The Family of God

Romans 8:12-17

You will notice we say “brother and sister” ‘round here—

It’s because we’re a family and these folks are so near;

When one has a heartache we all share the tears,

And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear. [1]

“Brothers and sisters”…that’s how Paul addresses the Roman church in Chapter 8, verse 12—and in 1:13, 7:1, 7:4, 9:3, 10:1, 11:25, 14:10, 14:13, 14:15, 14:21, 15:14, 15:30, 16:6, 16:11, 16:14, 16:17. In other words, it’s not a slip of the tongue. Paul intentionally and meaningfully chooses to address the church in familial terms. So what does it mean to be a part of the family of God?

So first off, what does it mean to be a part of a family? It has to do with describing a particular way in which we are connected. To say, “Those people are my family,” implies that we share something in common. From a biological standpoint, the thing that families share is DNA—understood in less scientifically fancy terms as sharing the same “blood.” And on account of that shared DNA, members of the same family will often share other things, “He’s got his mother’s eyes”; “She’s got her father’s nose”; “He’s got grandpa’s receding hairline.” In addition to physical attributes, families also share tendencies towards health or unhealth; genetic disorders or diseases; metabolisms and immunities. We inherit a lot of things from our families.

Inheritance also has to do with non-biological traits and gifts. Members of the same family often share common interests, careers, hobbies, aspirations, and faith. Perhaps the most common reference made by “inheritance” however, has to do with the way a family shares its wealth and possessions. In all of these examples, inheritance has to do with receiving something of value from our family.

So when Paul uses familial language to address the church, he is describing a particular way in which we are all connected. When he says, “brothers and sisters” he is implying that we share something in common. Not quite DNA, but we do share the same “blood.” Earlier in his letter to the Romans Paul describes how we are brought into relationship with God through Christ’s death; 5:9 “we are made righteous by his blood.” On account of this, we all share in the promise of God’s grace, the hope of God’s glory, and the faith that comes from this. To say that we are “God’s heirs and fellows heirs with Christ,” has to do with our inheritance; Paul is implying that we receive something of value by being a part of this family. To truly understand this gift, however, let’s take a quick run through the letter up to this point.

The first few chapters of Paul’s letter to the Romans have to do with our unhealthy inheritance as children of Adam, our sinful human nature. He proclaims this inheritance in a nutshell in 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” But he doesn’t stop there, 3:24 “all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Jesus Christ,” and in 4:16, Paul specifically describes an “inheritance [which] comes through faith on the basis of God’s grace.” And here is where he begins to make a distinction between the basis of membership in God’s family and the basis of membership in a biological family. “[This promise of inheritance] is secure for all those who are related by the faith of Abraham.”

We are made righteous through Abraham’s faith, and because of this can boast in the hope of God’s glory (5:1). Paul understood our biological inheritance through Adam to be one of unhealth, of sin, which leads to death (6:16). On account of this inheritance, our relationship with God is unhealthy, unrighteous, broken. So when Paul describes our inheritance through Christ, he is mindful to describe how this new inheritance through faith in Christ restores that broken relationship. 5:8, “Christ died for us while we were sinners…(8) [and we are made] righteous by his blood, (11) [and] through him we have a restored relationship with God.” This is the hope we have of God’s glory, to have our relationship with God restored so that we can be “glorified with Christ.”

I met with Terry last week to grab lunch and briefly walk through how today’s baptism would go. I mentioned how perfect it was that he should have chosen today, Trinity Sunday, to be baptized as the central text of our Trinitarian faith comes from the Great Commission at the end of Matthew gospel: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And it is baptism, for Paul, which signifies our membership in God’s family, and our sharing in the inheritance of God’s glory.

“All who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death…buried with him through baptism…[and] just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life.” We are “united together in a resurrection like his,” Paul says. This is the blood and the inheritance we share, the reason for the hope we have, and the source of our strength, unity, and purpose. We are set free from the biological inheritance of sin, and made sons and daughters of God; therefore our inheritance is transformed. When Paul tells the Romans not to “be conformed to the patterns of this world (12:2),” he’s telling them “don’t let your future be determined by the inheritance you received from sin.” “Rather be transformed by the renewing of your minds so you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.” Receive your inheritance with Christ, new life, and walk in it together with your new brothers and sisters in Christ. This is what it means to be “glorified with Christ.”

The Greek word for “glorify” is doxazo from which we get the title of the song we sing each week as a part of our joyful response to God’s word: the Doxology. Worship begins with a Call to Worship which serves as an affirmation of God’s presence among us and our intention to be united in that presence. Even before that we share joys and concerns and announcements in the life of the church: Romans 12, verses 10 and 15, “Love each other like members of your family…be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying.” Following the call to worship, the acknowledgement of God’s presence among us, we confess our inheritance of sin, admit the ways we are distracted from that presence, lament our broken relationship with God, affirm our forgiveness through Christ, acknowledge our reconciliation and redemption through grace, and celebrate the restoration of our relationship with God. then we focus on the faith we share which is taught to us through the scriptures. We respond to God’s word by affirming the creed of our family of faith, and then we commit to giving a portion of our worldly inheritance, whether our wealth or our life, to the church, to be shared by God’s family, to be used to serve “God’s will—what is good and pleasing and mature”…and in the process of doing this we sing the Doxology, we glorify God and we are glorified with Christ.

We have been adopted by the same Father and share in the same inheritance as Jesus Christ our Lord…Jesus Christ our brother. I don’t know about you, but that makes me exceedingly glad!

I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God—

I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!

Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,

For I'm part of the family, the family of God. [1]

[1] Bill and Gloria Gaither, "Family of God"