One Person - Two Wills?
 

Are the following statements accurate and consistent with Oneness theology?

The Father is a person (has personality, emotion, will).
The Son is also person but he has a dual nature. The fullness of the Spirit of God (The Father) dwells in that person. That person (Son) has the mind and heart of God. He knows the will of God. Yet he is also fully human. When Jesus was conceived, the Father decided that He would become one with that person in Mary's womb. The Father was never separated from Jesus except during the time of His death until His resurrection.

During His earthly life, the Son could think and feel like a normal human being but since he didn't have a sinful nature, He did not have a tendency to sin. Technically, he could feel the pull of temptation but he never yielded to it. He had a human will as well as a divine will. Yet he was and is one person.

Can we separate or dissociate "will" from "person"?
Does oneness theology say that there are two wills in the person of Jesus Christ but only one of those two wills is divine?

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

It was against the very nature of God to sin. Think about how strongly you feel about something. Would you ever change it? Could you? The answer is no. God was manifested in the flesh and couldn't change his very core.

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

I think that's also what I believe.

Jesus did not have a sinful nature. Instead he had a divine nature. He was tempted at all points, yet without sin. I believe this means that he faced all kinds of temptation - he was made aware of the possibility of contradicting God's will, but he didn't fall into it. His inner voice had always told him to do the will of the Father, even if it meant that his earthly body would suffer.

I believe we are on the same page. I'm just trying to check if I could put my beliefs and understanding into words that are clear enough and generally accepted among Oneness believers, especially when it comes to the use of the word "person" as it relates to the subject of the Godhead.

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

You have two persons

Yes you can distinguish Will from Person. Will is an attribute of Nature

He has a Human nature and He has the Divine nature. He has a Human will and He has the Divine will

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

Either I worded it differently or I have a faulty understanding. I believe that the deity of Jesus Christ is not different nor separate from the Father. In that sense, I believe that there is only one person in the Godhead. I guess I'm not clear about the word "person" and how it is used in reference to the dual nature of Christ. How can he have two wills and still be considered one person?

My understanding of person is that it is synonymous with individuality. Jesus is one individual with two natures. Jesus - as an individual would not exist without the Father. The man Christ Jesus was literally fathered by God. Jesus' oneness with the Father is not exactly the same as our oneness with Him. A sinner can still exist without the Spirit of God dwelling in him. Jesus is different. If we "separate" God's Spirit from the man Jesus, his life will cease because God is in his very essence.

"Will is an attribute of nature." I will spend some time meditating on this concept and pray for God's revelation. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

How can he have two wills and be one person?

Will is an attribute of rational natures in whatever hypostases they subsist in. If a single hypostasis has two natures it by definition and necessity must have two wills.

Jesus submitted to the will of God. This proves two wills, one human, and one divine, does it not?

MORE IMPORTANTLY does scripture directly address the dilemma? No. Therefore the dilemma or "issue" is lilely a distraction from what God wants us to be busy with, eh?

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

Yes. The human will was taken upon His person at incarnation, and is not eternal.

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

These questions only arise when we cannot escape from the dilemma of forcing human limitations upon God. Since humans cannot be one person with two wills we automatically think God cannot.

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

IMO, beware attempts to define the Godhead too specifically; we serve an Unknown God, and settling on any one definition--which cannot be adequate, no matter how detailed--only leads to strife and defensiveness.

As evidence I will submit that even after reading this thread--and possibly adjusting your pov as a result--no real improvement in your walk seems to manifest. While I certainly understand the attempt to arrive at a fuller understanding of Christ, and God, I have noted that these threads seem to invariably devolve into mostly pointless hair-splitting.

Iow, what they just said! :D

Re: One Person - Two Wills?
 

A "person" is a living being who has a full self-conscious reality, or "self", distinctively complete with the interactive faculties reason, will, and emotion who can relate to other existent realities in an "I/you" relationship.

Anyone disagree?