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The Family of God

My father was an orphan. He was adopted at a very young age and never knew he was adopted until he volunteered for the Navy in World War II. He survived the Great Depression, worked his way through college and medical school, served in the Pacific, raised four sons during the turbulent sixties, and died at the age of 82. Six months later, my mother passed away as well. I remember reading the Gospel of John several months after their deaths, and John 15:18 struck me like a bolt of lightening: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” I realized that this verse applied to me in a new way. I was now without earthly parents. In one sense, I was an “orphan.” But in another, I was not – Christ had promised a presence with His people that would negate the burden of being an orphan.

The Bible is rich in familial metaphors: Those who trust Christ are “children of God” (John 1:12) and “heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29). The Church is the “bride of Christ” (Revelation 21:2), and those who obey the Father are part of the family of Christ (Matthew 12:50). Of course, the reference to God as “Father” is a familial term that occurs from Genesis to Revelation. These are but a smattering of the many, many images, metaphors, and descriptions that present believers as the “family of God.”

We are brought into this family by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:3-6). Though the doctrine of adoption is rarely discussed in Christian circles, it may be even more powerful than the far-more-noteworthy doctrine of justification. In contemplating the richness of adoption in comparison with justification, J.I. Packer says, “To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is a greater” (Knowing God [1973], page 188). Justification is a judicial act, but adoption is an act of intimacy and love.

As we approach the feasts of Ascension and Pentecost, we are called to reflect on Jesus’ departure to the “right hand of the Father” and the subsequent giving of the Holy Spirit. It is good to know the backdrop of all of this: that our Lord does not “leave us as orphans.” Instead, His ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit take place to establish and empower the Family of God and its mission.

– Marc Robertson