesus is the name of the Father (John 5:43; Hebrews 1:4), the Son (Matthew 1:21), and the Holy Ghost (John 14:26).}}</ref> Oneness believers insist that all Bible's texts on the subject must be in complete 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.

A minority of Oneness Pentecostals argue 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matthew 28:19 Corruption |url=http://www.teliacarriermap.com/tag/matthew_2819_corruption/index.html |access-date=13 April 2021 |website=The Apostolic Voice |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413043015/http://www.teliacarriermap.com/tag/matthew_2819_corruption/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Historical Evidence in favour of Matthew 28:19 and Response to Claims of Inauthenticity|url=https://www.asitreads.com/blog/2018/2/22/historical-evidence-in-favour-of-matthew-chapter-2819-and-response-to-claims-of-inauthenticity|access-date=13 April 2021|website=As It Reads|date=22 February 2018|last1=Valiant|first1=Brendan|language=en-US|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326025754/https://www.asitreads.com/blog/2018/2/22/historical-evidence-in-favour-of-matthew-chapter-2819-and-response-to-claims-of-inauthenticity|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Willis |first1=Clinton D. |title=A Collection of Evidence Against the Traditional Wording of Matthew 28:19 |url=https://www.onenesspentecostal.com/matt2819-willis.htm |website=Institute for Biblical Studies |access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref> Eusebius' text reads: "go and make disciples of all nations in my name, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burgos|first1=Michael R. Jr.|title=Against Oneness Pentecostalism, 2nd Ed.|publisher=Winchester, CT: Church Militant Pub.|date=2016|pages=101–112}}</ref> However, most Oneness believers accept the full Matthew 28:19 as an authentic part of the original text and interpret it through a Christocentric lens.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kilmon |first1=Bobby |title=Is the longer reading of Matthew 28:19 a trinitarian Insertion? Should the text read "in my name" instead of "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"? |url=https://ibcperspectives.com/answer-forum-vol-31-no-10/ |website=IBC Perspectives |publisher=Indiana Bible College |access-date=18 October 2021 |date=14 October 2021 }}</ref>

===Baptism of the Holy Spirit===
Oneness Pentecostals believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a free gift commanded for all.<ref name="Bernard 1988 The Baptism of the Holy Ghost: Promise and Command">{{cite book |chapter=The Baptism of the Holy Ghost: Promise and Command |first1=David |last1=Bernard |title=A Handbook of Basic Doctrines |publisher=Word Aflame |year=1988 |pages=45–46}}</ref> They believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an essential component of salvation, asserting that receiving the Holy Spirit evidenced by [[speaking in tongues]] directly fulfills the New Testament mandate.<ref name="New Birth Tongues">{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The New Birth |date=1998 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |location=Hazelwood, MO |isbn=1567222382 |chapter=Speaking in Tongues |pages=235–236}}</ref> This distinguishes their theology from classical Trinitarian Pentecostalism: while Oneness and Trinitarian Pentecostals emphasize the importance of Spirit baptism, they diverge on its role in salvation. Trinitarian Pentecostals, such as those in the Assemblies of God, teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a subsequent experience meant for empowerment, not necessarily required for salvation.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ: Baptism in the Holy Spirit |url=https://news.ag.org/en/article-repository/spiritual-life/2019/05/faq-baptism-in-the-holy-spirit#:~:text=Receiving%20eternal%20life%20does%20not,Christ%20when%20He%20was%20crucified. |website=AGNews |publisher=Assemblies of God |access-date=24 February 2025 |language=en |date=9 May 2019}}</ref> In contrast, Oneness Pentecostals maintain that one must be baptized in the Holy Spirit with the initial sign of speaking in tongues to be truly born again.<ref name="Bernard 1988 The Baptism of the Holy Ghost: Promise and Command" /> Oneness Pentecostals cite biblical passages such as John 3:5 ("Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God") and Romans 8:9 ("Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his") to support their belief that Spirit baptism is a requirement for salvation.<ref name="New Birth" />

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. Like 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, especially in prayer. However, this initial manifestation of the Holy Spirit is seen as distinct from the gift of divers kinds of tongues mentioned in {{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|12:10|9}}, which is given to selected spirit-filled believers as the Holy Spirit desires. Oneness adherents assert that receiving the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues, is necessary for salvation.<ref name="Bernard 1988 The Baptism of the Holy Ghost: Promise and Command" />

