God’s Household

I. INTRODUCTION

When I got married, not just wife—whole family. came with some strange customs.

didn't know people ate mashed potatoes without gravy. Or piled peas on top potatoes! And my wife is still trying to come to terms with Easleys just not being in a hurry to go anywhere.

When you join a family, you get the whole package—crazy cousin Eddies and all. You get a family identity. A name. A place. And expectations about how you'll live.

Ephesians 2. vvs 12, 15, 16, and our focus verse, 19:

12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

15 His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility...

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household." Ephesians 2:15-19

Paul uses two important terms here: "citizens" and "members of his household." In the Roman world, these weren't nice religious metaphors—they were life-defining realities that told you exactly who you were and how you were supposed to live.

II. CONTEXT: HOUSEHOLD & EMPIRE

A. The Roman Household

In the Roman world, kinship referred to the social bonds between people that formed them into identifiable groups. Today, we’d speak of tribes or communities.

The fundamental kinship group was the household—in Latin, domus; in Greek, oikos. This wasn't just nuclear family.

The household was led by the paterfamilias—the father of the family—who held authority over everyone under his roof: wife, children, grandchildren, slaves, servants, sometimes clients and freedmen who attached themselves to the family. [KEEP THIS SHORT]

Your household was your world. Where you lived. Your economic anchor—you worked the family business together. Your safety net—when you struggled, family took care of you.

And the household's reputation affected everyone in it. Their honor was your honor.

B. Caesar's Household - The Empire Connection

This is the world Paul's readers lived in. The household was the basic building block of society. Everything was organized around it.

Notice Paul uses both political language ('fellow citizens') and household language. In the Roman world, citizenship gave you rights, protection, and legal standing. To be a Roman citizen meant you belonged to Rome with all the benefits the empire had to offer.

But Rome was unique. The empire wasn't just a political system—it was one great household under Caesar's fatherly authority.

Romans were taught: You're a citizen of Rome, and Rome is Caesar's household. Caesar is your paterfamilias, your father. Your place in Caesar's household determined your place in the world.

So when Paul says, "You are fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household," it’s a stunning counter-claim:

God is your Father, your paterfamilias—not Caesar.

This isn't accidental. Paul is saying: the family system is now the political system. Humanity isn't just governed by God—we're related to God. We're His family.

In Ephesus, this was explosive. Jews and Gentiles—different ethnicities, values, histories. Enemies under Rome's system. But Paul says God is creating one new humanity (verse 15), not defined by ethnicity, status, or Caesar's household, but by redemption and the Father's presence. Former enemies now sharing one table, one Father, one King.

Whatever defined your place in the world before—ethnicity, citizenship, class—the household of God now does.

And this household isn't just Ephesus. It's not just me or us or our local congregation. Paul's talking about every tribe, tongue, and nation under one Father. All of humanity brought into God's household.

That's the Church: The Spirit-formed community of redeemed image-bearers, living holy lives and extending Jesus's mission into the world.

This is the family God is building.

[TRANSITION]: So what does it mean to live as members of this household? How do we function as God's family in everyday life?

Let me give you three insights from our passage that should shape how we live as the church today.

III. THREE INSIGHTS FOR LIVING

Insight #1: Our core identity is as members of God's household.

In Roman society, your household name was your identity. Today, we meet someone new and we usually ask, “where do you work?”

But in the Roman world, you’d ask, “Who is your family?” What household do you belong to? The answer told everyone your social standing, your values, your future.

Being a household member defined everything about how you lived and what was expected of you.

Now here's our challenge: we're still a newly blended family. Some of us feel like the kids who've always lived here—"This is OUR house."

Others feel like the new kids walking into established rhythms they don't understand. Both feelings are real.

We've all given something up.

But you know what hasn’t changed? The Father. We’re still in his household…and that can make all the difference in the world to us.

I love the Chronicles of Narnia—might be the finest theological work of the 20th Century! In the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the four Pevensie children stumble through a magical wardrobe out of England and into Narnia. There they land in the middle of winter, confused, out of place. They meet a talking beaver and his wife.

Mr. Beaver tells the 4 siblings they are the fulfillment of a prophecy: two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve who would someday come and take their rightful place as the kings and queens in Narnia.

And they're like, "Us? Kings and queens? We're just... kids from England."

But that's not how Aslan, the Great Lion and true King of Narnia, sees them. In this land beyond their world, their identity wasn't determined by where they came from. It's determined by Aslan's call. So he crowns them as kings and queens of Narnia—not because they earned it, but because that's who he always intended them to be.

