And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2:1
Our text today stands in sharp contrast to the first time in Scripture when people were acting in one accord. Genesis 11 tells us of the people of the post-flood period who had gathered in the plain of Shinar, and who had decided to built a great city and within it a tower that would reach to Heaven. These people were all of one language, and they were all of one purpose, but that purpose was not what God wanted them to do. God’s plan was for them to spread and populate the world. Because they were acting contrary to God’s will, God stepped in and confounded their unity. Because they could not understand each others’ speech, they parted ways, and the dispursement that God intended took place. But our text tells us of a unity of which God approved, and a result that was to His glory.
The great sense of expectation filled these believers as they waited for the promise of the Lord Jesus for the Holy Spirit to be given to them. They were unsure of what was to take place, but they were united in their expectation. And God did not disappoint! Unlike the disobedient people in Shinar, these people were united in obedience. Their unity was something that God could use, just as He can and does use obedient unity today. Religions around us love to talk about their unity, and it is a goal that they strive for and to a measure achieve. But it is not a unity of obedience to God’s Word. Their unity involves compromise with those who are blatantly in violation of the truth. Like the people in Shinar, their unity achieves no good purpose. But the unity that occurs among God’s people who follow God’s Word will achieve far more than we can imagine, as it did in the early hours and days of Christianity.
The Holy Spirit was able to use the unity of the Christians to display His power in the Gospel. Thousands were saved in a day, huge numbers came under conviction, and the work of God prospered because the Christians were all in one accord. The lack of unity is the greatest hindrance to the Gospel today. Some would urge us today to join with them in their great evangelistic campaigns, but we can’t do that because their unity is one of disobedience. They are in violation of the Word of God. And much of what they accomplish is not of God. But God’s word is hindered among those who are obedient but who are not united. Many of our Gospel series are marked by a lack of support by some of the believers. More would be accomplished if more were actively involved in prayer, in invitations, in witnessing.
We read that the early Christians were of one accord in their love for each other, and in their desire to share everything with each other. This type of accord speaks loudly to those around, and to each other as a reminder of the love of Christ in our hearts.
If we are obedient to God’s Word, we will be in one accord with others who are also obedient. -Jim MacIntosh