What is Modalism?
The belief that God the Father is the Son (Jesus) rather than the Father and the Son being distinct persons is generally called Modalism, also known as Sabellianism.
Modalism teaches that:
God is one Person, not three.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are simply different modes or manifestations of the one God.
So, Jesus is understood to be the Father revealed in human form.
A modern movement that holds a similar view is United Pentecostal Church International and other Oneness Pentecostal churches. They reject the traditional doctrine of the Trinity.
By contrast:
Trinitarian Christianity teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons who share one divine nature.
Other groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, believe the Father and the Son are distinct but do not believe Jesus is God in the same sense as the Father.
Why is Modalism a false faith?
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
— Ephesians 5:11
The Oneness Pentecostal faith correctly rejects the doctrine that God is three persons, commonly known as the Trinity.
The traditional Trinity doctrine teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons who together are one God. This doctrine originated in post-apostolic church history and has become the foundational confession of faith for much of mainstream Christianity.
However, although the Oneness Pentecostal movement rejects the Trinity, it has, in my view, fallen into a different error by teaching that the Father Himself is the Son. In contrast, Trinitarians correctly deny that the Father is the Son, even though they teach that both are equally God.
This leaves two opposing doctrines, yet both, I believe, fail to present the simple biblical relationship between the Father and His Son.
The Scriptures consistently teach that the Father is not the Son. Jesus Himself declared that He is the Son of God, not the Father. He spoke of "My Father" throughout His ministry (John 10:36; John 20:17), and in prayer He addressed the Father as "the only true God" (John 17:3).
When Scripture is read in its context, without forcing later theological systems upon it, the message is remarkably simple. We do not need advanced education or theological degrees to understand it. The Bible nowhere teaches that Jesus is the Father, nor does it teach that the Father and the Son are the same individual.
Consider just one example.
John 14:11
Berean Literal Bible
"Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe because of the works themselves."
Notice carefully what Jesus did say:
"I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me."
Now notice what Jesus did not say:
"I am the Father, and the Father is Me."
The distinction is obvious.
Jesus speaks of:
- The Father.
- Himself, the Son.
The Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father. This describes perfect unity, agreement, love, and purpose—not that they are the same person.
Throughout Scripture, God the Father never says that He is His Son.
Likewise, Jesus never says that He is the Father.
When the Bible is allowed to speak for itself, from Genesis to Revelation, there is no passage that plainly teaches that the Father is the Son.
Instead, the Bible repeatedly teaches that God sent His Son.
John 3:16 declares that God gave His only begotten Son.
John 20:31 explains that the Gospel was written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
If the Father were literally the Son, then these statements lose their natural meaning. The repeated biblical language of the Father sending, giving, loving, and glorifying His Son would become difficult to understand.
The apostle John wrote:
1 John 2:22
"Who is the liar except the one denying that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one denying the Father and the Son."
The following verse continues:
1 John 2:23
"Everyone denying the Son does not have the Father. The one confessing the Son has the Father also."
These verses consistently distinguish between the Father and the Son.
Likewise, Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 8:6
"Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him."
Again, Scripture distinguishes between the one God, the Father, and the one Lord, Jesus Christ.
For these reasons, I believe neither the traditional doctrine of the Trinity nor the Oneness Pentecostal understanding accurately represents the consistent testimony of Scripture concerning the Father and the Son.
My encouragement is not that anyone should simply accept my conclusions, but that every Christian should carefully examine the Scriptures for themselves, testing every doctrine by the Word of God.
May we always seek the truth with humility, gentleness, love, and respect toward those with whom we disagree, giving thanks to God through Jesus Christ, our High Priest, Mediator, and Advocate.
I am Simon Brown, and I hope this article encourages you to do exactly what Jesus said:
"Seek, and you will find."
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