Numbers in the Bible: Lesson 2
Overview
The Numbers One and Three: God's Own Numbers
Scripture uses numbers both literally and symbolically—not as a hidden code to be cracked, but as a forthright way God reveals truth about Himself. Two numbers in particular point us to who God is in His essential being and character: one and three.
One: The Number of God Alone
A prime number is indivisible—it can be divided only by itself or by one. That mathematical reality mirrors a theological truth: God is indivisible, sovereign, unchanging, and perfectly self-sufficient. He needs nothing and no one. When Moses asks for God's name at the burning bush, the Lord answers, "I AM WHO I AM" Exodus 3:14. That name declares God's absolute independence: He simply is—personal, present, eternal, and reigning. Isaiah reinforces it: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god" Isaiah 44:6. And Paul reminds us, "In him we live and move and have our being" Acts 17:28. Nothing exists or moves apart from Him.
The pastoral implication is sharp. Our culture insists, "Look out for number one—yourself." Scripture overturns that. The number one belongs to God; we are not number one. We are called instead to humility and servitude, taking the place of the second—or even further down the line—so that God receives the glory due His name.
Three: The Triune God
The number three—also a prime, also indivisible—belongs to God as well, because the one God exists eternally as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even the Shema hints at this mystery: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one" Deuteronomy 6:4, where the Hebrew word for God is plural even as the Lord is declared one. The Athanasian Creed captures the confession the Church has always held: "We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance." The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God—yet the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. One substance, three persons.
We see this triune holiness pictured in Isaiah's vision of the throne room Isaiah 6:1-7. The seraphim have three pairs of wings and cry out, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts." Three wings, three cries—reflecting the triune God before whom even sinless angels cover themselves in reverence. Notice also the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ in the Old Testament as "the angel of the LORD" (as with Hagar and at Mount Moriah), revealing that the Son has always been at work in the unfolding plan of salvation.
Holding Fast to Awe
Isaiah's response—"Woe is me!"—and Moses hiding his face teach us something the modern church too easily forgets: the proper posture before God is reverence. There is a temptation to "dummy God down" to our level, to treat sacred space and worship casually. But God is holy ground. He is the one, the indivisible, the triune Lord of hosts. Like the angels who never tire of singing back to Him the truth of who He is, our worship is most fitting when it echoes His own self-revelation: one God, three persons, holy, holy, holy.
Transcript
Good morning and welcome. Let us join together, please, in a word of prayer. Almighty 2s
in everlasting God, since you have given us your servants, grace to acknowledge the glory 12s
of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the unity and 19s
power of your divine majesty. Keep us also steadfast in this true faith and worship and 26s
defend us ever from all our adversaries for you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit, live 34s
and reign, one God now and forever. Amen. 40s
Well welcome back to our study on the numbers and how God uses them, just a little bit of 46s
review of where we were two weeks ago. We saw how God uses numbers in literal ways, but also 52s
God can use those numbers in symbolic ways. Now this is not, sometimes you'll see in Scripture, 62s
people will talk about kind of a code in Scripture, oftentimes with prophecy, that if you somehow 69s
kind of break the code, you come to this hidden meaning. That's none of that. There's no hidden code 76s
that we have to have to break here. No, we see God rather forthright in his use of numbers and the 85s
meaning of the numbers. So we're going to take a look at not only the literal use of the numbers, 92s
but also the symbolic use of some numbers. We studied how every one of our sins was carried by 99s
the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and God remembers none of them. What a gracious, gracious God 109s
that we have. One of the greatest and most essential articles of the faith is the understanding of 119s
the Holy Trinity. Absolutely essential for us to understand. The word Trinity means three in one. 128s
So can you guess what numbers I want to focus with you on today? We're going to focus on the numbers 139s
one and also the number three. Both of these numbers reveal God's essential character and God's 144s
being, his character and his being. Now you remember in school when you learned about prime numbers, 156s
right? A prime number is a number that can only be divided by one or by itself. And factors are 164s
those other numbers that can go into other numbers, right? So a prime number is a number that can only 174s
