THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

 

Chapter 3

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The Church, A Family

Doctrine becomes Belonging

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Eph. 1:18 (NIV) I pray 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 his holy people.

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Permit me to say to you, dear reader, that none of the chapter headings should be read in isolation as they have been interwoven in such a way that the revelation of the biblical ‘Church’ will be as comprehensive as possible.

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As we are all born into families in the body, even so are Christians born into the family of God headed by Jesus Christ. He is the only Son. All others are servants and slaves except anyone to whom the Son grants sonship status (Heb. 2:11-13). I plead with you, my believing brothers and sisters, always to hold this consciousness that you are a member of a new family with a new tradition, superior to the former, and under a new family Head, Jesus, the Christ.

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Whenever you are faced with any challenge from the former family of the body, please, be conscious that you belong to a new family of the spirit that is superior to that of the flesh with its attendant abundant grace for you, sufficient for all time and need. Conduct your affairs therefore with faith in the strength of your new family Head and refuse the fear of the seeming harm of the avoidable old family traditions. Is it in burial of loved ones of the old family? Is it in marriages and other tradition-bound events of the old family? Please, remember the force of Christ’s faith. God can desire to raise ‘instruments of change’ in the discharge of your faith.

 

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Do not cease confessing, at any point in time, to show your new-found family membership, while remaining as evangelistic as possible. What you confess may not make immediate sense to your neighbourhood. But be aware that you are not limited to a human audience when you are speaking about the way of Christ. As you consider God’s word in 1 Cor. 4:9, understand that principalities are also the target audience as you declare your allegiance to Christ.

 

Evaluation Questions & Answers​

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1. If the Christian Church is a family, who is the family head?

   • Jesus Christ is the “head of the body, the church” (Eph. 1:22, Col. 1:18).

   • “He is not ashamed to call them brothers.” (Heb. 2:11)

2. How can someone enter into that family as a member?

   • New birth, not new behaviour (John 3:3-5).

   • “To all who received Him… He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12-13)

   • Not by works, bloodline or rituals – by faith in the Son with whom ‘sonship status’ is granted (Heb. 2:11-13). 

3. Apart from purity of life, can doing things like giving money, speaking in tongues, working miracles, etc. make God accept us into His family?

   • No. “Apart from purity of life” is not the door.

   • “By grace… through faith… not of works” (Eph. 2:8-9).

   • Giving, tongues, miracles are family benefits, not family entry requirements.

   • Cornelius gave alms and prayed, yet still needed to hear the gospel to be saved (Acts 10:1-6, 44-48).

   • Sonship comes before service.

4. With Christians in a place, what else does God need in such a place to enable Him to make Himself and His goodness known?

   • Manifested sons. “The creation waits… for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:19)

   • God does not need more buildings – He needs believers who live like family: love (John 13:35), holiness (1 Pet. 1:15-16), power (Acts 1:18), and sacrifice (John 15:13).

   • When the Church behaves like family, the neighbourhood sees God as Father (Matt. 5:16). 

5. If the Christian Church is a family, how can Christians who are members of physical families be seen as members of the Christian family, as “new creations” in line with 2 Cor. 5:17?

   • If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. You are born again into God’s family, but still relate to your earthly family as an ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20).

   • Like Esther in Persia or Daniel in Babylon – in it, not of it.

   • See John 17:15-16.

   • Rule: Obey God first (Acts 5:29). Honour parents (Eph. 6:2), but not at the cost of bowing to family idols (Ex. 20:3). You remain a biological son or daughter, but your spiritual allegiance changed. You are now ‘salt’ in that family (Matt. 5:13) – to preserve, not to participate in decay. When traditions violate Scripture – burials with libations, ancestral marriages – you refuse the fear and remember the force of Christ’s faith. You may be God’s ‘instrument of change’ in that house.

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Prayer

Lord, I was born into a family of flesh, but today I choose your Family of Spirit. I receive sonship status by faith, not by works, money and tongues. In King Jesus’s name, Amen.

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