
Jesus referred to family in a couple of ways outside of His birth family. The fellowship of believers is often referred to as brothers and sisters in Christ. Now qualify that with doing God’s will. The security of your salvation is well established in Scripture, so that the qualification of doing God’s will deals more specifically with how Christ works in your life according to your walk with Him. While growing up you experienced differing privileges in your birth family according to your maturity, obedience, and discipline. In the same way children of God experience God in varying degrees according to their walk with Christ. As Jesus looked out into the crowds to whom He was teaching, He saw many followers who did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and put their desires and lives ahead of serving Him. It was not these followers Jesus was referring to, but the followers who hungered and thirsted for Him and His truth that He spoke of as family. John 6:35 gives further description to those He affectionately declared as family: "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
Jesus labeling His followers by using words depicting the intimacy of mothers, sisters, and brothers powerfully illustrated the importance of living in God’s will. Doing God’s will is more than obeying, though this is a clear manifestation; it is being connected with God in Spirit, mind, heart, and soul. It is not a casual relationship, but an all-consuming relationship. This type of relationship with God bestows great favor, power, and blessing on the believer. Knowing this should motivate every believer to pursue Jesus in total Lordship while placing the highest priority on living at the center of God’s will.
John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
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Here are some Bible studies from Growing in Christ to help your transformative experience: “Discipleship” and “Transformation – Part 1.”