Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:3-6; Matt. 18:19; Acts 1:14; 2:46; Rom. 15:5-6
Ⅰ
The 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 hope, one faith, one baptism.
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:
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
The disciples 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.
３
Oneness is like the physical body, and one accord is like the heart within the body:
ａ
The one accord is the heart, the kernel, of the oneness.
ｂ
Our 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; therefore, we maintain only a oneness with a sick "heart."
D
Our not being in one accord means that we do not practice the Body:
１
According to the proper interpretation of the New Testament, the one accord is the Body—Rom. 12:4-5; 15:5-6.
２
We must practice the principle of the Body; then we will have the one accord—1 Cor. 12:12-13, 20, 27; 1:10.
E
We are for the one accord, but we are not for uniformity—1 John 2:12-14:
１
Any differences among the saints or the churches in the degree of the maturity of life are normal; we should not attempt to make the saints or the churches uniform in this matter, for in the degree of the growth in life, it is impossible to have uniformity—Phil. 3:15.
２
Any differences among the saints or the churches that are intentional are abnormal and should be condemned and rejected.
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 for one accord:
１
The word 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
Today we can be in one accord because we have the same vision—the vision of the age—Prov. 29:18a; Acts 26:19:
A
Our vision should be one that matches the age, a vision that includes everything that has gone before us:
１
If our vision is not up to date, it will be impossible for us to be one.
２
Many love God and serve Him, but everyone has his own vision; as a result, there is no way to have the one accord.
３
As long as we have different views on a minor point, we cannot have the one accord—Phil. 3:15.
４
The vision that matches the age is the vision that extends all the way from Genesis to Revelation—Gen. 1:26; Rev. 21:2.
B
We can be in one accord because we have one all-inclusive vision:
１
The vision that the Lord has given His recovery is an all-inclusive vision—the ultimate consummation of all the visions in the Bible, the New Jerusalem; within this ultimate consummation everything is included—vv. 2, 10-11.
２
We all need to be in the up-to-date vision, having the same viewpoint.
Ⅳ
The teaching of the apostles is the holding factor of the one accord—Acts 2:42, 46:
A
The proper 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 also must 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.
Ⅴ
The one accord is the master key to every blessing in the New Testament— Eph. 1:3; Psa. 133:
A
We all want to see the church receive blessing; the commanded blessing of the Lord, which is life forever, is upon the brothers dwelling together in oneness.
B
The one accord is the way to bring in God's blessing; the blessing of God can come only upon a situation of one accord.
C
In order to receive God's blessing, we must practice the oneness, and the way to practice the oneness is to be in one accord—Eph. 4:4-6; Acts 1:14.