you to look at what the Lord
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12. If you would turn there with
me, Matthew chapter 12 verse 46 through 50. I want to read these few verses
to you. While he yet talked to the people,
that is the Lord Jesus was talking to the people around him. Behold,
his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak with
him. Then one said unto him, Behold,
thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with
thee. But he answered and said unto
him that told him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand
toward his disciples and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren. Let me read that again. And he
stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold,
my mother and my brethren. Isn't that wonderful? For whosoever
shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same
is my brother and sister and mother. Well that was a real
blessing to me to think on this and to reflect upon it. Also
I thought about the tenderness and the love of God's people
and I thought about the family of God a great deal and so if
you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter
3 I want to talk to you a little bit about this family, this family
of God. And I trust this morning that
the Lord will meet with us and use His word to sanctify our
hearts and to build us up in the holy faith of the gospel.
I want to read beginning with verse 14 and read through the
first part of verse 17. For this cause, the apostle Paul
says, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would
grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith. Let us pray. Father, we thank
you this morning that once more that we're allowed to meet with
your precious people, those that love the Lord Jesus Christ, and
those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and those
who have the hope, that eternal, everlasting hope of the gospel
in their breast. Father, we do ask today that
you might be pleased to give us thy blessing and to strengthen
us, O Lord, to be able to set forth the Word in such a manner
as it would be, our Father, acceptable unto thee and edifying and profitable
to your people. And I just pray this morning
for those who have not looked to you and heard the gospel and
lived through believing the gospel. I pray for them that you will
undertake for them and you might be pleased to give them, Father,
an understanding this morning of life as it is to be had. through faith in the Lord Jesus.
And may they desire to be a member of this many-membered family
of God of which we're speaking this morning. And may the Spirit
of the Lord come and draw their hearts into right relationship
with you. Father, we do ask your blessing
upon all those who are in this congregation this morning, and
truly thou dost know all hearts, Truly, thou art acquainted with
our down settings and our uprisings. Even our thoughts are known afar
off to you. And Lord, we just ask that you
would meet the needs of these dear ones that have gathered
here today and that you would speak to them and strengthen
them and build them up in the holy faith of the gospel. And
Lord, those who could not be here today, we ask that you would
remember them And we ask that you'll strengthen them and keep
them, those that are traveling, Lord, give them journeying mercies,
and watch over them, and bring them back safely. And Lord, we
just pray for revival in all of our hearts, that we may truly
love our Lord Jesus Christ more and more, even unto that day
that is approaching, the day of the Lord. We ask it in Jesus'
name, for his sake, amen. So I want to speak to you for
a few minutes about the family of God, and I want to ask and
answer, if I can, three questions about this family. Number one,
what is this family? Number two, where is this family
now? And number three, what are the
future prospects of this family? And I invite your serious consideration
as I try to unfold these three things to you this morning. Now,
beloved, are happy indeed if we're members of this living
family which will never know an end to its gatherings. The
people of God gather often, and as they gather, we gather as
a church family. But happy indeed is that people
who know the Lord and who is in Christ and those people that
are truly members of the family of God. First of all, what is
this family which the Bible calls the whole family in heaven and
earth? Of whom does it consist? Well,
it consists of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. God's
family consists of all true believers in God's Son the Lord Jesus Christ. It consists of all who have the
indwelling Spirit of God. All of those who have been made
partakers of the divine nature of God. The Holy Spirit coming
in to the heart and taking up dwelling in the heart. If any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, we're told in Romans 8 and 9,
he is none of his. And so all of these members of
this many-membered family of God, they have the Holy Spirit. They have God's very Spirit and
nature dwelling in them. This family is made up of all
the elect of God of every age. We believe that God has a people,
that He set His love and affection upon that people from before
the foundation of the world. And that those people in time,
as they're called out and regenerated by the Spirit of God, they're
put into God's family and they belong to Him. It is spoken of
in the Bible as being the household of faith. And it's spoken of
as being the body, the very body of Christ. And also it's spoken
of as being the bride, the living temple, the sheep that never
perish, the church of the firstborn. All these expressions are only
the family of God. under other names. Notice membership
in the family does not depend upon any earthly connection. It comes not by natural birth,
but by spiritual birth, a birth in and of the Spirit of God from
heaven to be a member of this family. The Bible says in John
3 and 27, a man can receive nothing except to be given to him from
heaven. So a preacher cannot impart this
to their hearers. Those who preach the gospel,
we'd love to be able to impart to them membership in the true
family of God, but we cannot do so. Parents cannot give this
membership to their children as much as they might like to
do so. You can be born into the godliest
family in the land and enjoy the means of grace of the soundest
church in the world and yet not belong to the family of God. To belong to the family of God,
you must be born again. The Lord Jesus said in John 3,
ye must be born again. It's imperative that you be born
from heaven, that you be born into the family of God. To belong
to it, then you must be born again. None but the Holy Spirit
can make you living members of His living family. Because all
the members of this family are alive in the Lord. They have
the Spirit of God in them and they're alive. They are truly
alive. To live is for one to be filled
with the spirit of life, and that spirit of life comes as
an individual is born from above. They that are born again are
born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but the Bible says they're born of God. of his own
will begat he us with the word of truth. We're born of God,
John 1 and 13. Why are they called a family?