==Practices==

===Worship===
In common with other Pentecostals, Oneness believers are known for their [[Charismatic movement|charismatic]] style of [[Christian worship|worship]]. Oneness Pentecostal [[Christian worship|worship]] is characterized by expressive congregational participation, including verbal praises, [[Prayer#Pentecostalism|prayers]], singing accompanied by musical instruments, and energetic [[Sermon|preaching]].<ref name="RGCOPF" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=Pentecostal Worship (Entire Article) |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/pentecostal-worship-entire-article/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=25 February 2025 |date=1 March 2011}}</ref> They believe that the [[spiritual gifts]] found in the [[New Testament]] are still active in the church; hence, services are often spontaneous, being punctuated at times with acts of [[speaking in tongues]], [[interpretation of tongues]], [[prophecy|prophetic messages]], and the [[laying on of hands]] for the purposes of [[faith healing|healing]].<ref>{{cite web |title=How We Worship |url=https://apcstl.org/about/how-we-worship |website=Apostolic Pentecostal Church |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> Oneness believers, like all Pentecostals, are characterized by their practice of speaking in other tongues.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gabriel |first1=Andrew |title=Tales of Visiting a Oneness United Pentecostal Church |url=https://www.andrewkgabriel.com/2019/05/07/oneness-united-pentecostal/ |website=Andrew K. Gabriel - Pentecostal-Charismatic Theologian |date=7 May 2019 |access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref> In such ecstatic experiences a Oneness believer may vocalize fluent unintelligible utterances ([[glossolalia]]), or articulate a natural language previously unknown to them ([[xenoglossy]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kidson |first1=L.E. |title=Speaking With Other Tongues |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/speaking-with-other-tongues/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=19 March 2025 |date=10 January 2010}}</ref>

Some Oneness Pentecostals practice [[Maundy (foot washing)|foot washing]], often in conjunction with their celebration of [[Eucharist|communion]], as Jesus Christ did with his disciples at the Last Supper.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thornton |first1=James |title=Foot Washing Service |url=https://everyonesapostolic.com/foot-washing-service/ |website=Everyone's Apostolic |access-date=16 November 2022 |date=2021}}</ref>

===Holiness standards===
Many Oneness Pentecostal groups emphasize holiness standards in dress, grooming, and conduct. This is a teaching similar to traditional Holiness Pentecostals but distinct from other Finished Work Pentecostals.<ref name="Synan1975" />

====Historical development====
{{main|Outward holiness#History}}

The doctrine of [[outward holiness]] originated in [[Methodism]]. The early Methodists wore [[plain dress]], with Methodist clergy condemning "high headdresses, ruffles, laces, gold, and 'costly apparel' in general".<ref name="Lyerly1998">{{cite book|last=Lyerly|first=Cynthia Lynn|title=Methodism and the Southern Mind, 1770-1810|date=24 September 1998|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|language=en|isbn=9780195354249|page=39}}</ref> [[John Wesley]], the founder of the Methodist movement, recommended that Methodists read his thoughts ''On Dress'', in which he detailed acceptable types and colors of fabrics, in addition to "shapes and sizes of hats, coats, sleeves, and hairstyles".<ref>Journals of Wesley, Nehemiah Curnock, ed., London: Epworth Press 1938, p. 468.</ref> In that sermon, John Wesley expressed his desire for Methodists: "Let me see, before I die, a Methodist congregation, full as plain dressed as a Quaker congregation."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-88-on-dress/|title=The Wesley Center Online: Sermon 88 - On Dress|last=Wesley|first=John|year=1999|publisher=Wesley Center for Applied Theology|language=en|access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref> He also taught, with respect to [[Christian headcovering]], that women, "especially in a religious assembly", should "keep on her veil".<ref>{{cite book|last=Wesley |first=John |title=Wesley's Notes on the Bible|publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library|language=en|isbn=9781610252577|page=570|quote=Therefore if a woman is not covered — If she will throw off the badge of subjection, let her appear with her hair cut like a man's. But if it be shameful far a woman to appear thus in public, especially in a religious assembly, let her, for the same reason, keep on her veil.|year=1987 }}</ref><ref name="Dunlap1994">{{cite web |last1=Dunlap |first1=David |title=Headcovering-A Historical Perspective |url=http://www.uplook.org/1994/11/headcovering-a-historical-perspective/ |publisher=Uplook Ministries |access-date=24 June 2019 |language=en |date=1 November 1994 |quote=Although women were allowed to preach in the Methodist ministry, the veil covering a woman’s head was required as a sign of her headship to Christ. Concerning the theological significance of the veil, Wesley wrote, “For a man indeed ought not to veil his head because he is the image and glory of God in the dominion he bears over the creation, representing the supreme dominion of God, which is his glory. But the woman is a matter of glory to the man, who has a becoming dominion over her. Therefore she ought not to appear except with her head veiled as a tacit acknowledgement of it.”}}</ref>

