Each week we have been applying the Enneagram types to characters in the Bible and what we can learn from each of them about us and our relationships. So far we have learned about FIVE: The Investigator or Observer with the Magi, Thomas, and Nicodemus. Last week it was EIGHT: The Challenger or Leader with John the Baptist and Samson.
This week is ONE: The Perfectionist. You’re strong-willed and justice-oriented, and you’re willing to take a stand for what you care about. The Biblical character most associated with this type? Hello? Could this be any more obvious? Who do you think it is and what makes them a ONE? Find out this week and that maybe you are a ONE too.
DYK?
Enneagram Type ONES are commonly known as “The Perfectionist,” or “The Idealist.” Ones see the world in black and white, with little room for gray. Things are either right or wrong, good or bad, perfect or imperfect. Ones are always in pursuit of perfection as a way of controlling their environment. You’re strong-willed and justice-oriented, and you’re willing to make a stand for what you care about. Ones will straighten picture frames at a friend’s house.
DYK?
ONES also called the Reformer have a strong sense of justiceand are greatly concerned with moral and ethical uprightness. When this is externalized, ONES can be some of the greatest advocates for human rights and positive change in the world. But when it becomes internalized,Ones become their own worst critics. The world isn’t perfect, so Ones take it upon themselves to help make it better. But when Ones do something wrong they jump to thinking that they are bad, and so their anger and frustration get directed inward.
PJ Point
There is a difference between saying “I did something bad” and saying “I am bad.” The first is a true statement that can lead to positive transformation. The second is a lie straight from the devil’s own mouth one writer wrote. Talking about ONEs seems like a great Type to introduce a deeper way to look at the Enneagram. That is something called wings.
DYK?
Enneagram wings are important extensions of your core type, which provide more detail about your own unique, colorful personality Enneagram types are modified with influences from an adjacent type.
For example, a Type ONE could take the wing of Type NINE ( The Peacemaker which becomes the Idealist) they tend to be cooler, more relaxed, introverted, impersonal, objective and detached or Type TWO (The Helper which becomes the Advocate who tend to be warmer, more helpful, critical, fiery, vocal, sensitive, action-oriented and controlling).
Some people have influences from both possible wings—however, there’s usually a stronger (i.e. dominant) wing.
PJ Point
It’s no surprise that the Pharisees in the New Testament are portrayed as a very “ONE” group. If you just pay attention to the interactions Jesus has with them, you see that the Pharisee sect was very concerned with doing all the right things in the right ways. The Pharisees served as the moral backbone of Jewish society. The problem is that ONES can get a bit carried away with it. They are also known as the Moral Perfectionist.
I say to you that unless your righteousness is greater than the righteousness of the legal experts and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20
PJ Point
That must have really grated on the nerves of those religious elites. How could anyone be more righteous than they were? Can you believe this guy? He thinks he is more perfect than us!
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48
PJ Point
Now that’s the language that speaks to a One. That’s something the Pharisees could get behind. But what’s the context of that statement?Loving the unlovable. Accepting those who are imperfect. Welcoming those who don’t have it all together. Investing in those whom you deem “lesser.”
The Pharisees couldn’t stand the things Jesus was saying, but also many Pharisees became his followers. I can see why. Jesus was trying to break them out of this need for moral and religious perfection in relating to God.That flew in the face of everything they were teaching. But once they actually listened to Jesus, they found that the true path to freedom and relationship with God lay not in keeping the laws perfectly but in loving God and others more fully.
PJ Pondering
And there was another famous Pharisee who was a ONE.The Biblical character most associated with this type? Hello? Could this be any more obvious? The apostle Paul. A self-proclaimed lover of the Law and a Pharisee, enforcer of the “right way,” even to the point of murder. This, of course, describes Paul before the Damascus Road experience.
