We Are Family
Sermon Notes
Intro
Good morning, and thanks for being here today. We know that there are a lot of things competing for your time, and it’s not always easy to prioritize being in church on Sundays. It’s tempting to stay home and watch the service or catch it later in the week, but you being here does matter. Not only is it important for you, but it is also important for everyone else. One reason for that is that we are family. It’s part of our identity as Christians. The Bible teaches us that we take on a brand new identity as followers of Christ. And, we started this Saturate series by looking at 1 Peter 2:9-10 which says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people…”
That clearly tells us that we take on a new identity as the people of God. In fact, the Bible teaches many identities we take on, but over the next 3 weeks we’re going to examine 3 key identities that we should walk in when it comes to living a Jesus-saturated life. Today we’re starting with our identity as family. If you have your Bibles, you can turn to Galatians 4. The Scripture will also be on the screen.
Family is a huge part of our lives no matter who we are. Each one of us comes from a family that has helped to shape us into who we are today, sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes it’s a bad thing. You might come from a functional family that you are proud of, or you might come from a slightly dysfunctional family that you are embarrassed by, but either way, our physical family is a large part of who we are.
When it comes to our spiritual family, few of us think about, or you may have never thought about, the role that plays in your life. You may not even be aware that you have a part and place in God’s family. But our goal today is to see that when God’s family functions, it is a powerful force for transformation…in our own lives as well as the world around us.
Let’s start by looking at the formation of this family. Look at Vs. 1-3 of Galatians 4.
1 Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. 2 Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.
These verses tell us that apart from God we are children of the world. The Apostle Paul (who wrote this to the church in Galatia) uses the comparison of a slave and a child entitled to an inheritance. Keep in mind that often when we read the word slave in the Bible, especially the New Testament, it’s not referring to a slave as we think about it. It usually referring to an indentured servant…someone who agreed to work for a family to either pay off a debt or in exchange for something else. That servant lived with and worked for the family, but they in no way had a right to any of the inheritance. The only thing they received was what they earned. On the flip side is the child in the family, and his (usually the son) inheritance was a big deal. Under the Jewish law the firstborn son would receive a double portion of the inheritance. It wasn’t really a matter of who the parents favored more. It was the law that was followed. In other words, the child didn’t have to do anything to earn their inheritance, it was just going to be passed down to him. But, he didn’t have access to that inheritance until he was grown. Just like today, people set up trusts so that if they die their 13 year old doesn’t have full access to the house and 401K. But, when the time comes, the inheritance will be transferred to him.
Paul is really speaking to two different groups of people here. In Galatia, the church was made up of a lot of Jews that had converted to Christianity, but they were reverting back to the Jewish laws as necessary for salvation. As God’s chosen people, they are like the children in the example who had been awaiting their inheritance. The other group of people are the Gentiles who have converted to Christianity. They are the slaves who didn’t belong in the family. His point is this: our sin nature cause us to be like the indentured servant, orphans of the world. We have no place or purpose other than trying to pay off our debt or earn our wages. And maybe looking back at your life you can really relate to that feeling….working to no end, feeling like you are on an endless journey to nowhere; just a slave to the system. That’s not just a feeling, but it’s a reality. The Bible teaches us that there is a very real darkness that rules the earth under the authority of Satan, and he is not a family man. He doesn’t care about you, he doesn’t promise you anything. He only wants cogs in his wheel of lies and destruction. Without Jesus, people are parentless children in a broken system of the world. But, let’s keep reading!
4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Here’s the good news of the Gospel: through Jesus we become children of God! We don’t have to remain children of the world. We can become children of God. These are theologically rich verses. First, Paul tells us that this was God’s plan from the beginning of time. Jesus as Savior was not a plan B for God. God knew we would need a rescuer, and history was building to this climax of the story. Secondly, we see the dual nature of Jesus. He is fully divine, God’s son who existed with God before time, but he took on flesh and became fully man as well. It was only possible for him to defeat the law of sin and death if he was subject to the law of sin and death. That’s a major component of our doctrinal beliefs. It was absolutely necessary for Jesus, who existed from the beginning of time, to submit himself to the incarnation and walk as we walk. His ability to resist every temptation and live a perfect life made him the only candidate, the only sacrifice worthy, of paying our sin debt. His perfect life for our sinful life. As V.5 tells us, he became the redeemer. A redeemer pays the price to restore what’s in debt. That’s what Jesus did. But he didn’t just pay the price for our sin, he also bought us a place in the family of God. The whole goal of our redemption and rescue was not only to forgive our wrongs, but to restore our relationship with the Father. God is loving, and he didn’t want to leave us on our own.
Ask anyone that’s been through the adoption process and they can tell you how costly it is. There’s financial cost, time sacrifice, and a lot of emotional energy that is required. But, it’s worth it to redeem a life and give a child a family! God looked on us with great compassion and was not content to leave us as orphans subject to the rule of the world. He wanted His children, and so He made a way for us, for you, to be adopted into his family. And that is a permanent identity that we carry as Christians. Look at verse 6,
6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.
