Modalist/Oneness Initial Debate Affirmation

Proposition to be affirmed:

Resolved, the Scriptures teach that God eternally exists as one self aware Spirit-being called the Father; that Jesus of Nazareth is the Father incarnate.

Introduction

❡1. REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,: I greet you in Jesus’ name; that name which is above every name in Heaven or in Earth. Likewise I wish to greet those readers that will follow this debate in real time and those who will read these words in the future; it is my prayer that in these pages you will discover Truth. 

❡2.  I give you honor as an equal partner in this discussion, and respect the fact that you are willing to engage in this polemic endeavor; few, today, are willing to do so. I trust that throughout these exchanges we can look to the Scriptures with an open heart and mind; knowing, as we both do, that our personal opinions amount to very little when compared to God’s Word. I engage here, not to win a victory over an opponent, but to enter into a form of Bible study that will bring freedom to the spirit. 

Definition of Proposition: 

❡3.   Permit me to open this debate with a definition of my proposition: 

“Resolved, the Scriptures teach that God eternally exists as one self aware Spirit-being called the Father; that Jesus of Nazareth is the Father incarnate.”

“Resolved”: Firmly determined to prove.

“the Scriptures….”: By Scriptures, I mean the entire Bible, consisting of both Old and New Testaments – all 66 books. 

“Teach…”: By “teach”, I mean: to instruct by precept, example, or inference. 

“God”: The creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

“eternally exists”: Has existence from before time in a way that continues or lasts forever; permanently.
“one”: The lowest cardinal number; single; just one as opposed to any more or to none at all. 

“self aware”: Having conscious knowledge of one's own character and feelings.

“Spirit-being”: Nonphysical self-conscious entity.

“the Father”: The progenitor and sustainer of all things living and nonliving, seen and unseen.

“Jesus of Nazareth”: The central figure of the Christian Faith; Mary’s baby; who was born in Bethlehem, crucified by Pontus Pilate at the behest of the Jews, arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven and is coming again to judge the quick and the dead. 

“incarnate”: Tabernacled in flesh; enfleshed.

❡4.  My Questions:    To be answered in the Negative’s first paper per debate rules:

1. In Revelation 4:2 how many persons did John see on the throne in Heaven?

2. According to 1 Corinthians 8:6 who is the only God?

3. According to John 14:10 what “person” of the Godhead dwells in Jesus Christ?

My Intentions: 

❡5.  Here, I will declare my intention: I will prove my proposition by Three Infallible Proofs: 

1. That God is but one self-aware being; 
2. That the only God is the Father; 
3. That Jesus is God; thereby, showing Jesus to be the Father incarnate; 

Infallible Proof #1: 

God is but one self-aware being. 

❡6.  The Gatekeeper of the true Faith is the Shema: Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

To prove this one LORD to be a solitary being, I offer here three passages that I will call: God in the First Person, God in the Second Person and God in the Third Person. Of course I have grammar in view.

❡7.  God in the First Person: Deuteronomy 32:39, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me, I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” 

❡8.  Here the spokesman is Yahweh (Deuteronomy 32:19), Who alone is the Most Hight (Psalm 83:18). Who speaks of Himself (demonstrating His self-awareness) in the first person as a single Being. 

1. “I”—(Hebrew: aniy) first person singular personal pronoun. THE SPEAKER ADDRESSES HIMSELF AS A SINGLE PERSON.
2. “He” — (Hebrew: huw) third person masculine singular personal pronoun. THE SPEAKER ADDRESSES HIMSELF AS ONE PERSON.
3. “With me” — (Heb immade) it is the preposition ‘immad’ suffixed with the first person singular personal pronoun. The personal pronouns in an abbreviated form are affixed to nouns, prepositions, etc, to express the genitive and objective cases. THEREFORE, THE OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION IS A SINGLE PERSON. 
4. “My hand” — (Hebrew: meyade) it is the noun “yad” suffixed with the first person singular possessive pronoun. THE HAND WAS THE POSSESSION OF ONE PERSON. 

❡9.  All the verbs of this verse are in the first person singular form. In Hebrew the verb must agree with its subject in number and gender.  THUS, THE DIVINE PERSON, IN THIS VERSE, SPOKE OF HIMSELF AS A SINGLE PERSON AND STATED THAT NO OTHER PERSON OF DEITY EXISTED.

❡10.  God in the Second Person: Isaiah 37:16, “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.” 

❡11.  Here, the speaker is Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:15) who addresses Yahweh in the second person. Yahweh is being addressed as though He is one person, and the prophet speaks of Yahweh’s singleness. 

