Speaking Truth
Speaking Truth Podcast
We Are a Family
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We Are a Family

1 John 3:1
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”

Most people would agree that families are not perfect. While ideally families should be safe places full of love and care for one another, that is not many people’s experiences. Families come full of conflict, disappointment, and even abuse. Some families know what it means to trust one another, while others have never earned it. Whether your experience with family has been mostly positive or mostly negative, I think you’d still agree with me that your family isn’t perfect. That fact is what makes this post a great transition from my last one, which acknowledged the imperfection of God’s people. While our families in this life may be imperfect, many of us still agree that family is important. This is even truer for the family of God.

In my first post on this topic of why Christians need the Church (see "Church Is Worth It”), I walked through Scriptural evidence pointing to God’s design for a people. Today I want to build on that idea by focusing on some of the New Testament passages that refer to believers as God’s children and heirs, meaning His redeemed people, the family of God. Believers need to view the Church as their family, otherwise we will miss understanding the importance of why we need to be a part of a local church.

First, I wanted to point to how Jesus describes His disciples, His followers, as His true family:

Matthew 12:49-50
Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

In a parallel passage in Mark 3:34-35, Jesus goes beyond calling just His immediate disciples family. In verse 35 He says, “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Those who are saved, and therefore doing God’s will by living for Him, are considered siblings of our Lord Jesus Christ—part of God’s family.

silhouette of three people walking beside body of water
Photo by Kylo on Unsplash

Paul in Romans 8 talks about how God not only foreknew who His family would be, but He also predestined us to be conformed to the image of Christ as His brothers and sisters:

Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Paul also, when writing to his friend and brother in the faith Titus, rehearsed the truth that those who are saved through Christ’s sacrifice also become heirs of eternal life.

Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Being an heir means receiving an inheritance, and that only happens if you are part of the family or have been adopted into it.

Ephesians 1:4-5
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

Romans 8:14-17
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

We are Christ’s brothers and sisters. We are co-heirs with Christ of eternal blessing from God. We are God’s family, His redeemed people. He planned for us, and He paid for our sins. We are His Church, and we are important to Him and to each other. We looked at a lot of passages today making statements about who we now are in God through Christ. But what does that all mean?

Well, as we seek to view ourselves as part of God’s family, part of those He has chosen to love and know Him, it should help us see the Church as important. We can’t ignore our brothers and sisters. We can’t ignore that the inheritance doesn’t go all to us. Part of the blessing of being saved into God’s family is getting to be a part of a family. And while here on earth Christians are still imperfect, one day we will be fully made into the likeness of Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

We all. Not just me or you. As believers we must think of our identity in Christ as intricately linked to the family of God because it is. We are not saved to live out our life of faith alone. Being a part of the Church is not an optional part of being a Christian. Our families here on earth will never be perfect, but because of our eternal inheritance in Christ, one day the Church Family will be made perfect in His image. What beautiful hope that is!

For me, I’m thankful for how God has used both my earthly, physical family to teach and grow me. I’m thankful for a family who cares for me. But for 9 years now, I’ve lived far away from that family, yet I’ve never felt alone. God has blessed me with an incredible church family here in Indiana, and I can’t imagine my life without it. These are the people who know my struggles and come alongside me in them. They are the ones who challenge me and point me back to the Cross. They are the ones I get to do daily life in and out with. We’re family not because we were born into it, but because we’ve been saved into it.

I hope this has been an encouraging picture of what the Church is meant to be. But that’s only one way God describes His people in the Bible! Next time, I plan to look at some other descriptions of the Church found in Scripture, to help us continue to see the great value of being a part of local churches and being with other believers. Until then, thank you for listening or reading to Speaking Truth!

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