This tells us that our identity is secure because with the Spirit we have assurance as children of promise. God has redeemed us, adopted us, and sealed the deal with his Holy Spirit. Brittany and I have two boys that are adopted. They don’t look like us. They don’t really talk like us. They may not always act or think like us. But if anyone ever questions, or if they every question, whether they belong in our family, I can pull out their Certificate of Adoption and show that they are just as much one of my children as any of the others. God knew that we too would need a certificate of adoption, a reminder of who we are, that we belong to him and not to the world. So, he gave us the Spirit to live in us. He speaks to our hearts, he teaches us to be like the Father, and he assures us that we are eternally secure in God’s house. The Bible speaks to this concept regularly.
In Romans 9 verse 8, Paul says, “It is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but the children of the promise are considered to be the offspring.” In other words, it doesn’t matter who your parents are, what nationality you are, or what social class you’re a part of. The children of the promise are those who have been chosen and adopted by God. Who does that include? Anyone that confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. With that you are saved and you receive the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:14 says, “The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance,…” The Spirit is what God has given us to carry us through this life until we get to heaven. He’s the downpayment, the guarantee that God will make good on his word. As children of the King, we are promised an eternal inheritance, and we get a piece of that starting now. And that’s really what empowers us to live out our new identity. If we let him, then God himself will daily remind us that we belong to him and we will help us navigate life just like a loving father does to his kids.
I’m trying to hammer this idea hard because who we believe we are, our identity, is so important to how we live. Our being always precedes our doing. I want you to see that when we talk about being a family, the church as a family, or being children of God, that is not just a feel-good saying that your grandma uses. If you are a follower of Christ, this is a theological truth that has significant implications for how you live.
You may not see God as a Father. Maybe you only see him as a law-maker, who sets out rules that seem impossible to follow. Or maybe you never had a good relationship with your father, so thinking of God as your father brings some bad feelings to the surface. Or maybe you never knew your father, and while you love the idea of having a good father, it’s hard to fully trust God because you’ve been abandoned in the past. God might let you down as well. But you can trust God as the perfect Father. He does have rules, but they are in place to protect you and lead you closer to him. His love has already been proven by giving his son as a sacrifice to redeem you. His faithfulness has endured for all generations. The Bible, along with countless men and women, give testimony to that. So, when you give your life to Jesus not only are your sins being forgiven, you are taking on a new identity as an adopted son or daughter of God and a co-heir, or a brother or sister, of Jesus Christ. Which also means that as Christians we are all brothers and sisters, united in Christ. We’re not just like a family, we are a literal family.
That should give us peace and confidence, but it also leads to a greater purpose. As I said earlier, who we believe we are affects how we live. Sometimes in the process of discipline, I remind my kids of who they are. They are my child and they have been shown how to behave in a certain way. Their friends don’t have the same identity, so they can’t just act like their friends. They need to remember who they are. Our being precedes our doing. In the same way, when we understand our identity as children of God there are practical implications that come from that. So, we’re going to look at a few texts that show us that as children of promise, we are also children of purpose.
Turn to Ephesians 1. It will also be on the screen.
Ephesians 1:5 says, “He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,…”
Our adoption as children of God is: A.) not something we initiated. God chose us. It’s his work. And B.) it is for himself. That means there was a reason for it. Yes, it is to bring us into the family and give us a place to belong, but it’s not just about what God has done for us. There’s a much bigger story being told. Let’s look at three major purposes of the family of God.
Ephesians 1:5, “He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.”
There’s the first purpose of God’s family; to worship God. That may seem like it would be obvious but if history has taught us anything, it’s that God’s people quickly forget this primary purpose. The first commandment that God gave the Israelites was to have no other gods before him. But it didn’t take long at all for them to take their eyes off of God and make a golden calf to worship. In fact, every time we see people getting themselves in a mess throughout the Bible and even in our own lives, it’s because idols creep in. Our worship turns to something else. Sometimes it’s not even an inherently bad thing. What starts off as a good intention to right social wrongs or care for those in need, or even teach right doctrine, can sometimes shift into the place of worship. Instead of God being on the throne, whatever issue is most important to us has a seat on the throne of our lives or of our churches. But the Bible is clear, that if we ever get our mission ahead of our Savior then things are out of order.
As a staff and elders of City Awakening, we try and put ourselves through this litmus test often. We do our best to make sure that we are promoting the name and glory of Jesus Christ before we are pushing a particular vision or mission. We want to accomplish great things as a church, but if we do great things without primarily preaching the Gospel and lifting up the name of Jesus, then we are telling the world that there is someone or something more important for us.
We should put ourselves, as individuals, through the same test. You can be passionate about a lot of things. But if your number one aim in life, if the goal of your day is not to give glory to God, then somewhere along the way things have gotten out of order. God has saved you and adopted you into his family to the praise of his glory. If that seems selfish of God, then you’re right. God is a jealous god, because he should be. If he wasn’t jealous for his own glory, then how could we trust him as the one true God? Do we expect him to allow us to worship someone else before him? That wouldn’t make sense. So, God’s family exists to worship him.
