- Feb 5, 2002
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Often when lecturing on women and Scripture, I’m asked: “Doesn’t the Bible teach different roles for husbands and wives?” My response is simple: “Regardless of gender, our calling as Christians is to imitate Christ.”1 Scripture advocates not for biblical womanhood or manhood but biblical Christhood—a truth continually obscured and distorted by forces inside and outside the church. To restore our vision, let’s take a quick flight over history to observe how couples have transcended cultural expectations in following Christ.
Paul referred to Priscilla and Aquila more than anyone else, except Timothy. They first worked as tentmakers in Corinth. Then Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila moved to Ephesus, where Priscilla and Aquila planted a church in their home. Here they taught Apollos, a gifted teacher, with Priscilla in the lead (Acts 18:26). Cited ahead of her husband in four of six references,2 the couple transcended gender expectations as Priscilla taught a prominent leader in the church in their home. Later, both risked their necks for Paul equally, and all the churches honored their courage (Rom. 16:3–4).3
Like Priscilla and Aquila, Junia and her husband, Andronicus, were Paul’s coworkers and also prominent apostles. Their marriage conformed not to cultural expectations but to their calling in Christ, even as it landed them in prison (Rom. 16:7).
Captivated by Christ and called to service, both of these early church couples show rather than tell how their marriage conformed not to patriarchal culture but to their calling as Christian leaders.
Continued below.
www.cbeinternational.org
The Early Church
Two couples feature prominently in the New Testament. Both were Paul’s closest coworkers.Paul referred to Priscilla and Aquila more than anyone else, except Timothy. They first worked as tentmakers in Corinth. Then Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila moved to Ephesus, where Priscilla and Aquila planted a church in their home. Here they taught Apollos, a gifted teacher, with Priscilla in the lead (Acts 18:26). Cited ahead of her husband in four of six references,2 the couple transcended gender expectations as Priscilla taught a prominent leader in the church in their home. Later, both risked their necks for Paul equally, and all the churches honored their courage (Rom. 16:3–4).3
Like Priscilla and Aquila, Junia and her husband, Andronicus, were Paul’s coworkers and also prominent apostles. Their marriage conformed not to cultural expectations but to their calling in Christ, even as it landed them in prison (Rom. 16:7).
Captivated by Christ and called to service, both of these early church couples show rather than tell how their marriage conformed not to patriarchal culture but to their calling as Christian leaders.
Monasticism to the Reformation
Continued below.
Christian Marriages through Time: A Brief Historical Review - CBE International
Take a quick flight over history to observe how couples have transcended cultural expectations in following Christ.
www.cbeinternational.org
