1. “Children of God”- 1John 3:1-2 For several lessons now, we’ve been looking at what it means to be a “Member” of the Lord’s Church. We’ve noted several illustrations given in the N.T. which teach us much about our relationship to Christ and one another: Sheep in the Fold Married to Christ Disciples of Christ Living Stones in God’s Building Citizens in the Kingdom Workers in the Vineyard. Today, we’re going to complete our series of these analogies with perhaps the most-often used illustration of them all (by the text and the members themselves),

2. To be a “member” of the Lord’s Body/Church is to be Child in God’s Family. Man was not created like much of the animal kingdom- he was “family-oriented” from the beginning, cf. Gen.2:18 > 22-24. Indeed, there are wonderful inherent blessings in “family”:  Sense of Belonging, Gen.2:18  Mutual Love, Eph.5:25; Titus 2:4; Psalm 127:3-5  Mutual Concern & Care, Prov.31:10-31  Mutual Provision, 1Tim.5:8 These same benefits are enjoyed to an exponential degree in God’s spiritual family!

3. To be a “member” of the Lord’s Body/Church is to be Child in God’s Family. Please note the wonderful inherent blessings in being a member in God’s spiritual “family”:  Sense of Belonging, Gal.3:13-22  Mutual Love, Gal.3:23-27; John 3:16  Mutual Concern & Care, Gal.3:28; Matt.10:30  Mutual Provision, Gal.3:29; Rom.5:8 Indeed, how wonderful it is to belong, to be loved to an unimaginable degree, to be cared for and provided for by the Creator of the Universe- God Almighty! Now that’s having “family connections”!

4. To be a “member” of the Lord’s Body/Church is to be Child in God’s Family. But also note some comparisons and contrasts between our physical and spiritual families:  Access. Physical families are accessed either by natural birth, or adoption. Both means are incorporated to access God’s spiritual family.  John 3:3-5 obviously makes it clear that spiritual rebirth must take place. And,  Eph.1:5; Gal.4:1-7; Rom.8:12-17 also add that the process includes adoption into God’s family. Thus, relative to accessing the family of God, which allows us to legitimately address Him as Father and one another as Brothers and Sisters, rebirth is the mechanism by which we are adopted.

5. To be a “member” of the Lord’s Body/Church is to be Child in God’s Family. Continued comparisons and contrasts between our physical and spiritual families:  Trust. The old axiom says “Blood is thicker than water”- don’t know that I completely understand, but the major emphasis is that family ties are stronger than most other earthly relationships. Unfortunately, this is not always true with spiritual family ties. We do not always manifest the trust and tenacity of togetherness that we should.  The lack of trust is not so much an accusation of dishonesty as much as trusting one another in matters of judgment and having one another’s best interests at heart, Rom.15:1-6; Phil.2:1-4.  The tenacity of togetherness is a commitment to “stick-together” through thick and thin based on trust/dependability. It does not gloss over or ignore failures, but doesn’t stop at pointing them out either- it “works through” problems together….like any good family would! Eph.4:1-3; 1Thess.5:11-14.

6. To be a “member” of the Lord’s Body/Church is to be Child in God’s Family. Physical and Spiritual family comparisons:  Support. Most physical families should and do support one another financially and otherwise. These have comparisons in the spiritual family also:  Financial Support, Rom.12:13; Eph.4:28; 1Tim.6:17-18. But as in physical families, this must have limits and cannot become a crutch for poor decisions/habits, 1Tim.5:3-16; 2Thess.3:6-12.  Emotional Support, Rom.12:9-16; Heb.13:1-2. A shoulder to lean on, a sympathetic ear, even a genuine “It’s good to see you!” can mean and do so much toward building family ties. Read 1John to better understand that God’s love is to be mirrored in our affections toward one another.  Guidance Support, Heb.10:24. We should ever be mindful of the duty to and importance of considering and provoking one another to “love and good deeds”. It is one of the most important “family things” we do! Cf. 1Tim.1:3-5

7. To be a “member” of the Lord’s Body/Church is to be Child in God’s Family. Now,  Are you experiencing the sense of belonging and mutual love, care, concern, and provision that is part of being in the family of God?  Have you been reborn and thus adopted into the family of God? You get to choose to whom you will belong this time- God or Satan! 1John 5:19  Are experiencing true trust and the tenacity of togetherness that comes with and is found in God’s family?  Are you experiencing the natural supports that are part of being in God’s family? If not, there are reasons. Either you or the spiritual family of which you are a part are not what they ought to be!