Extraordinary Matrimony

[Steve Myers] You may have heard the story of the husband and wife that decided to go to a marriage seminar. While they were there, the instructor talked about the importance of really knowing what matters to each other. And so as the instructor was talking, he said, "For example," and he pointed at one of the men, he said, "do you know what your wife's favorite flower is?" Now he's on the spot. He went, "Uh, Pillsbury All-Purpose?" "Wrong." Well, hopefully, you know what the favorite is. But I can ask the question, does your marriage have a purpose? Does your marriage have a purpose, more than just having good feelings, more than just having family? How would you describe your marriage? Is your marriage a daring marriage? Or maybe it's a marvelous marriage? How about an uncommon union? Or perhaps extraordinary matrimony? How would you rate your marriage?

Now, if we looked at Christ's words, He says a lot about what it means to be married the purpose for marriage. You read Peter and Paul's writings, in their epistles, they're very specific about the roles and the responsibilities of husbands and wives. But when you look through the New Testament, there's only a couple of examples of married Christian couples. What did they do? How did they live? You have to piece together some of the information here to find out the experience of actual married couples who were followers of Jesus Christ.

And so this afternoon, I'd like to take some time to do just that. We're going to identify one couple who are an example of extraordinary matrimony. Now, what makes extraordinary matrimony? Let's look at some lessons we can learn and also begin to discern a greater purpose for our marriage. So in a way, I guess we could say we're going to address the state of your union. So let's take a look at that. And we're going to do that by looking at a New Testament couple named Aquila and Priscilla. So if you'll join me over in Acts 18, we'll meet the two of them, Aquila and Priscilla, and here we'll meet them at Corinth. Acts 18 is where they come on the scene. And it's interesting, it's telling the story of the apostle Paul and his journeys.

And in Acts 18:1, we're told “Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.” So he comes to Corinth, verse 2, “he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla.” Why? It says, "Because Claudius, who is the emperor, commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome." Of course, there wasn't much distinction in the Romans' minds between Jews and Christians. So they had to go as well. And so it says Paul came to them. Now, additionally, verse 3, it says, "Because he was of the same trade," talking about Paul, "he stayed with them, and worked; for by occupation, they were tentmakers."

And so we find Paul contacting Aquila and Priscilla. We have this interesting information about them. A name like Aquila, that doesn't sound Jewish does it? No, he's Jewish by race, but he has a Latin name. Interesting that that Latin name means eagle. So we have Eagle and Priscilla, doesn't seem to rhyme as well, does it? Well, how did they get to Rome? How did Aquila, who was born in Pontus, or up at the Black Sea, how does he get all the way over to Rome? Well, we don't know. We're not told any of that information. And we do begin to see that after he comes to Rome, that's where he meets Priscilla. Priscilla is a Roman, most scholars feel she was not Jewish. So if you can imagine this particular couple, we've got this nice Jewish boy from Pontus on the shores of the Black Sea. And he comes to the heart of the beast, the heart of the Roman Empire, he goes to Rome and he meets a nice, aristocratic woman. They meet, they fall in love, they get married. Of course, we don't have any of that information in the Bible. But we know what happened.

And then along comes Emperor Claudius. And he expels the Jews and Christians alike from Rome. Now they have to leave, they've lost their home, they lost their jobs. Imagine how that might affect your marriage. And then you've got to take it on the road. Now, you just pack up the truck drive out to the interstate, and a couple 100 miles, you're there. No, it didn't work that way back then, did it? When we find this journey from Rome to Corinth, we're talking about 600 miles. And oh, by the way, there's a little bit of an ocean in between there as well. So this wasn't an easy task for them to pick up, move out, and start over again. And so when we find them in Corinth, that's exactly what they were doing. But they had God, they had each other. And they were surviving. They survived, we could even say, beginning as refugees in Corinth.

