'One' in the Bible

Peter turned round and noticed the disciple whom Jesus loved following--the one who at the supper had leaned back on His breast and had asked, "Master, who is it that is betraying you?"

All of these with one mind continued earnest in prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

It was on one of these days that Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren--the entire number of persons present being about 120--and said,

For Judas was reckoned as one of our number, and a share in this ministry was allotted to him."

"For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "'Let his encampment be desolate: let there be no one to dwell there'; and "'His work let another take up.'

beginning from His baptism by John down to the day on which He was taken up again from us into Heaven--one should be appointed to become a witness with us as to His resurrection."

At length, on the day of the Harvest Festival, they had all met in one place;

They were all astounded and bewildered, and asked one another, "What can this mean?"

and every one who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

For Thou wilt not leave me in the Unseen World forsaken, nor give up Thy holy One to undergo decay.

"Repent," replied Peter, "and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, with a view to the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Those, therefore, who joyfully welcomed his Message were baptized; and on that one day about three thousand persons were added to them;

Fear came upon every one, and many marvels and signs were done by the Apostles.

And, day by day, attending constantly in the Temple with one accord, and breaking bread in private houses, they took their meals with great happiness and single-heartedness,

One day Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the hour of prayer--the ninth hour--and, just then,

some men were carrying there one who had been lame from birth, whom they were wont to place every day close to the Beautiful Gate (as it was called)

Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer.

And every one, without exception, who refuses to listen to that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the People.'

It is to you first that God, after raising His Servant from the grave, has sent Him to bless you, by causing every one of you to turn from your wickedness."

"What are we to do with these men?" they asked one another; for the fact that a remarkable miracle has been performed by them is well known to every one in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

But to prevent the matter spreading any further among the people, let us stop them by threats from speaking in the future in this name to any one whatever."

When they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were, one and all, filled with the Holy Spirit, and proceeded to tell God's Message with boldness.

Among all those who had embraced the faith there was but one heart and soul, so that none of them claimed any of his possessions as his own, but everything they had was common property;

and gave it to the Apostles, and distribution was made to every one according to his wants.

so that they would even bring out their sick friends into the streets and lay them on light couches or mats, in order that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or other of them.

The inhabitants, too, of the towns in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem came in crowds, bringing sick persons and some who were harassed by foul spirits, and they were cured, one and all.

saying, "The jail we found quite safely locked, and the warders were on guard at the doors, but upon going in we found no one there."

And some one came and brought them word, saying, "The men you put in prison are actually in the Temple, standing there, teaching the people."

Seeing one of them wrongfully treated he took his part, and secured justice for the ill-treated man by striking down the Egyptian.

The next day, also, he came and found two of them fighting, and he endeavoured to make peace between them. "'Sirs,' he said, 'you are brothers. Why are you wronging one another?'

Which of the Prophets did not your forefathers persecute? Yes, they killed those who announced beforehand the advent of the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become--

Crowds of people, with one accord, gave attention to what they heard from him, listening, and witnessing the signs which he did.

"Give me too," he said, "that power, so that every one on whom I place my hands will receive the Holy Spirit."

"Why, how can I," replied the eunuch, "unless some one explains it to me?" And he earnestly invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

"Pray, of whom is the Prophet speaking?" inquired the eunuch; "of himself or of some one else?"

Meanwhile the men who travelled with Saul were standing dumb with amazement, hearing a sound, but seeing no one.

and his hearers were all amazed, and began to ask one another, "Is not this the man who in Jerusalem tried to exterminate those who called upon that Name, and came here on purpose to carry them off in chains to the High Priests?"

Henceforth Saul was one of them, going in and out of the city,

Peter, however, putting every one out of the room, knelt down and prayed, and then turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, rise." Dorcas at once opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, sat up.

About three o'clock one afternoon he had a vision, and distinctly saw an angel of God enter his house, who called him by name, saying, "Cornelius!"

He said to them, "You know better than most that a Jew is strictly forbidden to associate with a Gentile or visit him; but God has taught me to call no one unholy or unclean.

Then Peter began to speak. "I clearly see," he said, "that God makes no distinctions between one man and another;

"Can any one forbid the use of water, and object to these persons being baptized--men who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?"

one of whom, named Agabus, being instructed by the Spirit, publicly predicted the speedy coming of a great famine throughout the world. (It came in the reign of Claudius.)

So the disciples decided to send relief, every one in proportion to his means, to the brethren living in Judaea.

And passing through the first ward and the second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. This opened to them of itself; and, going out, they passed on through one of the streets, and then suddenly the angel left him.

But John, towards the end of his career, repeatedly asked the people, "'What do you suppose me to be? I am not the Christ. But there is One coming after me whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten.'

And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, never again to be in the position of one soon to return to decay, He speaks thus: 'I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.'

Because in another Psalm also He says, 'Thou wilt not give up Thy Holy One to undergo decay.'

After this man had listened to one of Paul's sermons, the Apostle, looking steadily at him and perceiving that he had faith to be cured,

while Paul deemed it undesirable to have as their companion one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work.

So there arose a serious disagreement between them, which resulted in their parting from one another, Barnabas taking Mark and setting sail for Cyprus.

Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian who was standing, entreating him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us."

Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying.

One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes.

Jason has received them into his house; and they all set Caesar's authority at defiance, declaring that there is another Emperor-- one called Jesus."

