In order to have
the increase of Christ
for the increase and spread of the church,
we must have
the one accord;
the Greek word for one accord
is homothumadon
from homo, “same,”
and thumos, “mind, will, purpose (soul, heart)”:
the increase of Christ
for the increase and spread of the church,
we must have
the one accord;
the Greek word for one accord
is homothumadon
from homo, “same,”
and thumos, “mind, will, purpose (soul, heart)”:
The one accord
is the master key
to every blessing
in the New Testament;
to apply the oneness
is to keep it,
and to keep it
is to practice the one accord.
is the master key
to every blessing
in the New Testament;
to apply the oneness
is to keep it,
and to keep it
is to practice the one accord.
In order to have the one accord,
we need to care for one thing;
the one thing,
the unique thing,
in the Lord’s recovery
is God’s eternal economy
with Christ
as the centrality and universality:
we need to care for one thing;
the one thing,
the unique thing,
in the Lord’s recovery
is God’s eternal economy
with Christ
as the centrality and universality:
The one thing
that should be focused on,
stressed,
and ministered
in the Lord’s recovery
is the eternal economy of God.
that should be focused on,
stressed,
and ministered
in the Lord’s recovery
is the eternal economy of God.
The content of God’s eternal economy
is Christ;
actually, Christ Himself
in His full ministry of three stages
is the divine economy.
is Christ;
actually, Christ Himself
in His full ministry of three stages
is the divine economy.
God’s desire
is to have a recovery
purely and wholly
of the person of Christ.
is to have a recovery
purely and wholly
of the person of Christ.
The one thing in Philippians
refers to
the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ;
the one thing
is the pursuing of Christ
to gain Him,
lay hold of Him,
and possess Him:
refers to
the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ;
the one thing
is the pursuing of Christ
to gain Him,
lay hold of Him,
and possess Him:
Christ and Christ alone
should be the centrality and universality
of our entire being.
should be the centrality and universality
of our entire being.
Our thinking
should be focused on the excellency
of the knowledge and experience of Christ;
focusing on anything else
causes us to think differently,
thus creating dissensions among us:
should be focused on the excellency
of the knowledge and experience of Christ;
focusing on anything else
causes us to think differently,
thus creating dissensions among us:
“Make my joy full,
that you think the same thing,
having the same love,
joined in soul,
thinking the one thing”
(2:2).
that you think the same thing,
having the same love,
joined in soul,
thinking the one thing”
(2:2).
“Not that I have already obtained
or am already perfected,
but I pursue,
if even I may lay hold of that
for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brothers,
I do not account of myself
to have laid hold;
but one thing:
Forgetting the things
which are behind
and stretching forward to the things
which are before,
I pursue toward the goal
for the prize
to which God in Christ Jesus
has called me upward”
(3:12-14 (lit.)).
or am already perfected,
but I pursue,
if even I may lay hold of that
for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brothers,
I do not account of myself
to have laid hold;
but one thing:
Forgetting the things
which are behind
and stretching forward to the things
which are before,
I pursue toward the goal
for the prize
to which God in Christ Jesus
has called me upward”
(3:12-14 (lit.)).
“Martha, Martha,
you are anxious and troubled
about many things;
but there is
need of one thing,
for Mary has chosen the good part,
which shall not be taken away from her”
(Luke 10:41b-42).
you are anxious and troubled
about many things;
but there is
need of one thing,
for Mary has chosen the good part,
which shall not be taken away from her”
(Luke 10:41b-42).
“One thing
I have asked from Jehovah;
/ That do I seek:
/ To dwell in the house of Jehovah
/ All the days of my life,
/ To behold the beauty of Jehovah,
/ And to inquire in His temple”
(Psa. 27:4).
I have asked from Jehovah;
/ That do I seek:
/ To dwell in the house of Jehovah
/ All the days of my life,
/ To behold the beauty of Jehovah,
/ And to inquire in His temple”
(Psa. 27:4).