Now Paul comes on the scene as they're there and he stays with them. Now, we don't see all the details right here, but we can deduce by how long Paul was here that he wasn't in their house for, like, three days. And we get along perfectly because, after three days, everything goes south. Have you ever heard that before? Do you know how long he was there? And it seems like he was actually with them, most likely in their home, for a year-and-a-half. For a year-and-a-half, Paul is in Corinth. And it seems not only staying with them, but they're also working together. They're tentmakers, leather workers. And so they would have been working on patching up the sails of the different ships that would have come in. There was a special guild of tentmakers or leather workers that they would have been a part of. And maybe that's where Paul actually originally met them in this guild where they were doing the same job. And so they were repairing tents and sails, making awnings for the marketplace, working hard.

But not only that job. Paul was also preaching and teaching besides. And you have this wonderful Christian couple with the apostle Paul, all of common faith and a common occupation as well. Now, after being in Corinth for a while and teaching and preaching, working together, Paul decides to go to Ephesus. Now that's another little place that's not exactly just around the corner. Now he's got to go across the Aegean Sea. And so you've got to boat most of the way there, as the crow flies, maybe 350 miles or so. But it's a big change. And guess who goes with him? Priscilla and Aquila. So they pack it up again, shut down the business, change the house, pack up everything, and move.

So by the time we get to verse 18 in Acts 8, we see that's exactly what happened, "They sailed with Priscilla and Aquila with him." Verse 19 says, "They came to Ephesus." So now that they've relocated, Paul doesn't stick around for very long this time. He decides to keep going. So he goes to Jerusalem, and he leaves Aquila and Priscilla there in Ephesus. And of course, as they're there, interesting situation comes up because they know the truth. They understand God's way. They are a dedicated Christian couple. They've been with the apostle for more than a year and a half. You think they know the truth, you think they understand the way, did they have any conversations with Paul along the way about spiritual things? Well, of course, they did.

And so when they run across this individual that's mentioned here in verse 24. There's a man they run across named Apollos, verse 24 says he's an Egyptian, or at least from Egypt, Alexandria, but it also tells us he's eloquent and mighty in scriptures. Well, Apollo shows up in Ephesus where our couple is at. And it says that he'd been instructed in the way fervent in spirit, verse 25, "He spoke and taught accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John." So what he talked about what he taught was very good, very precise, but not complete. Not complete. So we see in verse 26 when he's speaking boldly in the synagogue, here's our wonderful, magnificent couple. The one with extraordinary matrimony shows up and heard him. What did they do? Well, since he was not really giving the full story, they took him aside and they corrected him. And they persecuted him. Well, no, it doesn't say that. End of verse 26, it says, "They took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately." More accurately. And so this tells us something about this amazing couple.

When they come across Apollos, they're not threatened by how good a speaker he is. No, they appreciate what he's doing. And so what we find, they understood, they had an in-depth understanding of doctrine. It wasn't just Aquila. It was Priscilla, as well, both of them. They both explained God's way more accurately. So do you think they knew it? Absolutely. But they could take it a step further. They not only knew it, they could teach it. They could talk about it, they could explain it. And so here they are as coaches or mentors, they're mentoring Apollos. And it's interesting. It's not that Priscilla is standing up at church and giving a sermon or anything like that, no, that's not the case. This is outside of services. But here we have a 1st-century woman helping and coaching and mentoring a man, which is remarkable, absolutely remarkable because they're building up Apollos in the faith. And so we can begin to get some insight into the character of this special couple.

Now, they lived in Ephesus for a number of years, it seems about three years or so. And the apostle Paul is still traveling around. And on his third journey, guess where he comes back to? He comes back to Ephesus. That's where they're at. Where do you think he stays? With Aquila and Priscilla. So if you hold your hand right here, hold your hand here in Acts 18, and turn over to 1 Corinthians 16. Because as we piece this puzzle of the lives of Aquila and Priscilla together, this gives us a little more detail on what was actually happening throughout the span of their life. And here we see why we know that Aquila and Priscilla are there. And where Paul comes along as well. So in 1 Corinthians 16:19, it says, "Aquila and Priscilla, together with the church in their house send you hearty greetings in the Lord." So here Paul is writing to Corinth. Guess where he's writing from? He's writing from Ephesus. Who does he send greetings from? Well, this wonderful couple that used to live here. They used to be here in Corinth.