Why are these people called a family? Well, true believers are called
a family because they all have one father. Now the text tells
us that clearly here in verse 14. For this cause, Paul said,
I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of
whom the whole family and heaven and earth is named. He is our
heavenly Father He is our spiritual father. The Bible says that we're
all the children of God by faith in God's Son, Christ Jesus. And they're all born of one spirit.
They're all born of one spirit and added to one body. They're all the sons and daughters
of the Lord God Almighty. God said, I'll be your God and
you shall be my sons and daughters. They have received the spirit
of adoption whereby they cry, Abba! Abba, Father, Our Father. The words Our Father which art
in heaven are not just mere words in the mouths of true believers. We have been begotten surely
of God and belong to Him as children. No wonder they are called God's
family. Now notice next that true believers
are called a family because they're united by one name. By one name. Just as a common family name
is the uniting link to every member of a family on earth,
so does the name of our head and elder brother, even Jesus
Christ the Lord, tie all believers together in one vast family. As living members of Christ,
they are all with one heart and mind. They rejoice in one Savior. Not a heart among the members
of this family, but feels drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ as the
only object of hope. Not a tongue among them, but
would tell you, if they were asked, and many times even if
they're not asked, they'll tell you that Christ is all to them. Sweet and precious to them, all
is His doing and dying, His intercession work, and His coming again. In fact, you might as well take
away a believer's breath as take away the name, the person, and
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the world there may seem little
in His name, but to a child of grace His name means comfort,
hope, joy, and rest, and peace. No wonder that this family is
called the family of God. They're connected by this one
name, even the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now true believers,
true Christians, are called a family because I think there's a strong
family likeness. Well, they're all led by the
same Spirit. The Bible says that if we be
led of the Spirit, then we're the children of God. So we're
all led by the same Spirit, are marked by the same general features
of life, heart, and taste, and character. Just as there is a
resemblance between brothers and sisters of a family, so there
is a general spiritual resemblance among all the sons and the daughters
in the family of God. They all hate sin. They all love
God and they all rest their hope on Jesus Christ and have no confidence
in themselves. Paul said in Philippians 3.3,
he said we are the true circumcision which worship God in the spirit
and have no confidence in the flesh and these all have no confidence
in themselves. They all endeavor to come out
and be separate from the ways of the world and to set their
affection on things above. Colossians 3 and verse 2. They
all turn naturally to the same Bible as the only food for their
souls and the only guide for their feet. They all go to the
same throne of grace in prayer. They find it as needful to speak
to God as it is for them to breathe. They all have two natures. They
all have inward conflicts. These have the flesh that lusteth
against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, so that they
cannot do the things that they would, Galatians 5 and 17. They
are a family indeed. They have all of these characteristics
that are similar, spiritual resemblance. And this family likeness among
true believers is the thing that I think deserves very special
attention. To me it is one of the strongest
indirect evidences of the truth of Christianity. It is one of
the greatest proofs of the reality of the work of the Holy Spirit. Some of God's true people live
in so-called civilized countries, and some live in heathen lands. Some are highly educated, and
some are unable to read a word. Some are rich, and some are poor.
Some are in the church, some are out. And yet, notwithstanding
all of this, there is a marvelous oneness of heart and character
among the Lord's people, their joys and their sorrows, their
love and their hatred, their likes and their dislikes. Their
taste and their distaste, their hopes and their fears are almost
curiously alike. I wonder why. Let others think
what they please. I see in all this the very finger
of God. His handiwork is always one and
the same. No wonder the body of Christ
is compared to a family. It is a touch of grace, remember
that, and not nature that makes all the elect kin, spiritual
kin. God's people are in the highest
sense of family, and we're grateful to be a part of that family and
have that work going on in us. that makes us to resemble the
people of God in whatever age they live. Well, that's the family. Now, second, I was to ask and
answer this question, where is this family now? Well, our text
gives us the answer. Some are in heaven, some on earth,
yet one family. Look at what it says, of whom
the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Now, for the present, the two
parts of this family are entirely separated from one another, but
they form one family in the sight of God, though resident in two
places, and their union is sure to take place one day. in heaven
and in earth now, but one day there's going to be a union of
that part that lives in earth with that part in heaven. Two
places and two only contain the family of God. There's no third
place, there's no purgatory, there's no house of purifying
or probation for those who are not true believers when they
die. There are but two parts of the family, the part that
is seen and the part that is unseen. The part that is in heaven
and the part that's still here on earth. Those not in heaven
are on earth. Two parts, two places only. So some of God's people are or
have been gathered safe home to heaven already. They are at
rest. They have finished their course.
