Defining the Oneness of God by Carl Franklin	Print Page Chapter Links
Introduction

Those who believe in the Bible's teachings think that God is "one." But what does this mean? Is God "one" in the sense that there is literally only one Being on the throne in heaven listening to your prayers? Or is the universe run by a 3-in-1 God who has three personalities --- Father, Son and Holy Spirit --- that can be manifested either alone or in conjuction with the other personalities? Or is what the Bible calls God two distinct yet perfectly harmonious Beings, God the Father and Jesus Christ? Or could it be . . . ?

This paper explains the various humanly devised theories and teachings concerning God's nature and what the Bible actually teaches about the Godhead. After reading this research you will be able to clearly understand the true Scriptural definition of what God is.

The oneness of God is undeniably revealed in the Scriptures. Both Old Testament and New Testament contain numerous references to God's oneness. But while all professing Christians believe in the oneness of God, they are irreconcilably divided over the actual meaning of His oneness.

Millions of fundamental evangelical Christians have adopted the view that God's oneness means that God is literally "one" in number, not realizing that this teaching stems from ancient philosophy rather than from Scripture. As one author who espouses this belief states,

"In reference to God, oneness means the state of being absolutely and indivisibly one, or one in numerical value....Oneness (capitalized) [is used] to mean the doctrine that God is absolutely one in numerical value, that Jesus is the one God, and that God is not a plurality of persons. Thus Oneness is a modern term basically equivalent to modalism [of the ancient philosophers] or modalistic monarchianism" (Bernard, The Oneness of God, pp. 321-322).