This message is about the unity of the Body. It doesn’t just happen. It is more difficult to come into than you would think. You could say, “Oh, fine, this is what we’ll do.” You can sort of assent to it in your mind before you really arrive to the reality of it in your spirit. It takes a long time, sometimes, to find God melting the hearts together, in order for them to flow together.
When you are young and you are courting, there is something exciting about the one you love. There is such an effort to please in both hearts. It is almost phony, and there is such an intrigue in the hearts toward each other. You look at your sweetheart, lovely, beautiful, every hair in place, everything just fine. It doesn’t quite equal what it is like after you are married and have gone through the adjustment months. There is nothing like waking up on a cold morning to the stringy hair on the pillow beside you. The honeymoon is over.
That is what is happening in this Walk. We are getting ready to face this job of walking together, living together in the spirit, taking care of each other, every waking thought being for one another’s concern.
Philippians 1:27: Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 1:28–2:4.
The one acid test that is coming up in these days is right there. The independent spirit, the individual action, the withdrawal into your own orbit: this feeling that your life is your own, that it is no one else’s business how you live it, is wrong. We are being exposed to one another in a very real way. We are a part of each other.
Brothers, how you walk as elders and ministers is very important. The flock watches you; they draw from you. How you conduct yourselves to one another is very important. This is not a congregation; a congregation is the assembly of individuals. It is not a congregation; it is one body. It is an organism. It is a living function of many members whom God has made an integral part of one another. They do not coexist separately. They do not have independent actions. A hand may have a distinct function, but it is not apart from the body, and it does not move apart from the body—the foot also. They do not intrude in one another’s spheres. They help one another: the hands, the foot, the mouth, the ears, the eyes. We are a body, and we function together, and the function of each one is interrelated with the welfare of everyone else. The Body makes increase of itself in love. It is that which every joint supplieth. These are Scriptural terms. It is very necessary for us to see this. And this is exactly what the Lord is weighing.
We will have a new concept of sin and the judgments in the body. It will not be like this: “Oh, Sister So and So did terrible things last week, therefore the Lord’s going to judge her!”
It isn’t robbing banks; it isn’t murders; it is the sins against the Body, the independent functioning. It is the cancer in the Body that is being judged, where it has to set itself up preying on the Body but not contributing to the Body: a deadly thing that is preying on it but not performing the will of God within that body. And so we have been brought to the place where we say, “Lord, You judge the cancer. Cut it out. Take the knife and cut it out completely. Let nothing of it remain, because we don’t want the Body to perish because of the wild outlaw cells that have gone haywire, that are eating on the rest of the Body.” This is what God is judging. Don’t say that this is not important because this is what is happening within the whole Body.
God has a place for you, and He is saying, “Stand fast in one spirit.” We are striving together, one mind, one love, the same thing in every one of us. You say, “Doesn’t that sound like conformity?” No, it sounds like a good healthy condition. Then we are not dissipating all of our energies, all of our anointing, and all of the grace that is upon us by diverse roles until we are seesawing back and forth.
If you have a good team of horses, what really counts is when they learn to pull together. Sometimes it takes a little while to teach a team how to pull together. Sometimes you can’t put two horses together because they don’t have a way of pulling together, they kind of seesaw against the load. Then it is deadly for the harness and everything else in the way that it works. So you work with them until they can pull together and be a team. That is why we must have this idea of teamwork. And that is exactly what God is saying to us.
One of the greatest examples we can point to in this is to go back to the early Church, as we see it in the book of Acts. In Acts 4:32 is a key. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. In Acts 5:12 we read, And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. This represents the greatest period of unity.
Ananias and Sapphira were that unusual example of judgment which occurred in the early Church, not because the Church had gone into such a place of division, but it happened because the Church was in a place of unity. The verses of Scripture in the fourth and fifth chapters indicate that a state of unity existed in the Church such as has never been known before or since. What miracles took place! And the closer we come to this oneness in the Body, and all speak the same thing, the more God will eliminate that which is the troublesome thing.
Let’s read some of these Scriptures and see what took place then. Acts 4:23: And when they had been released (Peter and John, the apostles who had been put in prison), they went to their own companions, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard this (the disciples and all the believers), they lifted their voice to God with one accord and said (note the plural subject with the verb “said”), “O Lord, it is Thou who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Thy servant, didst say, ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord, and against His Christ.’ For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined so occur. And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Thy bond-servants may speak Thy word with all confidence, while Thou dost extend Thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Thy holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:23–30.
This is what they prayed, whether one man prayed and they were all in one accord with it, or whether they were all speaking simultaneously, it does not seem likely, but it is very possible. Nevertheless, everyone was praying, and this was one prayer that came out. Everyone was believing it. What will happen when we come to church and everyone is in accord in everything the Spirit says? The early Church was really committed to the unity of the Spirit.
Remember how Paul said, And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom… I Corinthians 2:3, 4. He did not want to speak in the wisdom of man. He was a man who was an orator. He had been a member of the Sanhedrin and knew the Scriptures well, yet he stood shaking lest he should speak in the flesh. He so wanted his words to be in the Spirit of the Lord: not in man’s wisdom, but in the power of the Spirit, that their faith would stand in the wisdom of God.
When we begin to tremble, being fearful lest we speak out from under the anointing, that will be a wonderful day. When the apostle and the elders and the deacons and everyone have such a restraint on them that they stand trembling and fearful lest they should speak one word out of the Spirit, then we will understand something of the nature of the prophetic community that was found in the New Testament. They were really led by the Spirit of the Lord. When they began to pray, it came up in one accord.
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31. There it was. The Spirit of the Lord filled everyone. This was like a second outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The second chapter of Acts was a miracle, because cloven tongues of fire sat upon each one of them and they all spake as the Spirit gave them utterance. It was an individual thing. But in this miracle, when the Spirit rested upon them, they were all in such a one accord in the manifestation that the whole place was shaken. Wouldn’t it be marvelous to have that happen to us?
