The reality of the church as God's family not only brings comfort, but also a calling for every member to be involved in the family business: the work of ministry.
Paul's 'purpose statement' in I Timothy should link us to what God says about the church as a family in the rest of this letter, and also throughout the rest of Scripture.
One of John's reasons for writing his first letter was so that his readers joy, along with his, might be made complete because of their fellowship with God and one another.*