They have fought their battles. They have fought the good fight
of faith. They have done their appointed
work. They have served the will of
God in their day. They have carried their crosses. They have passed through this
troublesome world and reached heaven. and home. They're already
gone on. Little as we know about them,
we know that they're happy because the book of Revelation says,
blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Happy are the dead
who die in the Lord. They're no longer troubled by
sin and temptation. They have said goodbye forever
to trying to make ends meet, to worry to pain, to sickness
and sorrow, to disappointment and tears. They're with Christ
who loved them and gave himself for them. There are three things
that these blessed souls await. They're in heaven, but they're
awaiting the second advent of Christ. When Christ comes back
from glory. You remember Paul talked about
this? And he talked about how that when He returns, the Lord
Jesus, those that have fallen asleep in Him, He'll bring with
Him. And so they're waiting that time
when they will come back to this earth in that glorious advent
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then also the resurrection
of their bodies, of their own bodies from the grave. They await
that time when their bodies will be brought up out of the grave,
and they'll be likened to the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they'll have that body, and
in that body live for all eternity. The resurrection of their own
bodies. Marvel not at this, the hour
is coming when all that are in the graves will hear His voice.
And they will come forth, some to the resurrection of life,
and others to the resurrection of damnation. But there's coming
a resurrection, and we're going to have a body, a new body. And it's not going to be like
this vile body, it will be a body likened to the body of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now the gathering together of
all saints, all believers, they're awaiting that. The time when
the rest of the many-membered family of God will all meet by
the river of life. All of us meeting around the
throne of God. Those in heaven and those on
earth have been finally united. They're awaiting that. And these
three things, beloved, are sure to come to pass. They're sure
to come to pass. I say they're sure to come to
pass. You say, well, preacher, why would you emphasize that
these three things are sure to come to pass. Because I desperately
need the assurance that these three things are going to come
to pass. And in reflecting upon these
things this past week, you know, and when you come down to that
place where that anytime As Old Brother Dahlman over here says,
when you pass 65, you're up for grabs, you know. And so, it can
happen, it can occur any time you believe in this world. And
these three things are sure to come to pass, and it's comforting
to know that they will most surely come to pass. Well, some of God's
family are still here upon earth. They're not all in heaven, you
know. There's some of us that are still here upon earth. Let
me give a word for them. They're scattered to and fro
in the midst of a crooked and perverse and wicked world, a
few here and a few there. Is that right? Here we are this
morning, a few of us here. All are running a race, doing
a work. warring a warfare, carrying a
cross. striving against sin, resisting
the devil, crucifying the flesh, struggling against the world,
witnessing as we can for our Redeemer, mourning over our own
hearts, our coldness of our own hearts, hearing and reading and
trying to pray and seek the face of our God according to the measure
of the grace of God that is in us. But however divided God's
family may be at present, in place, and habitation, it is
still one family. Note next, both parts of the
family love the same Savior, delight in the same perfect will
of God. Both parts of the family. The
part that's in heaven already, and the part that's still on
earth. The part on earth that loves Affection. Is that a good word
that describes your love for God? And infirmity and lives
by faith and not by sight. We do live by faith and not by
sight. The part in heaven loves without
weakness or doubt or distraction. Wouldn't that be wonderful? And
when you get to heaven you can love God without distraction.
Nothing will move your love away from Him that deserves all of
our love. It walks by sight and not by
faith, those in heaven. It sees what it once believed. Do you think there'll ever come
a day when you'll see what you now believe? It will happen. The day will come when you'll
see what you once believed. We on earth are weary pilgrims. in this world, desiring a better
country, desiring that home that our God will build. He's the
author and the finisher of our faith, and he is building mansions
over there for his people. But we're weary pilgrims. They
enjoy perpetual rest. That's right. They enjoy perpetual
rest. They have begun what we would
call an eternal holiday. They are called the spirits of
just men made perfect, Hebrews 12 and 23. Both parts of God's
family are alike in that they are soldiers of the cross. The
soldiers on earth are yet militant. Their fight is not over. They
need every day to put on the whole armor of God. The soldiers
in heaven are all triumphant and no enemy can get to them
now. No enemy can get to them now.
