New to Faith: Bible Reading PlanSample

New Family

The early Christians referred to each other as brothers and sisters even though they weren’t related and often were from different cultural backgrounds. Outsiders may have wondered, “what brings these Christ-followers together as close as a family?” It was their faith in Jesus!

For the biblical authors, this community wasn’t just a symbolic family.; it was God’s family. They taught that through faith in Jesus, we are no longer separated and alienated from God because He adopts us into His household as His children. If I am “in Christ” with all the other Christ-followers, we are all one “in Christ.” Together, we belong to a new community of diverse individuals united by our allegiance to Jesus. Our spiritual unity is an objective reality we are to live out by selflessly loving and caring for each other’s interests and needs. The New Testament develops the complexities of the family metaphor, but the essential meaning is one of belonging. You belong to the family of God.

Along with being part of a community, belonging to God’s family means that God is your Heavenly Father. Throughout the Bible, God uses “Father” to describe himself and the type of relationship He desires to have with us. He wants us to trust Him as a committed Father who provides for us and loves us unconditionally.

For some of us, thinking about family or our fathers can provoke feelings of disappointment, betrayal, and hurt, so it’s understandable to want to resist relating to the faith community or God as a family. The Bible's answer is not running away from family but discovering your belonging to a new family made up of broken people who have found forgiveness in Christ. Let’s read some Bible passages about belonging to the family of God.

Question: As you think about being a part of a local church family or community, what do you hope to receive from this community, and what do you hope to give?