In Romans 12:3-8 Paul gave us instruction on getting started in the church. He used the metaphor of a body to illustrate the diversity of the members of a church, but also the need to have all members functioning in a healthy way in the body. This body is real, it is the body of Christ to which all born-again believers belong.

In Romans 12:9-13, Paul will use a new metaphor to explain how we are to relate to others in the church: the metaphor of a family. Since all born-again believers are part of God's family, this is a very helpful way to explain how we are to live in the church. We'll see that in this message.