The Family of God
Purpose: To instill conviction about church as God’s family of all nations, and about our calling to attract
people to God through our communal life.
God’s plan has always been to repair the damage of sin through a family of all nations that He would form. This
family originated with Abraham’s descendants who became the nation of Israel whom God referred to in family
language as His son. Israel was called to show case Godly living to the nations around them to attract them to
God but they largely failed in this vocation. God sent Jesus as His Son (= His true family) to achieve what Israel
couldn’t, namely to live in obedience to God and draw people to Him. In the Family of God, we are called to live
as an obedient, loving community of all nations with the same purpose to draw people to God.
Defining the Family of God
Genesis 12:1-3; 17:1-7
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God had a plan from the very beginning to address the problem of sin - He would raise up a family that He
would bless and which would be a blessing to the world.
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They would come from Abraham’s descendants and consist of people from all nations.
Exodus 4:21-23; Isaiah 49:6
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The nation of Israel (the descendants of Abraham) was formed by God to be His firstborn son (= family) and
to be a light to all other nations.
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What was Israel’s responsibility as a light to the nations? To be agents of God’s salvation and attract other
nations to Him.
John 8:12
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Jesus claimed to be the light of the world.
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What was he actually saying about who he was? The true Son of God/the true Israel.
Mark 3:31-35
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Jesus redefined the family of God as those who did God’s will and put their faith in the life of Jesus - being a
descendent of Abraham did not guarantee entry into God’s family.
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Applying this principle, does being a member of a church guarantee we are in God’s family? No, we must
do God’s will and take up the life of Jesus to be part of His family.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 1 Timothy 3:15
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The body of Christ, the church and the family of God are one and the same.
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How do we enter into the family of God? Through baptism.
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Being children of God not only brings blessings and inheritance rights, but also responsibility to one
another. What do you think this responsibility practically involves?
Living as the Family of God
John 13:34-35
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The identifying mark of God’s family is the way that His people love each other with the self-sacrificing
type of love that Jesus had.
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What are some practical ways of showing this type of love to each other?
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What is God’s ultimate purpose for wanting us to love one another in this way?
Matthew 5:14
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Who is now called to be the light of the world i.e. to be agents of God’s salvation?
The mission of God’s family is to be His agents of salvation to all the nations/all people.
The main method we use is to live as a community of love which attracts people to God.
Port Elizabeth Church of Christ
Making Disciples - Core Studies (2016)
Ephesians 4:2-3, 16, 32
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The call to bear with one another and forgive each other is a reminder that in God’s family we may be hurt
at times because of the close relationships we are called into.
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What is your natural tendency to do when you are hurt?
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Most people counter attack or pull away when hurt but in God’s family we are called to be committed to
unity through those difficult times - to “fall forward” rather than pull back.
1 John 4:20-21
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The way we treat members of God’s family is the way we treat God.
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What does that say to you about people who are determined to pursue their own personal relationship
with God, without building relationships with members of God’s family?
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If we stay isolated from other Christians then we are really isolating ourselves from God.
Acts 2:42-47
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The first Christians were acting like families behaved in those times – living close together, studying the
scriptures together, praying together, eating together and sharing resources.
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What do you think the benefits were to them of living that way?
Hebrews 10:23-25
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Would you miss an important celebration of your physical family?
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We should place at least equal importance to meetings of our spiritual family – we should be devoted to
meeting together.
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What will you need to sacrifice to prioritise meetings of the body of Christ?
CHALLENGE
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Deepen your friendships with members of the church, especially those from a different ethnic
background and find ways to serve them e.g. have them over for dinner.
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Undertake to make the family of God your priority and attend every meeting of the body that you
possibly can. This includes becoming an active member of a Family Group.
FURTHER STUDY (can be given as homework)
Acts 4:32-35. The early Christians sold their property to take care of one another, a strong message in that
culture that their true family was their new family in Christ.
Romans 12:4-5. The members of the body belong to one another - not a popular message in our
individualistic society. What do you think it means to belong to one another?
Matthew 28:18-20. The “all nations” character of the church is fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.
God’s true family should reflect the diversity of many cultures and languages united in Christ. Why is being
an “all nations” church so important to God’s restoration plan?
Port Elizabeth Church of Christ
Making Disciples - Core Studies (2016)