For us to practice the one accord, we need to learn to be in one spirit with one soul; we need to be attuned in the same mind and the same opinion so that we may be one in soul, not only one in spirit.
Being in one accord is a vital factor for the recovery of the proper practice of the church life; when we are in one accord, the Lord can bless us, for the one accord is the master key to all the blessings in the New Testament.
The holding factor of the one accord is the apostles’ teaching.
The reason believers have lost the one accord is mainly due to the fact that there are so many other teachings that they paid attention to; these teachings may be based on some aspects of the truth in the Bible, but they are not the apostles’ teaching.
The early believers could be in one accord and remain in one accord because they remained and continued steadfastly in one accord in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles.
As long as we remain under the teaching of the New Testament, adding nothing and taking nothing out of it in order to suit our preference, and as long as we emphasize only the New Testament economy of God, we will be kept in one accord.
It is a beautiful thing to the Lord and a shame to the enemy whenever God’s people remain in the teaching of God’s economy and hold to the truth in love; this keeps them in one accord.
But if one group emphasizes a particular teaching while another group pays more attention to a different teaching, this will divide the believers.
Division always begins with a different teaching or a different opinion; these teachings and opinions may be based on the teachings in the Bible but they are not God’s economy, so they bring in division.
Actually, heresy is a different school of thought, a different opinion; all our different opinions and schools of thought need to be put aside, and we need to follow and emphasize only the teaching of the apostles.
There is only one thing that keeps us one, no matter what: it is not only the divine life that causes us to be one in spirit, but even more: the teaching of the apostles, the entire revelation in the New Testament.
For us to practice the one accord, we need to remain under the apostles’ teaching, for it is this teaching that makes it clear to us the need for the one accord and how to practice the one accord.
May we be saved from paying attention to different teachings; may we remain in the light of God’s economy together with the saints, and may we allow the Lord to vitalize us together, build us up together, so that we may have the one accord in reality in the church life today!
To Practice the One Accord we must be in One Spirit with One Soul, being Attuned in the Same Mind and in the same Opinion
In order for us to practice the one accord, we need to be one not only in spirit by exercising our spirit, but also in our soul by being in one spirit with one soul (Phil. 1:27).
First of all, we need to turn to our spirit, and then we need to enter into our soul with one spirit so that we may be in one accord (Phil. 2:2, 5; 4:2).
We need to let the mind which was in Christ also be in us by first exercising our spirit and then allowing the mingled spirit to spread into our soul to take over, infuse, saturate, and govern our soul.
Our mind is crucial in the matter of practicing the one accord, for if we are not attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion, we will be diversely minded, and the one accord is gone.
So before we do anything in the church life, we need to pray with the exercise of our spirit; first, we need to enter into our spirit, and then into the one soul so that we may be with one accord.
We may have some pressing matters, there may be some things that need our urgent attention, and we may have many things to fellowship and coordinate about, but the first thing is that we need to exercise our spirit to pray.
We shouldn’t start with the mind or with the soul but start with the spirit, letting the spirit spread into all the parts of our being.
We need to be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion so that we may think the same thing, have the same love, be joined in soul, thinking the one thing.
If we would have the factor of genuine one accord, we need to attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion (1 Cor. 1:10; 7:25, 40).
The problem is always in our mind, for we all think differently, and even in our serving the Lord with the saints, we have different opinions and thoughts.
So we need to be joined in soul, think the same thing, and be attuned in the same mind and the same opinion; our need is to learn to be in one spirit with one soul.
The only way this can take place is by exercising our spirit, turning to our spirit, and then allowing the mingled spirit to spread into our mind to take over, rule, and saturate our mind.
It is the mingled spirit spreading into our mind that will cause us to be renewed in our mind so that we may be attuned in the same mind with the saints.
This doesn’t mean that we should be made uniform or that we should take the opinion of the leading ones as being our opinion; it means that the mind of Christ has to become our mind by being in one spirit with one soul, and this mind should be expressed in our fellowship.
The problem is not with our spirit but with our soul; however, for us to be attuned in the same mind and be joined in soul is by means of the exercise of our spirit and by allowing the mingled spirit to spread into our soul.
Oh, may the mind which was in Christ be also in us, and may we all be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion!
May we allow the Lord to be not only in our spirit but also spread in our soul, especially in our mind, so that we may be in one spirit with one soul!
May we allow Christ to saturate and occupy our entire soul so that we may be one in soul.
Lord Jesus, we want to practice the one accord by learning to be in one spirit with one soul. Amen, Lord, we turn to our spirit and we allow You to spread as the Spirit into our soul to saturate our mind and attune us in mind and soul. May we be those who turn to our spirit and then enter into our soul with one spirit so that we may be in one accord! May we be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion in the church life by allowing the mind which was in Christ also be in us! Lord, spread in us! Saturate and occupy our entire soul so that we may be made one in soul. We want to practice the one accord in the church life today by being in one spirit with one soul!
