Who is my Church #5

The Church as Family

or

Becoming Persons with a Home Again

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the previous post we looked at the Doctrine of Adoption. We looked at J.I. Packers explanation and implications of that revelation to us concerning our relationship to God as our Father, Jesus as our Brother, and the Church as our Family. Now let us broaden that investigation with other teachings in the Scriptures by asking some questions:

Are we, those born of God’s Spirit, literally now “Family”, but do not really appreciate the implications of that, understand that, or practice that in our “modern” world? Is considering the church to be a “family” only metaphorical, perhaps like many other descriptions of the church in the New Testament? Or are we to receive it as a more literal foundational understanding of the nature of the church?

Let’s begin first by noting in the Scriptures that God works through the “family” in His providence to bring Christ and the Church into existence.

The family, (father, mother, children), was the first “institution” created by God before the advent of nations, governments, and even the Church. It was created by God in Eden before the fall, and given the command, and awesome responsibility, and privilege of being the only institution capable of reproducing the Image of God and populating the earth with it. We might note that throughout the Scriptures and particularly in the Old Testament God surrounds the family with many protections from all the matters surrounding the reproducing of children in human sexuality, protections involving the security, continuity, and successful continuation of individual families, and instructions on the governance, order, and attitudes within families. One might easily conclude that God loves the Family He created and has a special place for it in His Heart and intentions for it in HIs plans. We might also note that with out the Family and it’s successful reproducing of children maturing in the Image of God, that within only one generation there would be no, nations, governments, or Churches. All of these are dependent upon the successful reproduction and maturing growth of children from generation to generation. To ignore this is to invite a demographic famine and the cessation of nations, governments, Churches and whole family lines. No families, no children, no humanity. We might say that the success of the family is a central and beloved piece of Gods plan for humankind and the completion of His world.

Chronologically we might begin by noting that Adam and Eve immediately after the fall were ashamed of their nakedness and specifically covered their loins (their reproductive/ family faculties) as if they knew something had become wrong and shameful about them. And that God confirmed this by making coverings for them. But we might also note that even after the Fall the plan for the family was not changed. Now there would be enmity between those spiritual descendants of the serpent and those of the woman but result in the ultimate deliverance of the descendants of the women through their generations bringing the Christ. Though the results of the Fall resulted in the marring of the family’s mission by Cain in his persecution and murder of Able, its purpose was continued in Seth. Though the family was perverted by fallen angles, almost completely overcome by sin and death resulting in the flood, God again used the faithfulness of a single family, Noah’s family, to save and renew God’s plan for the earth, commissioning them again to repopulate it.

Then we come to Abraham whose genetic family God uses to create the Hebrews, Israelites, Jews, and to bring the Christ. And in Abraham’s family God’s plan for the future, His Covenant Promise, is revealed that now through Faith, righteousness, a rebirth by the Spirit will be the foundation of Life (eternal) instead of the contaminated genetics (flesh and blood), a plan that will bless all present families in the earth. That Abraham's descendants (family) will be as many as “the stars of heaven”. It is here that all male children, future heads of Abraham's family households (the Hebrews) are commanded to be given the sign of God’s Promise Covenant of redemption, a sign of cleansing in their reproductive “family” faculties, to be identified and brought up in the instruction of God’s Covenant Promise. It is in Abraham’s family that God also brings Moses who brings God’s deliverance, plan and instructions for the Hebrew nationhood and early governance.

Then through the family of David Israel achieves its highest national standing, government, and the promise of the coming and rule of Christ though it is then broken as a result of David’s (reproductive/ family) sin.

Then it is through one of the families of Israel, Judah, the Jews, that God brings the Christ and His Church.

So now that Christ and the Church has come, has God changed His mind about the “family”? Or is the Church the continuation and salvation of the Family?

Next #6 Can we say that the Church is a Family, the Salvation of the Physical Family, or the New Family or what??

 

 

Who is my Church #6

The Church is a "Real" Family?

 

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Is the Church a real Family and not just a metaphorical one? In this month’s issue of Table Talk Magazine one of the Asso. Pastors of R.C. Sproul's Saint Andrews Chapel in Florida lends his positive support and conclusions to the idea. This week’s installment of "Who is my Church" will feature it in this link: https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2023/06/the-church-is-a-real-family/ . In it he makes a very bold statement, "Every healthy church ought to glow as a warm family fireplace". Seems to me if this is true, that the local Church seeking to practice this truth of being the very Family of God, is the contrast of warm verses cold, persons verses machines, unity verses brokenness, goodness verses degeneracy, over and against a mechanistic cultural norm, that many in our world are looking for, hoping in their justifiably skeptical hearts to find as a reality.  

 

 

Who is my Church? #7

Realizing the Church is actually a Family

Evidence from the New Testament/ the Book of Romans

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We saw in post #5 that God created the family first before all institutions, and then after the fall used the physical family of Abraham to bring the Christ into the world. But is the Church now a real family? We saw in post #6 that Don Bailey, one of the Associate Pastors for R.C. Sproul’s Saint Andrews Chapel believes so. So, then what are some of the evidence in the New Testament that we might look to in order to better confirm our persuasion of this viewpoint? Because of the length of this material let us look at it in at least two parts:

Part one: The Book of Romans. Though Romans is often considered the book of the doctrine of Justification by Faith, the anvil upon which he hammers his argument out is Abraham's Spiritual Family, the Family of Promise and Faith.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he shows that inclusion in Abraham's family was never merely based on temporal corrupted flesh and blood but based upon the Faith giving presence of the eternal incorruptible Holy Spirit. The believing members of Abraham's blood family were from the beginning members of the Spirit wrought “Family of God”.  He shows that the New Testament era is not the end of this family, nor the negation of it, but the continued salvation and extension of it to those not born of Abraham's blood.  And based upon the Spirit wrought change in all the family members, the primary nature of our relationships to one another is also being changed into glory. “Beloved, now WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD, and it has not appeared as yet what WE will be. We know that when He appears, “WE” will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” I Jn. 3: 2

Paul begins in Romans 2 by explaining that true Jews, in the physical family of Abraham were of the true eternal Family of Faith and Spiritual birth from the beginning.

“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. “

Then in Romans 4 he makes clear that all those who are of the Faith of Abraham are his “descendants “also, that Abraham is the “father” of them all. 

“For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For this reason, it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,”

Then Romans 8 Those led by the Spirit are sons of God, having the spirit of adoption, crying out “Abba” Father “, children and heirs of God.

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

And further down in verses 19 and 21 he calls us “sons of God” and “children of God”.

19For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God…. 21that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

And in verse 29 that Jesus would be the firstborn among many brethren.

29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.

And in Romans 9 He again reemphasizes and restates in a different way what he had begun when he said in Romans 2, that Abraham's true family are those who believe, the children of the Promise are regarded as Abraham’s descendants.

6… “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, 8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.”

Throughout this letter Paul does not speak of the spiritual descendants /children of Abraham in a metaphorical way but as true descendants /children / family.

Next week more evidence to establish the Church as a true Family from the New Testament.

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