Message Two

One Accord

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24, 32; 5:12; 15:25;
Rom. 15:5-6; 1 Cor. 1:10

1. In John 17 the Lord Jesus prayed for oneness, in Ephesians 2 He died to produce oneness, in John 20 He breathed the Spirit into us as the essence of oneness, and in Acts 1 we have the application of oneness.
2. The genuine one accord in the church is the practice of the oneness of the Body, which is the oneness of the Spirit—Eph. 4:3-6:
   1. The practice of the genuine one accord in the church is the application of the oneness; when oneness is practiced, it becomes one accord—Acts 1:14; 2:46.
   2. The landmark that divides the Gospels and the Acts is the one accord among the one hundred twenty—Acts 1:14:
      1. They had become one in the Body, and in that oneness they continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer—Eph. 4:3-6; Acts 1:14.
      2. When the apostles and the believers practiced the church life, they practiced it in one accord—2:46; 4:24, 32; 5:12; 15:25.
   3. If we practice the principle of the Body, we will have the one accord, for the one accord is the Body—Rom. 12:4-5; 15:5-6; 1 Cor. 12:12-13, 20, 27; 1:10.
   4. One accord is the master key to every blessing in the New Testament—Eph. 1:3; Psa. 133:
      1. In order to receive God’s blessing we must practice the oneness by the one accord—v. 1.
      2. The blessing of God can come only upon a situation of one accord, the practice of the oneness.
3. One accord refers to the harmony in our inner being, in our mind and will—Acts 1:14:
   1. In Acts 1:14 the Greek word homothumadon, used for “one accord,” is strong and all-inclusive:
      1. This word comes from homo, “same,” and thumos, “mind, will, purpose (soul, heart)” and denotes a harmony of feeling in one’s entire being.
      2. We should be in the same mind and the same will with the same purpose around and within our soul and heart; this means that our entire being is involved.
      3. For the one hundred twenty to be in one accord meant that their entire beings were one—v. 14.
   2. In Matthew 18:19 the Greek word sumphoneo is used to signify the one accord:
      1. This word means “to be in harmony, or accord” and refers to the harmonious sound of musical instruments or voices; the harmony of inward feeling among the believers is like a harmonious melody.
      2. When we have one accord, we become a pleasing melody to God.
4. The practice of the oneness—the one accord—is according to the apostles’ teaching—Acts 2:42, 46:
   1. There was one accord among the believers, and those who were in one accord continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching—v. 42.
   2. The apostles taught the same thing to all the saints in all the places and in all the churches; today we also must teach the same thing in all the churches in every country throughout the earth—1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33b-34; Matt. 28:19-20.
   3. The prohibition against sowing two kinds of seed in one’s vineyard may typify the prohibition against teaching differently in the church—Deut. 22:9; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3; cf. Luke 8:11:
      1. The church is God’s vineyard, and in this vineyard only one kind of seed, one kind of teaching, should be sown—1 Cor. 3:9b; Acts 2:42.
      2. If we teach differently, sowing more than one kind of seed, the “produce” in the church will be forfeited.
5. In practicing the one accord, we need to be in one spirit with one soul—Phil. 1:27; 2:2, 5; 4:2:
   1. We should be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion; this is to be one in our soul—1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27; 2:2, 5; 4:2.
   2. To be in one accord is to be one in our whole being; this results in our being one in our outward speaking—Rom. 15:5-6:
      1. To have one mind and one mouth means that we have only one Head—Christ; we should think with the mind of Christ and speak with the mouth of the Head—Col. 1:18a; Phil. 2:2, 5; 4:2.
      2. Whenever we are in one accord, we speak with one mouth—Rom. 15:6.
      3. With one accord and with one mouth mean that even though we are many and all are speaking, we all “speak the same thing”—1 Cor. 1:10.
      4. The only way to be with one accord and one mouth is to allow Christ the room to be everything in our heart and in our mouth so that God may be glorified—Eph. 3:17a, 21.
6. In order to be in one accord we need to have one heart and one way—Jer. 32:39; Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24:
   1. The believers should have one heart—to love God, to seek God, to live God, and to be constituted with God so that we may be His expression—and one way—the Triune God Himself as the inner law of life with its divine capacity—Mark 12:30; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 3:16-17; Jer. 31:33-34; John 14:6a.
   2. Divisions result from having a heart for something other than Christ and taking a way other than Christ—1 Cor. 1:13a; 2:2; Col. 2:8; Acts 15:35-40.
7. If we would have one accord, there should be only one “scale” in the church life—Deut. 25:13-16:
   1. To condemn a certain thing in others while justifying the same thing in ourselves indicates that we have different weights and measures, that is, different scales—one scale for measuring others and a different scale for measuring ourselves.
   2. The practice of having different scales is the source of disaccord, but if we have only one scale, we will keep the oneness and one accord in the church—Eph. 4:1-3; Matt. 7:1-5.
8. For the Lord’s up-to-date move, all the churches need to be in one accord; we should all voice the same thing, trumpet the same thing, teach the same thing, and be the same in practice—Josh. 1:16-18; 6:1-16; Acts 2:42; 4:24, 32; 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33b-34; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3.