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Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:4-6; Matt. 18:19; Acts 1:14; Phil. 1:27; 1 Cor. 1:10; Rev. 1:4a, 11-12, 20; 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; Col. 4:16; 1 Cor. 11:16; 14:33-34; Acts 15:1-31; 1 Thes. 2:14; 1 Cor. 1:11-13; Phil. 1:15, 17
In this series of messages 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 does not say, “One church and one Spirit”; rather, he says, “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.
In the Body 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.
If we have only the oneness as an actuality and do not have the present, practical one accord, the oneness that we have will be objective and abstract; it will not be real to us. If we would apply the oneness accomplished by the outpouring of the Spirit, we must practice the one accord. If among us there is no one accord, how could we say that there is oneness? If in a prayer meeting we each pray in our own way, without any accord among us, how could we say that we are practicing the oneness? As long as we have differences existing among us, the oneness is not applied. We must have the one accord to swallow up all the differences; then oneness will be present.
The practice 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 harmony, 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.
To say Amen in response to others’ prayer is a practice taught by Paul in 1 Corinthians. In 14:16 Paul says 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.
In a church meeting there may be people of different races and colors. Our one accord could never be based on the different races and colors. We practice one accord based on the fact that we all have a common life. We may be different in race and in the color of our skin, but when we come together to pray, we must forget about the different races and colors. We do have a base for our oneness; thus, we can practice the one accord.
Not only so, if we do not have the same understanding, the same intention, the same purpose, the same goal, it will be impossible to pray together in one accord. There will be no base for such prayer. If we each have our own opinion, our own intention, and our own goal, there will be no base on which we can pray in one accord. But when we who are saved and who love the Lord and mean business for the Lord’s purpose come together, we surely have the base to pray in one accord.
In John 17 the Lord Jesus prayed for the oneness of His believers. That oneness was only in His aspiration. A little more than fifty days later, on the day of Pentecost, the oneness in the Lord’s aspiration was accomplished. The oneness in the Lord’s aspiration became the oneness in actuality. This oneness is called “the oneness of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3), the Spirit here being the consummated Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit, as the consummation of the entire Triune God. We, the saved ones, possess this oneness as our heritage. We possess this oneness, we enjoy it, and we apply it. To apply this oneness is to keep it, and to keep it is to practice one accord.
If in our Christian life and our church life we do not practice one accord, we conduct ourselves as if we are unlearned people who do not know that there is such a thing as the oneness of the Spirit. Suppose you have one billion dollars in your checking account. If you never write checks, it will seem as if you do not have a checking account at all or that your account has a zero balance. Your writing of checks is the practice of your realization that there is one billion dollars in your checking account. The one billion dollars in your checking account is your possession. We may liken the oneness of the Spirit to a one billion dollar deposit in our heavenly bank account. Therefore, every day and in every meeting we need to “write checks”; that is, we need to exercise to apply the oneness of the Spirit to the present situation.
The oneness that we possess in all the churches is not merely the oneness in the Lord’s aspiration and prayer. The oneness in John 17 may be likened to a promissory note. We do not have merely a promissory note; we possess a real bank deposit, for the promised “cash” has actually been “deposited into the bank” and has become our possession. We may consider this possession as our inheritance. The oneness that we have is the accomplished oneness, the oneness of the Spirit. We all have the Spirit in our “bank account,” that is, in our spirit (Rom. 8:9, 16). This Spirit who is in our spirit is the equivalent of the oneness. We have the oneness as a deposit in our account, but we may not write “checks of oneness” because we may not remain in the spirit. Instead, we may remain in our mind. When a certain brother prays, we may be in our mind discerning whether that brother’s prayer is genuine or whether there is hidden intention in his prayer. Thus, we may not say Amen to his prayer. In such a situation there is no practice of oneness. The one accord actually is the using of the oneness, which is the using of our possession. We all need to realize and to learn that not to be one with the saints, not to have one accord with others in the church, is serious. This indicates that the oneness is not applied.
