Family Is A Divine Purpose

In Acts chapter sixteen, Paul told the
Philippian jailer: "Believe on the Lord
Jesus and you will be saved, and your
household." His household? There would
be his wife, adult sons and their wives,
daughters, servants, slaves, and possibly
grandparents. Could his faith save their
souls? We may as well ask if a father's
cup of coffee could satisfy his family!
The household could be saved, but each
one must believe on the Lord Jesus. No-
body can be saved secondhand through his
father or mother. God has no grand-
children. But this phrase, "you and
you household," did mean something.
It was no throwaway line. Behind it lay
paul's understanding of the purposes of
God spelled out in the Scriptures. He
knew that in Scripture, 'family' has a
divine purpose. It is mentioned over
three hundred times in Scripture, and
is what the whole world is all about.
Paul had much to say about 'the house-
hold' in his letters.