That's us. Our identity isn't determined by our past churches, our preferences, or which service we attend. It's determined by our Father. We're members of God's household. When we embrace that identity—really embrace it—everything changes.

Different pasts. One future. We're the household of God.

The Challenge: The Pevensies had to stop thinking like English children and start living like Narnian royalty. This week: What's one way you can let go a little more of your old church identity and live more fully as a member of God's household here?

[TRANSITION] Identity shapes everything—including how we relate to each other. If we're truly one household under one Father, how should we treat one another?

Insight #2: Our relational priority is to honor one another.

In Roman households, family members were concerned for each other's advancement and honor—not just their own. The needs of others came before one’s own and family unity was prioritized over individual grievances.

Relationships were marked by harmony and unity. They practiced forgiveness and forbearance, were patient with each other's weaknesses.

If that was the social vision for Roman households, how much more for the family of God?

We've come a long way as a blended family, but there are still some divides between us. Some of those divides are between people from different original churches. Some are generational. Some are between those who come to different service styles and rarely interact. And some of them may be internal from hurt we’ve suffered during the transitions we’ve faced.

I think that’s true, but you know how I see it? It means we have a wonderful opportunity to grow even deeper as the family God is building.

I grew up in old-time holiness churches where people called each other "Brother This" and "Sister That." I used to make fun of it—it still feels a little weird to me—but maybe they understood something I'm only now appreciating: words can shape how we see each other.

In the family, God calls us to see each other as brothers and sisters. Which means:

before any disagreement over how things are done—

before any disappointment over decisions that are made—

before any critical word about style or complaint about others’ preferences—

we look at each other and say: "You're my brother. You're my sister. And I want to lift you up and honor you. How can I show you love right now?"

Paul made this same point to the Philippians: "Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

Our relational priority is honoring each other.

So, get to know each other better. Especially people you don't typically interact with.

Sit with someone new or in a different section this Sunday

Introduce yourself to three people you've never met

Send a text or handwritten note of encouragement to someone

If you primarily attend one service, show up occasionally to the other and meet new people.

Find ways to serve people outside your usual circle. Be intentional. Invite others to come with you to your small group or fellowship activity.

Thank someone who serves faithfully in a ministry you benefit from

If you're a long-time member, seek out newer people and help them feel they belong

If you're newer, ask long-time members to share their history and honor their legacy

When you hear gossip or criticism, redirect the conversation toward grace

And where there's been hurt because of the past—take the steps and be the one to reach out and reconcile. Don't let it sit. Address it with grace. Because family unity matters more than being right.

The Challenge: These are all ways we can honor and serve one another as brothers and sisters. So, this week, who's someone you could honor? Someone you could get to know better?

[TRANSITION / SUMMARY TO THIS POINT] Okay, so we know who we are. We're learning how to relate. But there's one more critical piece: Why are we here? What's this household actually for?

Insight 3: Shared purpose

Roman households had a shared purpose: bring honor to the family name.

Honor was your family's public standing—everything you did either raised or lowered it. It was the central social value in the New Testament world.

Everything the household did was oriented toward that goal. And they did through worship and work—all for the sake of the family’s reputation.

And so it is for us: We have God as our Paterfamilias, our Father. Our shared purpose is to worship Him together and work together to bring glory to His name.

On Worship

Roman households worshiped their gods hoping for protection and prosperity in return.

It was very transactional. "We worship you, so now you take care of us."

Paul says: You have the heavenly Father now—the One who truly provides and protects and loves you. Our Father IS the King we worship.

But here's the difference: We don't worship to get something. We worship to give something—glory and honor to the Father.

Our worship isn't to be a performance we watch or a product we consume. It's not about the music style we prefer or how good the experience makes us feel. It's our family gathering before our Father to honor Him.

In our next series during Advent, we're going to dive deeper into what it means to worship as God's family. But it starts here: how we worship together reflects what we believe about God and about each other.

On Work:

And Roman households were economic enterprises. Everyone worked together for in the family business to increase the household's prosperity, because success and reputation brought honor to the family.

We have family business, too: the mission of God in the world.

This is part of my definition of church: “extending Jesus’s kingdom or ministry into the world”.

When we serve in ministry, care for our community, share the gospel—that's all family business.

And when people see us lovingly united in our work and worship, that brings glory to God's name.

Here's the Connection: A household that worships together but doesn't work together? That's not really a family—that's just a weekly meeting. And a household that works together but doesn't worship together? That loses sight of who they're doing it for.

