Hemphillism

Back in 2005, Rev. Joel Hemphill, a Southern Gospel Singer wrote a book entitled "To God Be The Glory." I was not made aware of it until 2007. When I read the book I was shocked at the claim Jesus was not God but only a man. I did not believe his doctrine would go far and surely the Oneness people would reject it out of hand.  Then in 2008 I talked to Rev. Hemphill personally on the telephone for several hours. I listen to his doctrine. He wanted to convert me so I would take it on the mission field and convert ministers in those nations. I questioned him about several of his statements. He was very slippery in his answers. I ended the conversation by telling him I would never accept his doctrine. I told him his doctrine was not new. It was already preached in centuries past by the Jews, Gnostics, and the Muslims.

I wrote about Hemphillism and exposed his doctrine. So far as I know there has been no other Apostolic in the world who saw the importance of opposing this dangerous false doctrine. I posted something on the internet about it: http://jesus-messiah.com/html/hemphill-doctrine.html.  I got a few emails thanking me. And I got at least five emails attacking me because I dared to speak against Rev. Hemphill. They accused me of being mean, judging, and being an accuser of the brethren. My response was that as a Bishop I had a responsibility to content for and defend the doctrine of the Apostles. This included my authority to correct and rebuke with all longsuffering. And Rev. Hemphill certainly needed someone to correct and or rebuke him. Claiming Jesus is not God and a new created man-like being that was not human was certainly a doctrine I had to denounce.

Well here it is 2011, and 6 years after his first book. Last year in November he pumped out another one. In this last book he draws a lot on history already presented against trinitarianism by oneness writers. But his attack was to now use those arguments to support his own new doctrine that Jesus was not God.  Trinitarians and Oneness believe Jesus was divine (trinity he is one of 3 divine persons: oneness he is God manifest in human flesh). Rev. Hemphill has set out to bring a new 21st Century Reformation. He will prove Jesus was not God.

It has been now six years since he put this doctrine out. When I talked to him he boasted of several UPC Pastors who believed as he did now. He even claimed a couple district superintendents believe Jesus was not God. I sent some emails to the UPC hierarchy about this and got absolutely no response.  Still, after three years there has been utter silence. In these three years, Rev. Hemphill has been able to make several converts, write a new book, and put out several Cd's to deceive the ignorant and unlearned.  Why are the major Oneness groups not answering his false doctrine?

I think some do not because they do not know what it is. Well here is a simple outline.

He teaches there is one God, God the Father.
He teaches Jesus is not God because there cannot be two Gods, therefore if God the Father is God, Jesus is not God.
He teaches Jesus was a new man created in Mary by a blood cell or blood clot. This Jesus does not have any of the DNA of Adam. So he is not human. He is a man but he is not human of Adam's race. He is some kind of a physical phantom since he had nothing in his body that came from earth substances.
He teaches this new man Jesus had to be a new man so he could have sinless blood to shed on Calvary.
He teaches Jesus is the only begotten son of God and as such, he is not God.
He teaches Jesus has no DNA connection to the human race at all. He is the second Adam.
He teaches any worship of Jesus is idolatry.
He teaches all glory belongs to God the Father and Jesus wants us all to know his Father as the one and only true God.
He teaches that eternal life (plan of salvation) is to believe in God the Father and Jesus whom the Father sent.
He teaches Jesus as a man only, a new created being, could not and did not sin therefore his blood was sinless for the sacrifice on Calvary.
He teaches Jesus was not conceived in Mary from her ovum but she was only an incubator. A new DNA blood cell or clot was placed in Mary and she birthed the new second Adam.
There are more aspects of his false doctrine.
The claim Jesus was only a man comes from the Jews and Islam. Joel Hemphill and those who embrace his new "oneness doctrine" are teaching the ancient heresy of dynamic monarchism.

We now turn our attention to the sufferings of Jesus. If he was not a real man. If he had no DNA connection to the human race. If his body was totally different than our own. Then how could he suffer as mankind suffers? He could not. He would not have the ability to know the true sufferings of mankind. He could not be touched by our infirmities except in some manner of compassion. The whole theory of this non-human Jesus is based upon the total depravity of the seed of man. His flesh is totally depraved and his blood is totally defiled. Everything about the seed of Adam was totally defiled. The new man Jesus could not and did not bear the sufferings of humanity. While there may be scriptures that indicate Jesus did suffer, remember this Jesus was of the human DNA race of Adam. It is wrong to take these verses and make them apply to this new Hemphill Jesus who was not a human being at all.

I would not even give this false doctrine my time except for many are being deceived by this new Hemphillism.  I am writing against it so I can be on record opposing it. I do not want any soul in all the world snared into this new cult.

I urge all Apostolic men of God to preach openly that Jesus is God and then give scripture to prove it. We must not allow this Hemphillism false doctrine to come into our Churches and we were not prepared for it.

We Apostolics believe in the one true God, God the Father. And we believe in the one true only begotten Son of God Jesus. We believe in the Father and the Son. We confess the Father and the Son. We believe the Father was in the Son, God in Christ, redeeming the world unto himself. We believe God is Father in creation, Son in Redemption, and the Holy Ghost in the regeneration. We believe Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We believe in Jesus there is a dual nature of God and man. We believe God, the Word, was made flesh and dwelt among us. We believe his name is Emmanuel, God with us. We believe Jesus is both Father and Son, Divine and Flesh, Lord and Christ. And we believe when everyone gets to heaven they will see the image of Jesus upon the throne manifesting the glory of the Father just as HE DID ON THE EARTH. Jesus is the glory of the Father in human form. The glory of the Father is his very presence and Jesus was the glory of the Father. To see the glory of the Father is to see and know who Jesus is. This is the glory the Father gave the Son, his very own self (glorify me with thyself). This is why the Son has all power and glory of the Father because it pleased the Father to dwell in the Son and manifest his power and glory to the world. To take the glory of the Father from the Son and make him only a man can only result over the years to lead souls to join Islam and or the Jewish religion.

Hemphillism may appeal to a large number of so called oneness people, but it will be so because either they never understood oneness or they never believed it.  When I say "Glory to God in the highest" I am speaking directly to Jesus who is both Father and Son sitting on one throne. I am worshipping the one true Alpha (God the Father) and Omega (the Son), the Beginning (the Creator) and the Ending (the Judge), the First (Lord-Divine)and the Last (Lord-God in flesh), the Lord God Almighty (Adonai Elshadai). And his name is JESUS....

Jesus is God
Bishop Reckart said so!
Passover Questions Answered