To keep the oneness, 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. During the past two and a half years, the teaching of the absolute autonomy of the local churches was promoted among us. This teaching was based mainly on the book The Churches of God by G. H. Lang. This kind of teaching encourages and even promotes differences among the churches. It is serious to say that all the churches should be different. We are not for uniformity among the churches, but we are for oneness.
Uniformity and oneness are not the same thing. In a family there may be a grandfather and a grandmother who are over eighty years of age, a father and a mother who are about fifty years of age, and a number of children ranging from eighteen down to four years of age. They all are different in age, different in the degree of maturity. In such a family it would be impossible to make all the members uniformly the same age. However, although the members of a family can never be the same age, they can still be one. Likewise, in the church we do not practice uniformity because in the household of God, a large household, there are many degrees of maturity among the children. To eliminate the degrees of maturity would be absolutely wrong and would be impossible. However, this does not mean that we do not need oneness. In the practicality of the church life, as in the family life, there is the need of oneness, but in the degree of the growth in life, it is impossible to have uniformity. To make all the children the same in the growth in life is not to practice oneness; it is to practice uniformity. To have a clear vision of the proper one accord as the practice of the genuine oneness also is a part of the scriptural remedy for the intrinsic problem in the present rebellion among us.
When we practice the proper one accord, we must realize the attributes of the church as the unique Body of Christ. The church has its own attributes, and all the attributes of the church have the oneness. Oneness becomes the attributes of the church. This is because the factors of the church are one, the elements of the church are one, the means of the church are one, and the goal of the church is one. According to Ephesians 4:4-6, there is one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one God, one faith, one baptism, and one hope. These are seven attributes of the church. Every attribute of the church is one. Oneness is the striking characteristic of the attributes of the church. Thus, when we speak of or touch the church, we must realize that the church is altogether a matter of oneness. It gives us no ground to not be one.
The proper one accord in the church is the practice of the genuine oneness of the Body (Matt. 18:19; Acts 1:14). In Matthew 18:19, before the Lord prayed for the oneness in John 17, He trained His disciples to practice the one accord. Actually, as we have seen, to be in the one accord is to practice the oneness. A little more than forty days after the Lord’s prayer in John 17, the one hundred twenty disciples practiced the Lord’s direction in Matthew 18 by praying together in one accord (Acts 1:14).
When we practice the one accord, we must learn to be in one spirit and with one soul (Phil. 1:27). We may be bodily sitting together in the same room, but if we are not one in our spirit, it is certain that we will not be one in our soul. To practice the one accord, we must learn to turn to our spirit and then to enter into our soul with the spirit that we may be in the one accord.
To practice the one accord, we must be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion (1 Cor. 1:10). To be attuned in the same mind is to practically be one in our soul. When the thoughts in our mind are expressed in our speaking, they become our opinions. When the opinions remain in our mind, they are simply our thoughts. When our differences in thinking are expressed as opinions, that may cause a problem.
The Corinthian believers were not attuned in the same mind; thus, they spoke differently in the flesh. Some said, “I am of Paul,” and others, “I am of Apollos” or “I am of Cephas” (v. 12). The supposedly spiritual ones among them said, “I am of Christ.” This too was the expressing of an opinion. This kind of different speaking caused divisions among the Corinthians.
The New Testament reveals that not only all the saints but even all the churches must be in one accord. As recorded in Acts 15, certain Judaizers came down from Judea to Antioch, teaching the Gentile believers that they had to be circumcised in order to be saved. To make circumcision a requirement for salvation in the New Testament jeopardizes the redemptive work of Christ. Hence, this was a great heresy that concerned all the churches. Thus, the churches came together to find a unique solution to this problem, a solution that could satisfy all the churches and keep the one accord among the churches.
The practice of the proper one accord in the church is based upon the following eight items.
