I want to spend time on just one more false doctrine tonight at the Pentecostal movement,
and that is what's called the oneness doctrine, or the Jesus-only doctrine. Who's ever been
confronted with this? You may have been confronted with this and you just didn't know it. You'll
run into people, and here's what they'll say to you, and this is a sign that they're mixed
up in this. This is a sign that you're dealing with Pentecostals who believe that you can
lose your salvation and that you have to be baptized to be saved. Here's a sign. They'll
ask you this question. Now, have you been baptized in the name of Jesus, or were you
baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost? Who's ever been asked
that question before? Yeah, see, more hands are going up now. Yeah, I've been asked that
question. That's what this doctrine is. Let me tell you something. In turn, if you would,
let's turn to Matthew chapter 28, first of all. Matthew 28. Now, again, there are so
many different denominations of Pentecostals, I can't keep them all straight, but this is
a pretty prevalent doctrine. Not all Pentecostals believe this, but there are a lot of Pentecostals
that I run into who believe this sign. This is something that I run into when I'm not
talking to people, and it seems like increasingly lately, more people have been hitting me with
this. I don't know if this is a doctrine that's spreading, but basically it's a false doctrine
that denies the Trinity. They basically deny the Trinity, and you say, well, what's the
Trinity? Let me teach you biblically what the Trinity means and why we believe in it.
And you say, well, the word Trinity is not in the Bible, but this word is in the Bible,
three in one, and that's what Trinity means, three in one. And I believe that. And let
me expose this doctrine to you, because it's very important that we believe in the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And this Jesus-only doctrine, or the oneness doctrine, is a false
doctrine. Let me show you, first of all, in Matthew 28, verse number 17, the Bible says,
And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. Matthew 28, 18, And Jesus
came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Now, that seems pretty clear to me. That seems pretty simple
to me, right? Baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But this
oneness, this Pentecostal movement, this is what they'll say. Well, if you got baptized
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, you weren't even really baptized.
And many of them will even take it a step further and say, you're not even saved, because
to be saved, you've got to be baptized in the name of Jesus only. Only Jesus. Now, isn't
that kind of bizarre that the Bible tells us to do something, and then we go out and
do it, and then someone tells us that we're doing it wrong? Like, because who's ever been
here when we baptize people? Put up your hand. You know, when we baptize people. Yeah. You
know, because thank God, you're sitting at a church where people actually get saved,
where we actually go out and get people saved, and we baptize people every chance we get.
And we baptize them in the swimming pool, and dunk them under water, okay? Just like
they did in the Bible, they'd use a swimming pool, but they'd use a river or a lake or
whatever they had. Okay, so, have you noticed that when we baptize people, we say, I baptize
you, my brother, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.
We baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is why we
do that, okay? Because that's what God said to do. He told us, go do this, in the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And they'll say, no, that's wrong. You must
baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus, because Acts 2 38 says be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ. Now let me ask you something. If you're baptized in the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are you baptized in the name of Jesus? Is
it? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't He the Son? Okay, so wouldn't that include
the Lord Jesus? So does that mean, so did Peter just baptize in the name of Jesus, but
not the Father, and not the Holy Ghost? Amen. No, this is nonsense. This is just crazy.
You say, best guess, why don't you just spend time on your sermon on this? There are a lot
of people who believe this, but the main reason I'm spending time on it though is because
I want to talk about the root of where that comes from. Because yeah, that is crazy, to
say, well, you're wrong if you obey Matthew 28, what Jesus said. We should follow what
Peter did, not what Jesus said. Well, that doesn't make any sense. I'm going to go with
what Jesus told us to do, then just an example of what someone did. You know, there were
other people in the Bible who had two wives. I'm not going to go have two wives, because
Jesus said one wife. Okay, now, was Peter wrong to baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus?
No. But I'm just saying, if there were a difference, which there isn't, but if there
were a difference, then I would go with what Jesus clearly said, than just what someone
did. But there's not a difference anyway, because if you're baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus, guess what, that's the name of the Son. So there's no issue there. We
don't see an instance of what Peter said while he dunked him under the wall. He's just telling
people, hey, get baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, the guy you just crucified. Repent
and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. He's not saying, you know, so that's what
I have to say as I dunk you. And if they didn't say it in the name of Jesus when they dunked
you, you're not really baptized. No. It's in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost. Now, let me tell you something. If somebody asks you that question, beware.
