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Oneness to One
J. Dan Gill
6th One God Seminar - Albany, New York
Introduction
I was reminiscing recently about the mid-1970s. As a young man, I had not been married long. I had
a beautiful wife and two young daughters. I particularly remember the sense of confidence I felt in
those years. It seemed that life was well and the world was before me.
I recall mine and Sharon's dedication to our church in Nashville. Each week we would make our way
to our usual seats: two pews from the front and to the far left. It was an inconspicuous location I
think - yet one close enough to be assured of not missing anything. I still remember how the building
at times seemed transformed by the sunlight beaming through the stained glass windows. Easily my
favorite part of the meetings was the teaching. I wrote lesson notes in my wide margin King James
Version Bible to the point that there was little space left. Yet, I continued adding to those notes each
passing week.
Sharon and I was a young couple confidently devoted to our faith. Both of us were children and
grandchildren of wonderful "Oneness" people: people who had suffered various humiliations in their
lives for the belief that God is one. A humiliation meted out by those equally dedicated to the thought
that God is not one. Our Oneness heritage was something for which we were, and still are, very
thankful.
In those days, we would never have thought that God had another plan for us. Can you imagine
sitting in church being taught by capable Oneness teachers and, as they teach, finding yourself coming
to a very different understanding of God? I don't think that is what my teachers intended to happen.
Yet, sitting in those meetings, as the Scriptures were read; as my teachers would teach, I found my
understanding of God and Jesus Christ being completely transformed. Week by week my
understanding of God changed from Oneness to One.
What is Oneness?
In Oneness is found the belief that only one is God. That is a laudable conviction to which I am totally devoted to this day. Oneness presents us with the understanding that the spirit of God is not a separate "person" in its own right. Matthew 1:20 tells us that Jesus was begotten in Mary by Holy Spirit. Hence, in Oneness, the spirit of God and the Father himself are one and the same. That is a thought that I believe is certainly in the right direction.
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