A Family of Christians

by: Justin Evergarden

It is possible to sit beside someone every Sunday and still know very little about their life. We recognize their face, exchange a greeting, and perhaps call them “brother” or “sister.” But those words describe a relationship that deserves our attention beyond the few minutes we share before and after worship.

Paul wrote:

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,”— Ephesians 3:14–15, KJV

Throughout Ephesians, Paul explains how people who were once separated have been brought together through Christ. Their relationship with God gives them a relationship with one another. They belong to His household.

That belonging should shape how we live. Scripture gives us several pictures that help us understand both the blessing and the responsibility of being family.

Our family begins with the same Father.

“And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”— 2 Corinthians 6:18, KJV

There is something deeply reassuring about the Lord Almighty receiving His people as sons and daughters. The promise also carries responsibility. In the surrounding verses, Paul calls Christians to turn away from idolatry and uncleanness. God’s children are to honor Him by the way they live.

That includes how we treat His other children.

If God is my Father and your Father, we have a reason to care about each other before we discover whether we enjoy the same things. Our personalities may differ. Conversation may come more easily with some people than with others. Yet the quiet member who leaves with scarcely anyone speaking to him belongs to the same Father as the person surrounded by friends.

Taking that relationship seriously may begin with something simple: staying a little longer, asking a thoughtful question, and listening to the answer. We learn how to care for people by making room to know them.

Paul also describes Christians as having the same mother.

“But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”— Galatians 4:26, KJV

This language comes from Paul’s comparison involving Hagar and Sarah. He uses their circumstances to illustrate bondage and freedom, contrasting the present Jerusalem with Jerusalem above. His point concerns our spiritual belonging as children of God’s promise.

He explains:

“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.”— Galatians 4:28, KJV

Our earthly ancestry gives us no superior standing in this family. Someone raised by faithful Christian parents has much to be thankful for. Someone who encounters the gospel later in life may arrive with a very different history. Both belong fully to Christ when they become His.

This matters especially when welcoming new Christians. Longstanding friendships and family connections can be wonderful blessings within a congregation. We should make sure those relationships leave room for someone who has just arrived.

A new Christian should be able to find friendship, patient instruction, and a place in our lives. Learning everyone’s name takes time. Receiving our affection should not require years of membership.

As a family, we also depend on the same nourishment.

“That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.”— Isaiah 66:11, KJV

Isaiah pictures Jerusalem as a mother nourishing her children. The surrounding passage speaks of the comfort God provides for His people. It is a tender picture of dependence and care.

Peter uses the image of a hungry child to describe our need for spiritual growth:

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”— 1 Peter 2:2, KJV

Every Christian needs that nourishment. The preacher needs the word he teaches. The longtime member still needs correction and encouragement. A new Christian needs patient help understanding what God has said.

Growing through Scripture should also improve our relationships. Immediately before this verse, Peter tells his readers to put away malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking. Our study ought to bear fruit in the way we treat one another.

The picture of eating at the same table becomes especially meaningful when we consider the Lord’s Supper:

“For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”— 1 Corinthians 10:17, KJV

We remember Christ’s sacrifice together as people who depend on it. That shared fellowship gives us reason to examine our relationships honestly. An apology we have postponed or a resentment we have carefully protected deserves attention.

We also wear the same garments, having put on Christ.

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”— Galatians 3:26–28, KJV

Paul connects faith, baptism into Christ, and our shared identity as God’s children. The differences he names were significant in the lives of his readers, but none gave one Christian a greater claim to Christ than another.

The same principle challenges us today. Someone’s income, education, or position in the community must never determine how much we value that person. The newest Christian has put on the same Lord as the Christian who has served Him for decades.

Having put on Christ also calls us to reflect His character. His humility should influence our willingness to admit a mistake. His patience should shape our response when someone inconveniences us. Our common identity becomes visible through ordinary decisions about how we speak and behave.

Family life includes shared responsibilities, and Christians have work to do together.

“The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;”— Matthew 13:38, KJV

In this parable, Jesus identifies His people as the good seed living in the world. Paul uses another farming illustration to explain how servants of Christ labor together:

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”— 1 Corinthians 3:6, KJV

Paul and Apollos had different responsibilities in the same work. The Corinthians had been dividing over preachers, but Paul directed their attention to God, who gave the growth.

That perspective helps us appreciate one another’s contributions. Someone develops a friendship that eventually leads to a Bible study. Another helps teach. Others encourage the new Christian afterward. Each contribution matters.

Our abilities and circumstances differ, but we can all consider how to serve faithfully with the opportunities available to us. We can also rejoice when another Christian’s work bears fruit. We serve the same Lord.

Finally, we share the hope of dwelling in the same house forever.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”— Psalm 23:6, KJV

David closes this psalm with confidence in God’s enduring care and the blessing of His presence. Jesus gives His disciples a direct promise about a home with the Father:

“In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”— John 14:2–3, KJV

Our lives here include painful separations. Friends move away. Faithful Christians die, leaving an absence we feel each time we gather. Those losses hurt because the relationships matter.

Our hope in Christ reaches beyond those separations. As we remain faithful to Him, we look toward the home He has promised. That hope should deepen our concern for one another today. When a brother becomes discouraged or a sister begins drifting away, their spiritual well-being should matter enough for us to reach out.

Calling one another family brings that responsibility close to home. We can begin with the person we have overlooked, the conversation we have postponed, or the burden we know someone is carrying.

When we call one another brother and sister, may our lives show that we mean it.

by: Justin Evergarden