CHURCH
AS A FAMILY
Throughout the New Testament there are numerous references
to brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, husbands and
wives, children, parents, home, house, household, family, etc. i.e.:
I.
Brothers and sisters- Acts 9:17 “Ananias
said, brother Saul.”
Romans
12:10 “Be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly
love; in honor preferring one another;”
Romans
14:21 “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine,
nor anything whereby thy brother,
stumbleth, or is offended, or
is
made weak.”
I
Corinthians 7:15 “If the unbelieving
depart, let him depart. As
brother or a
sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us into
peace.”
Ephesians 6:21
“Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord.”
Colossians 1:1
“Timotheus our brother.”
Colossians
4:7, 9 “Tychicus, who is a beloved brother.
Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother.”
James 2:15
“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food.”
II.
Children-
II Corinthians 6:13 “I speak unto you my children.”
Ephesians 5:1 “Be ye therefore followers
of God, as dear children.”
Ephesians
6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”
I Thessalonians 2:11 “We exhorted and
comforted and charged every one of
`
you, as a father doth his children.
III. Family-Ephesians 3:15 “Of whom
the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”
IV. Fathers and mothers- I Corinthians
4:15 “Ye have not many fathers: for in Christ
Jesus
I have begotten you through the gospel.”
I
John 2:13-14 “I write unto you fathers…I write unto you little
children,
because you have known the Father.”
V. Home-I
Corinthians 14:35 “Women ask their husbands at home.”
VI. House-
Acts 2:46 “And they, continuing daily with one accord breaking bread from
house to house.”
Acts
5:42 “And daily in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach
Jesus
Christ.”
Romans
16:5 “Greet the church that is in their house.(Priscilla and
Aquila)”(I
Corinthians 16:19)
Colossians
4:15 “Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and
the church which is in his house.”
I
Timothy 3:15 “Thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the
house of(household) God, which is the church
of the living God,
the pillar and ground of truth.”
Hebrews
3:6 “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are
we.”
I
Peter 2:5 “Ye also are built up a spiritual house
to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
VII. Household-
I Corinthians 1:16 “I baptized the household of
Stephanas:”
Galatians 6:10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good
unto all
men, especially unto them who are of the
household of
faith.”
Ephesians
2:19 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household
of
God;”
II
Timothy 4:19 “Salute the household of Onesiphorus.”
Hebrews
10:21 “And having an high priest over the house(household) of
God.”
VIII. Man
and woman-I Corinthians 7:2 “Let every man have his own wife,
and let every
woman have her own husband.”
IX. Sons
and daughters- Acts 2:17 “I will pour out my spirit on your sons
and your
daughters.”
II Corinthians 6:18 “I will be a Father
unto you and ye shall be
my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty.”
X. Husbands
and wives- I Corinthians 7:3 “Let
the husband render unto the wife due
benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto
the husband.”
Ephesians 5:22-25 “Wives, submit
yourselves unto your own
husbands, as unto the Lord. Husbands,
love your wives even as
Christ loved the church and gave himself for
it.”(Colossians 3:18-
19; I Peter 3:1-7)
I Timothy 3:2 “A bishop must be blameless,
the husband of one
wife.”(I Timothy 3:12; Titus 1:6; 2:5)
Revelation 21:2 “And I John saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.”
XI. Combination
of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children-
I Timothy 5:1-2 “Rebuke
not an elder, but intreat him as a father;
and
the younger men as brethren (brothers); the elder women as
mothers; the younger
as sisters, with all purity.”
I John 2:1, 9-14, 18, 28 “My little children…He
that saith he is in the
light, and hateth his brother, is in
darkness until now…He that loveth
his brother abideth in the light…I write
unto you little children…I
write unto you, fathers…I write unto you,
little children, because you
have know the Father…write unto you fathers…Little
children…and
now little children.” (I John 3:1, 2, 7,
10, 17-18;I John 4:4, 20-21; I
John 5:2, 16, 21;II John 4, 13 III John 4)
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