He caused to spring from one forefather people of every race, for them to live on the whole surface of the earth, and marked out for them an appointed span of life and the boundaries of their homes;

that they might seek God, if perhaps they could grope for Him and find Him. Yes, though He is not far from any one of us.

seeing that He has appointed a day on which, before long, He will judge the world in righteousness, through the instrumentality of a man whom He has pre-destined to this work, and has made the fact certain to every one by raising Him from the dead."

I am with you, and no one shall attack you to injure you; for I have very many people in this city."

But when Gallio became Proconsul of Greece, the Jews with one accord made a dead set at Paul, and brought him before the court.

"John," he said, "administered a baptism of repentance, bidding the people believe on One who was to come after him; namely, on Jesus."

There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew of high-priestly family, who were doing this.

The riot and uproar spread through the whole city, till at last with one accord they rushed into the Theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were fellow travellers with Paul.

The people, meanwhile, kept shouting, some one thing and some another; for the assembly was all uproar and confusion, and the greater part had no idea why they had come together.

No sooner, however, did they see that he was a Jew, than there arose from them all one roar of shouting, lasting about two hours. "Great is the Ephesian Diana," they said.

If, however, Demetrius and the mechanics who support his contention have a grievance against any one, there are Assize-days and there are Proconsuls: let the persons interested accuse one another.

Therefore I protest to you to-day that I am not responsible for the ruin of any one of you.

Therefore be on the alert; and remember that, night and day, for three years, I never ceased admonishing every one, even with tears.

we took leave of one another; and we went on board, while they returned home.

On the morrow we left Ptolemais and went on to Caesarea, where we came to the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.

Some of the disciples from Caesarea also joined our party, and brought with them Mnason, a Cyprian, one of the early disciples, at whose house we were to lodge.

So Paul associated with the men; and the next day, having purified himself with them, he went into the Temple, giving every one to understand that the days of their purification were finished, and there he remained until the sacrifice for each of them was offered.

Some of the crowd shouted one accusation against Paul and some another, until, as the uproar made it impossible for the truth to be ascertained with certainty, the Tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

Then he said, 'The God of our forefathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous One and hear Him speak.

But, when they had tied him up with the straps, Paul said to the Captain who stood by, "Does the Law permit you to flog a Roman citizen--and one too who is uncondemned?"

and Paul called one of the Captains and said, "Take this young man to the Tribune, for he has information to give him."

So the Tribune sent the youth home, cautioning him. "Do not let any one know that you have given me this information," he said.

unless it was in that one expression which I made use of when I shouted out as I stood among them, "'The resurrection of the dead is the thing about which I am on my trial before you to-day.'"

If, however, I have done wrong and have committed any offence for which I deserve to die, I do not ask to be excused that penalty. But if there is no truth in what these men allege against me, no one has the right to give me up to them as a favour. I appeal to Caesar."

My reply was that it is not the custom among the Romans to give up any one for punishment before the accused has had his accusers face to face, and has had an opportunity of defending himself against the charge which has been brought against him.

But they quarrelled with him about certain matters connected with their own religion, and about one Jesus who had died, but--so Paul persistently maintained--is now alive.

"While thus engaged, I was travelling one day to Damascus armed with authority and a commission from the High Priests,

and, having withdrawn, they talked to one another and said, "This man is doing nothing for which he deserves death or imprisonment."

and going on board a ship of Adramyttium which was about to sail to the ports of the province of Asia, we put to sea; Aristarchus, the Macedonian, from Thessalonica, forming one of our party.

I therefore strongly advise you to take some food. This is essential for your safety. For not a hair will perish from the head of any one of you."

Now the soldiers recommended that the prisoners should be killed, for fear some one of them might swim ashore and effect his escape.

When the natives saw the creature hanging to his hand, they said to one another, "Beyond doubt this man is a murderer, for, though saved from the sea, unerring Justice does not permit him to live."

After one complete day he invited the leading men among the Jews to meet him; and, when they were come together, he said to them, "As for me, brethren, although I had done nothing prejudicial to our people or contrary to the customs of our forefathers, I was handed over as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the power of the Romans.

in other words that while I am among you we may be mutually encouraged by one another's faith, yours and mine.

For I am not ashamed of the Good News. It is God's power which is at work for the salvation of every one who believes--the Jew first, and then the Gentile.

This then is the reason why God gave them up to vile passions. For not only did the women among them exchange the natural use of their bodies for one which is contrary to nature, but the men also,

in just the same way--neglecting that for which nature intends women--burned with passion towards one another, men practising shameful vice with men, and receiving in their own selves the reward which necessarily followed their misconduct.

to those on the one hand who, by lives of persistent right-doing, are striving for glory, honour and immortality, the Life of the Ages;

whereas glory, honour and peace will be given to every one who does what is good and right--to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.

But the true Jew is one inwardly, and true circumcision is heart-circumcision--not literal, but spiritual; and such people receive praise not from men, but from God.

Thus it stands written, "There is not one righteous man.

There is not one who is really wise, nor one who is a diligent seeker after God.

All have turned aside from the right path; they have every one of them become corrupt. There is no one who does what is right--no, not so much as one."

unless you can deny that it is one and the same God who will pronounce the circumcised to be acquitted on the ground of faith, and the uncircumcised to be acquitted through the same faith.