In Revelation 1:11-12 and 20 the seven golden lampstands, symbols of the seven local churches in Asia, are all identical in essence, nature, shape, color, appearance, function, and expression. In all these aspects the seven lampstands are identical. This signifies that all the local churches should be the same in essence, nature, shape, color, appearance, function, and expression. The seven lampstands were identical to the point that if they were placed side by side before our eyes, we could not discern which is which.
Today a certain kind of teaching is being promulgated among the churches, encouraging the churches to be different from one another. However, the normal differences among the churches can be only in the business affairs of their administration. Although the Lord did not touch business affairs in the seven epistles to the seven churches, as a rule, according to their practical needs, the churches should be different in the business affairs of their administration. These affairs include such matters as the times of the church meetings and whether the church purchases property and builds a meeting hall or simply rents a room or a building for its meetings. In matters such as these, there is no need for the churches to be identical. To require all the churches to be identical in these matters would be very awkward.
The seven churches were the same normally in the positive things concerning the testimony of Christ. In all the positive things concerning the Lord Jesus, the churches should be the same. In the Lord’s speaking to the seven churches, the positive things were commended, strengthened, encouraged, and exalted by the Lord for the abounding. These positive things include: in Ephesus, labor, endurance, and the hating of the works of the Nicolaitans (2:2-3, 6); in Smyrna, the suffering of tribulation, poverty, and trial, and being faithful (vv. 9-10); in Pergamos, holding fast the Lord’s name and not denying the faith of the Lord (v. 13); in Thyatira, love, faith, service, and endurance (v. 19); in Sardis, not defiling their garments (3:4); and in Philadelphia, keeping the word of the Lord and not denying His name (vv. 8, 10).
The seven churches differed abnormally only in the negative things, which were rebuked, judged, condemned, and corrected by the Lord for elimination. These negative things include: in Ephesus, some calling themselves apostles and not being such, and the church leaving its first love (2:1a, 2, 4); in Pergamos, the church settling in the world, some holding the teaching of Balaam, and some holding the teaching of the Nicolaitans (vv. 12a, 13-15); in Thyatira, the church tolerating the woman Jezebel to teach and lead the Lord’s slaves to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices (vv. 18a, 20); in Sardis, the church having a name that it was living but was dead, and its works not being found by Christ completed before God (3:1-2); and in Laodicea, the church being neither cold nor hot, but boasting, “I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing” (vv. 14-15, 17). The Lord’s rebuking indicates that the Lord does not want such differences.
By reading the epistles to the seven churches in Revelation, we can see that all the local churches should be the same in positive things but not in negative things. The churches should be different only in business affairs. For example, whether a church buys a piece of land and builds a meeting hall should depend on the church’s need and on the Lord’s sovereignty. The churches should not be required to follow one another in affairs such as these, but all the churches should be one in all the spiritual aspects concerning the Lord’s testimony. This is the first item as the base for us to practice the proper one accord.
The seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 were written as one book to the seven churches (1:4a). Before the book of Revelation, every epistle was written and sent particularly to a certain church. However, in Revelation the Lord wrote seven epistles and put them together in one book. These epistles were addressed by the Lord to the seven particular churches separately (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14), but they were sent not as seven books but as one book.
Although the contents of the seven epistles differ, at the end of each epistle there is the same closing word: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Each epistle was written to a particular church in a certain locality, yet all the seven epistles were closed in the same way, as the Spirit’s speaking to all the churches. This means that each epistle was written to all the churches, and it indicates that all the churches should be the same. This is the second item as the base for all the churches to practice the one accord. There must be the one accord among all the churches.
The apostle Paul taught the same thing in all the churches (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17). This means that all the churches in all the different localities should be the same. In Colossians 4:16 Paul writes, “When this letter is read among you, cause that it be read in the church of the Laodiceans also, and that you also read the one from Laodicea.” The Epistle to the church in Colossae was also for the church in Laodicea, and the epistle to the church in Laodicea was also for the church in Colossae. Thus, every epistle was written not only for the receiving church but also for all the other churches. This indicates that the Lord wants all the churches to have the one accord.
