The Trinity in the Sevenfold Unity

We find in Eph. 4:4-6 what is famously called the “Sevenfold Unity of the Spirit.” This is a list of seven ways in which God already established unity for all of us believers. There is

One Body.

One Spirit.

One hope.

One Lord.

One faith.

One baptism.

One God and Father.

One of the major points Paul makes staring in vs. 1 is that we are to simply enter into that unity with other believers by modeling the virtues of Christ found in verse 2 – with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. We protect and preserve the unity God already established by embodying those attributes of Christ.

This is where humility governs how we rightly view ourselves in light of God’s Word and His grace, where meekness expresses that humility as strength under control toward others, where longsuffering defines how we endure repeated offenses and trials over time, and where forbearance reflects our disciplined restraint from acting in the flesh, all the while modeling genuine love. Paul doesn’t tell people to “get along.” He explains that unity (v. 3) is protected when we believers live out these four inner traits (v. 2).

You cannot be free of conflicts without humility. You cannot have the “bond of peace” without “longsuffering.” You cannot “forebear” without “love.” Paul knows believers are going to irritate each other. The goal isn’t a church where no one is annoying, although that would be fantastic. But he’s speaking of a church where everyone is “long-suffering” enough to stay bonded together in His grace despite the friction.

And modeling these virtues also serves another purpose, and that is – to diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Unity is not something believers manufacture. Unity is a divine reality already established by God through the Spirit and it’s preserved by us being intentionally humble, patient, longsuffering, and loving to each other.

The Trinity

Did you ever notice the reference to each member of the Trinity?

We have in vs. 4, a reference to one Spirit. In vs. 5, we have a reference to one Lord, and in vs. 6, we have a reference to one God, God the Father.

Isn’t that fascinating? Paul actually includes in this list the existence of the trinity or the triune Godhead. Why? Why is the existence of one Spirit, one Lord, and one God the Father established points of unity for the Body of the Christ?

I’d suggest that Paul wants to bring attention to their roles today. Their roles in our redemption and in our spiritual lives are causes for unity between believers.

One Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the life-giver indwelling the Body of Christ. Just as a human body is kept alive with the presence of your soul, the church is made alive because of the presence of the Spirit in every believer simultaneously. So unity is not something we create. It is a spiritual reality we keep (v. 3) by being Christlike (v. 2).

Because the Spirit is one and in all of us, He cannot lead believers to be in fundamental opposition to each other. He produces the same “fruit” (Galatians 5:22-23) in every person, culture, across all the centuries in grace, providing a common internal language of divine attributes that transcends our differences.

Every believer — regardless of background — has been:

1. Regenerated by the same Spirit (Titus 3:5).
2. Indwelt by the same Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).
3. Sealed by the same Spirit (Eph. 1:13).

We are unified by being brought into the same level of spiritual life by the Spirit. There are no tiers of spirituality. There is one Spirit animating all of us into new creatures in the one Body of Christ. Then it’s a matter of renewing your mind to live like the saint God made you in Christ. Thus, disunity in a local assembly isn’t contention by pride (Prov. 13:10). It’s also a practical denial of the Spirit’s guidance. Disunity is not in the nature of the Holy Spirit.

One Lord

By declaring “one Lord” (vs. 5), Paul establishes a single point of allegiance for believers. There is only one reigning supreme being over all of us. There is only one church and one head of that church, which is Christ Himself. There is only one means of redemption and that is through Christ. We’re all one WITH Christ and we’re all one IN Christ. And this is the same Christ who is over every power that exists on Earth.

Thus, Christ and His work of redemption makes Him a common point of unity for all of us. It’s like two servants having the same Master. They shouldn’t be at odds about what the Master wants. The same is true for all of us. Christ is our Head. He reveals the will of His Father, and we are to be unified about fulfilling the Father’s will. We all have the same Head, the same authority over us in the Body of Christ. This is cause for unity.

We are united because we are all looking at the same object of worship who is over everything. So the point of highlighting one Lord in this list is that God has already established unity for all of us by placing us all under a shared Head over the church. Christ is the Head of the Body (Eph 1:22–23). He is inside all of us. He is our living model of the perfect walk (Phil. 2). So unity exists from one Lord because:

1. We serve the same Lord.
2. We are under the same authority.
3. We are all one with Him in the same baptism.

There is no competition for leadership over the Body. No believer answers to another believer as ultimate authority—we all, without exception, answer to Christ alone at the Bema Seat. Thus, Christ as head protects unity by:

1. Eliminating personality cults.
2. Preventing spiritual elitism.
3. Keeping all roles and offices subordinate to Christ’s headship.

I read online that disunity often arises when believers function as though Christ is their Lord instead of our Lord. I like that.

One Father

I’d suggest that the reference to the Father exists in part to bring a familial structure to the Church. We are not simply a member of Christ’s Body. We are also family – part of God’s family – and He’s the Father. He’s the Patriarch who along with Christ makes all the major decisions for this family of saints who belong to Him.

Paul describes Him as “above all” (transcends everything). He is “through all” (omnipresent), and He is “in you all” (intimate oneness with Him). He isn’t some distant deity. He’s intimate and inside of you along with His Son and the Spirit.

I like to say that the Father is the executive branch of the triune Godhead. He designed everything – the prophetic program and the age of grace. He is the reason the age of grace exists. He is the reason we exist today. He is the reason we are so overwhelmingly blessed for all eternity. We owe the Father everything, as much as we owe everything to Christ and the Spirit. They all play equally important roles in our lives which are causes for unity.

Believers are unified because they share one Father, which means:

1. One family
2. One inheritance
3. One status as sons

Big Trinity Picture of Unity

So to step back and consider the roles of the triune Godhead in our lives, each member of the Trinity contributes to our shared unity.

• The Spirit – Spiritual Life-Giver
• Son – the One Authority over all
• The Father – One family, one inheritance.

Remove any one of these, and unity collapses. If God is three operating as one unit, then logically, all of us must likewise live and function as one. The church’s unity is a visible testimony to the reality of the triune God – three operating as one. Disunity does not merely harm fellowship—it misrepresents the Trinity.

Paul did not give us the sevenfold unity of the Spirit so we could win theological arguments. He gave it to us so we would walk worthy of what is already true. Unity is not something we create. It is something we either honor or violate. God calls us to humility. If there is one Lord, then none of us is the Lord. If there is one faith, then none of us invents the truth. If there is one baptism, then we were all sinners who became members the same way, by the same grace, into the same Body, under the same Head.

There is no room for spiritual pride or elitism in Eph. 4.