How Many is One?

William V. Beasley
Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Someone may be thinking, "What a dumb question. Everyone knows that one is one." Another may be saying, "Well, one is more than none, but less than two." Both of these are right. It is a dumb question; it is more than none and less than two.

Now that we understand how many one is, let us turn to the Bible and apply our understanding of numbers to the word of God. "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). Using our knowledge of arithmetic we can see that there is less than two "Gods and Fathers of all who are above all and through all, and in you all," and at the same time there is more than none; there is one. The same thing is true of the other "ones" listed. There is more than none, but less than two. It is even true of the "one body." There is "but one body" (1 Cor. 12:20), and that body is, according to Ephesians 1:22-23, the church. There is, my friend, one church. More than none, less than two.

Are you a member of the Lord's body, the one body, the one church?

Truth Magazine XIX: 8, p. 126
January 2, 1975