In the Bible verses about family that we find throughout the Scripture, the family is often seen together as one unit in blessing, responsibility, and punishment.
Though there are not a lot of quotes that speak of the entire immediate family in one passage, there are some, and they provide quite a bit of insight.
We have done our best to gather 20 of the most relevant family related passages in the biblical text for understanding how God sees the family and what is expected of a family. These Scriptures on family are great for study or reflection.
Scripture about Family
1.
“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
[English Standard Version,
Colossians 3:18-21]
2.
“but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.”
[
Psalm 107:41]
3.
“And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.”
[
Exodus 1:21]
4.
“Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.”
[
1 Timothy 3:12]
5.
“For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.”
[
1 Corinthians 7:14]
6.
“Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.”
[
Psalm 128:3]
7.
“Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children”
[
2 Chronicles 20:13]
8.
“And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.”
[
Matthew 18:25]
9.
“They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy.”
[
2 Chronicles 31:18]
10.
“And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.”
[
Joshua 7:24-25]
11.
“if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.”
[
Titus 1:6]
12.
“They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.”
[
Titus 1:11]
13.
“from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,”
[
Ephesians 3:15]
14.
“A devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.”
[
Acts 10:2]
15.
“And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus Job did continually.”
[
Job 1:5]
16.
“To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
[
Genesis 3:16]
17.
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
[
1 Peter 3:7]
18.
“And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”
[
Acts 16:31-34]
19.
“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
[
Proverbs 31:27]
20.
“He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”
[
1 Timothy 3:4-5]
What Do these Scriptures teach us about Family?
In these Bible verses about the family, we find that both the family and having children are a blessing from God.
Colossians 3:18-21 is one of my favorite passages because it describes the proper roles of the man, the woman, and the children in the family relationship that we also find reinforced in other scriptures on family.
The man is supposed to love his wife and children with gentleness and kindness, the woman is to submit to the authoritative role of her husband, and the children are to obey their parents. And Job prayed for his children on a regular basis.
When there is a family unit, they are often effected by the actions of the other family members.
Sometimes the whole family is punished for the sins of the father, and an entire unbelieving family can be sanctified and considered clean simply because one of them is a believer.
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