We need to consider
one new man in Ephesians 2:15
together with one mouth in Romans 15:6
and speak the same thing in 1 Corinthians 1:10:
one new man in Ephesians 2:15
together with one mouth in Romans 15:6
and speak the same thing in 1 Corinthians 1:10:
For the church
as the one new man,
we all
need to take Christ
as our person
in the matter of speaking.
as the one new man,
we all
need to take Christ
as our person
in the matter of speaking.
The entire Bible
has one mouth
and speaks the same thing.
has one mouth
and speaks the same thing.
In today’s Christianity
there are
many mouths,
each speaking a different thing;
this is
the pitiful situation of every preacher
wanting to speak his own thing
and thinking it a shame
to speak
what others have spoken.
there are
many mouths,
each speaking a different thing;
this is
the pitiful situation of every preacher
wanting to speak his own thing
and thinking it a shame
to speak
what others have spoken.
In the past
there were
too many mouths
because there were
too many persons.
there were
too many mouths
because there were
too many persons.
In the one new man
there is
one mouth
to speak the same thing.
there is
one mouth
to speak the same thing.
There is
only one new man,
and the one new man
has only one person,
so the one new man
speaks with one mouth
and says the same thing.
only one new man,
and the one new man
has only one person,
so the one new man
speaks with one mouth
and says the same thing.
With one accord
and with one mouth
mean that even though we are many
and all are speaking,
we all
speak the same thing:
and with one mouth
mean that even though we are many
and all are speaking,
we all
speak the same thing:
The church
is the one new man
with only one person—Christ—
and this person
controls our speaking;
thus,
whatever He speaks
is surely the same thing.
is the one new man
with only one person—Christ—
and this person
controls our speaking;
thus,
whatever He speaks
is surely the same thing.
When we are about to speak,
we need to resolve
a basic question:
in this matter of speaking,
am I the person
or is Christ the person?
we need to resolve
a basic question:
in this matter of speaking,
am I the person
or is Christ the person?
If in our speaking
we do not take ourselves as the person
but allow Christ to be the person,
then
there will be
one mouth,
and everyone
will speak the same thing.
we do not take ourselves as the person
but allow Christ to be the person,
then
there will be
one mouth,
and everyone
will speak the same thing.
\In the one new man
there is
only one person,
and only this person
has the freedom
to speak:
there is
only one person,
and only this person
has the freedom
to speak:
In the one new man
there is
no freedom
for us
to speak
our own things.
there is
no freedom
for us
to speak
our own things.
The Lord Jesus
has the absolute freedom
to speak,
and our natural man
has absolutely no freedom
to speak.
has the absolute freedom
to speak,
and our natural man
has absolutely no freedom
to speak.
Although we are many
and come from many places,
we all
have one mouth
and we all
speak the same thing;
this is
because we all
are the one new man
having only one person
and come from many places,
we all
have one mouth
and we all
speak the same thing;
this is
because we all
are the one new man
having only one person
Only one kind of ministry
builds up and never divides
—this is
the unique ministry of God’s economy:
“Human pride
always likes to make the self
different from others.
You may speak one thing,
but I would never speak
what you speak
because of my pride.
I want to speak something different
from what you speak,
something new and something better.
This is
the self,
and this is
fleshly pride”.
The only way
that we can be preserved
in the eternal oneness
for the one new man
is to teach
the same thing,
the economy of God.
The book of Acts
shows that the God-ordained way
to carry out God’s move
to fulfill His New Testament economy
is entirely by three main substances
—prayer, the Spirit, and the Word:
shows that the God-ordained way
to carry out God’s move
to fulfill His New Testament economy
is entirely by three main substances
—prayer, the Spirit, and the Word:
Prayer, the Spirit, and the Word
are the three substances of the power
in the Lord’s recovery.
are the three substances of the power
in the Lord’s recovery.
