The Family of Christ

Corporate Reading:

1 John 3:1-10

References:

Lk. 11:27-28

Phil. 2:12-13

Lk. 14:25-27

Mt. 10:34-39

Heidelberg Catechism 33:

Q. Why is he called God's only-begotten Son, since we also are children of God?

A. Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We, however, are children of God by adoption, through grace, for Christ's sake.

Fred Sanders - Deep Things of God: 

"The good news of salvation is that God… has become for us the adoptive Father, the incarnate son, and the outpoured Holy Spirit. God the Father sent the Son to do something for us and the Spirit to be something in us, to bring us into the family life of God."

French preacher Adoplhe Monod (1802-1856) on his deathbed:

"The relation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to man corresponds to a relationship in God between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the love which is poured out to save us is the expression of that love which has dwelt eternally in the bosom of God. Ah! The doctrine then becomes of us so touching and profound! There we find the basis of the Gospel, and those who reject it as a speculative and purely theological doctrine have therefore never understood the least thing about it; it is the strength of our hearts, it is the joy of our souls, it is the life of our life, it is the very foundation of revealed truth."