be divided by one or itself. They are made of nothing and they are factored by nothing. In other 181s
words, a prime number is indivisible. It is indivisible. The symbolism of God, when you come to the 192s
understanding of numbers, we understand that God is indivisible. God is sovereign. God does not 203s
change. God exists in perfection without anything else. God is perfect and God needs nothing. 211s
Only God is one. Now technically, one is not a prime number, right? But God is number one. 226s
Now reflect several years ago, there was in particular popularity, the understanding, you need to 243s
watch out for number one. And who is number one? Yourself, right? Now put that into distinction with 250s
what the Scripture says of who number one is. God is number one. Period. One is the number of God. 260s
He is the only one who is sovereign. Does it need anything or anyone else? He has no 271s
source. So the number one, then, a number associated with God. Let's go to Exodus, please. 278s
Chapter three. Genesis and then Exodus. Exodus, chapter three. And we'll pick up in verse one. Exodus, 287s
chapter three. Verse one. Moses was keeping the flock of his father and law, 298s
Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Hora, the mountain 313s
of God. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush. He looked, 321s
and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Now jump back up there in verse two where it says, 330s
there the angel of the Lord appeared to him. That is a phrase that we see pop up in the Old 342s
Testament every now and then. When you see that phrase, it typically refers to the pre-incarnate 351s
Lord Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity. So this is a pre-incarnate or pre-inflashment 362s
of the Lord Jesus Christ, manifestation of the Lord Jesus. So before Jesus took on flesh at Bethlehem, 368s
born in a feeding trough, what we see are these pre-manifestations or pre-incarnate manifestations 377s
of Christ. For example, take a look at Genesis chapter 16, Genesis 16, verse seven. 387s
The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to 409s
sure. Here is a special pre-incarnate manifestation of the angel of the Lord or the Lord Jesus Christ 418s
here to Hegar, or over in Genesis chapter 22. There you have the story of Abraham and Isaac. 425s
And here Abraham is about ready to sacrifice his son, verse 11. It says, 441s
but the angel of the Lord called him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, 450s
here I am, he said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know 459s
that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. Notice the 465s
beginning of verse 11 there, but the angel of the Lord called to him. That's the Lord Jesus Christ, 472s
pre-incarnate manifestation. Okay, let's go back now to Exodus chapter 3 and we'll pick up the 481s
verse 3. Then Moses said, I must turn aside and look at this great site and see why the bush 495s
is not burned up. When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called him out of the 509s
bush. Moses, Moses, and he said, here I am. This is a special manifestation then of God to Moses, 518s
verse 5. Then he said, come no closer. Remove the sandals from your feet for the place on which you 527s
are standing is holy ground. He said further, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, 536s
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God. 543s
The hiding of the face was an expression of respect and reverence, just a little aside. 552s
We are increasingly seeing in the church throughout the world a loss in the understanding of the 560s
respect and reverence of God. That manifests itself in a whole host of ways, but it's part of our 567s
sinfulness that what we want to do is we want to dummy God down to us. One of the ways to do that 576s
is to remove the respect and the awe and the reverence of God. Simply how one understands the space, 584s
for example, in which we are in when we worship. This is a different space. We act differently 596s
in this space than we would at a cowboy game. Why? Because this is holy ground. This is God's 606s
house. And so we act differently. There's a trend and you see it in a whole host of ways, 615s
which is a whole other several week kind of topic here, about the loss of the awe and reverence. 623s
Notice in Scripture how the awe and the reverence of God is continually lifted up. That's something 630s
that we need to hold dear to. Here the expression of the covering here is out of respect. It is out 638s
of reverence. Moses understands his sinfulness and he expresses it physically. Verse 7. 646s
Then the Lord said, I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their 658s
cry and account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings. And I have come down to 664s
deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, 671s
a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, 676s
the Parasites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me. I have 684s
also seen how the Egyptians oppressed them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, 692s
the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring 700s
the Israelites out of Egypt? Moses doubts his ability to affect success. Then there's the pledge 706s