The place was shaken, and they began to speak the word of God with boldness. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul… Acts 4:32. One heart and soul—the unity was unbelievable. It was in this climate of unity that the story of Ananias and Sapphira took place: And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of lands or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need. And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Acts 4:3–5:4a. Here you can see that individual stewardship never ends.
Suppose you were to say, “I come and lay this at the apostle’s feet.” It could be a stall, a dodge to avoid responsibility for finding the will of God in what you should do with what you have. It would be very simple to say, “Here, I’ll turn it over to you, Pastor, and see what you want to do with it.” However, I think there should be a great deal of prayer on everyone’s part.
Some people say that it was sort of a form of Communism when everyone sold things and had everything in common. No, it was not. Under Communism there is no individual stewardship; the state owns everything. But in the communal living of the New Testament they had individual stewardship and responsibility. It was their own. It was in their hand, and they could do whatever they wanted to do with it. And the Lord required that if they did it, it was because the Lord directed them to do it. It was still a stewardship for which they answered to God. It is very important for you to know that.
Peter was saying to Ananias, “After it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it. And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well.” And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of those things. And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. Acts 5:4b–12. It goes on to say that this unity was not broken.
“Well,” you say, “then everyone would join the church.” No, for it says, But none of the rest dared to associate with them… Verse 13. Do you understand why? That is what we need in this day. In the old-order churches, anyone with a bank roll could get in without having a change of heart. But the day is coming, and it is already here, in which you don’t just join the Walk: “Well, let’s have members; let’s take in members for the Walk.” You don’t do it that way. What do you do? The Lord just starts adding them, and it is in their own hearts that the Spirit of the Lord sets them in the body and they start moving and functioning. It is not some low-grade membership. And it is not based upon what you can give or anything else. It is based upon one thing: the honesty of your heart. And the day will come when no one will dare to join himself to us, unless the Lord has added him to it. I welcome that day. This Walk has already been the cleanest, as far as hypocrisy is concerned, than anything I have ever witnessed. And it is going to become even more so.
But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number… Acts 5:13, 14. The easier it is to get into the church, the less it is going to mean. The more difficult it is for people to really get into it, the more the multitudes will come in. The world is just waiting to find a church worth joining, or worth being joined to.… men and women, were constantly added to their number; to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets, and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. And also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits; and they were all being healed. Acts 5:14–16.
One heart and one soul is what God wants with us. You cannot say, “Come on, now, stop your division!” It is more than that, isn’t it? It is a positive thing where the Lord actually crucifies individuality. Away with this thing of the personality cult. “Lord, bring us down to the place where we all say we are just one Body in the Lord Jesus Christ.” I think we are all sick of the preening of personality, the put-on. Let us come together as God’s big happy family—a tested family. We are not always happy in the sense of the world’s viewpoint of it, but there is a lot of joy in this, anyway, and we learn very realistically to pray.
In my own natural tendency to frankness, my utter abhorrence of secrecy to a congregation, and my desire for things to be out and open, I cry out to the Lord, only hoping I do not carry it so far that it becomes offensive. I try to share things to make you responsible with me in faith for everything that comes. Why should you come and sit like babies, uninvolved with the affairs of the family? You should learn to bear the yoke in your youth. You will not eventually be a good deacon or a good elder unless you can take some of the problems and some of the needs, not too much though, for the babes cannot bear too much.
Still, a universal fault is that we fail to appreciate what we could lay upon our children to do. Most of you continue to labor with the idea that your children are absolutely helpless when their own development, the responsibility that they could take that would be the direct factor in their maturity, you refuse to give them. When you see your boy, handsome and strong, you think “What a beautiful son he is” as he walks down the aisle; yet if you were to see what he really is in character it would be like a six-year old going to kindergarten. He knows no more about the marriage he is about to enter into than anything, because he has never learned to be unselfish; he has never learned to be a responsible person. That also happens again and again when a girl looks beautiful, physically mature, appearing to be all woman. But as the weeks and months go by her husband finds that he married a little girl, and it is not good. That same thing happens in the spiritual realm.
Learn to carry the yoke. Learn to take the burden. “Lay it upon us, Lord.” Some of the churches have only tapes to listen to. Some of them have pastors who love the Lord and pray and do the best they can, but many of the people have to take a responsibility, and they grow just as well, because they have to shift for themselves or starve to death.
There are different ways of raising children. Some mothers have so projected themselves into the lives of their sons that they wait on them hand and foot, and the day finally comes that when their boy leaves home it is a total disaster. The mother cannot do anything then but just kind of live their sons lives for them. However, I have seen the opposite: mothers who would kick them in the tail and say, “Here, take this responsibility!” From the very beginning they would have to begin to do things for themselves and learn. As they grew up, sometimes it would seem as if they were being neglected, but the one thing they learned was to take responsibility, and it was a good thing for them.
There is a great deal facing us now. Lets face it together in the responsibility of being the Body of Christ. Let’s carry the load and bear one another’s burdens: one mind, one spirit, one heart, working together. Don’t let anything divide you. When we have this really working in our hearts we will have a real state of unity.
Ananias and Sapphira was the judgment that took place at the peak of the Church’s unity, not to destroy an insidious division, but because they were so much one that God would not let anything come to break it. When we get into that kind of unity, I believe God would do anything to prevent our losing it. Let’s maintain it. The best thing we can do is to fall on our faces, fast and pray, and say, “Lord, I’m one more member of the Body. Make us what You want us to be. Don’t let anything be in me or in the Body that displeases You, Lord. Let us measure up to the good acceptable and perfect will of God. Amen.”