One in Christ Acts 4:31-32 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In Acts 4:32 we find that “the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul…” As a matter of fact, they were of one spirit, one mind and one accord, as well. That’s because they were one in Christ. Here is the significance of them being one:
One Heart – Acts 4:32 – they had one heart for the Lord, one heart for his words, one heart for things above, one heart for each other, one heart for missions – when we all love the same things our love for each other grows stronger – we want to see each other do well, we want to see the church do well, and we rejoice together and mourn together.
One Soul – Acts 4:32 – we are members of the body of Christ and therein lies our unity [the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Eph 4:3] – our souls are baptized into Jesus Christ and, therefore, we are “members one of another,” Rom 12:5 – when we recognize that our bond is greater than just being members of the same church, but rather that we are of one soul, there is a strength in that unity that is beyond the strength of any adversary on earth to break it.
One Spirit – Phil 1:27 – we are directed by the Holy Spirit – we are not directed by man’s spirit or by an unclean spirit – man’s spirit can be affected by his emotions [which swing] and by his thoughts [which can be misled] – God wants us together as one and so he unites us in one spirit; the devil wants us divided and so he tries to sow discord in that spirit through his evil spirit – the way to stay together is to yield to the leadership of the Spirit of God.
One Mind – Phil 2:2 – 1 Pet 3:8 – notice what often happens in marriage – a husband and wife begin a discussion on a topic and express some differences of opinion – once those differences have been discussed, they prayerfully consider them until they come to the same mind at the conclusion – afterwards, if either one starts thinking contrarily the other reminds him of their “one mind” on this topic – in church, at times, our minds may consider different things – as we sort those differences out we look for the mind of Christ since we are in Christ and we have the mind of Christ – once we find the mind of Christ on a matter we can have the same mind about it – the trouble comes in marriage and in church when we don’t first find the mind of Christ, when we don’t have “one mind” with him, and when we don’t continue in that one mind with each other.
One Accord – Phil 2:2 – Acts 2:46 – to be in one accord means to be in harmony – we are made up of different parts of a body that blend perfectly, each part supporting the other, just like voices in harmony make a beautiful sound – to be in one accord means to be in agreement – we have been in one accord and so, many decisions in our church have been unanimous – we should strive to remain of one accord – don’t say this is “MY” church; say this is “OUR” church because we are all in it together to the glory of God.
Conclusion: we must remember that we are one in Christ and therefore one with each other.