We must pray
that we might have
the Spirit as the power
to spread the Word:
that we might have
the Spirit as the power
to spread the Word:
We must get ourselves
saturated, constituted, and even soaked
with the holy Word;
if we are burdened
to preach the gospel,
we must get into the Word
and be persons
who know the Word.
saturated, constituted, and even soaked
with the holy Word;
if we are burdened
to preach the gospel,
we must get into the Word
and be persons
who know the Word.
We should ask the Lord
to bring our entire being
into the light
and be dealt with by Him
to become persons of power,
who are full of the Spirit
within and without,
essentially and economically.
to bring our entire being
into the light
and be dealt with by Him
to become persons of power,
who are full of the Spirit
within and without,
essentially and economically.
The early disciples
could not have maintained the one accord
if they had
different ways, means, agents, or substances
for them
to carry out the Lord’s move on the earth;
in order to maintain
the unique one accord,
we all
have to learn to do the same thing
by the same way.
could not have maintained the one accord
if they had
different ways, means, agents, or substances
for them
to carry out the Lord’s move on the earth;
in order to maintain
the unique one accord,
we all
have to learn to do the same thing
by the same way.
We must not think of taking a way
other than prayer, the Spirit, and the Word;
any other way
will cause dissension and division.
other than prayer, the Spirit, and the Word;
any other way
will cause dissension and division.
The book of Acts
shows that the apostles
never initiated any work
without prayer;
whenever they wanted to do something,
they stopped themselves
by their prayer,
giving God a way
to come into them,
to fill them up,
and to saturate their entire being
so that all their activities
would be
the activities of the acting God:
shows that the apostles
never initiated any work
without prayer;
whenever they wanted to do something,
they stopped themselves
by their prayer,
giving God a way
to come into them,
to fill them up,
and to saturate their entire being
so that all their activities
would be
the activities of the acting God:
In order to be one with the Lord
in His work,
we need to pray ourselves into God
and pray God into us
so that we
are mingled with God\.
in His work,
we need to pray ourselves into God
and pray God into us
so that we
are mingled with God\.
To pray
means to stop ourselves
from doing anything
apart from the Lord,
so that He
can do His work
through us.
means to stop ourselves
from doing anything
apart from the Lord,
so that He
can do His work
through us.
To pray
means that we realize
that we are nothing
and can do nothing;
prayer
is the real denial
of the self\.
means that we realize
that we are nothing
and can do nothing;
prayer
is the real denial
of the self\.
To pray
by calling on the name of the Lord
is to deny ourselves
and to declare,
“No longer I
…but…Christ” (Gal. 2:20a).
by calling on the name of the Lord
is to deny ourselves
and to declare,
“No longer I
…but…Christ” (Gal. 2:20a).
Meeting together
in homes
as the Christian way of meeting together
is fitting to
God’s New Testament economy:
in homes
as the Christian way of meeting together
is fitting to
God’s New Testament economy:
This way
differs from the Judaic way of meeting
in the synagogues:
differs from the Judaic way of meeting
in the synagogues:
The believers
broke bread
and prayed together
from house to house.
broke bread
and prayed together
from house to house.
They also announced the gospel
and taught Jesus as the Christ
from house to house;
the gospel can be and should be preached
in every home.
and taught Jesus as the Christ
from house to house;
the gospel can be and should be preached
in every home.
Paul spoke of teaching
and admonishing the believers
from house to house.
and admonishing the believers
from house to house.
This became a continual and general practice
in the churches.
in the churches.
The base
for the increase and spread of the church
is the establishing of
small, vital group meetings in the homes:
for the increase and spread of the church
is the establishing of
small, vital group meetings in the homes:
Small groups in the homes
are able to retain people.
are able to retain people.
