Scripture Reading: Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; Rom. 15:6

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 5　DAY 1　»

　　Eph. 4:4-6 One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

　　John 17:11 …Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given to Me, that they may be one even as We are.

　　After telling us to keep the oneness of the Spirit, Paul does not say, “One church and one Spirit”; rather, he says, “One Body and one Spirit” [Eph. 4:4]. The church may be plural as the churches in different localities, but the Body could never be plural. Whether it is viewed locally or universally, the Body is one. In contrast, the church is universally one but locally many.

　　In the Body we need oneness; in the churches and among the churches, we need the one accord. The one accord is for our practice; the oneness is primarily for the actuality, for the fact. In John 17 the Lord Jesus prayed for such a fact, and on the day of Pentecost, by pouring out Himself as the consummated Spirit, He accomplished His prayer. That was the actuality of the oneness. After the accomplishment of the actuality of the oneness, there is the need for the practice of the oneness. When the oneness is practiced, it becomes the one accord. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “Elders’ Training, Book 10: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2),” p. 371)

　　If we have only the oneness as an actuality and do not have the present, practical one accord, the oneness that we have will be objective and abstract; it will not be real to us. If we would apply the oneness accomplished by the outpouring of the Spirit, we must practice the one accord. If among us there is no one accord, how could we say that there is oneness? If in a prayer meeting we each pray in our own way, without any accord among us, how could we say that we are practicing the oneness? As long as we have differences existing among us, the oneness is not applied. We must have the one accord to swallow up all the differences; then oneness will be present.

　　The Lord did not teach us concerning oneness. In John 17 He prayed for oneness, but in Matthew 18 He led us to practice the one accord. In Matthew 18:19 the Lord spoke of two praying together on earth in harmony, in one accord. That was His leading, His training, and His directing us to pray in one accord. As a test of whether we are practicing the oneness or not, we may check to see whether there is one accord in our prayer meeting. When certain ones pray, we may shake our head as an indication of our displeasure, and when others pray, we may nod our head as an expression of our agreement. Such a shaking and nodding of our head is strong evidence that we do not practice oneness, because we do not have the one accord.

　　If only two on earth pray in one accord, their prayer will be answered. The one accord is the practice, the application, of the oneness, and the oneness is the basis on which we practice the one accord.

　　Our one accord could never be based on the different races and colors. We practice one accord based on the fact that we all have a common life. We may be different in race and in the color of our skin, but when we come together to pray, we must forget about the different races and colors.

　　If we do not have the same understanding, the same intention, the same purpose, the same goal, it will be impossible to pray together in one accord. There will be no base for such prayer. If we each have our own opinion, our own intention, and our own goal, there will be no base on which we can pray in one accord. But when we who are saved and who love the Lord and mean business for the Lord’s purpose come together, we surely have the base to pray in one accord. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “Elders’ Training, Book 10: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2),” pp. 371-372)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1986, vol. 3, “Elders’ Training, Book 9: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (1),” ch. 1

«　WEEK 5　DAY 2　»

　　Eph. 4:3 Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

　　Acts 4:24 And when they heard this, they lifted up their voice with one accord to God and said, Sovereign Master, You are the One who has made heaven and earth and the sea and all things in them.

　　The proper one accord in the church is the practice of the genuine oneness of the Body…. In Matthew 18:19, before the Lord prayed for the oneness in John 17, He trained His disciples to practice the one accord…. To be in the one accord is to practice the oneness. A little more than forty days after the Lord’s prayer in John 17, the one hundred twenty disciples practiced the Lord’s direction in Matthew 18 by praying together in one accord (Acts 1:14). (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “Elders’ Training, Book 10: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2),” p. 375)

　　To build up the vital groups, we need to keep the oneness of the Spirit, that is, the oneness of the Body, in the one accord according to the Lord’s desire with much and thorough prayer (Eph. 4:3; Acts 1:14; 4:24). Without the one accord we cannot keep the oneness. The one accord is the heart, the kernel, of the oneness. If we do not have the one accord, God cannot answer our prayer, because we do not practice the Body. Our not being in one accord means that we do not practice the Body. According to the proper interpretation of the New Testament, the one accord is the one Body. We must practice the principle of the Body; then we will have the one accord. Although we may not fight with one another, we still may not have the one accord. Because we have remained together, we have seen the Lord’s blessing but only in a limited way. Therefore, we need to have the one accord to practice the Body.

