THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBERS IN THE BIBLE (part 1)

Number One – 1

• One clearly represents unity, primacy, the first, the best, the only, it has no divisors, no factors, no components, it is universal, whole and complete. 

• One is independent of all other numbers, is the source of all other numbers. 

       In this sense it represents God as the beginning and the end, the prime impulse, the source of creation. 

• One usually represents God, His sovereign rule, His omnipotence, His supremacy, His unique character.   
• One excludes all differences for there is no second with which it can either harmonize or conflict.  
• Thus One can also represent harmony, unity or peace but because of its reference to God it also means harmony, unity or peace with God. 

• The first of the Ten Commandments is:

                             Thou shalt have no other gods before me.                           Exodus 20:3

• Here in the first, of the ten great commandments of the Old Testament, we are told to put God first.   

      Jesus said that the first and greatest of the commandments was to love God.

           ³⁷Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and  with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸This is the first and great commandment.

Matthew 22:37-38

• Thus in both the Old Testament and the New, we are commanded to place God in the number one position in our lives. 
• In the two testaments we have one unity of message and purpose. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:

                       But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things  shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

• Here we see that all the things we need and many of the things we want (that are good for us) will follow from the first and greatest principle. 
• Put God first, obey and good things will follow. This was also a promise in the Old Testament.
  

1. The first Verse 
   • The very first verse of the entire Bible is:
   In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
   Genesis 1:1
   • This establishes God as the prime source of all, the first cause, the beginner and the creator and in itself is enough to establish a link between the number one and God.
2.  The first 'day'
   
   • The rest of the "First day" of the creation account is:

   ²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  
   ³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 
   ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  
   ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

   Genesis 1:2-5
   • In 1 John 1:5 We read that God is light-

   “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”

   • Thus the "first day" of creation deals with God as the creator and shows that he is Light that brightens every thing.
3. First Words
   • The first words in the Bible;
   In the beginning God... 
                                                           Genesis 1:1
   • Jesus first recorded words properly put into perspective his highest priority and also what ours should be;

   And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?                                                                  Luke 2:49

   • This is especially relevant when his last words are remembered, 'It is finished'. 
   • Also of note is Jesus first words in his ministry. 
   • After he was baptized by full immersion by John the Baptist in the river Jordan, He received the Holy Spirit. 
   • He then went and prayed and fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. 
   • At the end of that time he was tempted by the devil His responses to Satan at that time are the first words he spoke in His ministry.

                                           It is written...              Matthew 4:4,7,10

   • Jesus first words for the public was however the gospel of the kingdom of God.
   Mark 1: 14, 15
   • Thus Jesus not only used the Word of God the resist the devil, but also showed that the first place any ministry should start is with Gods Word.
   • When the angels sang to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus they sang:

   Glory to God in the highest...                            Luke 2:14

   • First they sang glory to God before good will toward all men. In all of these 'first words' God is given priority.
4. One LORD
   

   Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one LORD:                          Deuteronomy 6:4

   • It absolutely excludes possibility of another Lord, it excludes, therefore, all idolatry. 
   • The term 'one LORD’ (All caps ) in the O.T is the Hebrew Yahveh. 
   • It also occurs in other places in the bible, firstly in Deuteronomy as mentioned above.

   And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one                                                           Zechariah 14:9

   And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:                                                   Mark 12:29

5. One God
   • The term 'one God' occurs seven times in the Bible:

   Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?                                                                                       Malachi 2:10

   And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:                                 Mark 12:32

   Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.                                                Romans 3:30

   But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.                                                                                         1 Corinthians 8:6

   One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

                                                                                                  Ephesians 4:6

   For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;                                                                                    Timothy 2:5

   ¹⁹Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.                                                                         James 2:19

6. One Mediator and Lord
   • 1 Timothy 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
   
   
   • 1 Corinthians 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord (adonai) Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
   
   
7. One husband for the church
   
   
   • 2 Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

   One body /one Spirit/ one hope of your calling/One Lord/one faith/one baptism

   There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.                                          Eps 4: 4-6

                                                                                                                         
   
   
8. Oneness of husband and wife

   For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.                                       Ephesians 5:31