One: One as a member of the body whole/a recognized member of the body

One as a member of the body whole:

A Recognized Member of the Body:

A body is recognized by its members. We have words that lead our thoughts in such recognitions; words like he, she, it, they, them. The common and everyday application of the word one in the Bible points to the body as identified by its member. In the following verse, the word 'them' does not identify the whole but the members of the whole. Use of the expression 'every one of them' informs us that the unnamed whole consists of many members. Luke 4:40 “and he laid his hands on every one of them.”

In the following verse, what we see is a named whole and an unnamed member. It is the same thing in that the whole is identified by a member. The word, multitude, again shows us that the whole has many members. Mark 9:17 “And one of the multitude answered and said.”

So, we see in the common application a common mode of thought. We identify the whole by the member, and we identify the member by the whole. We have been thinking like that for centuries, and across different cultures, because it is common. It is not a mode of thought exclusive to the Bible; it is just the way we think. Mark 14:20 “And he answered and said unto them, it is one of the twelve.”

This thought mode will inevitably identify in one of three manners. Either both the member and the whole are named or unnamed; that is the first two of the three. The third manner involves one or the other, either the member or the whole, being named alone. Matthew 26:14 “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot.” Mark 14:10 “And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve.” Mark 14:43 “And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve.”

A whole can be identified as a mixed bag, as in a multitude. A whole can also be identified as a grouping of contemporary members who are in concert with one another. One may think of such a group as an organ. Biologically speaking, cells come before organs. When those cells organize themselves by purpose and congregate exclusively, we call those cells an organ. We give our biological organs names for the sake of identification. Likewise, the identity of any named whole is about the synchronous congregation of members. That is to say, all the members of a group are on the same page. They think alike and gather around the same cause. Therefore, we see in the Bible, identification of groups by name.

Even when a name is not given, a name is implied. In the following verse, we know the maid is identifying Peter as one of the disciples of Christ. Mark 14:69 “And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them.” Then, in a verse that identifies the member by name, the whole is identified circuitously. Mark 14:70 “they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them.” In that case, the identification of Peter is not by the marker of his name, but more likely by the marker of his bearing as a Galilean.

Previously, the disciples of Christ were identified as the whole through such named members as Judas and Peter. Other groups are also identified. The members remain unidentified, they are 'one of' a whole such as Pharisees, lawyers, servants, debtors. Luke 7:36 “And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him.” Luke 11:45 “Then answered one of the lawyers.” Luke 15:26 “And he called one of the servants” Luke 16:5 “So he called every one of his Lord's debtors unto him.”

People have a lazy manner of speech. We do not always want to go to the trouble of naming the member or naming the whole. The employees will speak of the employers and say 'them.' Citizens often call elected officials 'they' and 'them.' All of law enforcement is loosely referred to as 'the man.' We identify using easy shortcuts. We not only identify others by such mechanisms of thought and language, we identify ourselves as aligned to a body whole using terms such as 'we,' 'us,' and 'ourselves.' The mechanisms of thought and language are the same in the Bible. Luke 17:15 “And one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back.”

Nicodemus was one of 'them.' Caiaphas was one of 'them.' We know that Caiaphas was the high priest; that is how he was identified, but high priest is not the whole. The Sanhedrin was the group of which Caiaphas was high priest. We identify Nicodemus as being of the same whole because that was the body he addressed in defense of Jesus. He is also identified as a secret disciple by the portion of the verse that is in parentheses. John 7:50 “Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them.)” John 11:49 “And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year.”

There is the member and there is the body whole. Either may be identified by the other. We saw it in biology, we see it in mathematics. One plus one plus one equals one. It is easy to see a clear connection between the individual and the group. The member is 'one' and the whole is 'one.' For being a lazy application of language, 'one of them' is pretty specific when it comes to identification. John 12:2 “There they made him a supper, and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.” Acts 21:8 “Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven.” Revelation 17:13 “And one of the elders answered.”

We may look at a single object and be impressed by its singularity, its solitude, its separation. When we take a bunch of single objects and put all of them in a bag, the solitude is gone. They are one. When we see many cells combine around the same function, we no longer identify separate cells, we identify an organ. When people join in the same thinking, the same hope, the same cause, the same purpose and power, humble individuals are transformed into something far greater. They are transformed from one, the least, into one, the most.