GENERAL SUBJECT
VITAL FACTORS FOR THE RECOVERY OF THE CHURCH LIFE
Message Five
The Factor of the Genuine One Accord
Scripture Reading: Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; Rom. 15:6
I. 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:
A. From Ephesians 4:4-6 we can see that our practice of the oneness is based upon the attribute of the oneness of the church: one Spirit, one Lord, one God, one Body, one faith, one baptism, and one hope.
B. The practice of the genuine one accord in the church is the application of the oneness—Acts 1:14; 2:46.
C. The practice of the oneness is with the one accord; when the oneness is practiced, it becomes the one accord—15:25:
1. In John the Lord emphasized oneness, but in Acts the one accord is emphasized—John 10:30; 17:11, 21-23; Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 15:25.
2. The landmark that divides the Gospels and the Acts is the one accord among the one hundred and twenty—1:14:
a. 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.
b. When the apostles and the believers practiced the church life, they practiced it in one accord—2:46; 4:24; 5:12.
D. The one accord is the heart, the kernel, the nucleus, of the oneness—Eph. 4:3; Acts 4:24; Rom. 15:6:
1. Oneness is like the physical body, and one accord is like the heart within the body.
2. Our spiritual sickness is like a sickness in the heart within the body; the sickness among us is that we do not have the one accord adequately, and thus we maintain oneness with a sick "heart."
II. The one accord refers to the harmony in our inner being, in our mind and will—Acts 1:14:
A. In Acts 1:14 the Greek word homothumadon is used to signify the one accord:
1. The word comes from homo, "same," and thumos, "mind, will, purpose (soul, heart)" and denotes a harmony of inward 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.
B. In Matthew 18:19 the Greek word sumphoneo is used to signify the one accord:
1. The word means "to be in harmony, or accord" and refers to the harmonious sound of musical instruments or voices.
2. The one accord, or the harmony of inward feeling among the believers, is like a harmonious melody.
3. When we have the one accord, we become a melody to God; we become a poem not merely in writing but in sound, in voice, in melody.
III. The holding factor of the one accord is the apostles' teaching—Acts 2:42, 46:
A. The practice of the oneness—the one accord—is according to the apostles' teaching—v. 42.
B. Acts tells us that there was one accord among the believers and that all those who were in one accord continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching.
C. The apostles taught the same thing to all the saints in all the places and in all the churches—1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33b-34:
1. We must also teach the same thing in all the churches in every country throughout the earth—Matt. 28:19-20.
2. There is no thought in the New Testament that a teaching is good for one church but not for the other churches; rather, the New Testament reveals that all the churches were the same in receiving the teachings—Titus 1:9.
IV. When we practice the one accord, we must learn to be in one spirit with one soul—Phil. 1:27:
A. We need to turn to our spirit and then enter into our soul with one spirit that we may be in one accord—2:2, 5; 4:2.
B. If we would have the factor of genuine one accord, we need to "be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion"—1 Cor. 1:10; 7:25, 40:
1. The problem in the local church life that keeps us from realizing the one accord is our opinion—Matt. 16:22-25; Phil. 2:2; 4:2.
2. In the Lord's work, in the church life, and in the spiritual life, the greatest damaging factor is our opinion—1 Cor. 1:10-13a.
3. Opinions are a sign of darkness (John 11:9-10); whenever we express an opinion that is contrary to the Lord's will, that opinion signifies that we are walking in darkness.
4. The Lord never acts on the basis of anyone's opinion; He always acts according to His own will, and He will never be moved according to our opinion, including a prayer according to our opinion—1 John 5:14-15.
C. To be in one accord is to be one in our whole being, and 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—because only the Head has a mind and a mouth; 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 the same thing; we speak with one mouth.
3. 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 that God may be glorified— Eph. 3:17a, 21.
V. The one accord is the master key to every blessing in the New Testament— Acts 1:14; Eph. 1:3; Rom. 15:29:
A. We need to treasure God's blessing and realize that in the church life everything depends on God's blessing—Eph. 1:3.
B. We all want to see the churches receive God's commanded blessing—Psa. 133:3.
C. In our practice of the church life, we need to know the way for the church to be under "the fullness of the blessing of Christ"—Rom. 15:29:
1. It is crucial for us to realize that God's blessing can come only upon a situation of one accord, for God will bless only the one accord—Acts 2:46.
2. In order to receive God's blessing, we must practice the oneness, and the way to practice the oneness is by the one accord—4:24; 15:25; Rom. 15:6.