The number 1
Unity, primacy, God's sovereignty
God's own numbers — unity, completeness, divine order
One represents the unity and sovereignty of God. It signifies the beginning, the source, and absolute singleness. In Scripture, it emphasizes that there is one God, one faith, one baptism, and one body of Christ.
In Hebrew and Greek
Hebrew
Echad (אֶחָד) - unity, used in the Shema: 'The LORD our God is one LORD'
Greek
Heis (εἷς) - one, first, primary
First occurrence
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
The pattern in Scripture
- One God (Deut 6:4)
- One faith, one Lord, one baptism (Eph 4:5)
- One mediator (1 Tim 2:5)
Key verses
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry l...
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for...
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, a...
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, becau...
1:1 verses
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his househol...
And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying...
And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on ...
These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the p...