No fiery dark can reach them. Helmet and shield, they've laid
that aside. They don't need that anymore.
They have sit down. They need not watch and stand
on their guard any longer. Last under this head, but not
the least, I want to say again that both parts of this family
are alike safe and secure. They're safe and they're secure.
Christ cares as much for His members on earth as His members
in heaven. Do you believe that? He does. The Lord Jesus Christ exercises
as much tenderness and care and kindness and loving compassion
toward those that are on earth as he does lavish on those that
are in heaven. You might as well try to pluck
a star out of God's heaven as to pluck the feeblest, the weakest
family member out of his hand. The weakest, I say, and the feeblest
of God's family are secure in His hand right here in this world. Now that's comforting for me
to know. Both parts of the family are secured by an everlasting
covenant whom David said was ordered in all things and is
sure. There's that word, sure, again.
I was blessed this week by reading Isaiah 53 and the verse that
says, Surely, surely He hath borne our iniquities and carried
our grief. Surely, surely the Lord has done
that. Certainly He's done it. And so
we're secured by the everlasting covenant of grace, ordered in
all things, and sure, sure, let that word let that word sink
in. That's in 2 Samuel 23 and verse
5. Now the members on earth through
the burden of the flesh and the dimness of their faith may neither
see or know nor feel their safety. You may, as you're here in this
world this morning, you may not see, feel your safety. And you may not have assurance
of it. You may say, well, You know, I was just reading yesterday
in the Great Falls Tribune from the religious page some things
about Mother Teresa and some of the things she had to say
about feeling so alone in the world. And it's not unlike the
people of God at times to feel that they're very insecure and
to feel that they, now I'm not making a judgment, I'm not passing
a judgment as to whether she was or was not in the family
of God. I'm not passing judgment one
way or the other. I'm just simply saying that it
is not An uncommon thing for somebody to feel insecure, feel
forsaken, and to feel that they're not secure in the Lord. They don't have the basis or
foundation for assurance. The foundation for assurance
is the Word of God. It's what God has said to us.
We believe His Word. The foundation for assurance
is the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and His laying down His
life on our behalf. His suffering in our room instead
in place. Foundation of our assurance is
that God has imparted saving faith to our hearts and that
we've been enabled to lay hold on Christ and we truly know that
we're in Him. But many times, that part of
the family of God on earth, we often feel that we're unsafe
and that we're really not as secure as what we might later. But they are safe, whether they
know it or not. The whole family is kept, the
Bible says in Peter, by the power of God through faith unto salvation. They're kept. They're kept. I
like what one old man said. He was nearing the grave and
his family asked him, said, what would you like to have on your
tombstone as an epitaph? And he said, write the word kept. Kept. Because all of God's people
are kept. They are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation. Not one shall be missing at the
last day. All the members of this family
that are yet on earth, the Lord's not going to leave any of them
here. He's going to get every one of them and take them home
to glory. More happy, the poet said, but
not more secure than glorified spirits in heaven. Now the greater
part of the family of God is already safe at home in heaven.
I believe that. The greater part of the family
of God is already safe in the fold, already at home in heaven. We just see a little part of
the family left here in this world. Now then, What are the
future prospects of this family? The family of God. And we'll
hurry on to a conclusion. The future prospects of a family,
we think about that a little bit. Think about the future prospects
of your family. What great perplexing uncertainties
that these words open up when we look at any family now in
this world. Who can tell out the things coming
on any of our families. Do you know anything about tomorrow?
