The value of numbers plays an interesting role in the spiritual significance of scripture Commenting on the number one in his book Numbers in Scripture, E W Bullinger writes “As a cardinal number it denotes unity, as an ordinal it denotes primacy Unity being indivisible, and not made up of other numbers, is therefore independent of all others, and is the source of all others So with the Deity The great First Cause is independent of all All stand in need of Him, and He needs no assistance from any Two affirms that there is a difference while one affirms that there is not another.”
The one God
Yahweh declared in the first commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods [plural] before me [singular]” (Ex 203) God is the one and only increate in the universe All things begin with Him “In the beginning, God “is how scripture begins God is self-sufficient and does not need help Nothing is right that does not begin with Him.
Jesus said, quoting scripture, “Hear, O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut 64) And the Master said again, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Mt 6:33)
Yahweh describes His glory in Exodus 34 6-7 “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sins, and that will by no means clear the guilty” Only Jesus fulfilled the first seven attributes in his walk on earth and has now been given the eighth attribute of Judgment.
Yahweh is the God of truth Truth suggests unity In the Hebrew text, the word for truth is emeth which means, according to Strong‘s Concordance, stability, right, sure, faithfulness. Emeth comes from the root aman (amen) meaning to build up, to support, to foster as a parent.
First occurrences
Genesis is said to be “the seed plot of the Bible” as it contains the creation, the first revelation of God, the initial fall of man, the first forgiveness, the first covenant and first prophecy.
The first recorded words of the Lord are, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Lk. 2:49). His last words as a mortal were, “It [my Father’s business] is finished.”
The first time God revealed Himself by name was to the patriarchs by the name El Shaddai — “nourisher” which word is rooted in the Hebrew word for breast. Yahweh also announces His name in the Law where he reveals His will: “As truly as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num. 14:21).
Only Yahweh can fully accomplish his purpose. Hence, “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one” (Zech. 14:9).
Finally, in studying number one, 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” (Eph. 4:4-6).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One