So Paul sends greetings from them to the church in Corinth. And it's also interesting that it also says, "Together with the church in their house, they send hearty greetings." In fact, if you read this in a number of other translations, it will even tell you, "Priscilla and Aquila with whom I lodge." So Paul even makes a note, in some of the translations, that yeah, I'm living with them in Ephesus. And we're saying hello and giving you a big hug from a distance. And so I think it's kind of interesting the way that we see how this plays out. And in fact, it wasn't just helping the apostle Paul, perhaps in cases kind of like Apollos inspiring others, hosting the Church in their house. Now, can you imagine what that would be like? Next Sabbath, all of you, we're going to my place. That'd be easy to do Sabbath after Sabbath after… can you imagine what that would be like? That would be something to have the church every week in your home. I don't know if they had a potluck every week or how that worked out. But just imagine the dishes that you would have to do.

Now, one of the things it seems also evident in this if you still have your place back there in Acts, go back to Acts 18 once again, if you still got your hand there, and we get a little indication of something else that they were most likely involved in. In fact, if you turn a page over to Acts 19, we see maybe there's another aspect of opportunities that they had to serve. We look at Acts 19, look at verse 9. Verse 9, it's talking about what Paul has been doing as he's been traveling and as he's been teaching, and the reaction of some of the people that were hearing him wasn't all good. Verse 9 says, "Some were hardened." They didn't want to hear what Paul had to say, they didn't believe, they “spoke evil of the Way.” And so Paul leaves them. And what does he do? It says, "He withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the School of Tyrannus."

So believers are getting together at the school. I'm not sure exactly how accurate this is. But I have a feeling, this is a personal feeling, maybe it was like an ancient Ambassador Bible Center. There's a school here, and they're instructing. Many of the scholars feel that Aquila and Priscilla may have been a part of that instructing process, which would be pretty amazing when you consider that. So it's not just the tentmaking, not just assisting in occupation. But they were helping and serving, assisting it seems, the apostle Paul at the School of Tyrannus as well. So we find a very busy couple, a couple that is actively involved in helping proclaim the gospel, they were living that way. And in fact, we see a little bit more insight over in the book of Romans. So if you turn to Romans 16:3, we find another mention of this extraordinary couple. You know what that means? Now they're back in Rome again.

This letter, Paul writes to God's people in Rome, they had been in Ephesus now he's writing to the Romans. This is years later, and they're back there. Now they're back in Rome again. Interesting. The insight we get in this particular passage, Romans 16:3, Paul writes, "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus." So here we are, at the end of Paul's letters to God's people in Rome. He's telling greetings from many, many people. And he zeroes in on these two. And he just doesn't say, greet them. He also gives us some details, who are these people? Some of the others are just names on the page that just kind of go by. But here we're told Paul considered them fellow workers in Christ Jesus, fellow workers meaning partners in the gospel. They were connected. This fellow workers is a partnership. Sometimes fellow is translated as communing, where you are connected together, that there is a sharing, they shared as working in the gospel.

And so he identifies them and maybe even one way that they did. What did they do? Well, we saw examples of teaching, guiding, coaching, mentoring. Verse 4 tells us something else that they did. It says, "They risked their own necks for my life," Paul says, "to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles." Yeah, if they didn't risk their necks, mine probably wouldn't exist, right? He probably wouldn't be living. So he says, once again, look at this, "Greet the church that is in their house." I thought that was an Ephesus. Oh, it's in Rome, too. So they restart, they move, have a reset, and they get right to work. And once again, we see the church that meets in their house. And it wasn't just teaching and coaching and assisting. But we also find they put their life on the line for the truth. They put their life on the line for the gospel. Some feel that this risking their necks is connected to a huge riot that took place in Ephesus. You can read about that in Acts 19, maybe, maybe not, we're not really sure exactly what event Paul's referring to. But they were willing to put it all on the line. And they did something, something that was extraordinary, something that was unusual, something that was a great act of bravery, the details, kind of unclear. But we can see the importance was not, it becomes very evident.

