06-25-06-The Family of God
To quote a contemporary ad, “When You’re Here. . . You’re Family! (Olive Garden). We often say in the church that we are a family. There’s a song we use to sing called, “The Family of God” written by Bill Gaither.
Family of God
Words and Music by William J. Gaither
© 1970
Chorus
I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God
You will notice we say "brother and sister" 'round here,
It's because we're a family and these are so near;
When one has a heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.
From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,
No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,
I'm not worthy to be here, but PRAISE GOD! I belong!
Today I’d like to look at what it means to be a part of The Family of God.
Have you ever thought about what it means to be a part of The Family of God? Well, one thing it means is that it brings pleasure to God.
¨ Ephesians 1:5 (NLT) God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
God so desired to have us as a part of His family that He sent Jesus to make the way. It brought joy to Him to do this! In fact, the whole Bible is the story of how God desired to have a people who would be a part of His family. From the beginning in Genesis, God designed the plan that the family would be the center of all relationships. When He gave the woman to Adam, He told them to leave their father and mother and cleave to one another (Gen 2:24). They also were told to have children. We can see that the original plan of creation for the family was a father and mother with children.
Then as sin came into the world, God continually revealed through His covenants and His Word that He desired to have a holy people who He could call His own. When God makes covenant with Abram, He tells him:
¨ Genesis 12:3 (NASB) “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
So we can see that God was interested in blessing the families that were on the earth.
Throughout the Bible the phrase “I will be their God, and they will be My people.” is used to describe the relationship that God desires to have with men (Gen 17:8; Ex 6:7; Lev 26:12; Deut 29:13; Rev 21:7).
In the Old Testament, God set apart the nation of Israel as a holy nation that belonged to Him. He called them out of the slavery of Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land where He wanted them to grow and become a holy people so that the nations around them would know their holy God—Jehovah. However, they continually failed and worshipped other gods, so the desire for a holy people was not fulfilled in Israel.
Then we come to the New Testament and we see that through Jesus Christ the way to God was made open and free to all who will come. Not as a nation, but as individuals. Each of us is given the privilege to become a part of the Family of God through accepting the sacrifice that Jesus made.
So once we accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, we are adopted into The Family of God as His children. But what does that really mean? First, let’s understand that God’s family is much bigger than just our church or denomination. In fact, God’s family knows no bounds of race, geography, sex, or social status.
Oddly, there are not a lot of references to the word “family” in the New Testament (only 22—depending on what translation—and most are not talking about the spiritual family but rather the physical family). However, there are plenty of references to being children of God. So the emphasis that God places on being a part of His family is that we are His children. And it is by adoption as children, we become a part of His family. As God’s children we are blessed with all that He has, especially His love.
¨ 1 John 3:1-2 (NIV) How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! . . . 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, . . .
Besides the love of our Father we also get the family name, family likeness, family privileges, family intimate access, and family inheritance. Let’s look at these family blessings in greater detail:
1. Family Name—When we become a part of The Family of God, we take on the very name of God. We are now called “Christians” or Christ-followers. We identify ourselves with the One who paid the price so we could belong to His family. Whether I like it or not, anything that a member of the Wyncoop family does ultimately reflects upon me. If my brothers and sisters are robbers and thieves (which they are not), then I will be known as belonging to a family of robbers and thieves.
In the same way everywhere we go we carry the name of our heavenly family and our actions and attitudes either disgrace or lift up our family (not only our church, but all churches, all Christians, and ultimately God Himself). What I do to represent God’s family (good or bad) affects other members of the family and vice versa. That should make us think about what we do and say in a different light! (Example: Pastor on Treasure Hunter who took the clue away from a girl after she dove down in the water to get it. Her comment was that she did not know “what kind of the man of the cloth” he was to do such a thing. I don’t want to judge him, but I pray that he does not compromise his values and beliefs just to win a large amount of money.)
¨ Proverbs 22:1 (NIV) A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
2. Family Likeness—If you look at pictures of a family, it is often easy to see the “family resemblance.” When a baby is born, we will say that it looks just like one of the parents or other family members. That is because every family has certain traits or characteristics that are unique to it. As members of The Family of God we have traits or characteristics that resemble our Father. In fact, every day of our life, God is working in us to make those traits come out. We are to look like, act like, talk like and even think like Jesus. Why? Because He is the One that God wants us to be like in every way and He is working to make us into the image of His Son.
¨ Romans 8:29 (NLT) For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
¨ Romans 8:29 (NIV) For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.
3. Family Privileges—There are blessings that my family receives because I love them and want to take care of them. In the same way there are special blessings that we as God’s children can have that others outside His family cannot. He reveals “family secrets” to us in His Word and by His Holy Spirit that those outside the family cannot know.
¨ Ephesians 1:7-9 (NIV) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ,
¨ Colossians 1:26-27 (NIV) the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He also gives us His grace, mercy, peace, wisdom, power, glory, the fruit of the Spirit, faith, hope, and eternal life. Brothers and sisters—that is what I call you as a part of The Family of God—God has given us everything that we need to live our lives pleasing to Him. These blessings and many more, are ours because we belong to The Family of God.
¨ 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 4 Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate (share) in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
4. Family Intimate Access—If you were the child of the president or the child of a CEO of a major company, you would have the ability to walk into his office anytime you wanted to simply because of who you are—his child. As children of the King of Kings and King of the universe, we also have the right to enter into God’s presence whenever we want to. In fact, we are invited to do so.
¨ Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence (boldly KJV), so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
¨ Eph 2:18-19 (NIV) For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household,
This is not a small thing for us to be able to approach a holy God with boldness and confidence. In the Old Testament, men could not enter into the temple/tabernacle for fear of being killed because of their sin. They entered with fear and trembling, not boldness and confidence. What changed was that through the precious blood of Jesus we have been given free access to our holy God as our Father anytime we want to. That is a privilege reserved for His children and one of the blessings we have as a part of The Family of God.
5. Family Inheritance—When we think of an inheritance we usually think of money, land, or property—material things—that are left behind for us when a loved one dies. But the inheritance that that we receive as children of God is much more than any temporal riches of this earth. It is God’s Spirit revealing Him to us in such a way that we can enjoy the fellowship with Him now while we are still on the earth. Then when our time comes to go home, we will be able to spend all of eternity with our Father and elder Brother Jesus Christ. Yes, we do get to share in the family fortune—and we have the richest Daddy there ever was. He is so rich that He treats gold like asphalt and paves His streets with it!
¨ Eph 1:17-19a (NIV) I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and His incomparably great power for us who believe. . . .
¨ Heb 2:10-11 (NIV) In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the One who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
Now, can you truly say “I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God?” If you are not a part of the Family of God, the invitation is open to join today. You don’t have to born into a certain blood line, be good enough, have enough money, wear the right clothes, or do anything special to join this Family other than confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Then He will send His Holy Spirit to live in you and you will be a part of The Family of God. Then you will be able to enjoy all the rich benefits that go with being a child of God and a member of The Family of God. If you are already a member of The Family, then rejoice in the privileges that you have and boldly come to the throne of grace to receive what you need today.