A "reward" in the Bible represents something that brings people together, or brings spiritual states together, and binds them. In the Bible, of course -- especially the New Testament -- we're told repeatedly to do what is good and right "without thought of reward." That's because removing the idea of a natural reward lets us be aware of spiritual rewards, which are actually intrinsic to the good that's being done. On a relatively low level, we feel delight in doing something nice and useful for someone else; that delight is a reward. The love that can exist between partners in a committed, loving marriage is a reward. The delight we feel when we truly want what is good and know how to create it is a reward. And ultimately, our conjunction with the Lord and the delight of His love and salvation is the deepest reward of all. These are the things meant when the Bible speaks of "rewards.

A company might have executives setting policy and strategy, engineers designing products, managers handling personnel and others handling various functions. They all do different things -- but if they're doing them with a shared underlying purpose, the company -- and the individuals in it -- will likely be successful. The Lord wants all human society to function in a similar way. We have different skills and individual loves, but if we all share a mutual love -- a love of serving others -- then society will function as one, will be a reflection of heaven and will be a good receptacle for the Lord's love. This can also happen within each of us, as we unify our talents and ideas around a central love. And in an abstract sense, it illustrates how a wide collection of varying ideas can be unified around a shared good intention. That is the kind of love pictured when “one” is used in the Bible, either as a specific number or in the sense of several people or objects “being one.” In more casual references -- when used to identify a specific person or object -- the meaning is relatively literal, and is connected to that person or object.