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No.50 Paul: His Life and Teachings - The Family of God (Part 1)

No.51 Paul: His Life and Teachings - The Family of God (Part 2)

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One of the most basic facts in the Scriptures is that God is the Creator and is the creator of families. If we will just pattern the way God runs His family with our families, we will reap the blessing of a God-called and a God-designed family. In Ephesians 1:5, Paul wrote, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man. Son of God signifies that He is like God while the Son of Man is that He is like man. He is God-man. If God is to adopt us into his family, it is through Jesus Christ. He is partaker of both the divine and the human nature. Jesus took in humanity into partnership with Himself. This is what God has blessed us with, bringing us back to His likeness through Jesus Christ. In creation, God did not create man all the same time. He could have done it but did not. This is God allowing us to participate with Him in bringing forth sons and daughters.

God is the Father of the Household of Faith. In Galatians 6:10, Paul wrote, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. This is a beautiful title of God for it indicates that we are brothers in the blood of Jesus, not in our own blood. We became covenant blood-brothers in Jesus. This made us co-heirs of Jesus. Most of the time, we are just emphasizing “co-heirs” and its blessings. What we often miss is that our adoption also involves a change in allegiance and nature. As co-heirs of Christ, this made us representatives of Jesus on earth. We became His ambassadors. We are not ambassadors of our own “religions” but rather, we are ambassadors of Jesus. The sad thing is the Church has evolved into ambassadors of their own religions or churches. It became more of a what-denomination-we-are rather than the Body of Christ.

As members of God’s Family, we are to take care of each members of the family of faith. Paul wrote, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household” (Eph. 2:19). If we are God’s household, then He lives with us. As each of us live with our own households, God lives with His own family. Jesus Himself said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (Jn. 14:23). Some churches sing to Him, “You are welcome here” or “We invite you!” The thing is, how can we invite God or welcome Him if He is the Head of this House? In truth, He is the One who welcomes us into His Household when we believe. He is not a guest to be welcomed in His own house and He wants to have the Father’s place in our hearts and in our midst.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus is saying, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Notice that Jesus, who is the Head of the Church seem to be outside of the church. For this to happen, several things must have taken place. We understand this from the human family as well. They must have stopped believing Him that makes Him feel unwelcome. They stopped obeying Him. They kicked Him out of the House, forgetting the fact that He is the Owner and the Builder of the House. We have seen this in some parents, especially in fathers who were just dethroned in their own house. Their children took over, or their wives took over. The solution to this problem is we need to bow our knees to our Father once again (cf.Eph.3:14,15).

The Greek word for family is πατριά patria. This can be translated as “fatherhood.” God is the Fountainhead of all fatherhood. It is amazing that one of the theological changes that progressive schools are imposing right now in theology is to no longer use the term “father” in reference to God. You can use “mother,” “it,” or “she” but not “He” or “Father.” The thing is, it is clear in the Scriptures that God is and should be our Father. The question is, does God still have the Father-place in our hearts? He is waiting for us to repent and again call Him Abba the way He want us to. Praise be to God!