We are Family

We are Family  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  39:13
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The Child of God needs the church family if he/she wants to GROW, Develop GIFTS, and SERVE GOD.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Nine: It’s All in the Family (1 Thessalonians 5:12–28)

Paul’s favorite name for believers was brethren. He used it at least sixty times in his letters; and in the two Thessalonian Epistles, he used it twenty-seven times. Paul saw the local church as a family. Each member was born again by the Spirit of God and possessed God’s nature (1 Peter 1:22–25; 2 Peter 1:3–4). They all were part of God’s family.

1 Peter 1:22–25 NKJV
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
2 Peter 1:3–4 NKJV
as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Nine: It’s All in the Family (1 Thessalonians 5:12–28)

It is tragic when believers neglect or ignore the local church. No family is perfect and no local church is perfect; but without a family to protect him and provide for him, a child would suffer and die. The child of God needs the church family if he is to grow, develop his gifts, and serve God.

What are the essentials for a happy, thriving church family? How can we make our local churches more spiritual to the glory of God? In this closing section, Paul discussed these matters.

Family Leadership 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 NKJV
And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Galatians 3:28 NKJV
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 4:7–16 NKJV
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
1 Peter 5:1–5 NKJV
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

What responsibilities does the Child of God have toward their spiritual leaders?

Accept Them

Appreciate Them

1 Thessalonians 5:12 NKJV
And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

Love Them

Obey Them

Hebrews 13:17 NKJV
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:13 NKJV
and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
James 4:1–3 NKJV
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
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