Oneness Pentecostals are sometimes called Jesus Only, though the label can give a misleading impression of what we actually believe. We believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and we believe the fullness of God is revealed in Jesus Christ. The disagreement is not over whether the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are biblical, but over how Scripture describes the relationship between them and the one God.
What Does “Jesus Only” Mean?
The expression “Jesus Only” has been used in different ways, and that has created considerable misunderstanding about what Oneness Pentecostals actually believe.
Sometimes the term is used to suggest that Oneness Pentecostals deny the Father or the Holy Spirit and believe that only Jesus exists. That is not an accurate description of our faith. We believe everything the Bible teaches about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Our question is not whether the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are biblical. They clearly are. The question is how Scripture reveals them in relation to the one true God.
The foundation of biblical monotheism is stated clearly in Deuteronomy 6:4:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”
Oneness Pentecostals believe there is one God and that this one God has revealed Himself to humanity, supremely and fully, in Jesus Christ.
Do Oneness Pentecostals Believe in the Father?
Yes. Jesus repeatedly spoke about the Father, and Oneness Pentecostals absolutely believe in the Father.
Jesus said in John 5:37, “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.” The Father is not imaginary, nor do we eliminate the Father from Scripture.
We understand the Father as God in His eternal, invisible Spirit. Jesus said in John 4:24 that “God is a Spirit.” First Timothy 1:17 describes God as eternal and invisible, while Jeremiah 23:24 declares that He fills heaven and earth.
We do not believe, however, that the Father is one God while Jesus is another God beside Him. Jesus Himself said:
“I and my Father are one.” — John 10:30
Do Oneness Pentecostals Believe in the Holy Spirit?
Yes. We believe in the Holy Spirit because the Bible teaches the reality and work of the Holy Spirit throughout the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit is not merely an impersonal force or religious influence. He is the Spirit of God working in and through believers. In Acts 5:3–4, lying to the Holy Ghost is identified with lying to God.
Romans 8:9 uses the expressions “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of Christ” in the same passage. For the Oneness believer, the Holy Spirit is God’s own Spirit—not another God alongside Him.
What Do Oneness Pentecostals Believe About Jesus Christ?
This is where the heart of Oneness theology becomes especially important.
We believe Jesus Christ is genuinely human, but we also believe that God was truly manifested in Him. First Timothy 3:16 declares:
“God was manifest in the flesh.”
Paul gives an even stronger statement in Colossians 2:9:
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
Notice that Paul does not describe Jesus as containing only a portion of deity. He says that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ.
Jesus is therefore not merely one part of God. He is the visible revelation of the invisible God.
Colossians 1:15 calls Christ “the image of the invisible God,” and Jesus told Philip in John 14:9:
“He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
This does not mean that Jesus Christ was not truly human. It means that in Jesus Christ, the invisible God made Himself known to humanity.
Why Did Jesus Pray to the Father?
This is one of the most common questions asked about Oneness Pentecostal belief.
If Jesus is God manifested in flesh, why did Jesus pray?
The answer is found in the genuine humanity of Jesus Christ. Scripture presents Jesus as both truly divine and truly human.
Hebrews 5:7 specifically speaks of Jesus praying “in the days of his flesh.” As a real man, Jesus experienced hunger, weariness, suffering, temptation, sorrow, and prayer.
His prayers do not require us to believe in two Gods. They demonstrate the reality of the Incarnation: God truly came in human flesh.
The humanity of Christ could pray, suffer, obey, and die. The deity dwelling in Him remained eternal and divine.
Why Do Oneness Pentecostals Emphasize the Name of Jesus?
Oneness Pentecostals place great emphasis on the name of Jesus because the New Testament places tremendous emphasis on His name.
The angel told Joseph concerning Mary’s child:
“Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21
Acts 4:12 says:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Philippians 2:10–11 declares that every knee will bow at the name of Jesus and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Our emphasis on Jesus is therefore not an attempt to eliminate the Father or Holy Spirit. It is an acknowledgment of the extraordinary place Scripture itself gives to the name and person of Jesus Christ.
Why Do Apostolic Pentecostals Baptize in Jesus’ Name?
Another reason Oneness Pentecostals have sometimes been called “Jesus Only” is our practice of baptizing believers in the name of Jesus Christ.
Jesus commanded His disciples in Matthew 28:19 to baptize “in the name” of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
When the apostles carried out that command, the book of Acts repeatedly records baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Acts 2:38 — Peter commanded repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Acts 8:16 — believers had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
- Acts 10:48 — Peter commanded the Gentile household to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
- Acts 19:5 — believers at Ephesus were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
We therefore baptize in Jesus’ name because we believe the apostles understood and obeyed the command Jesus gave them.
This practice does not mean that we reject the Father or Holy Ghost. Rather, we understand Jesus to be the revealed saving name through which God has made Himself known to us.
Are Oneness Pentecostals the Same as “Modalists”?
The word modalism is sometimes applied broadly to Oneness Pentecostals, but historical theological labels do not always accurately describe what modern Apostolic believers actually teach.
Oneness theology does not teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are meaningless names or temporary disguises. We affirm everything Scripture says about the Father, the genuine Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.
At the same time, we maintain the Bible’s repeated insistence that God is one.
Ephesians 4:4–6 speaks of:
- one Spirit,
- one Lord,
- one faith,
- one baptism, and
- one God and Father of all.
Our goal is not to force Scripture into a slogan but to preserve both truths the Bible plainly teaches: the reality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the absolute oneness of God.
So Are Oneness Pentecostals Really “Jesus Only”?
No—not in the sense that the expression is commonly understood today.
We do not believe “only Jesus exists” while denying the Father and Holy Spirit.
We believe:
- There is one God.
- We believe in the Father.
- We believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
- We believe in the Holy Spirit.
- We believe Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh.
- We believe all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Jesus Christ.
- We believe salvation is found through Jesus Christ.
- We baptize in the name of Jesus Christ because that is the apostolic pattern recorded in Acts.
For that reason, “Jesus Only” is not an adequate description of Oneness Pentecostal theology. A better description is the biblical Oneness of God.
What Does the Bible Actually Teach About God?
Ultimately, labels are less important than Scripture.
Rather than beginning with the question, “Are these people Jesus Only?” we encourage every sincere Bible student to ask deeper questions:
- How many Gods does Scripture say there are?
- Who is the Father?
- Who is Jesus Christ?
- What does it mean that God was manifested in the flesh?
- Why does Scripture say the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ?
- How did the apostles baptize believers?
- What did the apostles preach about the name of Jesus?
Our desire is not simply to defend a denominational label. Our desire is to believe, preach, and obey the whole counsel of God.
The issue is not a slogan. The issue is faithfully understanding and proclaiming the one true God revealed to humanity through Jesus Christ.
Read the Complete Bible Study
For a more detailed examination of these Scriptures, read or download our free booklet “JESUS ONLY? – NOT REALLY… Answering a Common Misunderstanding About Oneness Pentecostals.”
