One Accord

November 9, 2018

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.” (Acts 1:14)

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” (Acts 2:1)

“All who believed were together and had all things in common...So continuing daily with one accord in the temple...the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts2:44, 47)

“One accord.” All the good that happened in the beginning came about in part because they were “in one accord.” Perhaps that’s because “one accord” is the very nature of God. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity emphasizes this even from the first pages of Genesis where God says, “Let us make...” Creation was designed to operate “in one accord,” but the entry of sin into the world shattered that design, alienating the Creation from its Creator and requiring a sacrificial act on God’s part to bring back into one accord that which had been set at odds. 

These three little words describe the goal of redemption and the purpose of the Church as well as the modus operandi of salvation, so much so that when Jesus prayed his high priestly prayer in Gethsemane, he went so far as to ask on our behalf that “they be one as we are one, so the world may believe.” The stakes are high; we are seeing in the world around us the devastating effects of dis-integration as our country is divided to the point of self-destruction. 

It’s happened before. The Church burst on the scene with explosive growth as people heard the message. But in addition to the message of the Gospel, the goal and ideal of “one accord” was lived out as never before and perhaps as never since. It can happen again, but only if as at the beginning we once more continue with one accord in prayer and supplication. I’m all for it, am praying into it, and looking forward to seeing it once more.