God’s move to Spread the Church Shatters our Concept and Needs our Prayer in One Accord

The book of Acts shows us the spreading of Christ through the believers in Christ for Him to be propagated throughout the earth, and this shattered and broke the erroneous concepts of the disciples, for they realised that the church is universal and eternal, not just of the Jews! Amen!

In case after case and situation after situation, the book of Acts shows us how God desires to spread the kingdom of God through the disciples. They propagated the resurrected Christ in His ascension for the bringing in of the kingdom of God practiced in the local churches.

First, on the day of Pentecost, the Lord poured Himself out as the Holy Spirit, the resurrected and ascended Christ, upon the one hundred twenty who prayed in one accord. Then, through them, the Lord had a way to spread to three thousand people in one day.

These were those who believed into the Lord Jesus through the preaching of Peter and the eleven apostles, and they were from many areas around the world, for they came together to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.

The Lord had a way, in His wisdom, to gather together many thousands of Jewish people from all around the world and then He poured out His Spirit and spread through the disciples to save them. Hallelujah!

Then, from Judea, the Lord had a way to spread to Samaria, for some preached the gospel there. The Samaritans were not pure Jews – they were mixed with the Gentiles, and many Jews did not like them but rather despised and hated them.

But the Lord had a way to spread there, and the apostles went there and laid their hands on them, and they also received the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord, as He promised, He made the disciples His witnesses from Judea to Samaria!

The Lord wants to spread to the uttermost part of the earth, but we as His people limit Him by our concepts, our background, and our feelings and being.

He wants to spread and fill the whole earth with His kingdom, but we do not like certain people, we do not talk to particular kinds of people, and we think that a particular group of people or a particular region is closed to the Lord, so we don’t even bother praying for them or going there. Oh Lord!

The Lord had a way to move Philip to go and preach the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, and he got dynamically saved and baptised. Most likely, this is how the gospel was spread to Ethiopia and to the continent of Africa.

May we be one with the Lord in His spreading on the earth!

God’s Choosing of Saul (later Paul) is against the Human Concept: a Person can be Persecuting the Church one Hour and Preaching the Gospel the Next Hour!

Acts chapter 9 tells us the story of Paul’s conversion. He was a persecutor of the church, hating the disciples of Christ and breathing murder against them. He approved of Stephen’s killing (8:1) and did more than others in his religion to persecute the church.

He went so far that he asked for letters from the priests in Jerusalem to bind and imprison all the Christian Jews in Damascus. He wanted to persecute and harm those who believed in the Lord’s name (9:13-14).

But praise the Lord, Christ appeared to him on the way to Damascus, and he was converted to Christ.

God’s choosing of Saul (later Paul) was against the human concept. Our narrow, erroneous human concept needs to be broken and shattered through the spreading of the church.

The disciples of Christ at the time of Paul were afraid of Paul, but the Lord appeared to Ananias to send him to see Paul. He told him that Paul was a chosen vessel to Christ to bear His name before both the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

Ananias couldn’t understand why the gospel should be preached to Saul, who was a persecutor of the church. His erroneous concept was shattered when he followed the Lord’s leading for His spreading.

We must believe that a person can be persecuting and opposing the church one hour and preaching the gospel the next hour. God can do it.

God is able to turn a persecutor of the church into a fervent pursuer of Christ and preacher of the gospel because He wants to spread. God desires to spread, and He can do much more than what we think or hope.

Even though the disciples were afraid of Paul, they ultimately received him.

This reluctance shows that it’s truly difficult for people to quickly and readily receive someone like Saul.

The human concepts we hold and the feelings toward other people, especially as we hear that they hate us, can be a great hindrance to the church.

God can turn an opposer into a great preacher of the gospel.

But our narrow, erroneous human concepts need to be broken and shattered. This can take place through the spreading of the church. May we open to the Lord concerning this and tell Him,

Lord Jesus, we desire to be one with You for You to spread through us! Break through our human concepts. Shatter any concept that hinders You from moving freely in us and through us. Oh Lord, may we fully open to You as You desire to spread through us and among us. May we see that God is able to turn a persecutor of the church into a preacher of the gospel! May we not judge, classify, or hate people but be open to You, for You desire to spread! Hallelujah, God has many chosen vessels who will bear His name before all men! May we give God a way to flow freely through us for the spreading of the church, not looking at people’s faces nor judging them based on their background!

The Lord’s Evangelistic Move on Earth is under His Administration and the Gospel needs to be Spread All over the Earth to Collect All kinds of Sinful People, Cleanse them, and Renew them!

