Fellowship: God’s Own Family

It was a happy day for him when he gave us our new lives through the truth of his Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in his new family.

James 1:18 (LB)

When we place our faith in Christ, God becomes our Father, we become his children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the church becomes our spiritual family: “Jesus pointed to his disciples and said, ‘These are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!’” (Matthew 12:49-50 NLT).

The family of God includes all believers in the past, in the present, and all who will believe in the future: “The Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Father! my Father!’ God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:15-16 TEV).

Every human being was created by God but not everyone is a child of God. The only way to get into God’s family is by being born again into it. You became part of the human family by your first birth but you become a member of God’s family by your second birth: “It is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family” (1 Peter 1:3 LB).

The invitation to be part of God’s family is universal, but there is one condition: faith in Jesus.

“You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26 NLT).

Not only are we born again into God’s family through faith, the Bible says God also “adopts” us. We don’t deserve to be his children, but he has chosen us for this privilege because he loves us.