ONENESS PENTECOSTAL ORIGINS   by  David Reed

 In the history of our world many new movements have been born In the womb of expectancy. The worldwide Pentecostal Camp meeting set in Los Angeles April 15, 1913 was no expectation. It had been advertised for months and the crowds were overwhelming. A well known powerful Evangelist Mrs. Woodruff Utter was the leading preacher for the month long revival. Hundreds were receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and many were being healed.

The anticipation was being high lighted by the fact this meeting was the high water mark in the early Pentecostal Revival. Increasing at a phenomenal rate and within a year an organization was being planned. The efforts during the revival that had historical import is recorded by men who is present and who later became one of the oneness position Frank Utter, who was centered in Los Angeles in fact was the Pastor, worked under Durhum and became Pastor of Durhum’s church in OA.
With hearts prepared the movement of expectancy was heighted by a sermon from Jeremiah 31;22 assuring the listeners that God was going to perform a new thing in their midst. The moment came at a baptismal service during which Canadian Evangelist R.E. McCalister in a sermon ,pointed out that the Apostles baptized not in the trinity formula, but in the name of Jesus Christ.

The congregation was visibly startled. Not with standing McCalister’s immediate effort to qualify a statement publicly was too late. Many were provoked to thought as one man did, Chef, who was inspired to study and to pray through out the night during the early morning hours coming back to the Camp meeting telling the congregation that the Lord had revealed the truth. The Lord revealed to him baptism in the name of Jesus many listened to him that day, not long after many believed.

While Chef left account on his revelation and his name appears to be only on later oneness organizations in the later teens. The one to reap the future benefit of McCalisters observation was Frank Uert he reported to have spent many hours with McCalister after the revival. Following the study on baptism he preached his first sermon on Acts 2:38, on April 15, 1914, Acts 2:38 being the pattern of repentance “Be baptized everyone of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remissions of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Just how much of the doctrine Uert and McCalister shared is yet to be determined, but we do know after the camp meeting McCalister shared with Uert the insight that the Lord Jesus Christ is the counterpart of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Matt 28:19. The formula there of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was one of our Lord’s parabolic truth in was interrupted by the disciples and apostles Acts 2:38.

Such revelation at the Camp meeting also must have concentrated on the name of Jesus, Harry Morris one of the later oneness leaders was there had made mention of it and though there may have been some of the oneness doctrine of God of the Godhead it is more probable that the revelation dealt with the name of Jesus as carrying the full power and authority of that Godhead.

Frank Uert admits sometime later before he had received the full revelation of the Godhead of Jesus Christ. So in other words I believe that oneness revelation was primarily a discovery of the name of God as it was used in Christian baptism. It was early after Uert preached his first sermon on a new message on that baptism formula received its full theological justification in a unity concept of God. The length between the two was developed by harmonizing Matt 28:19 and Acts 2:38 were by name Jesus was interpreted to be singularly revealed name Jater, Son and Holy Spirit from this point onward, the movement spread rapidly in the Pentecostal ranks.

This new revelation eventually became one-forth of Pentecostals once calling the Camp meeting 1913 a historical event.
The name teaching as it amidst certain on the name of Jesus, the desperation revelation of the name of God the singular word name in Matt 28:19 baptizing in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This singular word used of the word name is the key to understanding the baptism formula in the name of Jesus Christ.

For if you observe, Matt 28:19 is the one passage of scripture that embodies the trinity formula that was later used for the doctrine trinity. But more important than to the protestors, the Trinitarian  actually seems to minimize the full revelation of God in Christ. If only one person in the Godhead became implanted, the conclusion conflicts with Paul’s clear teaching that in him or in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body. On such a Trinitarian sceme Jesus is neither the full revelation nor the deity, nor the revelation of the full deity.

The truth about God and Christ for oneness Pentecostals is rooted in the Old Testament doctrine of the name of God, and carnality in the nature of God, is straightly rejected. Rejected on the ground of radical monotheism that is in the Old Testament and the two concepts of nature and name and person of, and his name are linked together by the ancient notion that a person and his name are inseparable the name serves to reveal a person in fact all the power that a person poses can be taken out and demonstrated through his name thus God was known to his covenant people through the revealing of his name. Nature was so bound up with his name to reveal the name of God itself.

The radical unity of God and the related doctrine of his name gives the oneness the traditional interpretation of the name Jesus is that refers to the human person and the title Christ, Lord and Son for God. Oneness teachers interpret the name Jesus as a divine application. Just as yellow as the name God in the Old Testament, so Jesus is the divine name in the new.
Recalling Isaiah’s prophecy, his name shall be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, son of begotten Mary. Oneness writers frequently express their doctrine of thought in thermology of the father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The distinct oneness doctrine reaches its full expression in the sacrament of water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps more than anything else was the issue of re-baptism that hit on the early oneness disciples, and today it is still an issue.

One must be buried in that name to receive power. Some say you must obey Acts 2:38 to become the child of the Kingdom. Water is not what washes away sins. For instance Andrew Urshan, one of the early leaders of the oneness doctrine, said that the water is related to the name while water is the true mold of baptism, the essence of baptism is in the name not in the water and the name of Jesus is the saving name of God our savior..