Acts chapter 10 tells us of Cornelius, a centurion from among the Gentiles, who was seeking God and who had the Lord speak to him to go and call for Peter to come and tell him the gospel.

At the same time, Peter was praying on the rooftop while food was being prepared for him, and the Lord gave him a vision.

He showed Peter “a great sheet” (v. 11), which represents the gospel. All kinds of animals were on that sheet, including unclean animals; these refer to all kinds of people that the Lord wants to save through the preaching of the gospel.

A voice told Peter to rise up and “slay and eat” (v. 13), which means that God wanted Peter to be mingled with them. Peter resisted the Lord, saying that he only ate clean animals, but the Lord finally broke through.

When Peter went downstairs to eat, the people from Cornelius arrived, and Peter went with them. Peter obeyed the Lord and, while he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those hearing the word (v. 44). Wow!

This showed Peter and those with him that the church is not just of the Jews but that it must spread to the Gentiles. The church is not local but universal.

Chapter 10 of Acts indicates that the Lord’s evangelistic move on earth is under His administration on the throne in heaven and that the gospel needs to be spread to the four corners of the inhabited earth to collect all kinds of unclean (sinful) people, cleansing them with the redeeming blood of Christ and washing them with the renewing of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:11-12, 15, 28; cf. Heb. 8:1; Acts 7:56).

For the Lord to advance in His evangelistic move on earth, He needs to break through in us, especially in our concepts.

We need to let the Lord shatter our concepts and break through any cultural divides, and we need to simply go along with the Lord’s leading in His spreading of the church.

God desires the gospel to be spread to the four corners of the inhabited earth, and He wants to collect all kinds of people, many of whom are unclean and sinful, so that He may cleanse them with the redeeming blood of Christ and wash them with the renewing Holy Spirit.

May we not hinder Him in His move, but may we let Him flow freely through us.

We simply need to go where the Lord wants us to go and open our mouth wide, and He will fill our mouth, and He will fill those around us with the Holy Spirit!

Lord Jesus, we want to be one with You in Your evangelistic move on earth! Amen, Lord, we believe that You are moving under Your administration on the throne in heaven so that You may spread the gospel and gain many vessels! We open to You, Lord, and we allow You to flow through us. Here we are, Lord, send us where You want us to go. May the gospel spread to the four corners of the inhabited earth to collect all kinds of unclean people for them to be cleansed with Your redeeming blood and washed with the Holy Spirit! Amen, Lord, we say Amen to Your desire to spread the church everywhere! Break through our concepts. Tear down any national and cultural divides. May You have a free way to flow through us as the gospel to gain many kinds of people for the church!

Cooperate with God’s Move to Spread the Church through Prayer in One Accord

Acts 13 shows us the church in Antioch, where there were many kinds of people in oneness and in one accord. The church in Antioch was a part of the story of the spreading of the church.

In Acts 13:1 we see that in Antioch, there were five prophets and teachers.

The first was Barnabas, a Levite. The second was Simeon, who was called Niger; he was probably of African origin. The third was Lucius the Cyrenian; Cyrene is in Northern Africa, so most likely Lucius was also African.

The fourth was Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch; he was a noble, not necessarily a Jew. The last one was Paul, a Pharisee trained at the feet of Gamaliel, who zealously kept all the ordinances in Judaism (22:3); his Jewish concept, therefore, was very strong.

These five were ministering to the Lord and praying in oneness, and the Lord had a way to further His move on the earth through them.

They were of different races and nationalities, yet the church in Antioch was without divisions. Only the Holy Spirit could have accomplished this.

Here we see the five prophets and teachers who were ministering to the Lord were composed of Jews and Gentiles, each having a different background, education, and status.

This indicates that the church is composed of all races and classes of people regardless of their background, and that the spiritual gifts and functions given to the members of the Body of Christ are not based on their natural status (Acts 4:36; Rom. 16:21; Luke 9:7-9; Acts 22:3). Hallelujah!

Through these dear five faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ, the Lord had a way to take a great step to set apart Barnabas and Saul for His work and move to spread the gospel of His kingdom to the Gentile world.

They were blended and attuned in one accord, and the Spirit had a way to speak to them and lead them to set aside two of them for the work to which He had called them.

This move was absolutely by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and with the Spirit; at the same time, it was through the coordination of the faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ on earth with the Head in the heavens.

The Spirit set these two apart, yet the five sent them, and they, being sent by the Holy Spirit, went to do the work the Lord set them to do (Acts 13:1-4).

The Lord wants to move and spread the church everywhere, not just to the Jews but especially to the Gentiles; for this, He needs our cooperation in prayer and in one accord.