Small groups in the homes
are in the nature of home nurturing,
whereas joint meetings
of the church and the ministry
are in the nature of school education;
in order for a church
to go on
in a good way,
we must have small group meetings
for home nurturing,
and we must also have joint meetings
to educate in the truth:
are in the nature of home nurturing,
whereas joint meetings
of the church and the ministry
are in the nature of school education;
in order for a church
to go on
in a good way,
we must have small group meetings
for home nurturing,
and we must also have joint meetings
to educate in the truth:
We need to be balanced,
because a large meeting hall
can help us gain better results;
even though we continually beget those
who can be nurtured in the homes,
there must be a large meeting hall
as a “university”
to teach and perfect them.
because a large meeting hall
can help us gain better results;
even though we continually beget those
who can be nurtured in the homes,
there must be a large meeting hall
as a “university”
to teach and perfect them.
The principle of houses
still applies today,
but this does not mean
that the church
will always meet separately;
in fact,
it is important and of great profit
for all the believers
to gather quite regularly
in one place.
still applies today,
but this does not mean
that the church
will always meet separately;
in fact,
it is important and of great profit
for all the believers
to gather quite regularly
in one place.
The “defensive” function
of the small groups
is to uphold and restore the saints.
of the small groups
is to uphold and restore the saints.
The “offensive” function
of the small groups
is to preach the gospel.
of the small groups
is to preach the gospel.
Every believer
should be
a witness, a martyr, of the Lord,
sharing with and testifying to others the Christ
whom he has “seen and heard”.
should be
a witness, a martyr, of the Lord,
sharing with and testifying to others the Christ
whom he has “seen and heard”.
Hits: 2
6 replies on “The Increase of Christ for the Increase and Spread of the Church through the One Accord with Prayer, the Spirit, the Word, and the Homes”
Day 6
…Continuing steadfastly with one accord
in the temple
and breaking bread
from house to house…
And every day,
in the temple
and from house to house,
they did not cease
teaching and announcing the gospel
of Jesus as the Christ.
How I did not withhold
any of those things
that are profitable
by not declaring them to you
and by not teaching you
publicly and from house to house.
not only records the facts
related to the church’s increase and spread;
it also shows
four important means
of the church’s increase and spread.
The first means
is the economical Spirit, the Spirit of power,
descending on the lovers of the Lord.
The second means
is prayer,
which is continued steadfastly.
The third means
is God’s word,
which is Christ Himself.
God’s word
has power,
because the word of God
is life, light, and truth.
As such,
it brings salvation to man.
…The fourth means
is the believers’ homes;
this is
the practical means
for God’s increase and spread.
Acts does not contain a record
concerning meetings in a chapel,
but there is
a record of meeting
“from house to house.”
The believers
broke bread
and prayed together
from house to house.
They also announced the gospel
and taught Jesus as the Christ
from house to house.
Finally,
Paul spoke of
teaching and admonishing the believers
from house to house.
is through His Spirit,
by the prayer of the believers,
by the release of God’s word,
and through the believers’ homes.
…In addition to these four aspects,
we need to be His witnesses.
…Witness in Greek
means “martyr,”
one who lays down his life,
who pays the price of his life,
to be a witness.
from 1949 to 1956
…we gained people
through the preaching of the gospel,
and we retained people
by meeting with them
in small groups.
…The means and base
for the increase and spread of Christ
…is the small groups.
By 1980
all the small groups
were gone.
In place of the small groups,
there were
big joint meetings,
mass gatherings,
and meetings involving one man speaking.
This was
a return to the old condition of Christianity.
the meetings of the church in Acts
occurred mainly “from house to house.”
The saints
went from one house to another,
house after house.
This is
the correct meaning of
from house to house
in Greek.
Even if a house was large,
it would not have been able to accommodate
a mass gathering.
At the most,
it would have been able to provide
a place for immediate neighbors;
the capacity of a house
is always small.
This is the reason
that we refer to such meetings
as small group meetings.
and schools are for educating.
Both of these components
are necessary.
Therefore,
after studying our situation,
we realize
that there is still a need
for joint meetings
in the church life,
which are
in the nature of school education,
and for small group meetings,
which are
in the nature of home nurturing.
can uphold existing saints
and restore dormant saints,
the increase and spread of the church
will not proceed in a full way
if we focus only on
this “defensive” function.
We also must focus on
the “offensive” function
of preaching the gospel
from house to house.