This Methodist doctrine continues to be taught (in varying degrees) in conservative Methodist denominations aligned with the [[holiness movement]], such as the [[Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches]] and the [[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]]. The 1858 Wesleyan Methodist [[Book of Discipline]] stated,
{{Blockquote|We would not only enjoin on all who fear God plain dress, but we would recommend to our preachers and people, according to Mr. Wesley's views expressed in his sermon on the inefficiency of Christianity, published but a few years before his death, and containing his matured judgment, distinguishing plainness—''Plainness'' which will publicly comment them to the maintenance of their Christian profession wherever they may be.<ref name="America1858">{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection, of America|year=1858|publisher=Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America|language=en |page=85}}</ref>}}
The teaching of Methodists aligned with that the holiness movement, where outward holiness is a testimony of a Christian believer's [[Regeneration (theology)|regeneration]], done in obedience to God.<ref name="Thornton2008">{{cite book | last1=Thornton | first1=Wallace Jr. |title=Behavioral Standards, Embourgeoisement, and the Formation of the Conservative Holiness Movement |date=2008 |publisher=Wesleyan Theological Society |pages=187–193 |language=English}}</ref> This teaching was inherited by [[Holiness Pentecostalism]] at its inception, incorporating this Wesleyan theology alongside Holiness Pentecostal's insistence on a [[third work of grace]].<ref name="Fudge2003">{{cite book |last1=Fudge |first1=Thomas A. |title=Christianity Without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism |date=2003 |publisher=Universal-Publishers |isbn=978-1-58112-584-9 |pages=14–16|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Goss |first1=Ethel E. |year=1977 |title=The Winds of God: The Story of the Early Pentecostal Movement (1901-1914) in the Life of Howard A. Goss |publisher=Word Aflame |isbn=978-0-912315-26-3 }}{{page needed|date=September 2017}}</ref>

Though the Finished Work Pentecostalism movement rejected the Wesleyan and Holiness Pentecostal doctrine of entire sanctification as an instantaneous, definite second work of grace, many early denominations maintained similar standards for their members. After World War II, however, these standards began to fade as they allowed for greater individual choice.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holm |first1=Randall |editor1-last=Riggs |editor1-first=Thomas |title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices |date=2015 |publisher=Gale |pages=278–286 |edition=2 |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&u=lom_umichanna&id=GALE%7CCX3602600033&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-GVRL&asid=09578ac1 |access-date=7 May 2025 |chapter=Christianity: Pentecostalism}}</ref> Despite this, Oneness Pentecostals have continued to retain the original Holiness Pentecostal practice of holiness standards.<ref name="Anderson2004"/><ref name="2012Stewart"/><ref name="Demarest2006"/>

====Teachings====
Oneness Pentecostals believe that a Christian's lifestyle should be characterized by [[sanctity|holiness]], which they view as both a result of salvation and as essential for ongoing spiritual growth.<ref name=fp123-4/> According to their theology, holiness begins at baptism, when the [[blood of Christ]] is believed to wash away all [[sin]], enabling the believer to stand before God as spiritually clean for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=Biblical Holiness |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/biblical-holiness/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=27 September 2009}}</ref> From that point onward, a lifestyle of separation from worldly behaviors and values is considered essential.<ref name="Bernard 1988 Holiness and Christian Living">{{cite book |chapter=Holiness and Christian Living |first=David |last=Bernard |title=A Handbook of Basic Doctrines |publisher=Word Aflame |year=1988 |pages=61–100 }}</ref>

