November 25 2025

Tuesday November 25

One Lord, One Accord

Ephesians 4:4-6

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Today we're continuing to look at Ephesians 4:4-6. One of the outstanding characteristics and testimony of the early church we read about in the early chapters of the Book of Acts was that “they were in one accord” (Acts 1:14; 2:1, 46; 4:24, 32; 5:12). So much so that in Acts 4:32 it was said of them: “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.”

They prayed to the same Lord. They prayed to the same God. They had the same Holy Spirit working in each one of them. And because of that, they were in one accord. My friend, when you're in one accord with the fellow believers around you, there is the awesome power of God that comes down upon us to be a great witness to all the world around us, in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. Remember that the light that shines the brightest at home shines the farthest.

The greatest hindrance to the church to the witness of the church is the fact that so many times in our churches, the believers who claim to have the same Lord do not get along with each other. That's why Paul wrote the whole book of First Corinthians. He heard that there were divisions among them. So much so that in his introduction to them in 1 Corinthians 1:10 he wrote: “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Here in Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul reminds us of the spiritual realities that make us one, one in unity, unity in the church despite our diversity and differences. Yesterday we talked about, “One body, one Spirit, one hope of your calling” (v. 4). Today we will be looking at the next spiritual reality, which is “One Lord” (v. 5).

In Romans 14:3-10, Paul wrote these words to the church at Rome, dealing with the divisions they were having in their church. “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” 

Now, this is powerful reminder that because we are a part of one body, one Spirit, and have one hope of our calling, and knowing one day we will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and give an account of our attitudes and actions we should “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).  This is also possible because we should remember that we are serving “the same Lord” (Romans 10:12; 1 Corinthians 12:5).

Jesus is either Lord of all, or He's not Lord at all. When there's contention among us, it's because we have forgotten that we have the same Lord that we worship, that we follow, that we submit to, that we surrender to. If there's contention in the church, it's always because of a person who has pride in his heart thinks he knows better maybe than the others or he has pride in his heart because he thinks he's better than others or he thinks he has more spiritual gifts or he's given more than others in the church. Proverbs 13:10 tells us that: “Only by pride cometh contention…”. My friend, these things ought not to be. There should be oneness of spirit, oneness of heart, oneness of purpose and mission in our churches. When we have that, it's because there we recognize that there is one Lord.

Is Jesus the Lord of your life today. Is Jesus honored and worshipped as Lord in your church? How can there be disunity when we're loving and serving the “same Lord”? 

God bless!