Through the supply of life
and the teaching of the truth,
we can uphold and restore
the brothers and sisters.
Yet when we look around,
we still see
many relatives, friends, and neighbors
who are unbelievers,
and we surely have
some feeling for them
…that they may know
the gospel
and receive
the blessings of the Lord’s salvation.
Day 5
But you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you shall be My witnesses
both in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
These all
continued steadfastly
with one accord
in prayer…
…And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak
the word of God
with boldness.
begins with the one accord
and stresses the one accord.
The early disciples
could not have maintained or kept
this one accord,
however,
if they had had
different ways, means, agents, or substances
for them
to carry out the Lord’s move
on this earth.
If we read
through the entire book of Acts,
we can see
that the way
they took
to carry out God’s move
on this earth
to fulfill His New Testament economy
was entirely by three main substances
—prayer, the Spirit, and the Word.
Not only in Acts
but also throughout the entire New Testament,
prayer, the Spirit, and the Word
were used for
the carrying out of God’s economy.
…The substances
which constitute
the unique way for the Lord’s move
are prayer and the Spirit,
which result in the Word.
that the Spirit grew and multiplied
but that the Word grew and multiplied.
…What we do actually
is to carry the Word
to people.
The Word is
the real contents,
the real constituents
of the New Testament economy of God.
God’s Word
constitutes the New Testament Bible
and also constitutes
the very New Testament economy of God.
We should pray
that we may have
the Spirit as power
to spread the Word.
toil in the Word,
labor in prayer,
and be diligent in
dealing with the Holy Spirit.
This is worthwhile.
We have to spend much time
to get into the Word;
we have to get ourselves
saturated, constituted, and even soaked
with the holy Word.
We must also get ourselves
constituted with
our contact with the Lord.
We have to contact Him
day by day and hour after hour;
then
we will be
the right person.
of the Body of Christ,
we need the divine life,
and we also need prayer.
…To pray
means that we realize
that by ourselves, with ourselves, and in ourselves,
we are nothing.
…If we are going to do God’s work,
we need to get into God.
Furthermore,
God is
not that much
in us.
Therefore,
we need to pray God into us.
Then
we can do the work
in a way
in which we are mingled with God.
In other words,
we are in God,
and God is in us.
…When we pray,
we do not need to pray too much
for affairs or for the work.
We need to pray ourselves into God,
and we need to pray God into us.
This is
the principle of prayer.
we have to stop a while
to pray.
To pray
means to stop ourselves
from doing anything.
…If we look into the New Testament,
we can see
that the Lord Jesus
always prayed first.
His prayer
was to stop Himself
from doing anything
apart from the Father.
His prayer afforded Him
the opportunity
to be fully one
with the Father.
Then
the work done by God the Father
was through Jesus, the man.
It was the same
with the early apostles.
The book of Acts
shows us
that whenever there was some activity,
the apostles firstly prayed.
They never initiated work
without prayer.
Whenever they wanted to do something,
they stopped themselves
by their prayer.
Their prayer
gave God a way
to come into them,
to fill them up,
and to saturate their very being.
Then
the apostles began to work.
That work was not something
done by the apostles
independent from God.
Instead,
the work done by the apostles
was only done
in full dependence on God.
Day 4
1 Cor. 1:10
…That you all
speak the same thing
and that there be
no divisions among you,
but that you
be attuned
in the same mind
and in the same opinion.
1 Tim. 1:3-4
Even as I exhorted you
…in order that you
might charge certain ones
not to teach different things
nor to give heed to
myths and unending genealogies,
which produce questionings
rather than God’s economy,
which is in faith.
We want the teaching
which teaches God’s economy.
Now we can understand
Paul’s charge in 1 Corinthians
to speak the same thing (1:10).
What same thing
should we speak?
Should we speak
Bible teaching,
how to meet,
the way to baptize,
the way to edify the saints,
the way to help people
to be spiritual,
or the way to render much help
to the Christians
that they may grow in life?
