Unique or One of a Kind?

Well, as most of my friends and my readers know, certain mistakes in English grammar and terminology bug me.

In the past, I have written Coffee Talks on various tidbits of poor English that make me cringe, and now I tackle another one.

Over the years I have heard people use the expression "one of a kind" when what they really mean is "unique."

No, they are not the same.

Let's think about it for a moment, and yes, there is a "spiritual reason" why this is an important topic, and I'll get to that part later.

One of a Kind
The word "kind" in this context means type, group, class,category, or genre. In brief, a "kind" is a group of individuals or items linked by traits held in common.

Thus, if you have a "kind" or a class that means, by definition, that you have multiple items which are all part of that "classification."

For example, let's think of fruit: Fruit is a "kind." Apples are just one kind of fruit, so apples are "one of a kind."

Of Kinds and Toyotas
Let's get even more practical. My wife and I own a 2000, Toyota Camry. That year Toyota made about 100,000 of these cars. So,my car is just "one" of 100,000 . . . or, said another way, it is "one of a kind." It is one car in the class of Camrys made in 2000.

You see, "one of a kind" does not mean that it is the only one, and there is none other. It means that it is, as the phrase plainly says, "one of a kind ."

Now, let's take it another step. My wife and I also own a 1992 Toyota Camry. So, when you look at all of the Toyota Camrys ever made, we have two of them. So, we have "two of a kind." The "kind" is Toyota Camry. However,I'll bet you've never heard that phrase before, "two of a kind" (unless you play cards).

Of Kinds and $20's
Right now, I have a twenty-dollar bill sitting on my desk. That twenty-dollar bill is "one of a kind." There are probably millions of that "kind"or class of bills, but I have one of them.

Now, I reach into my wallet and pull two more $20 bills from my wallet and place them with my first $20.

Now, I have (you guessed it) "three of a kind." Are you getting the point?

Of Kinds and Radio Stations
On the way to work this morning, I was listening to a particular radio station called "Smooth Jazz." This is a syndicated radio program, and there are many "Smooth Jazz" stations across America.

Well, today the DJ on the radio said:

You're listening to the one-of-a-kind Smooth Jazz station.

And I thought to myself:

He's right. It is just one of a kind. There are hundreds of other Smooth Jazz stations across America and this is just "one of them."

Then, the DJ continued and said,

Yes, you're listening to the unique, one-of-a-kind Smooth Jazz radio station.

That's when I busted out laughing. You see,if it is "unique," then it cannot be "one of a kind," and if it is "one of a kind," then it cannot be "unique."

Very Unique?
Another error is the phrase, "very unique." Unique cannot be "very" as if there is a special kind of uniqueness.Something is either unique or it is not. There are not "unique items" and "very unique items." Unique is like the word perfect in this sense. Something cannot be"very perfect" or "more perfect." If it is perfect, that's it. It cannot be better or more .It either is perfect or is is not. This is something that I have to remember when I am talking about Jesus, because I have a tendency to want to say that "Jesus is utterly unique," as if there were any other kind of "unique."

Jesus: One of a Kind?
Now, all of this "one of a kind" and "unique"talk might be little more than splitting hairs if it were not for one issue: The Savior Jesus Christ.

There are many voices today that tell us that Jesus Christ is "one of a kind." The kind? Spiritual gurus. On one of those ubiquitous "religious programs"on TV, a woman was explaining that:

Down through the ages, there have been many spiritual leaders, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, and yes, even Jesus. These individuals are not unique; they all help lead us to a better understanding of who God is. We should look to none of them alone for all the answers, but we should read and study all of them, and we should learn from all of them. After all, they were all good men who had a special relationship with God, but none of them knew it all. So, we need to study all of the great religions and all of the great religious leaders; then, we need to decide for ourselves which path or paths we shall follow. Each of these men was one of a kind; the kind? Great religious leaders of the world.

But, that's to be expected from the liberals.To them, Jesus is just "one of a kind." But, you don't expect to hear such lose terminology from good, conservative scholars.

Too Close for Comfort
I'll not soon forget hearing a conservative theologian say to a classroom full of eager theologian wannabes:

Today, I'm going to tell you who Jesus Christ is. And, the first thing that you need to know is that Jesus Christ is one of a kind.

Students all around the room scribbled in their note pads, "JC = one of a kind."

I cringed when I heard him say that. Then,my "spiritual-discernment radar" zeroed in on him, and from that point on, I hung on his every word. Would he continue on in his lecture expounding on the implications of that horrible statement? Or, would he shift and say that Jesus is unique?

Well, as it turned out, this professor knew far more about theology than he did about English, because he went on to clearly and accurately describe Jesus as the one and only Savior , the one and only Son of God .

A Son of God?
I am always sadly amused when people say, "Yes, Jesus is ason of God, but he is not the Son of God. After all, we are all sons and daughters of God." It is a serious mistake to think that Jesus is one of a kind, and we are members of that kind (or category). Recently a "Doctor of Religion" from a well-known university was on TV explaining that, "Jesus and Mohammed were both sons of God, and each man had a unique insight on who God is." A while later, he added a few more names to the list, Buddha, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama. I thought to myself, "Well, then, we have a Savior Smorgasbord . Belly on up to the bar and take your pick."

Some of these people reinterpret John 3:16 to say, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one-of-a-kind son, that whoever believes in and follows his teachings, or in the teachings of one of the other gurus within this "kind or classification of gurus," shall not perish but have eternal life."

Actually, what John 3:16 actually says is: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only [unique] Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus: Unique Savior
It is my contention that Jesus is not one of a kind of anything:He is unique. He is not one of a kind of saviors. He is not one of a kind of spiritual gurus. He is not one of a kind of God's children. In all of these, He is unique. He is the one and only Savior. Of "gurus," he alone is the way, the truth,and the life. Of "God's children," he is the unique("only begotten" KJV, i.e., "one and only,"NIV) Son of God.

Jesus: Unique Human
Now, an obvious question that must be addressed is this:

Question: Was Jesus not truly human ?

Answer: Yes He was (and is) truly human .

Orthodox Christian theology teaches that Jesus was (is) 100% human and 100% divine.

So, then, could not we argue that Jesus was one of a kind as a human?

Perhaps, but only with some qualifications.

While Jesus partook of our humanity and was (is) in fact 100%human and, thus, he is one of the humankind, he was (is) the only human who was (is) sinless.

Question: How many other sinless humans have there been?

Answer: None.

So, even in his humanity, Jesus is unique .

So, if you ever teach a class on who Jesus is, you might want to start out this this line:

Today, I'm going to tell you who Jesus Christ is. And, the first thing that you need to know is that Jesus Christ is unique.


There has never been a personage like Jesus, and there shall never be a personage like Him.
He alone is the Savior. He is Unique.

"Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12)