A number, read soberly
One
One is the number of God himself, declared in Israel's great confession that the Lord is one. It speaks of God's uniqueness and undivided singleness, and of the unity he calls his people to share.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”Deuteronomy 6:4
The pattern Scripture draws
The pattern Scripture draws. The heart of Israel's faith is stated in the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4). One here means that God is unique and undivided, the only true God, over against the many gods of the nations. "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me" (Isaiah 45:5). From this flows a call to undivided devotion, to love him "with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). The number also expresses unity among his people and in marriage, where two "shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). Paul builds a whole confession on it: "There is one body, and one Spirit, ... One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). The pattern is singleness and unity, drawn directly from how Scripture confesses God and gathers his people into one.
The myth to clear up
The myth to clear up. The Shema's "one" is sometimes pitted against the Trinity, as if oneness ruled out the fullness of Father, Son, and Spirit. But the Bible holds both together: God is one in being, and Scripture also reveals him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for one in Deuteronomy 6:4 speaks of unified singleness, not a bare arithmetic unit, and the New Testament confesses the same one God while worshiping the Son and the Spirit. The error to avoid is using the number to flatten the biblical picture in either direction, either denying God's true oneness or denying the persons Scripture names. One does not mean solitary in a way that erases what God has revealed of himself; it means there is no other God, and that the God who is is undividedly, faithfully one.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Jesus himself affirmed the Shema as the first of all commandments (Mark 12:29), and yet he received worship and forgave sins as God alone can. The New Testament confesses "one God, the Father, ... and one Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 8:6), placing Christ within the identity of the one God rather than beside a second god. His prayer for his people was that they "may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee" (John 17:21), so that the church's unity flows from the very oneness of God. In Christ, Jew and Gentile are made "one new man" (Ephesians 2:15), and the scattered are gathered into one flock. The number that confesses the one God also becomes the pattern of the peace he makes.
Questions people ask
Does 'the LORD is one' contradict the Trinity?
No. The Shema declares that there is one true God, and Scripture reveals that this one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Oneness of being and the three persons are held together, not set against each other.
What does oneness call believers to?
It calls for undivided love for God (Deuteronomy 6:5) and for unity among his people. Jesus prayed that believers would be one as he and the Father are one (John 17:21).