Sometimes, I hear somebody say, “We are all God’s children.” But that is not true. God created us all; we are all His creation but we are not all His children.
One day Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. In chapter 8 of John’s record of the gospel, Jesus said to them, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” (verse 44, NASB). So, if Jesus says their father was the devil, then that means God was not their Father.
The premise of Jesus’ teachings is that those who practice those teachings are members of the family of God. That’s why when He taught His disciples to pray; He told them to address God as, “Our Father who is in heaven.” Oftentimes, He would say in His teachings, “Your heavenly Father.”
A Misconception about the Family of God
In Christendom, we often equate faithful church membership or one’s work in the church with membership in the family of God. Additionally, we tend to refer to all fellow church members as our brothers or sisters. I see nothing wrong with the latter practice. God has not made us judges of each other.
But for the record, it is not true that faithful church membership or being a faithful working in the church is the same as being a member of the family of God. The truth is that you can be a faithful member of a local church and still not be a member of the family of God. You can be a member of the clergy and not be a member of the family of God (ouch!). Again, the premise of Jesus’ teachings is that those who practice those teachings are members of the family of God.
What Jesus Had to Say about It
Imagine this. Jesus is in a particular place ministering. And while He was doing that, His mother and brothers show up. The multitude informs Jesus that His mother and brothers are outside looking for Him.
Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and my brothers?” Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:33-35, NASB).
When Jesus looked on the crowd and said these are my brothers and my mother, He was not disowning His biological family. But He was underscoring this more important family He belonged to and that we need to belong to. Also, because Jesus was the Son of God, when He referred to the people as His brothers and mother, He was also saying that they were sons and daughters of God.
So, there you have it. Jesus has answered the question. Those who do the will of the Father are the ones who belong to the family of God. Not those who merely go to church, but those who do the will of the Father. Similarly, John writes:
“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3, NASB). ‘The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him’ (verse 4).
To me, this is such a powerful truth. That is, that we are members of this awesome family called the family of God. And He is calling on us to model to this world what a family is supposed to look like. Jesus says by this shall all men know that you are my disciples because you have love one to another. Just imagine what it would be like if every church member truly loved his fellow church member as his brother or sister in Christ?
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.