Atos 1

Atos 1

Calvin comments that Luke describes the "two essentials for true prayer, namely that they persevered, and were of one mind." Does this describe the prayer meetings at your church? Does your church even have a weekly prayer meeting? Paul Apple rightly exhorts us -- "Bathe Your Ministry Preparations in Corporate Prayer!" Stott observes that "There can be little doubt that the grounds of this unity and perseverance in prayer were the command and promise of Jesus. He had promised to send them the Spirit soon (Acts 1:4, 5-+, Acts 1:8-+). He had commanded them to wait for him to come and then to begin their witness. We learn, therefore, that God’s promises do not render prayer superfluous. On the contrary, it is only his promises which give us the warrant to pray and the confidence that he will hear and answer." (The Message of Acts) (Bolding Added) (Ed: And I would add, there is nothing more powerful in prayer than praying God's Word back to Him, which is why it is a wonderful practice to pray with the Bible open, or your memory verses ready to be recited to God!) Jamieson says they were "knit by a bond stronger than death." One mind (3661)(homothumadon/homothymadon from homos = same + thumos/thymos = temperament) means with one mind, unity of mind, with one purpose, with unanimous consent, of one accord. In a word it means together (Webster says "together" means "in company, in union, in the same place, in the same time, in concert.") One lexicon says homothumadon means "to be of one soul." It speaks of an action agreed upon unanimously (with one impulse) or by common consent. Homothumadon was frequently used in secular settings to describe the unanimity of a synod, of creditors, of a husband and wife, of brother (TLNT, Moulton and Milligan) Webster defines unanimity as "Agreement of a number of persons in opinion or determination; as, there was perfect unanimity among the members of the council." Webster defines accord as "harmony of minds; consent or concurrence of opinions or wills, harmony of sounds or the union of different sounds which are agreeable to one's ear in pitch and tone (See Pritchard's comment below). You can mark it down that where there is homothumadon among believers, the Holy Spirit is present and active! (cf Eph 4:4-+, Acts 15:25, 28 where being of one mind is clearly reflects the effects of the Holy Spirit). And the converse also applies - without the Holy Spirit energizes saints, uniting hearts, there is the potential for discord and disharmony because of our fallen flesh. "Harmonious" saints are surely Spirit filled saints! NIDNTT writes that word homothumadon "is first found in the 5th and 4th cent. B.C. and in the political sphere is used especially for the visible, inner unity of a group faced by a common duty or danger. Their unanimity is not based on common personal feelings but on a cause greater than the individual." What a great description of the "cause" of Christ and His Commission to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth that lost souls might be saved forever! Is there are greater cause? I think not! Ray Pritchard - The word is homothumadon, which the King James translates with the lovely phrase “in one accord.” It’s a musical term that means to strike the same notes together (Ed: More accurately it is the word "accord" which is the meaning of homothumadon which is a musical term. But Pritchard's application is still appropriate.). We all know what it is to listen to a choir sing and the music is lovely and lilting and then without warning, someone hits a wrong note. The discordant sound sticks out like a sore thumb. When the early church prayed, there were no “wrong notes"–no ugly attitudes, no pointing fingers, no pity parties, no gossipy stories, no secrets told behind closed doors. When people don’t like each other, they can’t pray together very long. Either you’ll stop criticizing or you’ll stop praying because you can’t do both at the same time." Lawrence Richards' descriptive definition echoes those of Pastor Pritchard - "Homothumadon is a compound of two words meaning to “rush along” (thumos/thymos) and “in unison” (homos). The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonize in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great orchestra blend under the direction of a concertmaster, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ’s church. (The Teacher's Commentary) So here is this little group of disciples meeting in dangerous Jerusalem. This is no accident, no coincidence. In fact, one cannot help but believe that this gathering in such a dangerous and with such palpable unanimity of mind and heart was an answer to Jesus' prayer to His Father just before He was crucified, when He prayed... “And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one." (John 17:22) Homothymadon - Luke uses 10/11 NT occurrences and all in the book of Acts. Acts 1:14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. Acts 2:46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, Acts 4:24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, Acts 5:12 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 7:57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. Acts 8:6 The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. Acts 12:20 Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country. Acts 15:25 it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Acts 18:12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, Acts 19:29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. Romans 15:6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lawrence Richards on use of homothumadon in Acts 1:14 - . There, in the Upper Room, the 11 disciples and a few women were united in prayer. Earlier strife and jealousies that marred their relationships were gone; the disciples were one, waiting for the Spirit’s promised coming. (Ibid) David Peterson - Luke’s description of the activity of the apostles and those with them at this stage (they all joined together constantly in prayer) is quite emphatic in Greek (houtoi pantes ēsan proskarterountes homothymadon tē proseuchē). As they continually devoted themselves to prayer, they did so together(homothymadon), as a fellowship of like-minded believers. (Pillar NT Commentary) (Bolding added) Were continually devoting themselves to prayer - They were "praying without ceasing." (1 Th 5:17-+) While they were clearly praying fervently and with passion during these 10 days, their prayers in no way were instrumental in bringing about the coming of the Spirit. God had promised He would come on Pentecost and that is why He came on Pentecost. On the other hand, 10 days of devoted prayer prepared the soil of their hearts for the coming of the Spirit. It is much like saints today who pray Maranatha, "Our Lord Come." We know He will come, but even the act of praying for His sure return causes our hearts to desire that return and to live holy lives in light of His return. A harmonious "concert of voices" to God. A veritable concert of prayer! In a real sense these believers were spiritually (praying, cf "stand in the gap" - Ezekiel 22:30) and literally "standing in the gap," because they were in the 10 day gap between Jesus' ascending and the Spirit descending. Jack Arnold points out that "There is no way we can duplicate this tarrying experience of the disciples today. They were commanded to wait for the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. You and I do not live in the period between the ascension and Pentecost. We today do not wait for the Holy Spirit because He came two thousand years ago. We cannot tarry for the Holy Spirit and hope to reproduce a modern day Pentecost. Pentecost cannot and will not be repeated." (Acts - 10 Day Until Zero Hour) Continually devoting (present tense - continually)(4342)(proskartereo from prós = toward, to + karteréo = be strong, steadfast, firm) means to be earnest towards, to persevere, and conveys the idea of "carrying on". It describes a steadfast single-minded fidelity to a certain course of action, in this case the act of prayer. It is notable that 6 of the 10 NT uses of proskartereo are associated with prayer!. The idea is persist steadfastly in a task, to keep on with devotion, to continue with intense effort, being continually attentive, persevering and not fainting, being constantly diligent, attending assiduously and continually! O to have such a prayer life that it could be modified by the verb proskartereo! Give us that quality of prayer life energized by Your Spirit Lord, in Jesus' Name. Amen.