But when people see us lovingly united in both our worship and our work—when they see a family that gathers to honor the Father and then scatters to extend His mission—that brings glory to God's name.

Challenge: So here's the question: Are we coming just for our “Sunday fill-up”, or are we fully engaged in our family's life and mission—coming together in worship and work to bring honor to God?

[PAUSE]

That question reminds me of a story.

During a sermon about death and judgment, the pastor declared forcefully, "Each member of this church is going to die and face judgment!" Glancing at the front pew, he noticed a man with a big smile. The pastor repeated even louder: "Each member of this church is going to die and face judgment!"

The man smiled even bigger.

This got the preacher wound up. He pounded the pulpit and shouted, "EACH MEMBER OF THIS CHURCH IS GOING TO DIE!" The guy in front grinned from ear to ear.

Finally, after the service, the frustrated preacher confronted the man: "I don't get it. Every time I said everyone in this church is going to die, you smiled bigger. Why?"

"I'm not a member of this church," the man replied.

When we're not really a member, we don't worry too much about the trouble around us, do we? It's not our problem. Not our mess. Not our family.

But that's exactly the point. Being physically present isn't the same as truly belonging—I’m here, but not really here.

And that messiness we're avoiding? That's exactly what we're called to walk through together as family.

And these three insights help us do that:

1) our core identity is as members of God's household;

2) our relational priority is serving and honoring one another;

3) our shared purpose is worship and work that brings glory to God.

But let's be honest—real families are messier than ideals. And that leads us to an important reality..."

IV. TRUE BELONGING

Family birth and blood wasn't the strongest bond in ancient households. What ultimately defined the household bond was shared values and commitment to a common way of life. This was called “fictive kinship” rather than “natural kinship”.

You could be disinherited if you rejected the family's values. Or you could be adopted in become fully family by embracing them—Paul says in Ephesians 1 that’s exactly how we came to Christ in the first place: he adopted us!

Remember last week? Citizenship is about allegiance, not location. Same here: kinship is about allegiance, not just ancestry.

Roman households were full of conflict—arguments over inheritance, jealousy between siblings, people wanting their own way instead of the family's way. Sound familiar?

When family members didn't share the values or weren't committed to the common way of life, it created division.

The truth is you can show up but not truly belong. You can be physically present but not share the family's values, not be committed to the family's way of life, carrying unreconciled hurt, keeping one foot out the door.

Membership in God’s household is a question of commitment and not just attendance.

————

We’re still learning to become one household together. Some of us are still finding our way to truly belonging. And that's okay.

We've come a long way and God’s grace has been so good to us, hasn’t it? And our Father has such good things in store for us as his people.

But for some of you, I wonder if there might be something standing in the way, holding you back, keeping you from feeling like you can fully and finally belong in this household at New Providence.

The Invitation:

In a moment, I'm going to pray. And as I pray, I want to invite you to respond—right where you're sitting or come down to these altars—in whatever way the Holy Spirit is prompting you.

If you need healing from hurts in the past—from previous church experiences, from the pain of transition, from wounds that are keeping you from fully belonging—ask God for that healing right now.

If you need to offer forgiveness to someone in this family—maybe someone who hurt you, maybe someone who represents a direction you didn't want—let the Spirit work that forgiveness in your heart today.

If you need to seek reconciliation with someone else in this family—someone you've been avoiding, someone you've been cold toward—commit right now to take that step this week.

If you need renewal in your own heart—if you need to move from clinging to "my way" to embracing "our way"— ask the Spirit to do that work in you.

And if you've never actually been adopted into God's family—if you've never trusted Jesus Christ—today is your day. God wants to adopt you in.

God is ready to redeem, restore, and reconcile. The Holy Spirit is here to do the work in us that we can't do ourselves—to heal wounds, soften hearts, create unity, and help us truly become the family God is calling us to be.

We can't do this on our own. But we don't have to. God is with us. His Spirit is at work. And He's not done with us yet.

You respond as we pray.

[Pause - let silence settle]

[PRAYER]

Father, we come to You as Your household. Some of us are struggling to truly belong. Some of us are carrying wounds. Some of us are holding onto unforgiveness. Some of us are keeping one foot out the door.

We ask Your Spirit to meet us right where we are. Heal what needs healing. Soften what has hardened. Reconcile what has been divided. And help us—all of us—to truly embrace our identity as members of Your household.

Make us one family. Under Your authority. Committed to Your values. Living Your way of life. For Your glory.

In Jesus' name, amen.