1. “Dwellest” — (Hebrew: yashad) masculine singular active participle “The dwelling one;” ONE PERSON IS IN VIEW. 
2. “Thou art the God”  —  (Hebrew: attah huw ha-elohim) attah: second person masculine singular personal pronoun; huw: third person masculine singular pronoun (himself). “YOU ARE GOD HIMSELF” ONE PERSON. 
3. “Thou alone” —  (Hebrew: labadaha) from the root “bab” which means: separately, alone, solitary. Hezekiah was speaking to one person and said that one person was the solitary God separate from all others. 
4. “Thou hast made” — (Hebrew: attah awseta) attah: second person masculine singular personal pronoun; awseta: perfect second person masculine singular form of “asah.” The Hebrew actually reads: “You (second person masculine singular) have made. ”ONE PERSON DID THE MAKING. 

Hezekiah extols God as one person Who is God, without anyone else sharing in the deity. 

❡12.  God in the Third Person: 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, ...” 

❡13.  In this text God is spoken about to others. The speaker is the Apostle Paul, who speaks of God in terms of strict singleness. 

1. “God” — (Greek: theo). Dative masculine singular form of the noun meaning a deity. The singular noun indicates ONE PERSON. 
2. “Immortal” — (Greek: apharto). Dative masculine singular form of the adjective “aphthartos;” which means “incorruptible”, “immortal”, “undying”, etc.... 
3. “Invisible” —(greek: aorato). Dative masculine singular form of the adjective “aoratos” which means: literally unseen. 
4. “Only” — (Greek: mono). Dative masculine singular form of “monos;” which means: without accompaniment, alone, single existent, sole, only, lone, solitary. This adjective is singular because it modifies ONE PERSON. The adjective agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case. THE SINGULAR NUMBER OF THE ADJECTIVE AND OF THE NOUN IT MODIFIES EMPHASIZES THAT THIS GOD IS ONE PERSON. 
5. “King” — (Greek: Basilei). Dative masculine singular form of the noun “basileus;” singular number indicates ONE PERSON. 

Paul speaks of God as though He was one person and the ONLY PERSON OF DEITY. 

❡14.  At this point I will consider my Infallible Proof #1 established. 

Infallible Proof #2. 

That the only God is the Father.

❡15.  Paul taught that New Testament Christianity rests on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:20). With that in view we will look to accomplish my second Infallible Proof with the testimony of the prophets, apostles, and Jesus Himself. 

• ❡16.  The witness of the Prophets: Isaiah 63:16 “Thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer;”  Malachi 2:10 “Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?” According to the prophets, Yahweh alone is our Father. And He alone is the One God. 
• ❡17.  The witness of the apostles: 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But unto us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him:” Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”  According to the Apostles, the Father is the one only God.
• ❡18.  The witness of Jesus Himself: John 17:1, 3 “These words spake Jesus, and lift up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father ... this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,...”  According to the testimony of Jesus Himself, the Father is the one only true God.

❡19.  We now consider our Infallible Proof #2 as established from the prophets, apostles and Jesus Christ. 

❡20.  So, God, then, is One Self-Aware Being (Infallible Proof #1); that One Being is the Father (Infallible Proof #2). 

Infallible Proof #3. 

That Jesus is God; thereby, showing Jesus to be the Father incarnate.

❡21.  Here, we move to the crux of the debate: namely, showing Jesus to be God. In my first two “Infallible Proofs” it has been established by Holy Scripture that God is one self-aware being, Who is the Father. Now, if it is established by the same Holy Scripture that Jesus is God, it must follow that He is the Father incarnate. So, the question is asked: Does the Bible teach that Jesus of Nazareth is God? I submit to you that the answer is in the affirmative; and what follows will demonstrate that truth.

(❡22.  It must be stated here, somewhat parenthetically, that it is not our purpose to prove the humanity of Jesus, although we surely believe he was just as much human as though he were not God. The Dual Nature of Jesus is not at issue in our proposition. That is another debate.)  

❡23.  Again, a biblical way to proceed is to establish our teaching on the sure foundation of the prophets, apostles, and Jesus Christ the chief cornerstone. 

• ❡24.  The witness of the prophets: Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” ~ The One who would come as the Messiah (the Christ) would be “the mighty God” and “The everlasting Father.” Now, we know that there is but one God who is the Father (Infallible Proofs #’s 1 and 2); the Prophet Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would be Him. / Zechariah 12:4, 10 “In that day, saith the LORD (Yahweh)... they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,…” ~ According to Zechariah the one pierced would be Yahweh the Father.  /  Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” ~ According to the prophet Micah, the Messiah (Who would be born in Bethlehem) would be God. For Who else would have existence from eternity past? There can be but one Eternal! 
• ❡25.  The witness of the apostles:  Paul writes: Romans 9:5 “Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” (NIV); Titus 2:13 “while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” (NIV);  1 Timothy 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory”;  Colossians 2:2-3, 9 “attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ... For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (NASB).  ~ According to the Great Apostle Paul, Jesus is: “God over all”, “our great God and Savior”, “God … manifested in the flesh”, “God’s mystery” and “the fulness of Deity … in bodily form”.  /  John writes: 1 John 5:20 “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (NIV).  ~ The Apostle John tells us that Jesus “is the true God and eternal life”.  /  Jude writes: Jude 25 “To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” ~ According to the Apostle Jude, Jesus is “the only wise God our Savior”.   /   The Apostle Thomas addresses Jesus as: “My Lord and my God.” ⏤John 20:28
• ❡26.  The witness of Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone: Here we see what Jesus said about Himself.  John 8:58 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” — (cf Exodus 3:14). / John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”  /  John 14:9 “Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long a time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father?  (AKJV) /  Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (NIV). 

