Category: Theology 101 Incommunicable Attributes
D. Unity.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!”
As an attribute, unity emphasizes two things about God. First, it affirms that God is unique, that is, that there is no other God. It is logically impossible for there to be two (or more) self-existent, immutable, eternal, immense beings. When God gives the command, “You shall have no other gods before me,” He does not mean that we may worship other deities so long as we give Him superiority. He means that we are not permitted to worship other gods in His presence, because there are no other true gods.
Second, God’s unity affirms that God is simple. In colloquial English, simple means easy or without difficulty. However, in this context simple means not complex or free from composition. Simply put, God is not a composite being. This is why we stated earlier that God is equally all of His attributes. His attributes are distinguishable, but it is erroneous to think of God as part goodness, and another part knowledge, and another part powerful. There is no recipe for God whereby one could throw together the right ingredients and cook Him up. Each aspect of God flows through all others. He is love--an infinite, immutable, simple love. He is just--an eternal and holy just. Man is composite, having a body (which itself is made of multiple parts) and a soul (which may be divided into multiple parts, such as will, affections, cognitive faculties). God is simply God.