For the second purpose, look at John 13:34-35.
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The second purpose of God’s family is to love people. God wants us, expects us, and even commands us to love other people the same way that he loves us. The love Jesus is speaking of here is agape love. It’s brotherly love. It’s the same type of love that the Good Samaritan showed to the Jewish man laying on the side of the road. It’s not love built on a feeling, it’s not love that comes easy, and it’s not love only for people that are like us or that agree with us. It’s love that can really only come from experiencing and understanding God’s love for yourself.
Jeff Vanderstelt says, “What God has done to you, he now wants to do through you.” This is why it is so important for us to understand our identity as adopted children of God before we just jump out there and start trying to love people. It won’t work. We’ll make a mess of things and we’ll end up getting burned because we show a love that expects something in return, or we’ll only love a certain type of people. But that’s not love like God loves. The kind of love Jesus is talking about requires us to put on our Gospel glasses and see the astonishing, sacrificial love that God has demonstrated for us through Jesus. It does not require repayment (thank goodness), and it really doesn’t make sense. It’s completely undeserved and unbiased. But, that kind of love should be a defining characteristic of God’s family. In 1 John 3:10 says that,
“This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.
How we love others shows that either we belong to God or we don’t. If you want to really know more about what this love looks like, you should spend time studying the life of Jesus. He did this perfectly. He cared for people that no one else did. He loved in ways that didn’t make sense. This type of love does not mean always being in agreement or bending over backwards to appease someone else. It doesn’t mean you accept anything and everything people say. Jesus loved people without compromising his character and beliefs. There is a lot of misinformation in our world today about what it means to love other people, which is muddying the waters for what it means to show Christ-like love. I want to encourage you to keep coming back because later in September and October we’re going to be addressing some difficult topics that might have us feeling confused on what it looks like to love in the midst of some cultural issues we are facing. But for today, we need to know this: God has saved us and commanded us to love other people, both inside and outside the church, with a sacrificial love full of grace and truth that mimics his love for us.
This should cause us to look around our lives and ask how we’re doing. How are you loving the people in this room, your church family? Are you making an effort to build relationships? Are you checking in on people? Are you giving of yourself for the body or are you only taking from the body? There are Christians around the world who are utterly dependent upon their brothers and sisters because their world is violently against them. It’s easy for us to live in the comfort of our homes and compartmentalize our home life, church life, work life,…. We don’t really need or want the overlap from one to the next. But is that living our a identity as family?
We should also look around our lives in every other area. Are you loving your neighbors well? Do you know their names or know what issues their facing? Have you invited them into your home? What about your co-workers? Does the way you love and care for others set you apart from the rest of the office, or the rest of the people on the street, or the other students in your classroom? If we know God’s love, we should show God’s love.
This leads us to the third purpose of God’s family. Let’s look at Acts 2:42-47:
“Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
The third purpose is to multiply the family. These 1st century Christians were being obedient to Jesus’ command and the fruit from it was incredible. They had favor with all the people. Obviously not everyone agreed with their beliefs, but the people were living in a way that no one could argue with. Instead of being against them they were being drawn to them. Anytime you see a system work like it’s supposed to it’s satisfying. If you ever played Mouse Trap you know there’s something special about putting those pieces together, putting the ball in motion and stepping back to watch it work its way down the path. In the same way, when the Church is functioning as it’s supposed to it’s attractive. That’s the big idea for today: When God’s family functions, it is a powerful force for transformation. People want to be a part of a community that cares for one another and shares their lives because of a commonly held belief. This is why Jesus established his church as the primary means for advancing the Kingdom of God on earth. God’s people living out their family identity naturally draws orphan children into the family.
That’s why we have a code here at City Awakening: Love the few so we can love the many. We can have the greatest services, incredible band, message, blowout kids programs, women’s ministry, wild game dinners, whatever…But the thing that’s going to multiply the Kingdom and make genuine followers of Jesus is when each of us commit to loving the people God has put in our pocket of influence and they get rocked, not by the music, but by the love of God through the people of God.
One of the greatest joys I have as a parent is when we are out in public at a restaurant or a store and someone comes up to us and says, “You have such a beautiful family and such well-behaved children.” And I think, “Yeah, you didn’t see how I was yelling at them just 10 seconds ago!” But seriously, it always makes me thankful for my family, for my children; I am proud of them.
City Awakening our aim should be to show the world a beautiful family. We aren’t perfect. We aren’t always going to get it right. Being a family isn’t easy, but through all of our differences, and sins, and mess, we are united in Christ. So, let’s love our brothers and sisters in a way that draws orphan children of the world in off the streets and into our Fathers’ house. When God’s family functions the way he’s designed it to function it is a powerful force for transformation.