They distinguish between inward, or moral, and outward, or practical, holiness. Moral holiness refers to righteous living, enabled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Practical holiness involves adherence to specific behavioral standards, which often include guidelines for dress, entertainment, and personal conduct.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=The Theology of Holiness |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/the-theology-of-holiness/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=27 September 2009}}</ref> Modesty in dress is emphasized as a biblical command as part of outward holiness, rooted in scriptures such as 1 Timothy 2:9 ("that women adorn themselves in modest apparel") and Philippians 4:5 ("Let your moderation be known unto all men").<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=Scriptural Teaching on Adornment and Dress |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/scriptural-teaching-on-adornment-and-dress-entire/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=26 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David |last2=Bernard |first2=Loretta |author1-link=David K. Bernard |title=In Search of Holiness |date=1981 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=0912315407 |page=38 |chapter=The Christian Life}}</ref> In response to contemporary fashion trends, many Oneness Pentecostal organizations have established explicit dress codes. These often reflect standards of the early 20th century and include expectations such as women refraining from wearing pants, cutting their hair, or using makeup and jewelry; and men maintaining short hair, avoiding facial hair, and wearing long-sleeved shirts and full-length pants.<ref name=fp123-4/><ref name=":15">{{Cite web |date=1977 |title=Holiness |url=https://upci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Holiness.pdf |website=United Pentecostal Church International |publisher=General Board of the United Pentecostal Church International}}</ref> Some churches also discourage or forbid watching secular television or movies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bernard |first1=David K. |title=Television and Movies |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/television-and-movies-entire/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=18 October 2015}}</ref>

Some critics from other Christian traditions view these expectations as [[Legalism (theology)|legalistic]].<ref>See, for instance, {{cite web|url=https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/oneness-pentecostalism/|title=Oneness Pentecostalism|first1=Tal|last1=Davis|access-date=9 June 2011|website=North American Mission Board}} as an example of a website in which Oneness Pentecostals are accused of this.</ref> Oneness Pentecostals respond by asserting that holiness is not a means of earning salvation, but a consequence of it. They argue that obedience flows from a transformed nature, motivated by love for God rather than obligation.<ref name="Bernard 1988 Holiness and Christian Living"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=L.J. |title=Holiness Standards: Part 1 The Christian's Lifestyle |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/holiness-standards-part-1-the-christians-lifestyle/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=27 September 2009}}</ref> While they affirm [[Christian liberty]], they contend that such liberty does not negate biblical commands for moral living, which they believe remain applicable today.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yohe |first1=Jim |title=True Holiness |url=https://www.apostolic.edu/true-holiness/ |website=Apostolic Information Service |publisher=[[Indiana Bible College]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=1 October 2009}}</ref>

==Notable adherents==<!-- Any unsourced additions may be subject to immediate removal. -->

