The Family

The spirit of Sonship

The Bible tells us that God is building a spiritual house, from spiritual stones, for the Father to live in (1 Peter 2:5). This house is built on the solid Rock of Revelation (Matthew 16:18). Therefore, before God builds He lays an unshakeable foundation on which His family can remain, and this is the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. Outside of this truth there’s no foundation.

Every living stone in the spiritual house (the temple) is separated, measured and cut according to the Chief Cornerstone - Jesus Christ. This is the necessary act of consecration - declaring each stone sacred for divine purposes.

The next stage in the building process concerns “family,” because every stone must mature and grow out of a joining. There needs to be a Father relation created. It’s only by being joined together in relationship with the Father that the living stones can be effectively and correctly placed, and then set, in His house. These multiplied family relationships, and the effectual joining together of each member, is what makes the spiritual house strong. But it doesn’t end there, God always builds from generation to generation.

The greatest demonstration of this “joining,” is the act of marriage. Two living stones become one living stone.

The Godhead reflects family, and family is evidenced and demonstrated effectively through the institution of marriage. It is the most powerful aspect of community life. Jesus Himself considers the church as His bride. And He expects the husband to treat his wife in exactly the same way (Ephesians 5).

But the family includes children, and when God sees the family, He sees future generations (3 generations minimum).

Psalm 127 verses 1 to 5 say, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves. Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”

Notice something, God's primary objective is to build with children. He makes provision for the future by adding descendants to His house. God is the “Father” from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named (Ephesians 3:15). In this Psalm, children are called “a heritage from the Lord.” This means that children belong to God! Parents, they are yours only in the sense that God has entrusted to you His most valuable asset.

When a couple enter into marriage, they make themselves available to love, serve, and sacrifice for the next generation. Caring for children is one of the principle ways that you can honour God and help build His kingdom. When God gives you this precious “heritage” He is in fact building.

He first builds the family, then the house (the church), and finally the city. Furthermore, He is building from generation to generation. By building the family unit, God establishes godly values and these values become part of each house. Only when that individual unit (instigated through marriage), starts to demonstrate godly values, can the church become strong and effect society as a whole.

Moses was faithful as a servant, but Christ was faithful as a Son over His own house (Hebrews 3:1-6). Here, we see a contrast between servanthood with sonship.

God cannot build with servants and slaves. He only builds His house with legitimate 'offspring' (sons and heirs). We are no longer slaves, but heirs - joint-heirs with Jesus Christ! This means that we all inherit one hundred percent of the blessings which Jesus secured. If we were equal heirs, then the inheritance would have to be divided equally (depending on the number of sons). However, our heavenly Father thought of that and decided to make us joint-heirs with His Son - with each of us now receiving all of the inheritance.

We are not slaves or servants anymore in the house of God, but adopted sons and daughters who have the legal right to inherit. However, the question we all need to ask ourselves is this, “Do I have a sonship mentality, or do I still have the mentality of a slave or a servant?” This will effect every relationship you have - with God, family and church.

Here are some guidelines to help you answer this question correctly:

[1] Sons build the house, but servants or slaves only serve in the house. Remember, as sons and heirs we are not employees in the house. So we must learn to rebuke that orphan mentality. A son will always take the initiative, yet a servant waits to receive his orders. Now, a son takes the initiative because of relationship - he has future generations in mind. The servant has an 'its only my job' mentality and therefore, will never initiate anything worthwhile.

[2] A son thinks of leaving an inheritance - a servant just works for a living!

[3] A servant sees himself as a worker in someone else's house, but a son sees himself as an heir. Therefore, a son has a sense of joint ownership. A son works to build something which will last - a servant works for his pay cheque. A son, if he sees something wrong in the house will stop and fix it - a servant will wait until he receives instructions.

The son reflects the 'spirit' which is in the house - the slave reflects his own spirit. The son speaks out oneness with the Master (“we, us or our”) - the servant's dialogue brings separation (“they, the owners, the bosses”).

[4] A servant sees the house as being detached from himself - the son sees the house in terms of family [with a sense of continuity]. The servant never thinks permanent - the son plans for the entire duration and beyond.

[5] Servants are 'issues' oriented - sons are family oriented. John 1:12, “....for He has given us the power to become sons.”

[6] The son defends and protects - the servant exposes faults. In Psalm 127 it says, “Like an arrow” and this means that the sons are the warriors, ready to defend the house from any attack. The true son is prepared to fight in order to protect and defend the family at all times. This means covering any frailties and imperfections. But servants wish to uncover failings and expose them to ridicule (e.g. Noah and his sons).

Chris Demetriou, 03/06/2007