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One: Week 2

One: Week 2

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There are three truths that are essential that we must believe and live out when it comes to being the “Family of God.”

TRUTH #1: GOD ADOPTS US INTO HIS FAMILY-WE DON’T ADOPT HIM INTO OURS.

Definition of Adoption: “the action or fact of legally taking another’s child and bringing it up as one’s own, or the fact of being adopted.”1

Romans 8:14-15 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

    •  The word Abba means “Daddy” in English. There is an intimate connection that takes place between our spirit and the Spirit of God. God becomes our spiritual Father…

WE HAVE BEEN “ADOPTED” FROM DEATH:

Ephesians 2:1-3 1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

  •  Why does this matter?—So often Christians forget what we have been saved from. But when we realize that we were DEAD in our sin and children of hopelessness, and that through Jesus we have been made alive, that changes everything!

WE HAVE BEEN “ADOPTED” INTO LIFE:

Ephesians 2:4-7 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

    •  Notice that it says “children,” plural. That means that in the family of God it is not only you and God but also your spiritual brothers and sisters.

TRUTH #2: BEING ADOPTED INO GOD’S FAMILY MEANS WE HAVE SPIRITUAL BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

  •  You cannot be in relationship with God but not be in relationship with God’s family.

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

  •  Paul is talking here about what relationships between believers should look like. There are expectations that God has when it comes to how His family should function together.

Ephesians 4:1-3 1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

TRUTH #3: WHEN THE CHURCH ACTS LIKE GOD’S FAMILY, IT CHANGES THE WORLD!

  •  The greatest gift that the Church has to offer a lost and dying world is the invitation to become a part of God’s family.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

 

THREE MARKERS OF TE FAMILY OF GOD:

  1. We recognize that we have been adopted into the Family of God.
    •  This means that God gets to define what His family should look like.
  2. We fight FOR relationship with one another.
    •  This doesn’t mean that we are constantly in conflict! It means that we are actively pursuing restoration in broken
  3. relationships. Who do you need to reach out to this week?
    We invite those who do not have a spiritual family into the family of God (The Church).
    •  This means we are sharing the Good News about Jesus with those that God puts in our path.

 

QUESTIONS TO RFLECT AND DISCUSS:

Passages to consider: Ephesians 2:11-21; 1 John 3

  1. What from the sermon caught your attention?
  2. Read 1 John 3 a couple of times, slowly. What does this passage say about Jesus, love, family, and unity?
  3. What stands out from what you observed in the passage?
  4. How is that similar or different from your current understanding of seeing other believers as family?
  5. Share how you have experienced fellow believers as family.
  6. How can you be a part of making the church a family?