You may just think, oh, this isn't silly, it doesn't even matter. Well, you're right,
it is very silly. I'll be the first one to admit that, okay. But the reason it matters
is because you're talking to somebody who doesn't believe in the Trinity, because they
actually believe that the Trinity does not exist. They believe that basically there's
just Jesus, and He is the Father, and He is the Holy Ghost, and frankly, that's just a
false doctrine. That just isn't true. Jesus is the Son. Now, is Jesus God? Yes, of course.
Amen. Now, here's the doctrine that we get to go to John chapter 1. John chapter 1. And
while you're in John chapter 1, I'm going to read for you for a second time from 1 John
5.7. In 1 John 5.7, the Bible says, for there are three, how many? Three that bear record
in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and watch this, and these three are
one. Now, I believe that there are three that are one. You say, well, that doesn't make
any sense. Okay, that's what the Bible says. I believe it. Whether my pea brain can comprehend
it fully or not is not the point. I believe that these three are one. I believe that the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost represent one God in three parts there, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That's what I believe. I don't believe in three gods. The
Bible clearly says in 1 Timothy 2.5, there is one God. But the Bible's also clear that
there's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. These three are one. Now, there are
two false doctrines. False doctrine number one is the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses,
who will say, these three are not one. Right? They'll say that Jesus Christ is a separate,
created being, created by God. Separate, not one. So there's the one that says, these three
are not one. That's the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Then there's the Pentecostals that say,
this one is not three. And guess what? They're both wrong. To say that there's not three is a
lie. And to say that there's not one is a lie. It's three and one. And I don't think that that's
really that complicated of a doctrine to understand. Now, let me make it a way where it
might help you understand it, if you're trying to wrap your mind around this.
I am made of three parts, the body, the soul, and the spirit. Right? But that all makes up
one person. We're not talking about three different people up here. We're not talking
about three different Stephen Andersons. We're talking one Stephen Anderson,
a body, a soul, and a spirit. All three parts making up one person. Now,
can the body and the soul be separated? That's called dying. Right? As the body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without works is then also. So when my body dies, my spirit departs
the body. So are these two separate things? Or are they the same? Just a one, a oneness,
body only. I believe in body only. I don't believe in the soul. I don't believe in the
spirit. It's just body. Well, that doesn't make sense because when somebody dies, there's a
believer in Christ, their body is buried. But is their soul buried? No, their soul is in heaven.
Their spirit is in heaven. And so there's obviously two separate things going on here.
Yay, three, because there's the soul, the spirit, and the body. Part of that is in heaven. Part of
that is buried in the earth. Would it be accurate to say Stephen Anderson is buried in the earth?
If I were, yes, because that's where my body is. And that body represents Stephen Anderson.
I mean, it's not anyone else. My wife, I come and identify the body, not to be morbid or anything,
but pull back the seat and say, yes, this is my husband. That's me. But it's not all of me. It's
just the body. The soul and spirit are up in heaven. Same thing with God. God is in three,
just like the three are one. Spirit, soul, and body make up one person. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
make up one God. And there was even a separation that took place where the Father is up in heaven,
right? The body's down here on earth, Jesus Christ. The Son was down here physically on this earth.
There was a time when Jesus Christ's soul was in hell. His body was in the tomb. The Father is up
in heaven. It's all the same person. So I don't think anybody has a problem understanding the
separation of soul and body and spirit at death. Everybody understand that? So how can we not
understand that God is made up in a similar format of basically a Father, Son, and Holy Ghost that
make up one person? Okay. So, you know, again, we may not fully comprehend it, but that's just
because we're human, and God's on a different level than us. But we still believe it, don't we?
Okay. So let's look at some proof on this. Let's see some proof that the Trinity is real.
First of all, we saw 1 John 5, 7. These three are one. Look at John 1, 1. The Bible says,
in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Now, down in verse 14, it says the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and it tells us clearly
that the Word is Jesus Christ. So the Bible says, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. Now, heresy number one over here, the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses,
they say the Word was not God. Heresy number two over here, the Pentecostals say the Word was not
with God. It just was God. Okay? We believe that the Word was with God and was God.
Everybody getting this? Okay. Because it's the Trinity. It's three in one. Okay. Let me give you
just a ton of scriptures on this. First of all, defeating this heresy is pretty easy. The one that
says that Jesus is not God, that's pretty easy. Hebrews 1, 8, put unto the Son he saved. Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever. Has to call him Jesus God. Great is the mystery of God. Verse
10 to 3, 16. God was manifested in the flesh. Okay? The Word was God. The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us. Jesus Christ said, hey, before Abraham was, I am. He's basically calling himself
by that name that God called himself in the burning bush, I am. He's saying, they said,
well, you're not even 50 years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? He says, hey, before Abraham was,
I am. We see in the Old Testament clearly where it says, you know, that in Bethlehem,
his goings forth were of old from everlasting. Jesus Christ has always existed. Hebrews 7, 3.
