“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1, NKJV, emphasis added).
“So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord” (Acts 4:24a, emphasis added).
“One accord”: A look into the Greek meaning of this term brings to light a marvelous truth. Interestingly, the use of this expression is found 12 times in the New Testament, 10 of those times in the book of Acts.
The Greek word is homothumadon, and it is a compound of two words meaning to “rush along” and “in unison.” The image of this word is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a master conductor, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of the members of Christ’s body. That is so beautiful to me.
This harmony does not refer to a unification or a unity that is fabricated, but what we as a church are called to by God. In context, harmony is defined as a “pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts.” In other words, a harmony leading to action. The intent of this unity is to meld together the various passions and gifts of each person in a common vision and goal.
When genuine harmony is manifested, great things happen.
“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32a).
A oneness of heart and soul means to be “in tune” or “in sync” with one another.
One heart: They were all going the same way, spiritually together.
One soul: Literally means “to breathe spiritually together.”
The result of this kind of spiritual unity was that they shared whatever they had, they witnessed great power and great grace was upon them all (v. 32-33).
All these glorious things were manifested through the unleashing of the power of the Holy Spirit in response to their corporate prayers.
We cannot have this unity unless we receive one another in love and in the Spirit.
“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh” (2 Cor. 5:16a).
Let us fix our attention on what is best in others. Don’t just look at who they are in the flesh, but at who they are becoming in Christ. Unity is directly in proportion to the receiving of one another.
The Prism Principle
Here is another wonderful word given in the way of prophecy to help Christ’s body better understand the reason for the absence of more harmony and unity in the body of Christ, and the division and disunity we often experience. It’s called the Prism Principle, first shared with me years ago by my dear friend Pastor Ray Shannon.
Pure light comes into a prism and is refracted, and you see the colors of the rainbow as a result of the bent light. Here then is the prophecy:
“As pure light enters and comes through a prism and is refracted, you will see the colors of the rainbow (interestingly, there are seven primary colors in the rainbow), so I send My Word into the earth. It comes into the earth as pure light, and I refract it and distribute it to different groups and people. The problem is they build a tabernacle around their color when My intent is that their colors would come together in unity, and they would see the fullness of that truth from many facets.”
Isn’t this the reason the unity of Christ’s body has been so painfully slow to achieve? Is it not because we have not received all the colors and the varied ministries and members of the body, and instead said to them, “I have no need of you” (1 Cor. 12:21b)?
The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17:20-23, emphasis added).
Could the fact that the high priestly prayer of Jesus Christ for unity was repeated three times in the above verses indicate something of unusual importance and significance? Could it be that the problem of unifying the church, so that His body might be one, prove to be as comparable a task in difficulty as redemption itself?
Bert Farias’ books are forerunners to personal holiness, the move of God and the return of the Lord. They also combat the departure from the faith and turning away from the truth we are seeing in this hour. His current passion is to promote a culture of the supernatural manifestations and ministries of the Holy Spirit in the church today and to pass it on to the next generation (Passing on the Move of God to the Next Generation). His newest release, now available on Kindle and on paperback, The Supernatural Church of Love and Power, is a simple blueprint for what the Lord Jesus is doing in His church today. Other materials/resources are available on his website, Holy Fire Ministries. You can also follow him on YouTube (Holy Fire Ministries), Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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