When we talk about Paul’s view of the church, often we emphasize the ideas of “the body of Christ” and “the temple of the Spirit.” These ideas are to be sure very important to Paul. The body of Christ motif is found in passages focused on spiritual gifts whereby the community of believers who make up the church brings their diverse gifts together in unity in service of God (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 12:12, 27; Eph 3:6; 4:12, cf. Col 3:15). The church is also considered by Paul to be the Temple of the Spirit meaning that the dwelling place of God on earth is believers and the people of the church as a community (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19). In Ephesians 2:20–22, the church is founded on Christ, the apostles, and prophets, with all believers built into the one building. There is a shift from the idea of the Jerusalem Temple as the palace of God—we become this individually and corporately.
Yet, clearly, Paul’s primary understanding of church is the family of God. He uses the notion explicitly on occasion speaking of the household of God in Eph 2:19—promptly shifting to the temple notion in what follows (see above). In 1 Tim 3:15 he refers to “the household of God, which is the church of the living God.”
More implicitly we see the idea of the church as the family of God punctuate his letters. First, God is Father some seventy times in his letters. Jesus is the Son around fifty times. Believers are children of God some sixteen times. Furthermore, Paul uses “brothers and sisters” as his customary form of address just over sixty times, implying that he and they are all members of the one family of God on earth. Among the other references to believers are brothers, Paul also writes that the intention of God is that through Christ, many other brothers and sisters would be added to God’s family (Rom 8:29).
Although Paul may be referring to families in some passages, knowing the early churches met in homes, his use of household language in probably implies not only a physical family but a church gathering (1 Cor 1:16; 16:15; 2 Tim 1:16; 4:19, cf. Rom 16:10, 11).
One of the key ideas in Paul is adoption (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5). New Christians are adopted member of God’s family. Adoption was a Roman idea whereby in Roman culture, a person could be adopted into a family with the same legal rights as a child. Indeed, a huge number of the Roman Emperors were not natural born heirs, they were adopted (Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus). For Paul to use the metaphor would convey to reader that they are sons and daughters of God with full rights.
As such, the fundamental descriptor of the church in Paul’s letters is as the “family of God.” It is important we grasp this because it has a number of implications.
First, if we are the family of God it is a tremendous honor to be thus described. We are members of God’s royal family; our status and identity is astonishing. We are adopted as his children and that means whether we are Jew or Gentile, male and female, elite or downtrodden, we have full access to God and his Son and within the work of the kingdom, the world is our oyster.
Second, this should not lead us to arrogance as if we are better than others (sadly the holier than thou attitude is still found across the church). Conversely, it should lead us to want to emulate the character of God and our “big bro” Jesus. Indeed, Christian ethics is emulation of God and his Son. Perhaps Eph 5:1–2 says it best: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and mgave himself up for us, a fragrant ooffering and sacrifice to God.” If only every Christian fully grasped this and sought to live as children of God without bringing the name of Jesus into disrepute!
Third, it speaks of the way we are to relate to one another in the church—good families live in unity, loving each other, resolving conflicts amicably, repudiating character attributes that sow discord. The whole letter of 1 Corinthians is summoning the Corinthians away from their fractious behavior to a oneness based on love. Perhaps if we lived like this people would stop maligning us as is often the case. Rather, they would see in us the love that should characterize us.
Finally, one of the dangers of a family culture is that it becomes cliquey and inward looking. The kind of family we are to be is one with open doors to anyone that wants to be a part of this. As I said to a person visiting us on Sunday at church, “you come once, you are family.” Our family is open. Our meal is the word of God, which anyone can come and dine on. We gather together at the communion table as family, dining with God and his Son, enjoying the fellowship of the Spirit.
All in all, we are summoned to be children of God that truly represent God our Father and Jesus our big brother.
As Paul puts it in Philippians 2:12–18a (my translation):
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only when I come to you but now all the more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For God is the one working in you, both to will and to act for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling and arguing 15 so that you might be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish in the midst of a corrupt and perverse generation, in which you shine as stars in the universe, 16 holding forth the word of life
Yet, clearly, Paul’s primary understanding of church is the family of God. He uses the notion explicitly on occasion speaking of the household of God in Eph 2:19—promptly shifting to the temple notion in what follows (see above). In 1 Tim 3:15 he refers to “the household of God, which is the church of the living God.”
More implicitly we see the idea of the church as the family of God punctuate his letters. First, God is Father some seventy times in his letters. Jesus is the Son around fifty times. Believers are children of God some sixteen times. Furthermore, Paul uses “brothers and sisters” as his customary form of address just over sixty times, implying that he and they are all members of the one family of God on earth. Among the other references to believers are brothers, Paul also writes that the intention of God is that through Christ, many other brothers and sisters would be added to God’s family (Rom 8:29).
Although Paul may be referring to families in some passages, knowing the early churches met in homes, his use of household language in probably implies not only a physical family but a church gathering (1 Cor 1:16; 16:15; 2 Tim 1:16; 4:19, cf. Rom 16:10, 11).
One of the key ideas in Paul is adoption (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5). New Christians are adopted member of God’s family. Adoption was a Roman idea whereby in Roman culture, a person could be adopted into a family with the same legal rights as a child. Indeed, a huge number of the Roman Emperors were not natural born heirs, they were adopted (Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus). For Paul to use the metaphor would convey to reader that they are sons and daughters of God with full rights.
As such, the fundamental descriptor of the church in Paul’s letters is as the “family of God.” It is important we grasp this because it has a number of implications.
First, if we are the family of God it is a tremendous honor to be thus described. We are members of God’s royal family; our status and identity is astonishing. We are adopted as his children and that means whether we are Jew or Gentile, male and female, elite or downtrodden, we have full access to God and his Son and within the work of the kingdom, the world is our oyster.
Second, this should not lead us to arrogance as if we are better than others (sadly the holier than thou attitude is still found across the church). Conversely, it should lead us to want to emulate the character of God and our “big bro” Jesus. Indeed, Christian ethics is emulation of God and his Son. Perhaps Eph 5:1–2 says it best: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and mgave himself up for us, a fragrant ooffering and sacrifice to God.” If only every Christian fully grasped this and sought to live as children of God without bringing the name of Jesus into disrepute!
Third, it speaks of the way we are to relate to one another in the church—good families live in unity, loving each other, resolving conflicts amicably, repudiating character attributes that sow discord. The whole letter of 1 Corinthians is summoning the Corinthians away from their fractious behavior to a oneness based on love. Perhaps if we lived like this people would stop maligning us as is often the case. Rather, they would see in us the love that should characterize us.
Finally, one of the dangers of a family culture is that it becomes cliquey and inward looking. The kind of family we are to be is one with open doors to anyone that wants to be a part of this. As I said to a person visiting us on Sunday at church, “you come once, you are family.” Our family is open. Our meal is the word of God, which anyone can come and dine on. We gather together at the communion table as family, dining with God and his Son, enjoying the fellowship of the Spirit.
All in all, we are summoned to be children of God that truly represent God our Father and Jesus our big brother.
As Paul puts it in Philippians 2:12–18a (my translation):
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only when I come to you but now all the more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For God is the one working in you, both to will and to act for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling and arguing 15 so that you might be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish in the midst of a corrupt and perverse generation, in which you shine as stars in the universe, 16 holding forth the word of life
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Rao Vanaguntla