　　If among those in a group there is no one accord, what can the Lord do with them? This is why my burden concerning the vital groups is so heavy. I am very clear that we do not have the full and complete one accord among us. Therefore, in a sense it is hard for the Lord to move freely among us. If we are not in one accord, God has no way to answer our prayer. If God does not have a way to answer our prayer, what can He do with us? Without the one accord, it is difficult to get people saved, converted, and regenerated by the dynamic salvation of God. Thus, our inadequacy in the one accord is a sickness that is more than serious. We have been sick for years, yet we might have been unconscious of our sickness. We may come to the meetings, praise the Lord, and prophesy, but we may do all these things without being conscious of the fact that we do not have the adequate one accord.

　　Although I have studied the Bible for many years, I did not see until recently that oneness is like the body, and one accord is like the heart within the body. Our sickness is not just like a sickness in the outward, physical body; our sickness is like a sickness in the heart within the body…. We need to know what our sickness is. The sickness among us is that we do not have the one accord adequately. Therefore, we maintain only a oneness with a sick “heart.”…We are still here for the oneness, yet within us there is an inadequacy in the one accord. Because of this, it is hard for the Lord to answer our prayer, especially in the matter of fruit-bearing for the increase of the Lord’s recovery. For this, surely we need to humble ourselves before Him.

　　The grouping of the saints together in the vital groups is to recover us, and to recover us means to heal us, to cure us. We have become sick; thus, we need the healing. The healing that we need is to be grouped together in the adequate accord. The way to touch the sickness that is among us is to have the vital groups. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, “Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups,” pp. 437-438, 441, 431-432)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, “Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups,” chs. 7, 9-10, 12

«　WEEK 5　DAY 3　»

　　Matt. 18:19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens.

　　Acts 1:14 These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

　　In Matthew 18:19 the Greek word sumphoneo is used to signify the one accord. It means “to be in harmony, or accord” and refers to the harmonious sound of musical instruments or voices…. The one accord, or the harmony of inward feeling among the believers, becomes like a melody, like music…. When we have the one accord, in the eyes of God we become a melody to Him. We become a poem not merely in writing but in sound, in voice, in melody…. Such a one accord is the nucleus of the oneness. In other words, oneness is like a nut, and the one accord is like the kernel of that nut. In Acts 1:14 another Greek word, homothumadon, is used to signify the one accord. This word is from homo, “same,” and thumos, “mind, will, purpose (soul, heart).” The word denotes a harmony of inward feeling in one’s entire being. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, “Fellowship concerning the Urgent Need of the Vital Groups,” p. 430)

　　In the three and a half years of His earthly ministry, the Lord passed on many teachings to the disciples. Then He went away through His death and came back within three days to stay with them as the life-giving Spirit. After breathing Himself into His disciples, He stayed with them for forty days to train them to experience His invisible presence. He then ascended to the heavens, leaving the disciples on this earth…. The one hundred twenty… did nothing except to pray, and the key of their prayer was the one accord (Acts 1:14).

　　In Matthew 18:19 the Lord spoke concerning two or three being in harmony on something in prayer. The word harmony in this verse is not as strong as the phrase one accord. The word in Greek for one accord, homothumadon, is strong and all-inclusive…. The Chinese version of the Bible translates this word into a Chinese word meaning “the same mind and the same will.” In Romans 15:6 the King James Version translates this word into “one mind.”

　　In the book of Acts the one hundred twenty prayed together in one mind, in the same mind, in the same will with the same purpose around and within the soul and the heart. Whenever we pray, we surely should exercise our spirit, but we also 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. After the Lord’s ascension the one hundred twenty became the kind of persons who were in one mind, in one will, with one purpose around their soul and heart. For them to be in one accord meant that their entire beings were one. No other book of the Bible uses the word for one accord as much as Acts.

　　The one accord is the key and the life pulse of prayer, the Spirit, and the Word. You may pray much, seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and acquire a lot of knowledge from the Word, yet if you are short of the one accord, you cannot see the blessing.