The move of God to spread the church is by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and with the Spirit; this move has to be matched by the coordination of the faithful and seeking members of the Body with the Head in the heavens.

May we be such ones today. No matter what is our background, nationality, skin colour, or race, may we give ourselves to the Lord to pray in one accord and minister to the Lord with the saints so that the Holy Spirit may have a way to send us out for His move.

May we not hinder the Lord but rather, give Him the best cooperation so that the Holy Spirit may be able to move forward to spread without any limitations.

On the apostle Paul’s first trip to spread the gospel, he went to Cyprus and then to Asia Minor to establish many local churches (Acts 13:4—14:28; Rev. 1:4).

After Paul separated from Barnabas, he went out on his second ministry journey to Europe (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and returning through Ephesus back to Antioch) – see Acts 15:35-40; 16:6— 18:22.

Paul’s third journey was from Antioch to Galatia, Phrygia, Ephesus, Macedonia, and Greece to Jerusalem (v. 23—21:17).

Finally, Paul’s fourth journey was from Caesarea to Rome (27:1—28:31).

Paul had a disagreement with Barnabas, and they split in their work; Barnabas took Mark, his cousin, with him, and went one way, while Paul and Silas were sent by the church to go forward.

Paul did not want to take Mark with them since he had left them once; however, Barnabas had a different feeling and went a different way.

However, the Lord’s work and move continued through Paul and Silas. Later, Mark was recovered, but we don’t hear of Barnabas again.

May we remember this and be warned that we would not bring in personal relationships or natural preferences in the Lord’s work.

In this case, there was a split in the work and Barnabas went his way; in other cases, when natural relationships come in, turmoils may take place. Oh Lord!

Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You to minister to You and pray in one accord with the saints. We put ourselves aside, we do not hold on to our background or anything of the past, and we just want to be in prayer in one accord with the saints, ministering to the Lord. Amen, Lord, may we be blended together and may we be built up together so that You may have a way to speak to us. Make us the faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ used by You to continue to move among us and spread the gospel! Yes, Lord, spread the gospel of the kingdom to the whole world. Amen, Lord, may our gospel preaching be a move by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and with the Spirit, with our coordination with the Head! Blend us together in one accord. Lead us and move through us. Have a free way as the Spirit to send some to the work You have called them. Save us from our natural preferences and relationships. Oh Lord, have a prevailing way to move for the spreading of the church! Gain our cooperation today in prayer in one accord!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church,” pp. 257-258, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, One Accord and Crucial Aspects of the Book of Acts (2025 April ITERO), week 5, Keeping Ourselves in the One Flow of the Lord’s Work for the Spreading of the Church and Receiving the Lord’s Mercy to Be Saved from Satan’s Schemes – day 3.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The spread of the church, a portion from, The Practical Expression of the Church, Chapter 21, by Witness Lee.
  – 4 Ways to Apply the Vision of the Church as the Organic Body of Christ, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Dropping our old concepts and picking up the new view of the Lord’s present recovery, a portion from, Elders’ Training, Book 09: The Eldership and the God-Ordained Way (1), Chapter 9, by Witness Lee.
  – Acts (Program #48) – The Propagation in Asia Minor and Europe through the Ministry of Paul’s Company (14), via, Bible study radio.
  – Message 2: The World Situation in Relation to God’s Move on Earth (2), video message by brother Lee.
  – New Jerusalem Comes Forth from the Maturity of God’s Life in His People, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – The publication work in the Lord’s recovery, via, LSM.
  – The Spread of the Local Churches throughout the United States, via, Local Church God’s Revelation.
  – Background in the east – the LA Years, via, Church in Los Angeles history.
  – Christ in ascension and in God’s administration, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Migration for the Lord’s Move, via, Living to Him.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – All the preaching of the Gospel, / All the teaching ministry, / Every other kind of service / For the church alone should be. / For the Church should be our service, / Not our aims to satisfy; / This, the perfect will of God is, / And with it we must comply. (Hymns #914 stanza 5 and chorus)
  – Ours is a fellowship in the gospel / Since we received the Lord; / We’re for the furtherance of the gospel, / Spreading to all His Word. / For its defense and strong confirmation / We all partake of grace— / He who began this work will perfect it / Till we shall see His face. (Hymns #1295 stanza 1)
  – In the stream! in the stream! let us work with the Lord / In the flow of the Spirit, as taught by His Word; / Never working by self, independent and free, / But in service related in full harmony. / In the stream! in the stream! / Let us work in the stream! / In the stream! in the stream! / We’ll work as in the heav’nly team! (Hymns #909 stanza 2 and chorus)