(but if a man doesn't know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?)

 (i) The Church is the household (oikos, G3624) of God. First and foremost it must be a family. In a despatch written after one of his great naval victories, Nelson ascribed his victory to the fact that he "had the happiness to command a band of brothers." Unless a church is a band of brothers it is not a true church at all. Love of God can exist only where brotherly love exists. 