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What Must I Do To Be Saved?

  

Church: The Household Of God

Mark T. Nevins

This is the second article in a series of articles on the church which came into existence on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. The New Testament uses various descriptive phrases to describe the Lord’s church and to emphasize a particular aspect of it. This study focuses on the description of a “household.” All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version unless otherwise specified.

When one thinks about a household, he may think of a house where the family lives and interacts with each other. In Acts 10:2 one reads about Cornelius and his house. Cornelius was, “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always”. Another example of a household is seen when we read about Noah’s preparation of the ark, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Heb. 11:7). There are other lessons found within these verses but for this article the focus is on the “household” which is seen to have individual family members interacting.

One sees the physical household within the New Testament, but what about any spiritual aspect that would pertain to the church? Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:15 and says, “but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” This passage shows the terms “house of God” and “church of the living God” used interchangeably. As one turns in the New Testament, Paul writes to the saints who are at Ephesus in Ephesians 2:19-20, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”. In the verses before these, Paul makes the argument that Jesus through the cross reconciled both Jews and Gentiles into one body and through Him all can have access to God, the Father. Therefore we are members of the “house of God,” which is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

In the physical household, you have those in authority (father, mother) and those that are subject to that authority (children). This same feature is true within God’s family, the church. God is the Father of the church. In Ephesians 3:14 Paul writes, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Again in Ephesians 4:6, “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”. Jesus in His ministry states in Matthew 23:9, “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven”. In Colossians 1:18 one reads that Christ is the head of the church, and in Hebrews 3:6 it says, “but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end”. In Ephesians 5:23 Paul writes that “Christ is the head of the church”. Those who are Christians, obedient to the gospel of Christ found in the New Testament are children of God, sons and heirs (Gal. 4:7). In Galatians 3:26 we read, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, being baptized puts one in fellowship with God and Jesus. One can conclude that all of God’s children are in God’s family, and God’s family is the church, therefore all of God’s children are in the church. (Roy E. Cogdill, The New Testament Church, p. 4).

This family relationship demands that there be a separation from the world. In 2 Corinthians 7:1 Paul writes, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” which is very applicable for us today. In 1 John 2:15-16, John warns one about the world: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world”. This relationship also demands obedience as children of God. Peter’s instructions in 1 Peter 1:14-16, “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

This relationship further demands that one love the brethren. John the beloved apostle writes in 1 John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God”. Again in 1 John 4:20-21, “If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” further demonstrates the interaction among Christians. One is to wear the name Christian.

In Acts 4:11-12 Peter states, “This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved". Paul instructs us in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”.

Questions for thought: (1) If the church is God’s family, how many churches does God have? (2) How do you become a child of God? and (3) Can a child of God be finally disinherited? (1 Peter 1:3-5).

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