- Jesus' resurrection
and ascension
One of the problems with oneness theology
deals with the resurrection of Jesus. Oneness Pentecostal
theology states that Jesus had two natures while he was walking the earth.
That is, he was both God and man. This is correct theology in so far as it
states that within the one person of the Son, there are two natures: God
and man. But it also states that God is now in the "form/mode/manifestation"
of the Holy Spirit. If this is the case, what happened to Jesus' body after the
ascension? Where is it? Is it alive? Is it in a
coma? Was it dissolved? Does it still exist? Is Jesus,
the man,
still a person? If so, how can Jesus, the person with flesh and
bones, also be the Holy Spirit?
In Trinitarian theology the second person of the
Trinity became flesh (John 1:1, 14).
In other words, according to Phil.
2:5-8, Jesus added to himself human nature. Likewise in Col.
2:9 it states, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily." 1 Tim.
2:5 says that "there is one mediator between God and man, the
man Christ Jesus." We know that Jesus rose from the dead in
the same body He died in since He prophesied He would raise His body (John
2:19-21); He retained the scars of His ordeal after the resurrection (John
20:27); and He was seen as a man after the resurrection (Luke
24:39).
- "Behold
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke
24:39).
- "Then saith he to
Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and
thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing" (John
20:27).
As you can see
from the above verses, Jesus retained His physical nature after His
resurrection -- along with His scars. This is why it says in Col.
2:9 that in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Notice
that the verb "dwells" is in the present tense. That is, right
now Jesus has a body of flesh and bones. He is physical. He is in
heaven. He is a man, the Godman.
Nevertheless, some deny Jesus' resurrection by
stating that the Bible says flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God and therefore Jesus did not rise in the same body he died in.
But, we need to realize that the Bible says, "flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1
Cor. 15:50), not flesh and bones as Jesus said He had (Luke
24:39). Is this important? Yes it is. Jesus’ blood was the
sacrifice that cleanses us from sin (Lev.
17:11; Heb. 9:22). I
suspect that Jesus' resurrected body did not have any blood in it.
It was shed from His body on the cross.
Jesus' Ascension and
Return
The
Bible tells us that Jesus ascended into the sky (Acts
1:9-11). When He did this He was still in physical form as I've
demonstrated above. In addition, the Bible tells us that Jesus
will return in the same manner.
-
"And when
he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a
cloud received him out of their sight. 10And while they
looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood
by them in white apparel; 11Which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen him go into heaven" (Acts
1:9-11).
Since the Bible teaches us that Jesus is in bodily form now (Col.
2:9), then how does the Oneness Pentecostal person maintain that God
is in the form of the Holy Spirit? Also, when Jesus returns, will He
return in His body? Will God's form then revert to the form of the
Son at His return according to Oneness?
I do not think Oneness Pentecostal theology is
correct for many reasons. But here, with this issue of Jesus'
resurrection and ascension, I see their theology denying the incarnation
of God in flesh right now. After all, it says in Col.
2:9 that Jesus is in bodily form now. Oneness denies that since
God, according to its theology, is now supposed to be in the form of the
Holy Spirit.
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