THE FOURTH SERIES:
THE PATHWAY OF THE LORD’S RECOVERY

The Unique Work in God’s Economy
Message Eleven—One Accord Being the Master Key to Every Blessing in the New Testament

Scripture Reading: John 17:11, 21-23; Eph. 4:3-6; Acts 1:14; 2: 46; Rom. 15:5-6; 1 Cor. 1:10

I. 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. This word 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—1 Cor. 1:10.

B. 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.

2. The one accord, or the harmony of inward feeling among the believers, is like a harmonious melody.

II. The genuine one accord in the church is the practice of the oneness of the Body, which is the oneness of the Spirit—Acts 1:14; 2:46; 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, one hope—Eph. 4:3-6.

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—Acts 1:14:

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; when the apostles and the believers practiced the church life, they practiced it in one accord—1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12.

D. We are for the one accord, but we are not for uniformity—1 John 2:12-14.

III. The teaching of the apostles is the holding factor of the one accord—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—Acts 4:24; 5:12.

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; 14:34:

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. 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—Gen. 1:26; Rev. 21:2:

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—Phil. 3:15.

3. 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—21:2, 10-11:

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.

V. 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. To practice the one accord, 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.

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 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—Rom. 15:6.

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.

VI. If we would be in one accord, we need to have one heart and one way— Jer. 32:39:

A. We, the chosen people of God, should all 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—John 15:16; Mark 12:30; Phil. 1:21.

B. We should also have one way—the Triune God Himself as our inner law of life with its divine capacity—Mark 12:30; Jer. 31:33-34; John 14:6a.

C. This one heart and one way are the one accord; divisions result from having a heart for something other than Christ and taking a way other than Christ—Acts 1:14; 2:46; Rom. 15:6.

VII. In the Body we need to keep the oneness of the Spirit; in the church and among the churches we need to be in one accord; the one accord is the master key to every blessing in the New Testament—Eph. 1:3; Psa. 133.