❡26a.   Now, here, we have read the testimony of Jesus concerning Himself. Jesus said that He was the Alpha and the Omega; meaning, He is all. Nothing before or after. If that was not enough He goes on to declare Himself the “Almighty.” The Greek word John uses for Jesus’ verbiage is “pantokrator” (Strong’s #G3841), the all-ruling, as absolute universal sovereign, Almighty, Omnipotent. The word is superlative – there can be only One. (I have the English dictionary open before me as I write; beside the word Almighty is only one definition and that definition has but one word: “God.”)

❡26b.   When Philip wanted to see the Father (John 14:8),  Jesus rebuked Philip for not knowing that He was the Father (v9). Then Jesus announces to the Jews that He and the Father were one (John 10:30). They did not misunderstand Him, even if most do today. They, the Jews, took up stones to stone Jesus because He made Himself God. They got it! 

The evidence is overwhelming: Jesus was self-conscious of being Father God. 

❡27.  The New Testament opens and closes with a declaration of the deity of Jesus: 

From Matthew 1:23 He is called Emmanuel, “God with us.” 

From Revelation 22:6, 16, 20 Jesus is declared to be the “Lord God Almighty of the holy prophets.” 

The Father Incarnate:

❡28.  In the Godhead debate the crux of the entire matter has been: Which person of deity was actually incarnate in Mary’s firstborn? Those who embrace the concept of the Trinity, and believe in three god-persons, argue for the Incarnation of the second person of their Godhead, namely, God the Son. However, the Hebrew prophets, the apostles, and even Christ Himself declare the Incarnate One to be none other than the person of Father God - Who is the only person of Deity. This evidence is all conclusive, in that the holy Scripture states the church’s foundation to be the selfsame three witnesses: apostles, prophets and Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:20). 

❡29.  From the textual evidence examined in this First Affirmative, the following truths are evident: 

1. ❡29a.  From Colossians 2:2-3, 9 we are told that Jesus Christ Himself is the revealed Mystery of the Father, and that in Him (the physical body of Jesus) the fullness of all that God is (most especially the Father) dwells. 
2. ❡29b.  From 1 Timothy 3:16 we discover that God (“God” is an appellation throughout the New Testament for the Father - approx. 1369 times) was manifest in the flesh of Christ. The same apostle, who wrote this to Timothy, wrote to the Corinthians: “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Of course, this sheds light on just how Matthew could say that Jesus was “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). 
3. ❡29c.  From the prophet Isaiah, we learned that Jesus was not only the Mighty God, but, also, “The Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6). Unless some become confused, and say Jesus is a father because sons and daughters were born to Him, and, therefore, He should not be confused with Father God, the first  person of the Trinity, we point out the error of such reasoning. First, if true, there was a time when He was not the Father. This would be at odds with the text which shows that the Messiah was the Father of eternity (Hebrew). Secondly, the prophet Malachi writes that there is but one Father (Malachi 2:10). Therefore, if it is true that Jesus is another Father, apart from Father God, that would make one more Father then the holy Scripture allows. The thought is an impossible one to contemplate. 

❡30.  We learned from my Infallible Proofs #1 and #2 that the Father is the one only God. Further, we have learned from this Infallible Proof #3 that Jesus is God: therefore, we must acknowledge Him (in His Deity) to be the Father. 

Conclusion

❡31.  So, then, by these Three Infallible Proofs  our proposition is proven:

1. That God is but one self-aware being; 
2. That only the Father is God; 
3. That Jesus is God; thereby, showing Jesus to be the Father incarnate. 

Resolved, the Scriptures teach that God eternally exists as one self aware Spirit-being called the Father; that Jesus of Nazareth is the Father incarnate.

❡32.  Jesus of Nazareth (as to His Deity) is Father God, again, in another way.

AMEN

The above essay is the first affirmative article of the Hayes vs Mulbah Debate. This debate discusses the difference between the Modalist and Trinitarian views as are set forth in the Athanasian Creed.
You may own this debate in book form by ordering your personal copy at the link provided here:
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