Realizing that our Opinions are a Sign of Darkness and being Attuned in the same Mind and the same Opinion to Speak the Same Thing in one Accord
The main 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).
In John 1:9-10 the Lord’s word indicates that opinions are a sign of darkness, and when we express our opinions apart from the Lord, we walk and live in darkness.
Actually, whenever we speak our opinions, no matter how good they are, and we are not one with the Lord speaking what He speaks, we bring in darkness in the fellowship in the church life.
Our thoughts are inward, but when we express them, they become our opinions; we treasure our opinions, we think we have the best opinions, and we want our opinions to be accepted, appreciated, and followed by others.
But our opinions apart from Christ, our opinions that come out of an unrenewed mind and without the exercise of the spirit, are simply nonsense, exposing the fact that we are in darkness.
We should never forget that opinion is the expression of Satan, the self; in Matt. 16 Peter uttered his opinion which came out of his good heart for the Lord, but this opinion opened a gate of Hades for Satan to attack.
When the Lord dealt with this, He didn’t say, Peter, you are wrong because of this and this and this; He simply said, Get behind Me, Satan!
Our opinions have their source in our thoughts, and if we don’t have the mind of Christ by allowing Him to spread from our spirit into our mind, our opinions are the expression of Satan’s thoughts. Oh, Lord!
Even as believers and as saints in the church life, many times we have opened our mouth and expressed a genuine concern for a certain situation or a feeling about something, and we were not one with the Lord but rather, we expressed our opinion.
In the Lord’s work, in the church life, and in the spiritual life, the greatest damaging factor is our opinion (1 Cor. 1:10-13).
Actually, opinions are a sign of darkness (John 11:9-10), for whenever we express an opinion that is contrary to the Lord’s will, that opinion signifies that we are walking in darkness.
It is a very serious matter to express our opinions; we may think that it is just our opinion, but we may be on the edge of darkness.
The more we entertain this, the more we protect our opinions, and the more we opine and spread our opinions; the result is not only that we are in darkness but also that we lead the saints into the same darkness, and this will hurt the one accord.
The Lord never acts on the basis of anyone’s opinion; rather, He always acts according to His will, and He will never be moved according to our opinion, including a prayer according to our opinion (1 John 5:14-15).
May we allow the Lord to spread in our mind, saturate our inner being, and renew us, attuning us in the same mind with the saints, the mind of Christ.
For us 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).
We should not be ashamed to speak the same thing, neither should we be outwardly conformed to others; we need to simply be attuned in the same mind and speak the same thing with one mouth to glorify God.
What a glory it is for us to speak the same thing!
May we not be those who want to be original, different, and distinct, as if this is our glory; our glory is to speak with one mouth – the mouth of Christ and speak the same thing – the mind of Christ, with one spirit – the Spirit of God.
For us 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. 1:18; Phil. 2:2, 5; 4:2).
We need to practice this; whenever we are in one accord, we will speak the same thing, and we will even speak with one mouth.
The only way for us 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. 3:17, 21).
Amen, when we are in one accord, speaking the same thing, God is glorified!
Lord Jesus, we open our mind and feelings and opinions to You; spread from our spirit into our mind to saturate our mind and infuse the mind of Christ into us. Oh Lord, give us Your mind, Your opinion, and Your feeling; we exercise to be one feeling, opinion, and mind with You. Save us from expressing our own opinions in the fellowship and coordination; save us from expressing an opinion that is contrary to the Lord’s will! Expose the darkness of our opinions and spread more in us! Attune us in the same mind and in the same opinion so that we may practice the one accord! May we have one mind – the mind of Christ – and speak with one mouth – the mouth of Christ – to express what Christ is expressing! Amen, Lord Jesus, gain Your glory in Your saints by their being in one accord and speaking with one mouth!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Minoru Chen for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1982, vol. 2, “The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John,” pp. 302-303, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Vital Factors for the Lord’s Recovery of the Church Life (2021 ITERO), week 5, The Factor of the Genuine One Accord.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, ’til we are in one accord. / Hallelujah—the saints going on! / Blend us, Lord, blend us, Lord, open hearts we can afford. / Hallelujah—the churches go on! / As the members of / His organic Body, / We need the others to go on. / As local churches, / We do also need / One another for our going on. (Song on, Blend us, Lord, Blend us, Lord)
– To Jerusalem we’ve come, / We are through with Babylon, / We have gathered to be one, / O glory be to God! / Of the teachings we’re bereft, / All opinions we have left, / Spirit from the soul is cleft, / In the local churches now. / Hallelujah! Hallelujah! / We are all in one accord / For the building of the Lord. / Hallelujah! Hallelujah! / We are living in the local churches now! (Hymns #1251)
– Pray with one accord in spirit, / Supplicate relatedly; / Seek the Lord, His mind, His leading, / In the Spirit’s harmony. (Hymns #779)
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