In 1 Timothy 1:3 Paul says that he urged Timothy to remain in Ephesus in order that he might charge certain ones not to teach different things. To teach different things is to teach things different from what the apostles teach, that is, to teach things other than God’s New Testament economy (v. 4). This indicates that all the teaching ones should teach the same things in all the churches according to the apostles’ teaching. Of course, this indicates also that all the churches should be one in the matter of teaching. This does not mean that in the matter of teaching, all the churches should give the same messages and use the same books, even at the same time; it means that all the churches should not teach things that are different from the New Testament revelation of God’s New Testament economy. Examples of such teaching are the teaching of the Mosaic law (v. 7) and the teaching of Jewish genealogies (v. 4) by some Christian teachers at Paul’s time, which were different from ministering Christ to people according to the proper revelation as taught in the New Testament.
All the churches were the same in their customs (1 Cor. 11:16). In 1 Corinthians 11:16, after instructing the saints concerning the matter of head covering, Paul says, “But if anyone seems to be contentious, we do not have such a custom of being so, neither the churches of God.” This indicates that all the churches were the same in their customs. A custom among the churches should not be considered a business affair. Paul told those who would express their opinions in order to dispute with him concerning head covering that the churches did not have the custom of disputation concerning the apostles’ teaching. This is not a matter of business; it is a matter of the customs among the churches.
All the churches should be one also in their practice. In 1 Corinthians 14:33-34, concerning women being silent in relation to teaching with authority, Paul says, “As in all the churches of the saints,” indicating that all the churches should be the same in not permitting the sisters to teach with authority. This also is not a business affair in the church; it is a practice in the church. In such a practice all the churches should be one.
In the churches we practice neither democracy nor autocracy but theocracy. We all are under the Lord’s ruling in everything and in all the practices, following His divine intention according to His holy Word; thus, there is no room for us to express our own human opinions. Unlike the world, the churches should not have the Laodicean practice of deciding matters according to people’s opinions, which would often carry the church away from the divine economy to a decision made by a council according to human thought and on a human level. In this matter also all the churches should be the same.
The one solution made at Jerusalem for the problem of circumcision became a decree for all the churches, both Jewish and Gentile, to keep (Acts 15:1-31). Hence, in relation to the matter of circumcision, all the churches should be the same. After the issuing of such a decree, it would have been wrong to allow the Jewish churches to keep the practice of circumcision while permitting the Gentile churches not to observe it. We should not forget that in the church, in the new man, there is no difference between the Greeks and the Jews, because in the new man Christ is every member (Col. 3:11). The one solution regarding the problem of circumcision was good for all the churches, making all the churches the same.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:14 Paul writes, “You, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.” This indicates that the Gentile churches imitated the Jewish churches. This imitating did not make the Gentile churches Jewish; rather, it made all the churches the same in Christ.
All the books of the New Testament, as one New Testament, that is, as one book, were written not only to their receivers but also to all the saints and to all the churches universally, that is, through all the centuries (1 Cor. 1:2). All the churches on the whole earth through all the centuries have received the same New Testament. The Lord did not write one New Testament to one church and a different New Testament to another church. In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul addresses his Epistle “to the church of God which is in Corinth...with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place.” The one Epistle of 1 Corinthians was written to the saints in Corinth, with all the Lord’s callers in every place. Thus, it was written to all the saints and all the churches through all the centuries. This indicates that all the churches on the earth should be the same, because they have all received the same teaching, the same New Testament. How then could we promote differences among the churches?
All the churches through the centuries should imitate all the churches unveiled in the New Testament. Today there are those who are promoting differences among the churches, but the Bible indicates that the churches should imitate one another.
To imitate is to follow something that is better than what we are, what we have, and what we do. All the churches differ in degree in the positive things related to the practices in the church. Thus, they should imitate what is better in any church so that they may have some improvement and some advancement in the interest of the Lord. It is not a matter of legality; it is a matter of the degree in the growth of life.
