Philips, Craig and Dean have been controversial over their background in Oneness Pentecosatlism, a heretical movement that denies the Trinity for belief in "Jesus only." For a while, they have been ambiguous over their stance concerning the Trinity. But their latest song "Only Jesus" should prove beyond a doubt their adherence to Oneness Pentecostalism in its denial of the Trinity. I refuse to embed their heretical song, but here's the link if anyone is interested.
In terms of the lyrics, one might think the song is about the exclusivity of Jesus , as over against the syncretism of the age. And to the extent that the first and second stanzas focus on Jesus' work during His incarnation, that seems fine, but then we arrive at the chorus:
Holy, King Almighty, Lord
Saints and Angels all adore
We join with them and bow before
Jesus, Only Jesus
We see here that according to the chorus, it's not just that we are to worship Jesus because of His work, but that the person to worship is "only Jesus." Contrast what is stated here with Revelations 4, and the difference would be more obvious. We do not join saints and angels together to adore and bow before "Jesus, only Jesus" but before the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 3 persons 1 essence. God the Father is not named "Jesus," neither is God the Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father, which is why it's wrong to say that we worship "only Jesus."
[HT: Aomin.org]
While Jesus only is damnable heresy, and all (like Phillips, Craig and Dean, TD Jakes, etc.) who believes in it are not Christians, I wonder if we trinitarians have not gone in over kill where the chorus is concerned. For example in 1 Corinthians 8:6 does it mean that the Father is not Lord as well? Of course The Father is also Lord. It all depends on the context in which something is said.
ReplyDeleteIn a context of Jesus vs His creatures, or false gods I can biblically said I worship Jesus only. Of course that don't mean that I don't worship the Trinity. It all depends on the context in which something is said.
@Greg,
ReplyDeleteThe NT typically refer to God the Father, and Jesus Christ as Lord (kurios). The Father is primarily "God," yet that does not mean that the Son and the Holy Spirit are not God.
But it is a leap from noting that the NT typically calls the Father as God and the Son as Lord, to say that God is Jesus (thus "Jesus only"). That Jesus is God does not imply that God is Jesus.
But does the song necessarily say only Jesus is God. That Jesus is The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The song is too vague to make any definite conclusion on that issue. How do we know its not talking of Jesus as compared to His creatures, and not of The Father and Holy Spirit. Its too vague to know.
ReplyDeleteAlso its my understanding that its trinitarians who wrote the song.
@Greg,
ReplyDeletethe main issue is that we do not worship only Jesus. Even if we focus on the exclusivity of Christ, we still do not say we worship only Jesus.
And PC&D come from a Oneness background, and have been suspected of Oneness theology for a long time