These are
right things to teach.
Something from the Bible
such as evangelism
is altogether right.
However,
if you do these things
and teach them
apart from God’s economy,
you are divisive.
…To teach the Bible
and to preach the gospel
are not pagan.
They are
altogether right and altogether scriptural,
but we must be
on the alert
as to whether or not
we are divisive.
Whatever you teach
should not be measured
by whether it is wrong or right.
It must be measured
by whether it is divisive or not.
Only one kind of ministry
builds up and never divides
—this is
the unique ministry
of God’s economy.
We must be reminded
that Paul left Timothy in Ephesus
with a charge
to tell certain ones
not to teach differently
and that what they teach
should be related to God’s economy.
What then,
we may ask,
is the unique thing
which all the Christian teachers
should teach?
Christian teachers today
teach many things
such as the presbytery,
baptism by immersion,
the episcopalian way,
holiness,
how to preach the gospel,
and the way to teach the Bible.
We would all agree
that to teach the way of Judaism
is surely wrong,
but what about
teaching how to preach the gospel
What is wrong with
preaching the gospel?
We must realize
that even the teaching
to preach the gospel
creates division.
This is wrong.
There is only one ministry
which always builds up,
edifies,
and perfects
with no destruction at all.
There is
only one unique ministry
that is justified, promoted,
uplifted, and even glorified
in the New Testament.
In 1 Timothy 1:4
Paul went on
to tell Timothy
what those ones
who were teaching differently
should be occupied with
—God’s economy.
Please do not have
the peace and assurance
that as long as you
teach things scripturally
that it is all right.
It is
not all right
because your teaching
creates division.
Even your right teaching
creates division.
We all
must realize
that, generally speaking,
the different denominations
do not teach anything wrong.
They have all tried and endeavored
to teach
the right things, the scriptural things.
Eventually, however,
the Body of Christ
has been cut into pieces.
The only way
that can preserve us
in the recovery
is the unique ministry.
If we say
that we are in the recovery,
yet we teach something so lightly,
even in a concealed way,
that is different from God’s economy,
we sow the seed
that will grow up in division.
Therefore,
the only way
that we can be preserved
in the eternal oneness
is to teach
the same thing in God’s economy.
This kind of teaching
is called
the New Testament ministry,
the ministry of the new covenant.
The ministry of the new covenant
is only to minister the Triune God,
processed,
to be dispensed
into His chosen people
as life and life supply
to produce members of Christ
to form the Body
to express the Triune God.
This is
the New Testament economy.
To teach anything,
even good things and scriptural things,
which is even a little bit apart
from God’s New Testament economy
will still issue in division,
and that will be very much used
by the subtle one, the evil one.
We must, therefore, be
on the alert.
Day 3
…That He
might create the two
in Himself
into one new man,
so making peace.
That with one accord
you may with one mouth glorify
the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now I
beseech you, brothers,
…that you all
speak the same thing
and that there be
no divisions among you,
but that you
be attuned
in the same mind
and in the same opinion.
not merely the Body
but also the one new man.
The Body needs Christ
as its life,
whereas the new man needs Christ
as his person.
When you want to speak,
when I want to speak,
when any one of us wants to speak,
we must resolve the basic question:
who is the person
that is speaking here?
…When anyone speaks,
it is Christ
who is the person.
What is the result?
The result is
that there is
only one mouth.
This is
why in 1 Corinthians 1:10
Paul says
that all “speak the same thing.”
…The church
is the one new man
with only one person,
and this person
controls our speaking,
so whatever He speaks
is surely “the same thing”
that we all
speak as the new man.
are about to speak something,
they do not take themselves
as the person;
instead,
they allow Christ
to be the person.
You let Christ
be your person
when you speak,
and I let Christ
be my person
when I speak.
Eventually,
everyone speaks
the same thing.
has one mouth
and speaks the same thing,
even though it
was written
over a long period of time
by many different people
in many different places.
