One Family in Christ

[Thompson, Darryl]

One Family in Christ 

     For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Eph.
3:14, 15.  

     Through faith in Christ we become members of the royal family,
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. In Christ we are one.
As we come in sight of Calvary, and view the royal Sufferer who in man's
nature bore the curse of the law in his behalf, all national
distinctions, all sectarian differences, are obliterated; all honor of
rank, all pride of caste is lost. The light shining from the throne of
God upon the cross of Calvary forever puts an end to man-made
separations between class and race. Men of every class become members of
one family, children of the heavenly King, not through earthly power,
but through the love of God who gave Jesus to a life of poverty,
affliction, and humiliation, to a death of shame and agony, that He
might bring many sons and daughters unto glory.  

     It is not the position, not the finite wisdom, not the
qualifications, not the endowments of any person that makes him rank
high in the esteem of God. The intellect, the reason, the talents of
men, are the gifts of God to be employed to His glory, for the
upbuilding of His eternal kingdom. It is the spiritual and moral
character that is of value in the sight of Heaven, and that will survive
the grave. . . .  

     All who are found worthy to be counted as the members of the family
of God in heaven, will recognize one another as sons and daughters of
God. They will realize that they all receive their strength and pardon
from the same source, even from Jesus Christ who was crucified for their
sins. They know that they are to wash their robes of character in His
blood, to find acceptance with the Father in His name, if they would be
in the bright assembly of the saints, clothed in the white robes of
righteousness.  

     The family is named after the Father. Those who enter the heavenly
mansions will have the name of the Father and the name of the city of
God written in their foreheads. They will bear the divine superscription
and be partakers of the divine nature.  

>From That I May Know Him - Page 103