How
God Sees Man As His Family
Back in July
2024, I made a post to this blog titled: “God Sees Man as Both Individuals and
the Group Called ‘Humanity’”. I continue to recommend that post as it gives
perhaps a different perspective on our Bible. It is not how we should see God, but how He
sees us. (See Blog “Archives”.) Now I would like to expand on that viewpoint to
show what the Bible says about how God sees man / mankind as “His Family”.
First, as a
matter of definition, Christians generally identify “God” as being the triune
“Godhead” consisting of God The Father, God The Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Christians also have come to learn through the Bible that our Lord Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Further, the words of Jesus Himself informed us
that God is a “Spirit”, meaning that God
is both eternal and invisible to man. (John 4: 23-24) Later in the Scripture, the Ascended Lord
Jesus revealed to the Apostle Paul that He (Jesus) is the physical “image of
the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:
12-19; 2: 9) That is why Jesus could say that He and the Father are One.
(John 10: 30) In that light, Jesus could
also respond to His Disciple Philip that: “He that hath seen Me, hath seen the
Father.” (John 14: 9; Isaiah 9: 6) (See also https://www.gotquestions.org/Godhead.html)
Most
Christians use these English language terms of “Father” and “Son” as they
relate to humans in a parental relationship as part of a family. However, many
do not realize the Bible shows that same relationship exists between God and
His favored creation “man”. [My
Strong’s Expanded Concordance contains a Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary. In it,
the first listing is the word “ab” meaning “father”, meaning the “head of
the family”. My print edition has a
very illuminating description of the word “father” and it’s use in the Old
Testament. I encourage you to read it. An
on-line, somewhat condensed version is available at: https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/strongs-number-H1/ .]
In that
context, consider how God / the LORD God “birthed man” (both male and female) in
His image during the Creation. (Genesis 1: 26-27) Throughout the Bible, Scripture frequently refers to “man” in the
generic sense, including both male and female. But also frequently the subject
is gender specific, with the male having the lead role. Note the terms “Father” and “Son” both relate
to men.
[That last
pattern has resulted in much controversy, especially among those who feel that females
/ women have been treated unfairly (less than equal to the males) in their society.
They often trace that “unequal treatment” to the Bible Scripture. Although the
terminology is clear, none of us knows why God chose to use those words.
Perhaps we will understand why when we meet Him. In the meantime, as with many other unanswered
questions, we are to trust in His decisions for our lives by faith. Remember, it was because of His love for all
mankind that He made each of us in His image and gave “man” dominion over
all the Earth during the Creation. (Genesis 1: 27-28) The only one that benefits
from fostering the controversy is the Enemy.]
In the Old
Testament, through the Holy Spirit the writers gave significant focus on the relationships
between family members. As humans, they encountered many of the same issues people
and families encounter today. As a few
examples, consider the jealousy between the brothers Cain and Abel (Genesis Chapter
Four); Ishmael and Isaac (Genesis 21:
1-13); Esau and Jacob (Genesis Chapter
27); and Joseph and his brothers (Genesis
Chapter 37). Consider also the relationships
between the widows Naomi and her two
daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. (Ruth
Chapter One) Another example is the relationship
between the orphan Esther and the “father-figure” Mordecai, who had adopted
her, and later guided her as she saved the people of Israel from annihilation.
(Book of Esther)
Often cited,
and key to this discussion, is the father and son relationship between Abraham
and Isaac. Many decades earlier, the
LORD had informed / promised Abraham
that this son Isaac would be the heir through whom would come the fulfilment of
the Covenant that would bless “all families of the Earth.” (Genesis 12:
1-3; 17: 1-9, 15-19) To test Abraham’s faith
/ obedience, the LORD had instructed him to sacrifice Isaac on an altar. As the loving father Abraham was about to
sacrifice his son of destiny, the LORD stopped him. (Genesis 22: 1-18; See also: https://www.gotquestions.org/Abraham-Isaac.html
) This demonstration of the
father’s love for his special son, could only be surpassed by His obedience to the
Supreme God. Abraham, the father, was prepared to sacrifice the son he dearly
loved, because of his faith in what God had promised.