…Although we
are many
and we come
from many places,
all of us
have one mouth,
and we all
speak the same thing.
This is
because we all
are the one new man
having only one person.
I wanted to speak,
but I checked within,
asking myself,
“Is it I
who want to speak,
or is it the Lord?”
In other words,
in the matter of speaking,
is the Lord the person,
or am I the person?
If it is I,
there will be
a problem;
if it is the Lord,
there will be
no problem.
…In Christianity today
you see a pitiful condition
because every preacher
wants to speak his own thing,
and he thinks
it is a shame
to speak
what others have spoken.
that what limits you the most
is the matter of speaking.
…In the church,
in the Body of Christ,
and especially in the new man,
neither your natural man
nor my natural man
has freedom of speech.
This is
because we ourselves
are not the persons.
In the one new man
there is
only one person.
Only this person
has the freedom
to speak,
and our natural man
has absolutely no freedom of speech.
The Lord
has the absolute freedom
to speak,
and I
absolutely have no freedom
to speak.
one mouth
in Romans 15:6
and speak the same thing
in 1 Corinthians 1:10
together with
one new man
in Ephesians 2:15.
…Humanly speaking,
this is
absolutely impossible.
However,
we must see
that in Romans 15,
Paul is speaking of
a local church.
In a local church
there must be
only one mouth.
…When there are many persons,
there are many ideas;
when there are many ideas,
there are many opinions,
but we thank the Lord
that now
there is
one mouth and one person here.
…You may be about to speak,
but something “pinches” you
from within,
telling you
not to say anything.
All you can say
is, “Thank the Lord!”
When you want to speak again,
the Lord pinches you again,
so you simply say
Amen!
we take Christ
as our life,
and in our living
we take Christ
as our person.
In the Body,
Christ is
our life,
and in the new man,
Christ is
our person.
In the Body
we are
members one of another,
and in the new man
we all
have one mouth
to speak the same thing.
This is
the church.
Day 2
Being diligent
to keep the oneness of the Spirit
in the uniting bond of peace:
one Body and one Spirit,
even as also you
were called in one hope
of your calling.
And day by day,
continuing steadfastly
with one accord…
Make my joy full,
that you think the same thing,
having the same love,
joined in soul,
thinking the one thing.
I have put the genuine oneness first
and the proper one accord second.
Strictly speaking,
the genuine oneness
is not of the church
but of the Body;
it is
the Body’s own organic oneness.
In Ephesians 4:4,
after telling us
to keep the oneness of the Spirit,
Paul did not say,
“One church and one Spirit…”;
rather, he said,
“One Body and one Spirit….”
The church
may be plural
as the churches in different localities,
but the Body
could never be plural.
Whether it
is viewed locally or universally,
the Body is one.
In contrast,
the church is universally one
but locally many.
we need oneness;
in the churches and among the churches,
we need the one accord.
The one accord
is for our practice;
the oneness
is primarily for the actuality,
for the fact.
In John 17
the Lord Jesus
prayed for such a fact,
and on the day of Pentecost,
by pouring out Himself
as the consummated Spirit,
He accomplished His prayer.
That was
the actuality of the oneness.
After the accomplishment
of the actuality of the oneness,
there is
the need for the practice of the oneness.
When the oneness
is practiced,
it becomes
the one accord.
The one accord
is the practice of the oneness.
of the proper one accord
in the church
is the application of the oneness.
Although oneness and one accord
seem to be synonymous,
there is
a difference between them.
The Lord did not teach us
concerning oneness.
In John 17
He prayed for oneness,
but in Matthew 18
He led us
to practice the one accord.
In Matthew 18:19
the Lord spoke of two
praying together on earth
in one accord.
That was
His leading, His training, and His directing us
to pray in one accord.
As a test of
whether we
are practicing the oneness or not,
we may check to see
whether there is
one accord in our prayer meeting.
When certain ones pray,
we may shake our head
as an indication of our displeasure,
and when others pray,
we may nod our head
as an expression of our agreement.