PJ Point
Paul is a classic example of a ONE. His journey is one from severe unhealthy (anger, resentment, judgmentalism, perfectionism) to true health (love, acceptance, and service to others). Once he started following Jesus, he gave up his murderous ways. He did not, however, abandon his passion for a just world. Paul is an excellent character study for ONES. You see clearly his dark, unhealthy side. You also see clearly how God redeems Paul’s core passion (justice, in particular) for his glory.
though I have good reason to have this kind of confidence. If anyone else has reason to put their confidence in physical advantages, I have even more: I was circumcised on the eighth day.I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin.I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews.With respect to observing the Law, I’m a Pharisee. With respect to devotion to the faith, I harassed the church.With respect to righteousness under the Law, I’m blameless. These things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him. In Christ I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith.
Philippians 3:4-9
PJ Point
ONES are affected early in life by the message that they have to be “good” and do things “right” in order to be accepted. Paul had to learn that there was nothing he could do to earn God’s love. It didn’t matter how impressive his resumé or how solid his theology was. It would never be good enough. He could never be perfect enough.
The righteousness that I have comes from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings. It includes being conformed to his death so that I may perhaps reach the goal of the resurrection of the dead. It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:10-14
PJ Point
The Apostle Paul turned from being a (literal) judgmental Pharisee (judgment is an Achilles heel of this personality type) to be a man willing to suffer extremely for the cause of Christ. But Paul still struggled daily with the unhealthy habits and patterns of thoughts/behaviors of a ONE.He still had to fight off that inner critical voice (Romans 7).He still had to remind himself and others that love was the true calling, not religious perfection (1 Corinthians 13).He would still get angry and lash out at those who opposed him or simply refused to listen to his message (see basically the whole book of Galatians and the second half of 2 Corinthians).
PJ Point
ONES core fear is the fear of imperfection, coming up short. ONEs strive to be virtuous right and do the right thing at the right time. They fear being accused, misinterpreted, corrected, blamed and not meeting expectations. A reminder for Type 1’s is that you were not created for perfection. Jesus, the only truly perfect one to recover your shortcomings.
He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
PJ Point
ONES need everyone and everything “buttoned up.” They do things the right way. Because no one meets their astronomically high standards, ONES often fill up with anger that boils over in the form of resentment. That is their deadly sin. Anger. They along with EIGHTS and NINES struggle with interior anger if not directed in positive ways can become all-consuming. But for ONES anger is at their core.
DYK?
And when they are under stress they take on some of the unhealthy characteristics of a FOUR like turning their anger inward and becoming depressed.But ONES don’t give up. Ones keep going, no matter what. When a One finds his/her true calling, there is nothing that can stand in their way. Paul faced beatings, imprisonments, and shipwrecks, but he was committed to his calling.When they are healthy, they become like healthy SEVENs less critical and more self-accepting for instance.
DYK?
And on this weekend when we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jryou might think he is a ONE but he is believed to be an EIGHT with a NINE wing.Because he said this for instance Without justice there can be no peace…type 8’s desire for justice and type 9’s desire for peace. I wanted to share this because this also gives a clue as to how the wing fits in with the primary Enneagram type.Although the 9 wing has a desire for peace, the 8 can see that peace requires action other than simply going along to get along. It requires a fight against unfair treatment. A standing up for one’s rights.
PJ Point
What makes Martin Luther King, Jr. most strikingly differentfrom the stereotype of the 8 is his non-violent approach to challenging injustice – remember that he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his efforts. And he also said this The strong man is the man who can stand up for his rights and not hit back…
PJ Point
You know who is arguably the most famous ONE in the world besides Paul? Mahatma Gandhi. The most famous person of nonviolent opposition. He had a desire for justice and equality and was motivated by a strong sense of right and wrong. And why is he important?Because both he and Paul influenced Martin Luther King Jr in his faith.
PJ Final Point
And redeemed, healthy ONES like Paul and Mahatma Gandhi can literally change the world. So ONES and all of us here is what we need to hear today from God…I invite you to be free from striving to be right and perfect in order to be worthy of My love and approval. You are already worthy and My love for you is a free gift to you in Christ.So are you a ONE? What is your number?
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