Many have
cited that Bible experience as a glimpse of the anguish that God the Father had
to feel when He sent His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
Further, it showed the willingness of our Lord Jesus to submit to the will of
His Father, even as Isaac willingly was laid on the altar to be the sacrifice
for his father. (Genesis 22: 9, John 6: 38, Luke 22: 42)
Being
well-aware of the extreme suffering and death on the Cross that were ahead of
Him, our Lord Jesus maintained His honor and respect for His Father. As the Son of God, He even taught His
Disciples to pray to the Father, not to Himself. (Matthew 6: 9-13) In doing that, Jesus was demonstrating for
man / mankind His secondary role in the “family of God”. He was not seated on God’s Throne, but would soon
sit “on the right hand of the Father.” (Psalm 110: 1, and others)
With that
background, we return to more emphasis on “God’s Family”.
The Bible
tells us that we were all born into the “human family”, in the same
manner that the LORD God “gave birth” to
the first man Adam. That first breath of life made man a living soul. (Genesis 2:
7) But always remember that man is a “spirit” being, made in the image of God.
It is our invisible living spirit / soul that was placed into these temporary,
physical bodies. (Genesis 1: 26-27)
The Bible
also teaches us that all men have received the necessary knowledge,
enlightenment and faith to understand who God is, and how to regain the spiritual
position in “His Family” that Adam had lost. (John 1: 1-9; Titus 2: 11-14) Key to that understanding is that we
acknowledge that we were born as “sinners” because of the actions of the first
man Adam. (Romans 3, especially verse 23)
From the time
of our birth into the family of man, our souls and bodies were focused on the physical
world around us. (1 John2: 15-17) As we
matured, and as a result of our focus on the world and its attractions, we had
become enemies against God. (Romans 8: 1-7, James 4: 4)). But God Himself, as the Head of the Family, provided
the means for our restoration to His Family through the suffering, shed blood,
death, and resurrection of His Beloved Son Jesus.
As
spirit-beings, man’s spirits were “asleep” from the time we were born because
of Adam’s sin. [Remember the LORD God
had to personally act to awaken the spirits of Adam and Eve to restore them to Himself, (Genesis 3: 21)] That is why we also had to be born-again /
spiritually awakened , but now through the Holy Spirit. (John 3: 1-8)
That happened when God intervened (as He did with His first family),
when we believed the Gospel of His Grace, and that our sin death penalty
(inherited from Adam) had been paid through the death of our Lord Jesus. (Genesis
2: 15-17, 1 Corinthians 15: 45-49)
The Son of
God Jesus Christ “substituted” for all mankind through His own death, burial
and resurrection. (2 Corinthians 5: 14-15) In that manner the family of man was given the
pathway to restoration to God’s Eternal Family. But to receive this gift of God’s Grace, each
of us must choose to believe this through what the Bible teaches us. (1
Corinthians 15: 1-4, Romans 10: 9-13) Regrettably, most of mankind will not believe
and receive this gift from our Lord Jesus.
As believing
Christians, through our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, our spirits
have been joined to His Spirit. As believers, we have become “members of the
Body of Christ”, (1 Corinthians 12, especially v. 27); and “children
of God”. (Matthew 5:9, Luke 20: 34-36, Galatians 3: 26) Please note
the following Scripture (Romans 8: 14-17) that describes our / believers’ family relationships with God, our Lord Jesus,
and the Holy Spirit:
“14 For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,
that we may be also glorified together.”
As with any
family, as the young mature, they have the choice as to whether to follow or
ignore the guidance of the Father. The
Bible clearly tells us of the dire fate that awaits those who choose to remain outside
of God’s Family. (Revelation 20: 12-15)
Finally,
consider the scripture near the end of our Bible from the Apostle Peter. As a
prominent Disciple and former spokesperson of the Jerusalem Church, Peter was sending
his final message to his fellow Jewish believers who had been scattered abroad
by their persecution. (1 Peter 1: 1-5) Peter noted: “The longsuffering of our Lord
(Jesus) is salvation;, even as our beloved brother Paul also
according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in
all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things
hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as
they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. “ (2 Peter 3: 15-16)
The significance
of Peter’s reference to Paul as “brother” should not be overlooked. Both were
members of the “Family” of our Lord Jesus. Peter was writing in the waning days
of his teaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. You might recall that some years
earlier, Peter and Paul were among those who agreed at the meeting of the
Jerusalem Council that Peter and the others from the Jerusalem Church would
continue their evangelism to the Nation of Israel, while Paul would continue
his message of the Gospel of Grace to the Gentiles. (Acts 15: 1-29; Galatians 2:
1-9) .
As
“Brothers”, Peter and Paul had different messages for those who would follow
Jesus…each message was for a different time in man’s history. But both were key to man’s progression as members
of the family of God through belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. As
believers, we also have confirmed our position in God’s Family.
Dr. W. A.
(Bill) Robinson
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