The Practice of the Oneness – the One Accord – is According to the Apostles’ Teaching

The practice of the oneness – the one accord – is according to the apostles’ teaching; we must be in one accord to maintain the oneness Christ seeks, for only when we have the one accord can we enjoy the blessing from the Lord. Amen!

Having the one accord affects and involves our entire being, not just our spirit.

On the one hand, we have the oneness of the Spirit, which is the oneness of the Body of Christ, for we have God in the Christ as the Spirit in our spirit.

Praise the Lord, there is one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one faith, one baptism, and one Body of Christ. Now we all are members of the Body of Christ, and as members, we simply need to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

It is one thing, however, for us to have the oneness of the Spirit, which is in our spirit, based on the life of God we have received at regeneration, and it is another thing for us to have the one accord.

The one accord involves our mind and our will, not just our spirit; we need to be attuned in the same mind and will, and there needs to be harmony in our inner being.

The one accord is like a symphony played by many different instruments, all of which are properly attuned and playing their particular notes; the result is a wonderful and delightful melody that is so enjoyable to listen to.

God wants to hear the symphony of our one accord, for this will cause Him to pour out His blessing upon His people.

However, how can we have the one accord if we do not have harmony in our inner being? If our mind and will are not attuned to God’s mind and will, how can we have the one accord? Oh Lord!

We need to open to the Lord personally and have many dealings with Him, even ask Him to deal with our mind and our will so that we may be one with Him not only in spirit but also in our mind.

Our mind needs to be renewed in the word of God so that we may think the way He thinks.

We need to open to the Lord from the depths of our being so that He may work Himself into us and deal with anything in us that needs to be dealt with.

This requires that we open to the Lord like never before so that He may operate in us, work Himself into us, and subdue our mind and will to make us fully one with Him, with the result that we have harmony in our inner being.

May the Lord gain this in us and among us for the practice of the oneness – the one accord.

The Practice of the Oneness – the One Accord – is According to the Apostles’ Teaching

When we speak of one accord either in the church life or in any society or group, there needs to be the same kind of thinking that comes from the same kind of knowledge from the same teaching.

If there are different teachers which teach different things, each one teaching his own thing, there will be no one accord.

If there is a political party and they want to be prevailing and strong, they need to have the one accord. Any society or group on the earth needs to have the one accord which comes out of the same kind of thought, the same kind of knowledge.

This is true both in society and in the spiritual realm; this is why the Lord has only one teaching, which is the teaching of the apostles. When we remain in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles and closely follow it, we will have the one accord.

The book of Acts tells us that, on the one hand, there was one accord among the disciples, and on the other hand, all those who were in one accord were continuing in the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2:42).

There was not something called “one accord” in the air and all the disciples were following blindly; rather, they were regenerated by God with His life, they had the Holy Spirit poured out upon them, and they continued steadfastly according to the apostles’ teaching.

The practice of the oneness – the one accord – is according to the apostles’ teaching. The holding factor of our one accord is the teaching of the apostles.

There are not many teachings but one teaching, which causes us to be one. We all need to continue in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles so that we may have the one accord.

What did the apostles teach? In 1 Corinthians chapter 2 we see that they taught from the Spirit. The Spirit revealed things to them, and they followed closely the Lord’s teaching.

In the Gospels we see that God sent the Son and the Son spoke what He heard from the Father, and now after the Son went to the Father, the Spirit reveals the things of God in Christ to the believers in Christ.

The Son receives from the Father and the Spirit receives from the Son and reveals to the apostles.

Then the apostles, who fellowship with the Father and with the Son, testify to us of what they have seen and heard, so that we may also fellowship with them; this fellowship is with the Father and with the Son (1 John 1:1-3).

God the Father is the source, He is expressed in God the Son, and then He’s applied to us through the Spirit. Then, the Triune God has one teaching, through the apostles.

The apostles are not the source; God is the source, God is one, and the apostles teaching is the holding factor the practice of oneness – the one accord.

When the believers in Christ continue steadfastly in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, there is one accord.

When the disciples continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching, there was the one accord. We need to continue steadfastly; this is not something we do occasionally or temporarily but steadfastly.

We know what it means to endure something personally or go through a person situation steadfastly; we also need to learn to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching.

Christ is steadfast; we can continue steadfastly because Christ in us is steadfast.

The apostles taught the same thing to all the saints in all the places and in all the churches; today we also must teach the same thing in all the churches in every country throughout the earth (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33b-34; Matt. 28:19-20).

We cannot teach what we want; we can teach only what the apostles taught, for the teaching of the apostles will cause us to be in one accord.