*[[David K. Bernard]] – minister, theologian, general superintendent of the [[United Pentecostal Church International]], and founding president of [[Urshan University]] and [[Urshan Graduate School of Theology]]
*[[Irvin Baxter Jr.]] – minister, founder and president of [[Endtime Ministries]], seen on various Christian television channels<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/2012-10-18/news/apocalypse-now-ish-irvin-baxter-s-end-times-empire/2/|title=Apocalypse Now(ish): Irvin Baxter's End Times Empire|first1=Anna|last1=Merlan|date=18 October 2012|website=Dallas Observer|access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref>
*[[Kim Davis]] – clerk of [[Rowan County, Kentucky]], who gained national media attention after defying a federal court order requiring that she issue same-sex marriage licenses following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in ''[[Obergefell v. Hodges]]''<ref>{{cite news|last1=McFarlan Miller|first1=Emily|title=What's an Apostolic Christian and why is Kim Davis's hair so long?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/09/30/whats-an-apostolic-christian-and-why-is-kim-daviss-hair-so-long/|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|access-date=1 March 2018|date=30 September 2015}}</ref>
*[[Garfield Thomas Haywood]] – first presiding bishop of the [[Pentecostal Assemblies of the World]] (1925–1931); also the author of many tracts and composer of many gospel songs<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qq-kWdqNJVEC&pg=PT462|title= Century Of The Holy Spirit: 100 Years Of Pentecostal And Charismatic Renewal, 1901-2001|year=2001|author= Vinson Synan|publisher=[[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]]|isbn= 978-0785245506|page=462}}</ref>
*Pastor [[Gino Jennings]] – founder of the First Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Church of our Lord Jesus Christ: Growing and serving the community |url=https://www.phillytrib.com/religion/first-church-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-growing-and-serving-the-community/article_20102296-156d-593d-9362-e68eb6851cc2.html |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=The Philadelphia Tribune |date=13 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
*Bishop [[Robert C. Lawson]] – protege of Bishop G. T. Haywood and founder of the [[Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith]] from 1919 to his death in 1961<ref name=EAAR/>
*Bishop Sherrod C. Johnson – founder and chief apostle of the [[Church of the Lord Jesus Christ]] of the Apostolic Faith<ref name=EAAR>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxsmAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA591|title= Encyclopedia of African American Religions|editor=Murphy, Melton and Ward|isbn= 978-0815305002|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1993|page=591}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=v2yiyLLOj88C&pg=PA716|year=2010|title= Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|editor=Melton and Baumann|isbn= 978-1598842036 |page=716}}</ref>
*[[Hailemariam Desalegn]] – former [[Prime Minister of Ethiopia]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kweschn.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/ethiopia-first-lady-roman-tesfaye-profile/|title=Ethiopia: First Lady Roman Tesfaye (Profile)|work=Kweschn|access-date=5 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129151146/http://kweschn.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/ethiopia-first-lady-roman-tesfaye-profile/|archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> 
*[[Tommy Tenney]] – a minister and best-selling author<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/134-j15/peopleevents/people-events/374-some-christian-bookstores-pull-best-sellers-by-author-tommy-tenney|title=Some Christian Bookstores Pull Best Sellers by Author Tommy Tenney|publisher=[[Charisma (magazine)|Charisma]]|access-date=10 July 2014|archive-date=18 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118181354/https://www.charismamag.com/blogs/134-j15/peopleevents/people-events/374-some-christian-bookstores-pull-best-sellers-by-author-tommy-tenney|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Bishop [[J. Delano Ellis|Jesse Delano Ellis II]] – first presiding prelate of the [[United Pentecostal Churches of Christ]] and [[Pentecostal Churches of Christ]]; founder of the Joint College of Bishops<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bishop J. Delano Ellis II Biography|url=https://www.jdellisministries.com/about|access-date=20 September 2020|website=J.D. Ellis Ministries|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Henry Van Thio]] – former [[Vice President of Myanmar]]<ref>{{cite news|author=Aung Kyaw Min|url=http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/19820-nationalists-rally-against-both-vice-presidents.html|title=Nationalists rally against both vice presidents|date=5 April 2016|work=[[The Myanmar Times]]|access-date=9 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Aung Kyaw Min|url=http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/nay-pyi-taw/19565-ignore-anti-vp-campaign-urges-christian-group.html|title=Ignore anti-VP campaign, urges Christian group|date=21 March 2016|work=[[The Myanmar Times]]|access-date=9 April 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Nontrinitarianism]]
* [[List of Christian denominations#Oneness Pentecostalism|List of Oneness Pentecostal denominations]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last1=Reed |first1=David Arthur |title=Origins and Development of the Theology of Oneness Pentecostalism in the United States |journal=[[Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies]]|volume=1 |pages=31–7 |year=1979 |doi=10.1163/157007479X00046 }}
*{{cite journal |title=Oneness-Trinitarian Pentecostal Final Report, 2002-2007 |journal=[[Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies]] |date=2008 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=203–224 |doi=10.1163/157007408X346311}}
*{{cite book |last1=Burgos |first1= Michael R. Jr. |year=2020 |title= Against Oneness Pentecostalism: An Exegetical-Theological Critique  |publisher=3rd Ed., Church Militant Publications |isbn=9798602918410 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Fudge |first1=Thomas A. |year=2003 |title=Christianity Without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism |publisher=Universal Publishers |isbn=978-1-58112-584-9 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Boyd |first1=Gregory |year=1992 |title=Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity |publisher=Baker Books |isbn=978-1-4412-1496-6 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=David A. |chapter=Then and Now: The Many Faces of Global Oneness Pentecostalism |chapter-url={{Google books|HSwDBAAAQBAJ|page=52|plainurl=yes}} |pages=52–70 |editor1-first=Cecil M. |editor1-last=Robeck |editor2-first=Amos |editor2-last=Yong |year=2014 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-00709-3 }}

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{{New Religious Movements}}
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[[Category:Christian fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Oneness Pentecostalism| ]]
[[Category:Nature of Jesus Christ]]