All the above eight points are a strong encouragement to the practice of the proper one accord in the church for the keeping of the genuine oneness of the Body by all the saints and all the churches universally. We must consider that all these points came sovereignly into existence that we may be one in all things related to God, Christ, and the church, that we may spontaneously be exercised to practice the one accord according to all the attributes of oneness in the divine and spiritual interests. May the Lord bless us and grace us to practice the one accord according to these attributes of oneness.
Any teaching contrary to the above eight points, such as the teaching of the absolute autonomy of the local churches, is a discouragement to the one accord in the church and encourages and promotes division among the saints and among the churches. All our teachings should be in the nature and with the intention to encourage and promote the practice of the one accord for the keeping of the oneness. We should do our best in any teaching to avoid any discouragement to such a practice so that the churches in all the localities can be built up in peace, without any disturbance, frustration, and distraction. May the Lord have mercy on all of us that we may practice the one accord to be kept from causing any kind of division and to have His economy carried out in the building up of His Body in oneness.
Any kind of spirituality or any kind of scriptural teaching should not be used as a cloak for division.
In 1 Corinthians 1:11-13, saying “I am of Christ” is condemned, just as saying “I am of Paul,” “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas.”
Taking the enjoyment of Christ as an excuse for separating oneself from the saints or for division among the churches also is condemned, just as saying “I am of Christ.”
In Philippians 1:15 and 17 the apostle Paul condemns those who preached Christ because of envy and strife, out of selfish ambition.
Using teachings such as the teaching concerning the headship of Christ, the teaching concerning all the churches being responsible directly to Christ alone, and the teaching concerning not exalting man, all of which seem very scriptural, as reasons for separation from the saints or for division among the churches also is condemned. As long as anything that is spiritual or scriptural causes separation or division, it is condemned.
The Catholic Church’s organization, with the pope as its head and with the bishops in different ranks as subordinates, is a hierarchy, which is not scriptural and is condemned by the Lord. We abandon such hierarchy to the uttermost because it is abominable to the Lord.
The Brethren assemblies’ uniformity, which resembles a federation, also is not scriptural.
Any difference among the saints or among the churches in the degree of maturity in life is normal and is needed according to God’s economy. God has arranged it so, and we should not attempt to make the saints or the churches uniform in this matter.
Any differences among the saints or among the churches that are intentional are abnormal and are condemned by the Scriptures. Any intention to have differences among the saints or among the churches in order to demonstrate something or to oppose something should be condemned and rejected.
For the keeping of the oneness of the Body of Christ so that we might not be sectarian, we must tolerate certain differences, such as differences in the way of baptism and in the observing of days (Rom. 14:15). This we consider as unity with variety. By tolerating this kind of variety, we annul uniformity. This is variety versus uniformity. If we practice this, we can be in one accord in spite of the variety that we may have. Of course, we know that sprinkling as a means of baptism is not as scriptural as immersion and that the keeping of the Sabbath is altogether not in God’s New Testament economy, yet we tolerate these kinds of differences that do not damage the faith according to the New Testament revelation. We tolerate this kind of variety with the expectation that the believers who are for unscriptural practices such as these may grow in life to become more mature in the fullness of the measure of Christ so that they may drop these differences and arrive at the oneness of the faith. We earnestly hope that these believers will also be tolerant of the fact that we are not the same in these practices as they are, so that they can be in the one accord for the keeping of the oneness of the Body. To practice the proper one accord according to all the points mentioned above will surely render much help in resolving the intrinsic problem in the present rebellion in the Lord’s recovery. Thus, such a practice also is a part of the scriptural remedy for the present rebellion among us.
In the elders’ training in February 1986, I spoke on the matter of one accord (see Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move). In those messages I mentioned the fact that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 was brought in through the one accord among the one hundred twenty believers (1:14; 2:1-4). Without the one accord, the outpouring of the Spirit probably would have been delayed. Hence, we need to see that the one accord among the saints and among the churches is crucial.
