Christological heresy question

[Ransom]

Hey theology buffs. Today I came across someone who tried to argue (or appeared to be so through ambiguous wording) that the person of Jesus Christ was the whole Trinity incarnate, and not the Son only.

The only personality of note that I am aware of teaching this particular view was Witness Lee, and I have no reason to believe this person I was discussing with was part of the Local Church movement.

Is there a name for this particular heresy? I would be tempted to lump it in with Modalism/Sabellianism/Patripassianism, only that view denies a distinction of the divine persons, whereas the view I encountered does not.

 

[Twisted]

They're looking for that guy.  He escaped from bed #7.

 

[Ransom]

Thanks for the info.

Any serious answers?

 

[Bob H]

Could it be the Apostolic crowd? ...aka "Jesus Only" movement, also known as Oneness Pentecostalism or oneness theology....

 

[Ransom]

Could it be the Apostolic crowd? ...aka "Jesus Only" movement, also known as Oneness Pentecostalism or oneness theology....

They are Modalists, so their idea of the Godhead is somewhat different.

I think the person who said this was also claiming to be a Baptist, but I don't specifically recall.

 

[BALAAM]

I am not arguing from any particular position or anything like that. But, doesn't the Bible say that in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily? What does that mean?

 

[Walt]

Could it be the Apostolic crowd? ...aka "Jesus Only" movement, also known as Oneness Pentecostalism or oneness theology....

That's what I thought of.

I don't know the fancy theological names for the various heresies.

 

[Walt]

Hey theology buffs. Today I came across someone who tried to argue (or appeared to be so through ambiguous wording) that the person of Jesus Christ was the whole Trinity incarnate, and not the Son only.

The only personality of note that I am aware of teaching this particular view was Witness Lee, and I have no reason to believe this person I was discussing with was part of the Local Church movement.

Is there a name for this particular heresy? I would be tempted to lump it in with Modalism/Sabellianism/Patripassianism, only that view denies a distinction of the divine persons, whereas the view I encountered does not.

It doesn't help to give it a label, but it would be interesting to know how he defines the trinity if Jesus isn't "the Son"

Also, it crosses my mind that this could just be a war of words... we don't really have anything like the Trinity for all of things we try to use to explain it, so maybe this is just a war about words?

 

[Walt]

I am not arguing from any particular position or anything like that. But, doesn't the Bible say that in Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily? What does that mean?

I've always taken that to mean that Jesus is equally God as much as God the Father is God and the Holy Spirit is God.  The Trinity is hard to understand/explain because He is infinite and we are finite.  We can only accept what the Bible says about God.

If God is a trinity, and Jesus Christ the Son is God, then the Son is also the Trinity.  The OP sounded like they think the Trinity is something composed of the Father, Son, and Spirit.  Being a trinity is just an attribute of God

 

[FSSL]

Not sure this one fits...

Questions and Answers, Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, 1985, p.199.

When Genesis says that God made man in His own image, I am convinced that it meant not only in the spiritual image, but also in the physical image. I realize many Bible scholars would chuckle at this statement, but this is the way I see it. I believe that God has a spirit body ? I believe His body is in one place at one time, wherever that may be. I believe that in this divine Godhead there are three separate and distinct persons?each having His own personal spirit body, personal soul, and personal spirit (Ibid.).