Família de Deus: o que é e como fazemos parte dela
A família de Deus é a comunidade de todas as pessoas reconciliadas com o Pai pela fé em Jesus Cristo. Essa ligação não depende de sangue, linhagem biológica ou instituição terrena: quem crê é adotado como filho de Deus e se torna, espiritualmente, irmão de outros crentes.
Filhos por adoção: como se entra na família de Deus
No mundo greco-romano do primeiro século, a adoção legal concedia ao filho adotado exatamente os mesmos direitos, nome e herança de um descendente biológico. O Novo Testamento utiliza essa mesma figura jurídica para explicar a conversão: quem confia em Cristo deixa a condição de estranho e passa a ter acesso direto ao Pai, tornando-se co-herdeiro com o Filho.
But to all those who accepted him and trusted in him, he gave the right to become God’s children. These are the children born not in the usual way, not as the result of human desire or a father’s decision, but born of God.(John 1:12,13)
He decided in advance to adopt us as his children, working through Jesus Christ to bring us to himself. He was happy to do this because this is what he wanted. So we praise him for his glorious grace that he so kindly gave us in his beloved Son.(Ephesians 1:5,6)
You were not given a spirit to enslave and terrify you once more. No, what you received was the spirit that makes you children in God’s family. Now we can shout out, "God is our Father!" The Spirit himself agrees with us that we’re God’s children. If we’re his children, then we’re his heirs. We are heirs of God, and heirs together with Christ. But if we want to share in his glory we must share in his sufferings.(Romans 8:15-17)
But at the appropriate time God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the rule of law, so that he could rescue those who were kept under the rule of law, so that we could receive the inheritance of adopted children.
To show you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son to convince us, causing us to call out, "Abba," meaning "Father." Since you are now no longer a slave, but a child, and if you are his child, then God has made you his heir.(Galatians 4:4-7)
For you are all God’s children through your trust in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There’s no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—you are all one in Christ Jesus.(Galatians 3:26-28)
This is why I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its nature and character,(Ephesians 3:14,15)
O que Jesus ensinou sobre os laços espirituais
Em seu ministério terreno, Jesus redefiniu as prioridades de lealdade e parentesco. Quando avisado de que sua mãe e seus irmãos de sangue o procuravam do lado de fora, ele apontou para os discípulos ao redor, ensinando que o vínculo gerado pela obediência à vontade de Deus supera as fronteiras familiares terrenas.
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" he responded. Looking around at all those sitting there in a circle, he said, "Here is my mother! Here are my brothers! Whoever does what God wants, they are my brother, and sister, and mother."(Mark 3:33-35)
A slave doesn’t have a permanent place in the family, but the son is part of the family forever.(John 8:35)
Jesus replied, "If God really was your father, you would love me. I came from God and now I am here. The decision to come wasn’t mine, but the one who sent me.(John 8:42)
Look at the amazing kind of love the Father has for us! This is why we can be called God’s children—for that’s who we are! The reason why the people of this world don’t recognize us as God’s children is because they don’t recognize him. My friends, we are already God’s children; however what we shall become hasn’t been revealed just yet. But we do know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.(1 John 3:1,2)
Como a família de Deus vive em comunhão
Ser da família de Deus não é uma ideia abstrata; ganha forma no convívio concreto da igreja local. Por isso, as cartas apostólicas tratam os irmãos de fé com vocabulário doméstico: membros de um mesmo corpo, pedras do mesmo edifício e participantes do mesmo cuidado mútuo, tanto na celebração quanto na dor e na disciplina paternal de Deus.
That means you’re no longer strangers and foreigners; you are fellow citizens of God’s people and belong to God’s family that’s being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together, growing to form a holy temple for the Lord. You too are being built together in him as a place for God to live by the Spirit.(Ephesians 2:19-22)
so we are one body in Christ, even though we are many—and we all belong to one another.(Romans 12:5)
So when one part is suffering, all the other parts of the body suffer with it, and when one part is treated well, then all the other parts of the body are happy too!(1 Corinthians 12:26)
Don’t rebuke a man who is older than you. Instead, encourage him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with the highest standards of decency.(1 Timothy 5:1,2)
So while we have time, let’s do good to everyone—especially to those who belong to the family of faith.(Galatians 6:10)
We should not give up meeting together, as some have done. In fact we should be encouraging one another, especially as you see the End approaching.(Hebrews 10:25)
Be patient as you experience God’s discipline because he is treating you as his children. What child doesn’t experience a father’s discipline? If you are not disciplined (which everyone has experienced), then you are illegitimate and not true children. For if we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we even more be subject to the discipline of our spiritual Father which leads to life? They disciplined us for a short while as they thought appropriate, but God does so for our benefit in order that we can share his holy character.(Hebrews 12:7-10)
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