Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement by Douglas Jacobsen

Author:Douglas Jacobsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2009-04-21T13:13:00+00:00

The Nature of the Godhead

Haywood began his reflections on the nature of the godhead by explicitly rejecting the doctrine of God as Trinity, which had been held in common by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches (and later most Protestant churches) for over 1,500 years. He thought that classic Trinitarianism was just one more part of a long tradition of error that had misled Christian thinking for centuries. Haywood argued that "our traditional theology has gotten this truth badly confused" and he declared that the real fact was "that there is but one Holy, Eternal Spirit of God." Haywood did not believe in the Trinity; he believed in a "One Person God."14

Despite the stridency of his Oneness views, Haywood was not a proponent of simplistic monotheism. His theology actually allowed for a significant degree of complexity within the godhead. He pointed out, for example, that one of the names of God used in the Hebrew Scriptures, Elohim, is a plural noun and should be understood as a symbol of the plurality of the attributes that define the complex character of God. Elsewhere Haywood spoke of the "seven Spirits of God" mentioned in the book of Revelation, saying that such imagery pointed toward "the Holy Ghost in His sevenfold operation as light-and-life Giver." Perhaps more significant, Haywood was also willing to admit that a certain sense of threeness-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-was part of the Christian revelation. None of that, however, caused him to reconsider his own stress on the fundamental unity of the Divine Being. He wrote: "There is but one God and He has been manifested in a three-fold manner. And this threefold manifestation was not intended to establish a `three person' God idea, but instead, it was to reveal to mankind that there was a true and living God who loved them with an everlasting love." Elsewhere Haywood explained: "The Christian churches have taught that there are three `persons' in the Godhead, drawing their conclusion from the mysterious expression `Father, Son and Holy Ghost.' The term `three persons' is erroneous, and unscriptural. The personal, visible form of God was Jesus Christ, and today the Christ with us and in us is `that Holy Spirit.' These three are one, and not three." In this passage and others, Haywood seemed willing to admit that while it might be valid to speak of God in terms of an "economic Trinity" (God's threefold manner of relating to the world as creator, redeemer, and sustainer), any notion of God as an "essential Trinity" (God as ontologically tripartite in identity) was to be rejected.'s

To a certain degree, Haywood's reflections on the nature of the godhead ran parallel to his understanding of progressive revelation. He believed that during the long span of human history God had slowly revealed more and more truth to humanity concerning the divine being. Divine truth came into the world bit by bit, and in that incremental process of revelation each new bit of truth demanded a rethinking of previously revealed truths.

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