Such a shaking and nodding of our head
is strong evidence
that we
do not practice oneness,
because we
do not have the one accord.
in response to others’ prayer
is a practice
taught by Paul
in 1 Corinthians.
In 14:16
Paul said
that we need to pray
in such a way
that others can say Amen.
If there are no Amens
to indicate our one accord,
we should not expect
that our prayer will be heard.
If only two on earth
pray in one accord,
their prayer will be answered.
The one accord is
the practice, the application, of the oneness,
and the oneness
is the basis
on which we
practice the one accord.
This is
very meaningful.
to apply the oneness,
to use the oneness,
to enjoy the oneness,
to spend the oneness,
we need to practice the one accord.
However,
we should practice the one accord
not only among the saints
in our particular locality;
we must practice the one accord
among all the churches universally.
the one thing here
must refer to
the subjective knowledge and experience of Christ.
Christ, and Christ alone,
should be
the centrality and universality
of our entire being.
Our thinking
should be focused on the excellency
of the knowledge and experience of Christ.
Focusing on anything else
causes us to think differently,
thus creating dissensions among us.
Day 1
Again, truly I say to you
that if two of you are in harmony on earth
concerning any matter
for which they ask,
it will be done for them
from My Father
who is in the heavens.
These all
continued steadfastly
with one accord
in prayer…
the Lord spoke
concerning two or three
agreeing on something in prayer.
The word “in harmony” in this verse
is not as strong as
the word “one accord.”
The word in Greek for one accord,
homothumadon,
is strong and all-inclusive.
Homo means “the same”
and thumos means “mind, will, purpose (soul, heart).”
The Chinese version of the Bible
translates this word into a Chinese word
meaning the same mind and the same will.
In Romans 15:6,
the King James Version
translates this word into “one mind.”
In the book of Acts
the one hundred twenty
prayed together
in one mind, in the same mind, in the same will
with the same purpose
around and within the soul and the heart.
Whenever we pray,
we surely should exercise our spirit,
but we also
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.
After the Lord’s ascension,
the one hundred twenty
became the kind of persons
who were in one mind, in one will, with one purpose
around their soul and heart.
For them to be in one accord
meant that their entire beings
were one.
that divides the Gospels and the Acts…
was the one accord
of the one hundred twenty.
If you want to experience the baptism in the Spirit,
you must have the one accord.
If all the members of a local church
have the one accord,
the baptism in the Spirit
will be there.
If you really want to practice
the proper way to preach the gospel,
you need the one accord.
Without this key,
no door can be opened.
The one accord
is the “master key
to all the rooms,”
the master key
to every blessing in the New Testament.
This is
why Paul told Euodias and Syntyche
that they needed this one accord.
Paul knew
that these sisters
loved the Lord
but that they
had lost the one accord.
Philippians tells us
that this matter
starts from our spirit,
yet we must realize
we are not persons of spirit only.
…For us to be in the same one spirit
with the same one soul, one mind, and one will
is to have the one accord,
which is the key
to all the New Testament blessings and bequests.
that should be focused on, stressed, and ministered
in the Lord’s recovery
is the New Testament economy of God.
God’s New Testament economy
is “the thing.”
The content
of the New Testament economy of God
is a person.
…There are three sections
concerning this wonderful person.
First,
this person is
the Son with the Father by the Spirit
in the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels.
In the second section of God’s New Testament economy
is the Spirit, as the Son, with the Father.
This section
covers the twenty-two books
from Acts through Jude.
The last section of God’s New Testament economy
is covered…in Revelation
…where there are
the seven Spirits,
out from
the eternal One of the Redeemer.
is to have a recovery
purely and wholly
of the Person of Christ.
God’s desire
is to have
a recovery of the Triune God
dispensed into His redeemed people,
so that He
would become their being,
and that this
would issue into the church life.
This means
that such a church life
is a golden lampstand,
the very embodiment
of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
We must realize
that the Lord’s recovery
is just the Triune God
dispensed into His redeemed people.