The Ministry Of Marriage

The Ministry of Marriage

Scripture: Romans 16:3–4

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them (NIV).

Introduction: For thousands of years, the concept of marriage as a commitment between one man and woman has served as the foundation of home life and social order; but in the last few years, those foundations are being destroyed in the civil arena. This is disturbing, but not exactly new. The devil has been trying to destroy marriage from the beginning. In the Bible, Adam and Eve had no sooner been married in the Garden of Eden than the devil attempted to destroy their marriage. It’s remarkable how many troubled marriages we see in the Bible. The Bible profiles hundreds of men and women, but only a handful had truly exemplary marriages. One of the best was the marriage of Aquila and Priscilla.

1. Background: The Story of Aquila and Priscilla.

A. Acts 18:1–3, 18–19, 24–28: This couple first appears in Acts 18. Paul entered Corinth with fear and trembling (1 Cor. 2:1–3), and he was evidently broke. To generate some funds, he found a job in an area of town that sold tents, for he was a tentmaker. Here he found himself working alongside Aquila and Priscilla. We don’t know if they were Christians at this point or whether Paul led them to the Lord, but soon they were copartners with him in gospel labor. They left town with Paul; and he passed through the city of Ephesus, which had not yet been evangelized, he left them as an advance team for his future campaign there. Their primary convert there was Apollos.

B. Romans 16:3–4: Some years later, when Paul wrote to the church at Rome, and who should be there but Priscilla and Aquila, with a church meeting in their home.

C. Both 1 Corinthians 16:19 and 2 Timothy 4:19 give us the Bible’s additional references to this couple. Aquila is never mentioned alone. There is no reference in the Bible to Priscilla alone. They are always named together in the Bible; we never saw one without the other. What that tells us is that marriage is ministry—and that’s the point I want to make. Marriage is ministry; and it is ministry in two ways.

2. Marriage Is Ministry to One Another. Marriage is that relationship, ordained by God, in which we are given the opportunity to meet the needs and fulfill the desires of one other person on this planet whom God brings into our lives. The golden rule of marriage is that we meet our spouse’s needs as we would have our own needs met. Marriage is about being a caregiver to one another. As long as the husband’s primary endeavor is to please his wife and the wife’s primary endeavor is to please her husband, there will be a good marriage under that roof. It’s when we stop meeting one another’s needs and stop ministering to each other that marriages begin to fail.

3. Marriage Is a Ministry to Others. Notice how this couple served as a team for the Lord. They worked side-by-side in their tentmaking business, and that brought them into contact with people whom they evangelized. Together they instructed Apollos. Together they entertained the church in their home, not only opening their house but also in teaching and working and risking their lives and mentoring and discipling others. Perhaps you noticed that in the passages we studied, sometimes Priscilla’s name came first. I have a feeling she was the fireball of the two, but they were a team and they represent one of the great marriages of the Bible. I believe God wants strong marriages, not just so we can meet each other’s needs, but also so husbands and wives can labor side-by-side in the kingdom. That doesn’t mean every couple should be in fulltime ministry in the sense of being vocational pastors or missionaries. But it does mean that every couple should be devoted to serving the Lord side by side, not only in raising godly children for the kingdom but in also in working hard in the church and in the world for the Lord.

Conclusion: Marriage is the relationship God gives you for the primary purpose of pleasing and meeting the needs of one other person on this planet. And marriage is that relationship God gives for the purpose of serving side-by-side with someone whose gifts and abilities compliment your own. Don’t think of marriage as misery but as ministry, even as the Son of God came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook Thomas Nelson Publishers.