He had no beginning of days nor end of life. Okay? So I'm not going to spend a lot of time proving
to you that Jesus is God. I've done all the sermons where I show all the scriptures that
show that Jesus is God. Not just the Son of God as in a created being, a separate being,
totally separate. No. He is God. Thomas fell down before him and said, my Lord and my God.
And Jesus looked at him and said, blessed art thou, Thomas, because thou hast believed.
Okay? But over here, how do we defeat this doctrine that says, well, there's no such
thing as the Trinity, because here's what they say. Jesus is the Father.
Now, Jesus Christ is the Son. Okay? There's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They're all
one. They're all God. But there is still the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Just as
the body and the soul are not the same thing, the Father and the Son are not the same thing.
Let me prove it to you. And don't turn to these, because I just want to blow through these.
Genesis 1.26 is the first place we see this. The oneness, this oneness, Jesus only doctrine goes
out the window in Genesis 1. I mean, you don't have to get that far reading before you see that
this isn't true. Genesis 1.26 says, and God said. Now, is and God said, is that singular or plural?
And God said. Singular, right? God said. It didn't say God's with an S, right? It's just singular.
And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. Now, is it us, our, our? Is that
singular or plural? Yeah, because you got the one, and you got the three and one. Okay, because he's
talking plural. Let us make man in our image. He says a little bit later in Genesis 11,
just 10 chapters later. Go to let us go down, and there confound their language that they may not
understand one another's speech. Isaiah 6.8, also I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me. And so the Bible
uses a plural. There's another verse in Hosea where he uses a plural about himself. God said,
let us make man in our image. So that's clear, but let me give you some New Testament verses
that prove, basically these are verses where we see all three parts of the Godhead, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost in one verse. Now we saw it in Matthew 28, where he said,
baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. We saw it in First John 5, 7.
Sit back and listen to these. Bible verses that show all three members of the Godhead in a single
verse. So if the oneness doctrine were true, these verses wouldn't make any sense. It says,
and Jesus when he was baptized, Matthew 3.16, went up straight way out of the water. And lo,
the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God, is now your Holy Spirit,
descending like a dove and lighting upon him, and lo, a voice from heaven saying,
this is my beloved Son in whom I have well pleased. So we see Jesus being baptized,
the Holy Ghost descending upon him, and the Father saying, this is my beloved Son.
So we see all three in that one passage.
Matthew 28, we already talked about. Luke chapter 1, verse 35, and the angel answered and said to
her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee.
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
So there we see the Holy Ghost, the highest, and his Son, Jesus Christ. We see John 3.34,
for he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure
unto him. That's talking about Jesus Christ being given the Holy Spirit by the Father,
three distinct persons. John 14.26, but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you of all things, and bring all things
to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14.26. John 14.16, and I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the
Spirit of truth. So we see Jesus saying that the Father is going to send the Holy Ghost. We see all
three in one verse, and all these verses I'm reading. Acts 2.32, this Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses, therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see in here.
Romans 8.11, but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that
dwelleth in you. 2 Corinthians 13.14, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. Galatians 4.6, and because ye are sons,
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Have a Father. 1 Peter 1.2,
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit,
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. So right there we have the Father,
the Spirit, Jesus Christ. I mean, this doctrine goes on and on and on and on throughout the Bible.
So you're wrong to say Jesus is the Father. There is no Father. It's just Jesus is his own Father.
No, Jesus Christ is the Son. There's the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. These three are one.
So saying that the Father does not exist or that the Holy Ghost is just Jesus, the Holy Ghost is
not Jesus, except for that they're both God. And you say, well, this is just a word game. This is
just a semantic. Then why did God have so many verses explaining it to us? Why did I just read
20 verses telling us about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost? It doesn't matter. Apparently
it does matter that these three are one. And so beware of the doctrine of attacking the Trinity.
Beware of those who say Jesus Christ is not God. That's blasphemy. That's denying the Lord. Beware
of those who say, well, there is no Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It's just Jesus only. And if you're
baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that's wrong. It has to be Jesus only.
That's a false doctrine.