The Heavenly Family

Have you ever wondered why people call each other brother and sister in church? In the physical sense, they cannot all possibly be related. However, spiritually speaking they can be.  The Bible teaches us that just as a family on the earth consists of a dad, a mom, and children the heavenly family also consists of God our Father, God our Mother, and their heavenly children.

Although we are unable to see what is in heaven, we can prove that the heavenly family exists because God teaches us that what is on this earth is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.

Hebrews 8:5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.

God instructed Moses to build the earthly sanctuary as a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. He did this to demonstrate that we can see the invisible things of heaven through the visible things on the earth. For instance, if we see a picture of a family come out of a copy machine, it is because the original picture is in the machine. It is the same for the earthly family. It exists as a shadow and copy on earth because the original or reality of it exists in heaven as the heavenly family.

Heavenly Family Members

So far, we have understood that the earthly family exists because it is a shadow of the heavenly family. Next, let us verify the members of the heavenly family. Let us begin by confirming that the reason we have physical fathers on the earth is because we have God our Father in heaven.

Hebrews 12:9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!

In the above verse, human fathers refer to physical fathers on the earth and the father of our spirit refers to God our Father in heaven. Just as our physical fathers discipline us so our lives on earth may go well, God our Father disciplines us further so that we may have everlasting life. In addition, we can see Jesus’ teachings in regard to this.

Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Jesus taught us how to pray in this way to show us that there is the Father of our spirits in heaven. Then can any man be called a father? Everyone knows that if a man is given the title father it is because he has children. Therefore, God who is our Father in heaven has his children who are part of the heavenly family.

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

The Bible teaches us that we are the sons and daughters of God. In the family that is in heaven, there exists our spiritual Father and the spiritual brothers and sisters. Finally, there is one key element left for us to confirm. For children to exist there must also exist their mothers. Although a man can be extremely talented and capable of doing many things, the one thing he could never do is give birth! As there are mothers in the earthly family who are the life-givers there must also be God our Mother in the heavenly family who is the life-giver of our soul.

Galatians 4:6 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

The Jerusalem who is above refers to our Spiritual Mother. The children of God who are to be saved recognize her as the Mother of their soul and the Mother of the heavenly family. If people deny her existence they do not believe in the Bible and cannot receive salvation. As a child cannot have life without a mother, we cannot receive eternal life without believing in God our Mother. Only those who accept the existence of God the Father and God the Mother can be the members of the heavenly family.

Family Members Are Bound by Blood

Now that we have understood that the heavenly family members exist as the reality of the earthly family, how can we confirm we are the children of God? A physical family is tied by blood. They share the same DNA. Then, since the earthly family is a copy and shadow of the heavenly one, the children of God must have the same spiritual DNA as God the Father and God the Mother.

Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Jesus took the cup of the Passover wine and called it his blood. This means that the way we can have God’s DNA is through the Passover wine. When we celebrate the Passover, we inherit the blood of God our Father and Mother. This truth is the most precious thing of all! God is eternal and by inheriting their blood we become the heavenly children who receive eternal life and inherit the Kingdom of heaven. To understand the magnitude of this let us imagine we are the sons and daughters of a king and queen on this earth. As royalty, everything that is our parents becomes ours. Then, how much more blessed is it to be the children of the King and Queen of the universe? As the children of the heavenly family, we are the heirs of God that will inherit the eternal Kingdom of heaven! This is an unimaginable honor for us! As the prince and princess of heaven, we will inherit all that is God’s and will also undergo sufferings and challenges in our life of faith.

Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Although we may experience difficulties and hardships in our lives here on the earth, they will not compare with the glory we will share as the children who inherit the heavenly Kingdom. We are the members of the heavenly family! We are the children of God the Father and Mother! Impressing this on our hearts we can overcome all things looking forward to the glorious Kingdom of heaven!