It has been said that God did not need a family, he wanted one. The creation of Adam and Eve began the theme of household that can be traced from Genesis to Revelation. Throughout the generations God preserved for himself a people, a collective of believing households, who would be called the family of God. The Bible contains many terms used to describe God’s family. They are his children, flock, treasure, bride, temple, and the household of God.

The church is the household of God. It is a spiritual family made up corporately of all believers, and locally represented by individual congregations. This collective household is called to live in the world in a distinguishing manner, bearing witness to and guarding the truth.

As believers living comfortably in an individualistic society we would do well to heed the reminder from Paul that God’s family deserves priority in our busy lives. Confession, this can be quite challenging for a number of reasons. Church is lonely at times, full of broken people, and struggles to satisfy our desire for belonging. Even so, the church is the sole proprietor of the hope that humanity craves. Jesus has overcome the world and all that is wrong with it. He has adopted us as sons and daughters. We are welcomed into an eternal household that worships the God who is, was, and will forever be.