The Bible says that we know not what shall be on tomorrow. We
know nothing. What is your life? It's even
as a vapor. It appears a little time and then it just vanishes
away. And we ought to say if the Lord wills, we'll live and
do this or that. And we don't know what's going
to take place in our families, in any of our families. Things
can change so drastically in just a moment's time. Somebody
said that the most constant thing in this life is change. The most constant thing in this
life. You're looking for something
that don't change? Well, this principle is it. That
things will change. The most constant thing is that
things are constantly changing. Now then, what a mercy that we
do not know the sorrows and the trials and the separations through
which our beloved children may have to pass when we've gone
on and left this world. We don't know, any of us, about
what our families are going to have to go through. We must look
to God to preserve the institution of the family. We must look to
God to preserve it, because certainly the legislatures of this nation
and the leaders of our country will not. Thank God they haven't
been given the responsibility to preserve the institution of
the home and the family, but thank God that it's in His hands. What will become of your boys
and your girls? It seems that every one of us
live next door to Sodom and Gomorrah. Somebody said sometime back that
Montana may be the last best place on earth, but it's still
a long ways from heaven, brother, sister, a long ways from heaven. What are the future prospects
of your family? So you meditate on that and you
think about it a little bit. Well, whatever the prospects
of our individual families are, there's one family, the one I'm
talking to you about this morning, the prospects of that family
are not uncertain to any degree. Do you hear that? They're not
uncertain to any degree. They're good. They're only good. Happy. Only happy. Only happy. We have already told
you of all members of that family are safe and shall be brought
home at last. The members of God's family shall
all have glorious bodies. One day the dead shall be raised,
the living changed, no longer vile, weak, a dying body such
as we have now, a body like his, we told you a little earlier,
without the slightest liability to sickness and pain, not the
slightest. The former things have all passed
away. The Word fulfilled, I make all
things new, Revelation 21 and 5. Jesus said, I make all things
new. Do you have that glorious prospect
in mind that God one of these days is going to make all things
new? Well, the Word of God says He will. There'll be no more
separations. There'll be no more separations. Dare not drill on that very long.
The earthly parting of God's family are only for a few days.
Their meeting there is for eternity. We'll be united in mind and judgment
on that day. Well, not now, but then. No more
disagreements like we have now. Now we know in part. Then we
shall know even as we're known. Our destination is one of perfection,
literally perfect. in holiness. I wanted to tell
you that. Our state then will be as our
position is now. Our position in Christ is one
of acceptance and completeness and perfection in Christ. But
then our our state will be as our position is now, without
spot or wrinkle or blemish. You remember what it says in
Jude? In verse 24, He will present us faultless before His presence
with ecstatic joy. We shall be eternally provided
for in that day. When the affairs of this sinful
world are finally wound up and settled, There shall be an everlasting
portion for all the sons and daughters of God. The smallest
vessel of grace, as well as the greatest, shall be filled with
what? Glory. Glory. by and by. We will all be satisfied, David
said. We'll all be satisfied. You say,
is there coming a day when I'm going to be satisfied? Coming
a day when you're going to be satisfied. David said, when we
awaken his likeness, we'll be satisfied. The prospects of God's
family are great realities. Do you belong to the family of
God? That's the question I think that
I'd like to leave with you. Do you belong to the family of
God? This family we've been talking
about. You ask yourself that question every time your family
meets together around the table or around the fireside or otherwise. Ask yourself the question, are
we members of God's family? Am I a member of God's family?
Now I know some things about your families, and you know some
things about mine. Many things we do not know, many
things we do not need to know about each other's family. But
the things that I've told you today about God's family, you
need to know. Let us live worthy of the family
to which we belong. Let us do nothing that may cause
our Father's house to be spoken against. Let us behave as if
the honor of the family depended upon our behavior. So living
by the grace of God that we shall recommend our Father's family
to others and perhaps, by God's blessing, incline them to say,
we will go with you. May the Lord be pleased this
morning to add His blessing. I wanted to say these things. I felt like that they was things
that just needed to be said in order that my reflections, that
I might be able to get them out to you. and that you would be
able to think with me, truly our family is the family of God. There's a verse in Thessalonians,
and if you'll just bear with me a minute, I'd like to read
just a few verses here out of 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, and
listen to the words of Paul. He said, but we brethren, verse
17, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not
in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with
great desire. Wherefore, we would have come
unto you, even I, Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered
us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are Our glory
and joy. These verses, I think, would convey to you
my thoughts toward you as a people of God, members of the family,
same family. Ye are our glory and joy. May the Lord bless this church
and encourage You, as you go on, waiting that time when the
part on earth of the family will be collected and gathered, home
to glory. Let's pray. Father, thank you
for this time this morning, and though we're weary in body, yet
we're refreshed in spirit and in soul, and we rejoice that
we've been privileged this morning to come and to be here and to
have a part in relating to those who have been brought out this
morning, the truth of your word. And we pray that if there be
one here who has faced the question, am I a member of the family of
God? And they have to say with judgment day honesty, no, I'm
not. Lord, I pray that they might
look to Christ today and that they might believe on Him by
the enablement of the Holy Spirit and be anointed with saving faith
and brought in to that relationship with Christ that would enable
them to say of a surety, I am a member of Christ's body and
I am one of the sheep that will never perish. I am the Lord's
child and He is my Heavenly Father and I am a member of His family. Father, save sinners as you would
see fit. Encourage the believers. We ask
in Jesus' name. Amen.