Instituted by God
Genesis 2:23 - 24, ASV
And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Purpose of Family
Malachi 2:14 - 15, TLB
"Why has God abandoned us?" you cry. I’ll tell you why; it is because the Lord has seen your treachery in divorcing your wives who have been faithful to you through the years, the companions you promised to care for and keep.
You were united to your wife by the Lord. In God’s wise plan, when you married, the two of you became one person in his sight. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. Therefore, guard your passions! Keep faith with the wife of your youth.
Families Separated After Flood
Genesis 10:1, 5, 32, KJV
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood . . . By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations . . .
These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
God Must Be Placed First
Matthew 10:37, NIV
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me [Jesus Christ] is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
Matthew 12:50, NKJV
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My [Jesus'] brother and sister and mother."
Who Is In Charge?
1 Corinthians 11:3, HCSB
But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God [the Father] is the head of Christ.
Ephesians 5:22 - 24, HBFV
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord; For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
For even as the church is subject to Christ, in the same way also let wives be subject to their own husbands in everything.
Mutual Respect and Love
Ephesians 5:25, 28, HBFV
Husbands, love your own wives, in the same way that Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it . . . In the same way, husbands are dutybound to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself;
Ephesians 6:1 - 4, NLT
Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. "Honor your father and mother." This is the first commandment with a promise:
If you honor your father and mother, "things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth." Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
Colossians 3:18 - 21, NKJV
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Parental Responsibilities
Proverbs 13:24, 19:18, 22:6, TEV
If you don't punish your children, you don't love them. If you do love them, you will correct them.
Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don't, you are helping them destroy themselves.
Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life.
Family Obedience Required
Zechariah 14:16 - 19, NASB
Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths [Feast of Tabernacles]. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the Lord smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths [Feast of Tabernacles]. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths [Feast of Tabernacles].
The Family of God
Genesis 1:27, HBFV
And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.
Romans 8:29, NCV
God knew them before he made the world, and he decided that they would be like his Son so that Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers.
Psalm 82:6, John 10:33 - 35, NKJV
I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High."
The Jews answered Him [Jesus], saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"' [quoting Psalm 82:6]?
Acts 17:27 - 29, CEV
[Apostle Paul speaking to those in Athens] God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. "We are his children," just as some of your poets have said. Since we are God's children . . .
1John 3:1, HBFV
Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God!
Ephesians 3:14 - 15, KJV
For this cause I [Apostle Paul] bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.