While we considered these verses yesterday, I think there is one more principle we see here that is worthy of consideration. Paul begins by addressing the members of the church as “brothers” (or, as the CSB credibly expands it, “brothers and sisters”) (v. 1; see also v. 9). He later talks of how he ministered among them “like a nursing mother” (v. 7) and still later talks about how he related to them “like a father with his children” (v. 11). The family imagery is deliberate and unmistakable.
In writing of the body as a family, Paul recognised the church as the fulfilment of Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:29: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” The church becomes a family to those who lose their family through allegiance to Christ.
Some believers have no meaningful family life and so the concept of the church as family may not strike them as all that significant. But researchers have long recognised the benefit of healthy family life, and what is true of biological family is equally true of spiritual family. A recent article listed several benefits of healthy family dynamics, which can basically be sorted into four broad categories. Each of these categories is as true of a church family as of blood kin.
First, family offers an important sense of identity. It has long been acknowledged that humans have a deep desire to belong. Family provides that sense of belonging. Similarly, a healthy church family provides a sense of spiritual belonging. This is perhaps most crucial for those who otherwise don’t fit in. For example, in the Old Testament (as, to be honest, in many contemporary churches), those who never married were almost considered outcasts. They did not fit neatly into societal norms and therefore often struggled for a sense of belonging.
This struggle was as true for Jewish singles as for Gentile singles. But God had a wonderful promise for those who never married and yet were faithful to him: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56:4–5). Eunuchs would never marry and would never produce a family of their own. But God had an important word for faithful eunuchs: “I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” They would not be excluded from the community of the faithful. They were given a promise of eternal belonging. This should be realised in the church.
Second, family provides basic needs. Family is tasked, by God, with meeting the basic needs of family members who cannot provide for themselves. This is why Paul said that widows should first find support with family before burdening the church, “for this is pleasing in the sight of God” (1 Timothy 5:3–4, 16). Similarly, the church should meet the basic spiritual needs of its members. No member of a healthy church should find him- or herself suffering for basic spiritual needs that the church does not seek to provide.
Third, family offers a built-in support system. Family provides a place to share joys and sorrows, and to find a shoulder to cry on. Similarly, in a healthy church, we bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). A healthy church family weeps with those who weep and rejoices with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). God has given the church to be the family in which support is provided for those who need support.
Fourth, family provides certain health benefits. In a good family, children are fed a balanced diet, encouraged to exercise and play outdoors, and receive prompt medical attention when it is necessary. A healthy church family provides similar benefits for its members. Through the regular and ordinary means of grace, it provides spiritual nourishment. It encourages the exercise of spiritual disciplines. It offers spiritual medical attention when sin threatens the member’s wellbeing.
As you meditate (again) on 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12 this morning, thank God for a church family that provides these (and other) benefits. Commit to being a healthy member that not only receives, but also provides, these benefits to those in need.