of success, verse 12. He said, I will be with you. This shall be the sign for you that it is I who 717s
sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain. 723s
The Moses said to God, if I come to the Israelites and say to him, the God of your ancestors has 730s
sent me to you and they ask me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? Notice the response. 734s
God said to Moses, I am who I am. He said further, thus you shall say to the Israelites, 741s
I am who I am. God also said to Moses, thus you shall say to the Israelites, the Lord, the God of 752s
your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This 763s
is my name forever and this my title for all generations. God's answer to Moses with regard to his name 768s
is a distilling of truth. When God says, I am who I am, he is communicating that he is personal, 779s
that he thinks, that he feels, that he can decide, that he can act, he is communicating, his absolute 791s
independence, his absolute independence. Scripture reveals that God is timeless, that God is constant, 801s
that God is unchangeable, that his very essence is not dependent on something else. 809s
Let's go to Isaiah chapter 44, a good way to find Isaiah in the Old Testament. 820s
He used to go to a book of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and then Isaiah, as 826s
you're working your way to the New Testament, Isaiah chapter 44, verse 6, Isaiah 44, verse 6. 834s
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first, 851s
and I am the last, besides me, there is no God. When God says, I am, we say that he is, 860s
that he is present, he is now, and he is raining. Let's go to Acts 17, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 877s
and then Acts, Acts chapter 17, verse 28, Acts 17, verse 28. 891s
For in him we live and move and have our being. In him we live and move and have our being. 910s
He is, nothing else is, he's the only one. In him we move and have our being, in him we have our life, 922s
in him is everything. Nothing lives apart from God's will. There is no living, no moving, no being, 933s
apart from him. The number one is whose number? It's God's number. God's number. One, God. 942s
And when we say the number one is associated with God, that means that we then are de facto, 956s
not one. We are not one. I like that campaign or that slogan, it's probably 10 years old now, 965s
where it says, I am second, I am second. Isn't that good? That's good. Second. In fact, you can 976s
elaborate on that more. Probably not even second. Let's run the numbers way down. Because we are to 984s
take that servant role. That's the opposite of what culture says. Opposite of what society will teach. 993s
Society teaches your number one. Society values power. Society values wealth. Society values the 1001s
images of success. Society in its sinfulness does not value servitude. Society values whose number 1009s
one. And so because that's the value system of society, then by nature, we want to understand 1020s
ourselves as one. God says, let me clear this up for you. Number one, that belongs to me. 1029s
I'm number one. That number, indivisible. Let's go into Deuteronomy chapter six. Genesis, Exodus, 1038s
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter six. We'll pick up in verse four. 1046s
Here, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. This bears communication in terms of 1065s
God and the unity of God to the number one. But here's the thing. In the passage here, God in the 1079s
Hebrew is in the plural. All the English translations cleans that up for us. But it's not what the 1087s
original Hebrew says. So if you want to translate that literally, it would be, how can the Lord, 1097s
or the question that would come, how can the Lord be God's if he is one? And so you look then and 1106s
says, hero is real, the Lord is our God's, the Lord alone. Now that doesn't make sense, right? To our 1115s
English ear. So the English translators, they just clean that up. I really wish they didn't do that. 1126s
Because what is this getting at? This is getting at the holy, the holy Trinity. The threefold 1134s
plurality within the unity of the Godhead. So we confess that God is three, right? And God is 1144s
one. One God in three persons. The longest of the creeds. The real workhorse is the Apostles 1159s
Creed in the church. Secondarily, you've got the Nicene Creed. The real work or the real lengthy 1172s
one is the Athanasian Creed. We don't use that as part of worship because it would have to replace 1179s
the sermon. It's that long, right? But the Athanasian Creed in particular really highlights the 1185s
Trinity. And just let me quote you just a little bit from this Creed. Whoever will be saved shall 1194s
above all else hold the Catholic faith. And remember, Catholic there is a small C. It's not 1201s
the nomination. Catholic means universal. So when we confess in the Creed that we believe in the 1210s
Holy Catholic Church, we're not confessing Roman Catholicism. We're confessing the word Catholic 1216s
in terms of universal. Whoever will be saved shall above all else hold the Catholic faith, which faith 1222s
except everyone keeps whole and undefiled without doubt he will perish eternally. 1230s
And the Catholic faith is this. That we worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God. 1237s
Neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. Let me read that little phrase again 1246s
because that's the key. Neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. By substance 1253s
there we have one God, right? We have one substance here. One God, three persons. 1261s
For there's one person of the Father, another of the Son and another of the Holy Spirit. But the 1270s
Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is all one. The glory equal the majesty 1275s
eternal. Let me give you a little diagram. If you're ever explaining the Holy Trinity to someone, 1286s
this is a little diagram that can perhaps be helpful. One of the ancient symbols for God 1297s
is the triangle. Now why would the triangle be an ancient symbol of God? What do you think? 1305s
Right. It's got three sides to it. You can put God here in the center. 1314s
And you've got Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And then you're right on the sides. Is not, 1325s
is not, and is not. So the Son is not the Father. The Father is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy 1341s
Spirit is not the Son. Right? You get the drift. So triangle for God, one God, three persons, 1352s
and these various members of the Trinity. Father's not the Son, Son's not the Holy Spirit. 1361s
Then you go another line and you put the word is. 1371s
The Spirit is God. The Father is God. The Holy Spirit is God. There's the Trinity that you can 1383s
write on the back of an napkin if you're witnessing to someone. Two key numbers, right? One God, 1394s
three persons. The number one and the number three. The number one belongs to God. The number three 1404s
is a, what kind of number? It's a prime number, right? It's indivisible. You can only divide it by 1419s
itself. Three can only be divided by three or one, right? So the prime number then, 1429s
reflecting who God is and the fact of his sovereignty, of his, of his being unchanging, 1440s
that he is indivisible. The number is one and three belong to God. Let's go to Isaiah, chapter six. 1448s
Isaiah, chapter six. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, ecclesiasties, song of Solomon. 1458s
And then Isaiah, Isaiah, chapter six, verse one. 1467s
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lofty. 1481s
And the hymn of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him. Each had six 1489s
wings. With two, they covered their faces. And with two, they covered their feet. And with two, 1499s
they flew. And one called to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole 1507s
earth is full of his glory. The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called 1517s
and the house filled with smoke. And I said, woe was me, I'm lost, for I am a man of unclean lips. 1526s
And I live among a people of unclean lips. Get my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 1534s
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair 1543s
of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said, now that this has touched your lips, 1548s
your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out. Okay, let's look at those angels. 1554s
Let's look at the at the seraphs for a second. They've got three pairs of wings, right? 1563s
Here's the number three popping up. Two cover their shame that is their feet, the two sets of them 1572s
that God is so holy, they cover themselves. Here we're right back at that whole respect and 1583s
reverence understanding. See how God is surrounded and the angels are covering themselves. 1591s
There's three sets of wings. How many times do they cry out holy? Three. Now, why do they cry 1599s
out holy three times? What do you think? You say it is good. Absolutely. You're right back at the 1607s
try and God. So here you have the angels in the throne room of God. They're crying out holy, 1620s
holy, holy, the one God in three persons and you've got the three sets of wings, two of which 1626s
they're covering themselves because simply the holiness of God that is being manifest. 1635s
What great hymn do we get in the church, of course? Holy, holy, holy. Where does it come from? 1644s
It comes right from Isaiah 6. As an aunt or an uncle that deals with children 1652s
as a parent deals with a child as a grandparent deals with a child. You love to hear the very thing that you have taught 1664s
and the very thing that you have communicated. You love to hear it come back to you, don't you? 1683s
Now, put yourself into God's shoes if I can use that term. What does God love? But God loves to hear 1690s
His people sing back to Him, proclaim back to Him the very thing that He has taught of who He is. 1701s
And so what do the angels do? They communicate God's identity and His holiness and they sing 1711s
reflecting the triune God. One God, three persons, one and three, not divisible. 1722s
They symbolize sovereign sovereignty and immutability. The numbers one and three. 1735s
Who are they associated with? God. That's God's numbers. Well, next week, how about two and four? 1745s
How about two and four? What are they used to communicate in Scripture? If one and three are God, 1755s
what about two and four? We're going to explore that as we continue next week. Blessings. 1764s