　　In Acts there are three items—prayer, the Spirit, and the Word—with one key—the one accord. After Acts 15, however, this word for one accord is not used again in the book of Acts. This somewhat implies that even during this period of time described in Acts, the one accord was lost. Acts 15 describes a conference of the apostles and elders held in Jerusalem to settle the trouble concerning circumcision (vv. 1-33). At the end of Acts 15 there was a dissenting between Barnabas and Paul. After this incident I believe that the one accord to some extent was lost. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” pp. 75-78)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Acts, msgs. 5, 12

«　WEEK 5　DAY 4　»

　　Acts 2:42 And they continued steadfastly in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

　　46 And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of their food with exultation and simplicity of heart.

　　If you expect to have one accord in any kind of society, group, or movement, you need the same kind of thinking that comes out of the same kind of knowledge…. Without the one accord, no party could accomplish anything. Any society, group, or movement needs this one accord that comes out of the same kind of thought, the same kind of knowledge. Therefore, Acts tells us that, on the one hand, there was one accord among the disciples, and on the other hand, all those who were one in one accord were continuing in the teaching of the apostles (2:42). The teaching of the apostles was the very holding factor of the one accord. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” p. 158)

　　The practice of this oneness is according to the apostles’ teaching (1 Cor. 4:17b; 7:17b; 11:16; 14:34a). The apostles taught the same thing to all the saints in all the places and in all the churches. At the same time, the practice of this oneness is also according to the same speaking of the Spirit to the churches (Rev. 2:7, 11a, 17a, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). The seven epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are words spoken to all the churches. He who has an ear, let him hear. Each epistle was written to all the churches. All the churches have the same Bible, and everyone is practicing oneness according to the same speaking. Finally, the practice of oneness indicates that the seven churches as the seven lampstands are completely identical (1:20). The churches are God’s golden lampstands. Although they are distinct and self-contained, they are completely identical in nature, shape, function, and expression. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” pp. 74-75)

　　The apostle Paul taught the same thing in all the churches (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17). This means that all the churches in all the different localities should be the same. In Colossians 4:16 Paul writes, “When this letter is read among you, cause that it be read in the church of the Laodiceans also, and that you also read the one from Laodicea.” The Epistle to the church in Colossae was also for the church in Laodicea, and the epistle to the church in Laodicea was also for the church in Colossae. Thus, every epistle was written not only for the receiving church but also for all the other churches. This indicates that the Lord wants all the churches to have the one accord.

　　In 1 Timothy 1:3 Paul said that he urged Timothy to remain in Ephesus in order that he might charge certain ones not to teach different things. To teach different things is to teach things different from what the apostles teach, that is, to teach things other than God’s New Testament economy (v. 4). This indicates that all the teaching ones should teach the same things in all the churches according to the apostles’ teaching. Of course, this indicates also that all the churches should be one in the matter of teaching…. [This] means that all the churches should not teach things that are different from the New Testament revelation of God’s New Testament economy. Examples of such teaching are the teaching of the Mosaic law (v. 7) and the teaching of Jewish genealogies (v. 4) by some Christian teachers at Paul’s time, which were different from ministering Christ to people according to the proper revelation as taught in the New Testament. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “Elders’ Training, Book 10: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2)” p. 379)

　　Further Reading: The Intrinsic Problem in the Lord’s Recovery Today and Its Scriptural Remedy, chs. 1-2

«　WEEK 5　DAY 5　»

　　1 Cor. 1:10 Now I beseech you…that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.

　　Rom. 15:5-6 …The God of…encouragement grant you to be of the same mind toward one another…that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

　　To practice the one accord, we must be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion (1 Cor. 1:10). To be attuned in the same mind is to practically be one in our soul. When the thoughts in our mind are expressed in our speaking, they become our opinions. When the opinions remain in our mind, they are simply our thoughts. When our differences in thinking are expressed as opinions, that may cause a problem. (CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, “Elders’ Training, Book 10: The Eldership and the God-ordained Way (2),” pp. 375-376)

　　The Lord’s word to His disciples in John 11:9-10 indicates that their opinion was a sign that they were walking in darkness: “Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” …Opinions are a sign of darkness because to utter an opinion is to speak nonsense. The reason a person speaks nonsense is that he is in the darkness. But the Lord Jesus is fully in the light, and He Himself is the light. Furthermore, whenever the Lord is present, there is day. In these verses the Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, “As long as I am here, you are not in darkness. I am the light. Since the light is here, it is daytime. I say that we should go into Judea. But if you say that we should not go, you are expressing a contrary opinion, and you are in darkness.”

