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.