What is Modalism?

In approaching the differing ideas concerning the deity of Jesus as it is accepted by the Christian faith, one is invariably going to stumble upon the term Modalism. What does it mean, and how does it apply to Jesus?

What is Modalism?
Brian James Wright in "Jesus as Theos: a Textual Examination" shows that modalism is an idea the arose during the 3rd century which says most prominently that there is only one God, but that this God represents himself in different ways, or "modes." Among the modes that modalists would point to would be the biblical Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. In the modalist understanding, each of these three personages of God is merely a manifestation of one God working himself out in different ways, but with no distinction between the different roles of these identities of the Godhead.

What Problems Does it Pose?
There are a number of problems with this idea. First, if there is only one person of God who represents himself in different modalities, how could the baptism of Jesus have taken place the way it is recorded in Scripture? According to the biblical text, when Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit descended from the sky as a dove and there was a voice from heaven as the father said "this is my son, in whom I am well-pleased" (Matthew 3:13-17). In this example, the three parts of the Godhead are present simultaneously: Jesus in human form in the water, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove landing on Jesus, and God the Father speaking as a voice out of heaven. How could this have happened if there is one God who merely appears at different times in different forms?

For that matter, why would God choose to represent himself in different ways if it was not so from the beginning? From the logical standpoint, it would have made more sense for Jesus to have claimed that he was the only God, the one that Israel had worshiped from the beginning, rather than ask his believers to radically change their understanding of the object of their faith to include this kind of modalistic perspective. We have the God of Israel telling the angels to worship the Son in Hebrews 1:4-6. This only works out if there was some true distinction from the beginning.

The same argument follows for the prayers of Jesus. Numerous times throughout the gospels Jesus prays audibly to the father giving honor to him and requesting supernatural aid. What reason would Jesus have to pray to himself? Rather than ask for help, wouldn't he have been better served by simply enacting the power that he had presently? The only logical answer would be that he had given up some of the free exercise of his power in submission to the will of another, the Father, in order to accomplish their mutual goal.

Taking this one step further, Jesus on the cross shows a true distinction between himself and the Father that is hard to rationalize within modalistic thinking. Jesus' words to the Father in those most trying and painful moments are very telling: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27). How could he have come to utter such words in his moment of weakness if he was not in some form separated from the mind of God the Father, away from the perfect communion that they had shared previously?

Where Does Modalism Fit?
It stands to reason then that modalism cannot stand up to the text of Scripture, and yet modalism is spreading even today. Many places in the east, the Caribbean, and third world countries, along with the Pentecostal church, trust the modalist perspective because of its mathematical simplicity. It is easier to understand one God in three different representations at different times, but very difficult to try and grasp one God in three eternally existing persons. It is important that we understand the truth of Scripture and wrestle with what God says about himself, or else we will find ourselves worshiping an idol in the end who is not our God.

Sources:

Brian James Wright, "Jesus as Theos: a Textual Examination." http://74.125.95.132/custom?q=cache:Th6GR-0gXkMJ:www.bible.org/assets/powerpoint/wright_jesusasgod.pdf+modalism&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=google-coop-np

Biblical References from the New English Translation of the Bible.