　　Whenever we express an opinion that is contrary to the Lord’s will, that opinion signifies that we are not walking in the day but in the darkness. If we are following the Lord, we should say Amen to whatever He says and not express any opinion…. Only the Lord knows what to say. When He says, “Let us go,” that is something in the day, in the light. The Lord’s guidance always is light. If we follow His guidance, we will be in the day, and we will walk in the light. (CWWL, 1982, vol. 2, “The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” pp. 302-303)

　　The whole book of 1 Corinthians shows us that [the] same speaking is Christ, and the same mind and same opinion are also Christ. In our daily life, if we take Christ as our center and everything, what we speak, think, and understand will all be Christ. This is the one accord, which is the practice of oneness. Some among the Corinthian believers said they were of Paul. Others said they were of Apollos. Still others said that they were of Cephas. Then some were smart enough to say that they were of Christ. They were of four things. In other words, there were four minds and four speakings with four results, which end in division. The oneness is gone, the Body of Christ is lost, and the building is no more. Hence, 1 Corinthians 1:10 deals with this matter so that we would be captured by the Lord and that there would no longer be Paul or Apollos or Cephas but only Christ. Everyone would be thinking about Christ and speaking about Christ, having Christ as his view, Christ as his way of speaking, and Christ as his opinion and judgment. Everything would be Christ. This Christ has become the life-giving Spirit in His resurrection (15:45b) and has become our enjoyment within. The practice of our oneness depends on Him. When we speak Him, consider Him, enjoy Him, and express Him, we will be harmonious and one. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” pp. 73-74)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 2, 8

«　WEEK 5　DAY 6　»

　　Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.

　　Rom. 15:29 And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

　　The landmark that divides the Gospels and the Acts was not the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The landmark was the one accord of the one hundred twenty. If you want to experience the baptism in the Spirit, you must have the one accord. If all the members of a local church have the one accord, the baptism in the Spirit will be there…. Without this key, no door can be opened. The one accord is the “master key to all the rooms,” the master key to every blessing in the New Testament. This is why Paul told Euodias and Syntyche that they needed this one accord (Phil. 4:2). Paul knew that these sisters loved the Lord but that they had lost the one accord. (CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” p. 83)

　　We must all realize that the blessing and grace of God can only come upon a situation of one accord. This situation is the practice of oneness. In the Old Testament, Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is / For brothers to dwell in unity! / It is like the fine oil upon the head / That ran down upon the beard, / Upon Aaron’s beard, / That ran down upon the hem of his garments; / Like the dew of Hermon / That came down upon the mountains of Zion. / For there Jehovah commanded the blessing: / Life forever.” God will only grace and bless the one accord, that is, the practice of oneness.

　　The practice of oneness touches our mind, our love, and our speaking. Unconsciously, we have all violated the practice of oneness. Many times our mind is like an unreined wild horse, free from any restraint. Our love is not regulated. Our words are light and loose. All of these damage the oneness of the believers and are factors for losing the Lord’s blessing…. Perhaps we do not speak evil words of reviling, but our speaking may be loose, and our opinions may be plentiful. Spontaneously, we bring many problems to the church and spread division among the saints.

　　Hence, we have to be on the alert. If we would first consider and think a little before we speak and would ask if it is Christ or not, there would be no problem. If we love the saints, we should ask ourselves if our love has different classes, degrees, or depths, and we should be adjusted by the Lord accordingly. The same is true with our speaking. We should speak only if our speaking is Christ; otherwise, we should not speak. I have a heavy burden within me. We all want the church here to receive grace and blessing. But do not forget Psalm 133. The commanded blessing of the Lord, which is life forever, is upon the brethren dwelling together in oneness. It is like the ointment that flows through the whole body and like the dew that descends on Zion. Now we have seen that the oneness of the believers prayed for by the Lord is neither a oneness like the world speaks of nor a oneness according to what we formerly understood. Rather, it is a perfected oneness by all of us being in the Father’s name and life, in His word of reality, and in His divinely expressed glory. Only by this is there the blessing of God. Of course, we should labor and work for the Lord, but if our situation is not in oneness and if we do not practice the one accord, I am afraid that our result will not be abundant. Therefore, in order for us to receive God’s blessing, we must practice the oneness, and the way to practice the oneness is by the one accord. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” pp. 75-76)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” ch. 1