Is there any math in the Bible? No, don’t go for the obvious, “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).
Let’s start with addition. In Acts 2:41, Luke tells us that there were 3000 souls added to the church because they obeyed the message that Peter preached. If we obey that same message, like they did, the Lord will add us to His church also (2:47).
Did you realize 1+1=1? Read Ephesians 5:31-33. When a man and a woman are joined, or added, together they become one, one in their goals, their thoughts, and their purpose in life. They are no longer two separate entities, they are united as one. The perfect pattern for us to follow is God and Jesus. They are one in mission and purpose as mentioned in John 10:30.
Move on to subtraction. Revelation 22:19 tells us that if we take anything away from the book of Revelation our name will be taken away from the book of life. We have no right to tamper with the word of God. Also, Galatians 1:8 tells us that if an apostle or an angel from heaven, preach any gospel other than the inspired gospel he will be accursed. For me, one of the hardest subtractions is found in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 where we are told to withdraw ourselves from an unruly brother. However, just because it is hard does not excuse us from the responsibility of following God’s word.
When I think of multiplication I think of the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-23. Where the word of God fell on good hearts that heard, understood and bore much fruit, it was multiplied, some 100 fold, some 60 fold, and some 30 fold.
In school, did you dislike long division? You’re in good company. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul pleaded with the Corinthians to be joined together “in the same mind and same judgment” without division. However, in Acts 2:45 Luke tells how the early Christians sold their possessions and divided the proceeds among those who had need. So division can be good or bad. It just depends on what you are dividing.
In algebra, there is a “Transitive Property of Equality.” Simply stated, if a=b and b=c then a=c. Is this concept also in the Bible? In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul says, “Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ.” By imitating Paul we are imitating Christ.
Also in algebra there is the concept of ”The Empty Set.” A set is a group of items or numbers. Think of a set of dishes that you might inherit from your grandmother. Each piece is a member of that set that belonged to your grandmother. As time goes by, a few pieces might get broken and there becomes fewer and fewer items in the set. If all the pieces were broken you would have no items left in the set, it would be an empty set. Surely this isn’t found in the Bible? Look at Ephesians 1:3, “all spiritual blessings” are found in Christ. Outside of Christ there are no spiritual blessings, all other sets are empty.
One last thing to consider is the value pi. The area of a circle = pi r squared. The value of pi equals roughly 3.1416. I say roughly because pi has been carried out to over a trillion digits and still it goes on without dividing out evenly or repeating. It is thought to go on to infinity. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 speaks of spending eternity in heaven with the Lord. Pi may or may not go on to infinity, but we can be sure that if we follow The Lord He has promised us eternal life.
So, what’s the point of all of this? Romans 1:20 speaks of understanding God by the things he has made. Math may or may not be included in this, but if you just look, you will find God all around us.
February 2007