The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
April 1, 2001
In
This Issue:
"With
One
Accord"
By
Tim Johnson
With One Accord
"Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind" (Phil. 2:2). The Lord, through the inspired writings of the apostle Paul, urges us in this passage to be "of one accord." To fully understand this phrase, let us observe it in action.
In Acts 2:44-47, after Peter convicted the Jews of murdering the Son of God, who, seeing their error, repented and were baptized, we see that they continued in each other's fellowship daily in the temple "with one accord." In verse 44, we see this defined as "all who believed were together."
In Acts 4, after Peter and John had been questioned by the high priest and his family about the healing of the lame man and threatened not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus, we see in verse 24, that "they raised up their voice to God with one accord&ldots;" Then we have recorded a most beautiful prayer to God that He would grant them boldness to speak His Word. We understand from this that they prayed to God together.
In Acts 8:6, we see the reaction of the multitudes as they "&ldots; with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip&ldots;" We are told further in verse 12 that they believed the things Philip preached and, as a result, "both men and women were baptized." We understand from this that they believed together.
From these passages we can see that the term "of one accord", as defined in the Bible, means togetherness. The Christians of the first century were together in their understanding, or thinking, which led to a togetherness of action. Back to our passage in Philippians 2, we are further instructed in verses 3-4 to esteem others better than ourselves, to tend to their needs as well as our own. Then, we are reminded of the greatest example of humility, that of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up His status at the right hand of God, took the form of a man, His own creation, and allowed man to crucify Him.
"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy," let us, with one accord, have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:1).
By Tim Johnson