The Family of God
Notes
Transcript
Intro: There are various pictures that the Bible gives to describe the church.
—Church: lit means assembly
People often confuse the church building, with the church body
—Temple (1 Cor 3:17)
—Flock (1 Pet 5:2)
We may struggle to grasp a few of those—but one we can all relate to is family, or household.
if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
**Behaving and being in the household (family) of God is connected.
This text instructs us about God’s family
—Who makes up God’s family
—What are the marks
Who makes up God’s family?
Who makes up God’s family?
The first thing that’s obvious is the different groups mentioned: little children, fathers, young men
The trick it to nail down who they are targeting
—Are they different age groups?
—Or different maturity levels?
Some have seen 3 different stages of spiritual maturity.
One thing—John uses “little children/children to address all believers through the letter (2:1, 18, 3:7)—two different Gk words: teknia & paidia
They are the affectionate terms used for all the readers--
But he doesn’t do that with fathers and young men. They seem to target two specific groups. Either separated by generations, or spiritual maturity
Fathers=older, more mature; maybe leaders or even elders
Young men=the next generation, younger believers who have great potential…but still a long road to travel.
Perhaps the best commentary on this passage is Titus 2; they seem to communicate the same idea.
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.
We can see the various ways the different family members fit into the family
This is all about family fit!
—There is a call for the mature women to invest in the younger
—And note the single focus of younger men: be self-controlled.
Kent Hughes wrote a book for men: Disciplines of a Godly Man
The very first chapter is a call to sexual purity.
How much more of a struggle do you think it is for young men to have a pure mind with relentless images—access to instant pornography?
Apply: Young men—be self controlled.
Finally, with this picture we are reminded that inside of a church family there will be different maturity levels.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
Now the ultimate goal in the church’s discipleship is to move people to greater maturity
**But that does not mean that all arrive on scene mature—that’s an unreasonable expectation
A well known pastor who is now with the Lord, said that it’s a major problem if a church has no immature believers. It means either 1) No new believers are coming to the faith. 2) There is such an elite level of maturity that anyone who does not measure up feels massively out of place..and they go somewhere else.
The goal of discipleship provide a health discipleship context that grows from immaturity to maturity.
--Now it is a major problem if after years or decades, believers are still stuck in the same level of immaturity; there are rebukes in scripture for widespread immaturity (Heb 5, 1 Cor 3)
Apply: Yet is seems the God fits a family together with various maturity levels.--
Knowing who is in God’s family (fathers, young men, older men, older women) also makes us aware of how we fit.
The following story is something I’ll be sure to repeat numerous times.
When I was a fairly young Christian, the pastor of my church saw ministry potential in a few of us younger men and gave us opportunity to preach. I was 20 years old I remember. Thankfully the sermon was recorded on cassette tape, so there is really no evidence for how bad it probably was.
After that opportunity, I went to the pastor and asked if he could direct me to a more mature godly, man who could mentor and disciple me for a season. I’ll never forget his reply because it crushed me in the moment
“All of our best men are so busy, I don’t think they would have the time”
Now I’ve some to trust the providence of God in that----but....That’s not how the family of God should be functioning.
Knowing how we fit is essential for healthy discipleship to happen
Apply: So how do you fit? Do you know? If younger and more inexperience—like Titus 2, you may need some spiritual mentoring. But if you’ve been with Jesus for a long time, and have grown…your call is to invest in the next generation. Maybe God is put someone on your heart.
Let’s know how God has called us to fit in this family.
What marks God’s family
What marks God’s family
What does it look like to be in God’s family?
Another way we can see these marks is gospel benefits
**There are benefits to knowing Jesus.
—The tone of these seem to be in the form of gospel encouragement
It’s not a browbeating, but a building up.
Gospel Encouragements
1) Sins forgiven (12)
This logically heads the list first. It’s the ground of our hope; and tied to the larger purpose of assurance.
It also separate the true and false gospel
The true gospel secures and assures us that we are forgiven…it’s not God’s will for his family (children) to walk around in a constant state of low-grade guilt.
The forgiveness is “for his name sake”
—First, the aim of all that God does is for his name, or his glory
—But also, in the Bible, a persons name is their identity.
Apply: When we turn to Jesus to forgive us, we can trust it’s a reality---because we have a Savior who lives up to his name.
Two things:
Forgiveness only comes only through Christ. It cant’ be found anywhere else. Forgiveness does not come through or best efforts, or intense confession or repentance.
Forgiveness comes through Christ alone!
2. Forgiveness leads us to true joy.
—flip back to 1:4....John wrote this letter so that “our joy would be complete”
Apply: Do you have complete joy?
Maybe if not, there is a defect in knowing that your sins are truly forgiven in Christ?
Receive the gospel encouragement today!
Gospel—if you’ve never know forgiveness…true forgiveness, then turn to Jesus today for it.
2) Knowing Christ (3x)—twice to the fathers, and once to the children
Children—Know the Father (13b)
Fathers, know him who has been from the beginning.
—This speaks of the ever-deepening experience of knowing God that follow us the whole of our spiritual journey.
There was an error in the church: seek after some higher knowledge-there is no higher knowledge than knowing the Father through Jesus.
It may be significant that twice the fathers are mentioned.
Apply: There is a temptation with age and maturity to that the spiritual life may turn dry and formal. Maybe even feel something is missing.
The Gospel Benefit of knowing God stays with all all the days…to the very final breath we draw.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
3) Spiritual strength (v14)
Addressed to young men— they are pictured as busy in the battle: “you are strong and the Word of God abides in you”
—We know that our Christian life is not just enjoying a state of forgiveness and fellowship; it’s also a call to fight the good fight.
With youth, there is strength, vitality....and great gospel potential
I look at young men and see such great spiritual potential—especially if God has placed you in a good church, given good examples of godliness.
We also find the “strength standard” —The Word of God
Young men are tempted to find their identity in physical strength—
Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness shows us where to find true strength:
But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
We can picture it—The Lord Jesus, fasting, his physical strength struggling due to lack of food.
The devil comes to tempt---Jesus knows where young men find strength: The Word of God.
4) Spiritual Victory
As I mentioned earlier, it’s not God’s will for his family to walk around in a level of low-grade guilt;
*It’s also not his will for us to walk around with constant mindset of defeat.
Again, we see the encouragement directed to young men.
—It’s often the first few years of your spiritual life that some intense battles are fought.
I remember when I was a newer believer—young man in the faith, being torn once as my non-Christian friends were going to a party.
Young believers may have to cut off some ungodly relationships.
Often the moral struggles for youth and young people are intense...
Here is the gospel encouragement:
You are overcomers!
Spiritually!
It’s the way the Bible talks
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Conclusion--
Next week we will pick up 2:15.
The world is often not a kind place—and not a place where you find encouragement
The tone of this is encouragement.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
We need Gospel Encouragements from God.
Brothers and sisters—mothers and fathers, children—family of God…be encouraged
—You fit in this family
—Your sins are forgiven
—You have the delight of living to Know Christ
—You are strong as God’s Word lives in you
—You have spiritual victory secured
Praise the Lord Jesus