The teaching of the apostles is the holding factor of the one accord (Acts 2:42, 46). We can open to the Lord about this and tell Him,

Lord Jesus, keep us in the apostles’ teaching so that we may have the one accord among us. Save us from focusing on different teachings, teaching that differ from the apostles’ teaching. Oh Lord, may we be those who continue steadfastly in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread and the prayers. We stand one with You, dear Lord, and we stand one with the saints. We reject anything that differs from the apostles’ teaching, the unique New Testament teaching concerning God’s economy. May we all, day by day continue steadfastly with one accord with all the saints both in large meetings and in home meetings. Amen, Lord, may we realise that the apostles’ teaching is the holding factor of the one accord. May we practice the oneness – the one accord – by continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching today!

We must be in One Accord to Maintain the Oneness Christ Seeks for God to Bless us

We believers in Christ practice oneness based upon the attribute of the oneness of the church – one Spirit, one Lord, one God, one Body, one faith, one baptism, and one hope (see Eph. 4:4-6).

Oneness is an attribute of the church; based on this attribute of oneness, we can be in one accord, for we can practice the oneness. We can be one because we have God’s life, and the Triune God in us is one. Our oneness is according to the apostles’ teaching (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:34).

The apostles taught the same thing in all the churches and to all the saints; when we continue steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching, we have the one accord.

Our practice of the oneness is according to the same speaking of the Spirit in the churches, as seen in Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29, and 3:6, 13, and 22.

The Spirit spoke specific things to each church, but the speaking of the Spirit was to all the churches; may we have an ear to hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches.

We all have the same Bible, the same speaking from the Lord, and we practice the oneness – the one accord. As we do this, we become the golden lampstands, which are completely identical – golden in the nature, expressing the shining of the divine light (Rev. 1:20).

Even though the golden lampstands are distinct and self-contained, they are completely identical in nature, shape, function, and expression. May the Lord gain the one accord among us today.

May we be in the one accord so that we may maintain the oneness which Christ seeks today. All the blessings and grace of God can come only when we’re in one accord. God can bless only the one accord.

When we have the one accord, we have the practice of oneness.

Psalm 133 speaks of this, showing us how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity. It is so good and so pleasant for the brothers to dwell together in one accord!

When this happens, the Lord is happy: the anointing is upon the Body in oneness, the dew is there, and Jehovah commands the blessing, life forever.

If we want to enjoy the blessing from God, we need to be in one accord in the church life today. To be in one accord, our inner being is touched and affected.

For us to practice the oneness, we need to be touched and dealt with in our mind, our love, and our speaking. Our mind is so wild, like a wild horse, having no restraint.

Our emotion is not regulated, for our love is temperamental and preferential. And our words are light and loose. Many times we damage the oneness by what we speak, what we like, and what we prefer.

When we live according to what we are by nature, we affect the oneness and, instead of practicing the oneness, we lose God’s blessing.

As we are learning to bear the testimony for the Lord’s recovery, it’s easy for our mind to be distracted and for our love to become unhealthy.

We may not speak evil words and we may not revile others, but our speaking may be loose, and we may not be ashamed to express our opinions. Oh Lord!

When this happens, many problems are brought into the church, and even division may come in.

May we come to the Lord to deal with our emotions, our speaking, and our mind so that we may have the one accord among us today. May we be in one accord to maintain the oneness Christ seeks.

Lord Jesus, we give ourselves to You today. May we be in one accord so that we may maintain the oneness Christ seeks and desires to bless. Thank You, Lord, we can practice the oneness based upon the fact that the church is one! We want to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching so that we may practice the oneness, having the one accord. Oh Lord, grant us to have an ear to hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches. We fully open our inner being to You, Lord, so that You may deal with our unrenewed mind, wild emotions, and untamed tongue. Oh Lord, what about our mind? Renew our mind a little more today so that we may have the mind of Christ. Regulate our emotions so that we may love what You love and hate what You hate. Amen, Lord, sanctify our speaking so that our words would not cause problems but rather minister life to the saints!

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, 1990, vol. 2, “The Oneness and the One Accord according to the Lord’s Aspiration and the Body Life and Service according to His Pleasure,” ch. 9, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, One Accord and Crucial Aspects of the Book of Acts (2025 April ITERO), week 2, One Accord.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Pray with one accord in spirit, / Supplicate relatedly; / Seek the Lord, His mind, His leading, / In the Spirit’s harmony. / Pray with one accord in spirit, / Pray and watch persistently; / For God’s kingdom and His glory, / Pray and watch in harmony. (Hymns #779 stanzas 4-5)
  – In this age we’re being turned / To the Spirit to be burned; / Now in spirit we can see / Christ, the church, our unity! / In the spirit we can taste / All the riches of Thy grace; / All Thy fullness, blessed Lord / Is for those in one accord! (Hymns #1239 stanzas 1-2)
  – One Body universal, / One in each place expressed; / Locality of dwelling / Her only ground possessed; / Administration local, / Each answ’ring to the Lord; / Communion universal, / Upheld in one accord. (Hymns #824 stanza 6)