(An Incommunicable attribute.)
I’m going to ask you to define unity both in a positive sense (what it can mean) and a negative sense (what it cannot mean). What unity means (positive): oneness, undivided, whole. There is one God. Now, what does unity mean in the negative sense: unable to be divided, not composed of, not multiple gods. So we worship one God who is indivisible. We are not polytheistic…worshiping many distinct gods.
When trying to understand a concept in more depth, it’s a good idea to understand its meaning from both a positive (what it is) and a negative (what it is not) sense.
However, there is an additional aspect to God’s unity. That is, He is unique. There is no other like Him. More on this shortly.
Now that we have a working definition of God’s unity let’s look at scripture’s declaration of that unity.
God’s Declaration Of His Unity-Oneness
Deuteronomy 6:4:
4“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
This same word for “one” is used in Genesis 2:24 (NASB95)
24For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
So this word for “one”, while being numeric in nature, is expressing the unity of God as being whole and undivided. But this word “one” does not exclude the Trinity. Notice how we can see the unity of a husband and wife in marriage in Genesis 2:24. But a husband and wife don’t actually become one single being. They are two separate people with differing gifts and abilities. However, when a husband and wife act in accordance with God’s desires for them to be unified (as one) you see two distinct people working together in love and harmony as one. Even though each one may work in unique ways, they both work together.
So it is with God. He is one yet three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit working in their unique ways yet working as one unified God. But let’s not get into the Trinity just yet. Let’s explore how God’s unity relates to our unity in the body of Christ.
Notice the following verse (v5) that follows Deuteronomy 6:4:
4“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
5“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
God’s unity (like His invisibility/Transcendence that we studied last week) is tied to our worship of Him. What if God was not unified? What if He were multiple gods as some false religions assert? Well, that would make Him less perfect as He would be competing with other gods. Would the god of love outshine or compete with the god of wealth? Would the god of war overwhelm the god of justice? What happens when the plurality of gods doesn’t satisfy? Do you make another? You see, a god that is divided is a faith that is divided. It cannot stand.
A God that is unified as one is indivisible and works in perfect harmony. Our God cannot be made into parts that we worship individually or (most likely) worship only in part. He is the One that we worship as one and glorify as the only God. Otherwise, our worship is weakened and watered down. We must see God as who He truly is…one!
God’s Declaration Of His Unity-Uniqueness
But what about His uniqueness? Isaiah has a lot to say about that:
Isaiah 45:5:
5“I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;
Isaiah 44:8:
8‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’ ”
Isaiah 44:6:
6“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.
Isaiah 45:21:
21“Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.
Isaiah 43:11:
11“I, even I, am the Lord, And there is no savior besides Me.
I count at least 25 more places in the Bible where God states that “there is no other god besides Me”.
Look at each of the 5 statements from God above and examine the unique thing that goes hand-in-hand with His declaration that He is the only God. For example, In Isaiah 45:5 He says that He will gird you (even though he has not known God). Can any other god or gods say that? No! By the way, this verse is talking about Cyrus, king of Persia (see Ezra 1:1-4 for more details). What uniqueness of God do you see in the other verses?
God’s Unity, Our Response
So how does God’s unity relate to us? Let’s look at Ephesians 4:1–7:
1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
3being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
5one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
In verse 1 Paul is pleading earnestly (i.e., imploring) the Ephesians to walk in a worthy manner. This is no easy task as we see in verse 2. Verse 2 describes this walk as one that is permeated with humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance. All of these aspects are connected and bound together with love for one another (the second greatest commandment Christ gave us).
Now in verse 3 we get into the unity part. It is our part to preserve (i.e., maintain, keep in tact) this unity (i.e., oneness) that the Holy Spirit has given us. We keep this unity preserved by uniting ourselves with other believers in a bond of peace (i.e., harmonious relations, freedom from disputes). But don’t forget the “being diligent” part. It is our response to God’s unity to also diligently (i.e., eagerly) keep ourselves continuously united with one another. This is no simple task. Essentially, we must be eager to show patience, humility, gentleness, and tolerance to others. This is much easier if we are being diligent without unity towards others we get along with easily. But what about the person that annoys you or has a different interpretation of scripture than you do? And here I’m thinking of scripture that is not pertinent to the foundation of Christianity such as Jesus is God or that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the 3rd day. What if you disagreed with someone over scripture that is of secondary or tertiary importance? How would you handle that in light of these verses?
In verses 4-6 we see the Trinity as one unified God…one Spirit, one Lord, and one Father.
Notice in verse 7 we have a “But”, which contrasts verse 7 with the previous verses. It says that yet while we are unified in the Spirit and in the body (the church), we are uniquely gifted according to what Christ has freely given us. While we are to be unified in each of our spirits and in the Holy Spirit we are unique as well. But this uniqueness serves to build up the body of believers so that our unity may be complete.
Here are more verses to meditate on concerning God’s unity and our unity with Him and one another:
1 Corinthians 12:11–13:
11But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
12For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Philippians 1:27:
27Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Philippians 2:2:
2make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
God’s Unity In Perfect Harmony With The Trinity
As for the Trinity, the unity of God does not infringe on the Trinity. While God is one, the Trinity ascribes personal distinctions to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, these distinctions are never in conflict; rather, they complement one another and are in perfect harmony. God’s unity is perfect and infinite (unfathomable). His justice, holiness, love, aseity, transcendence, and all of His other attributes are in absolute perfect harmony with His unity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will never be in conflict or have less of one attribute than the other. This is what unity is about. Yet even with this overly simplistic explanation we still cannot fully comprehend God’s unity, the Trinity, and the relationship between His unity and the triune Godhead.
This is a diagram from Ryrie’s Basic Theology on the Trinity:
This is a good diagram to start out with, but it is by no means a complete and perfect understanding of the Trinity. Regardless, I’ve found that this diagram helps when I’m talking, writing, or thinking about the Trinity.
What are some things that are distinct of each of the Trinity:
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit: John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”
We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is our helper John 16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father.
The Father is to be glorified as both Jesus taught us and the Holy Spirit leads us.
The Holy Spirit is the counsellor who teaches us of Jesus.
Jesus explains who God really is.
The Spirit empowers us: 1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
and so much more…
Yet with all these distinctions we see that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit operate as one.
John 14:16:
“I [the Son] will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper [the Holy Spirit], that He may be with you forever;
We see all three of the triune Godhead operating together to glorify Himself and to bring us salvation. A plurality of gods, such as those in other religions, will not work in perfect lock-step with one another to both glorify themselves perfectly equally and offer perfect salvation to us. And don’t forget the part about the Holy Spirit being with us forever, both in this life and the everlasting life we will live. I don’t know of any other religion that makes such a bold and powerful statement.