And so they continued to serve. And they were not going to change when it came to doing what God would want them to do. So this goes on, they stay in Rome, and it seems for about 10 years they continue on until a catastrophe strikes. The Great Fire of July 19th, 64 A.D. and Rome burns. It completely destroys or damaged 10 out of 14 districts in the city of Rome. I mean, this was a horrendous fire. What happened to them? Were they affected? Probably. Maybe their home burned? We're not told the details. But it seems likely that once again, they're homeless, along with tens of thousands of Romans. And of course, you probably remember history just a little bit, because there was this one guy fiddling while Rome burned. Remember that story of Nero? Did he really? Well, that's beside the point. But he did do one thing for sure. Who did he blame the fire on? The Christians. So Aquila and Priscilla have to get out. Where do they go? They go back to Ephesus. They go back to Ephesus. We know that they went back to Ephesus because Paul writes a letter to a young minister, a young man named Timothy. And in this personal letter, he writes to Timothy. Guess who gets mentioned for the last time?

Turn with me over to 2 Timothy 4:19. We recognize yes, they are absolutely back in Ephesus because that's where Timothy is when Paul pens this letter and he mentions the two of them. So in 2 Timothy 4:19, as he's closing his letter, he says, "Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus." So there they are, once again, and of course, the name Prisca is a derivative of Priscilla, same person, now back in Ephesus. And so when we put all of these pieces together, we find this extraordinary couple whose lives are totally wrapped up in God's way. They were hospitable people who opened their homes to the apostle Paul and who knows how many countless others that stayed with them. Their house was a meeting place for the Church as well, whether Rome or Ephesus. Obviously, they had a passion for the truth. They had a zeal for God's way. They had a hunger for spiritual understanding. They wanted to please God, no matter what. And so it didn't matter if it was in Rome. It didn't matter if it was in Ephesus, it didn't matter if it was in Corinth. They were going to do what God would have them to do. And even at the very end of Paul's life, he's imprisoned in Rome, and he writes this last time to Timothy. And there they are, still faithfully serving. Faithful, zealous servants of God. And from all of the evidence, I think we see that without Priscilla and Aquila, the New Testament Church might not have turned out the same as it did.

Now, as we consider this extraordinary matrimony, there's many things that we can glean from their lives. And I think in one way you can boil it down to one phrase. Commit to a Kingdom lifestyle. Priscilla and Aquila were committed to a Kingdom lifestyle no matter what, whether persecution, whether burned down homes, whether traveling hundreds and hundreds of miles, uprooting your family, moving your job, losing your employment, didn't matter. They were committed to a Kingdom lifestyle. And there's a number of facets I think we can all identify with from their example. Probably first and foremost. They were together, togetherness. It's interesting when you look through your Bible for those names, Aquila and Priscilla, or Prisca. They're mentioned six times by name. How many times does the name Aquila appear by itself? Zero. How many times does Priscilla appear by itself? None. They're always together. They're always together when they're referenced. They're never mentioned separately.

It's also kind of interesting when you look at those different passages. Three times Aquila's name comes first. The other three in the New King James Version, Priscilla is mentioned first, unheard of in the first century to mention a woman before a man. But it sure identifies her Christian responsibility was just as important as his. Could she mentor? Could she teach? Could she use her God-given skills and abilities to serve and help and give? No doubt. Absolutely. And I think they were living, breathing examples of how a couple can truly become one. I mean, that's the instruction that all married couples in the Church are given, that the two shall become one. One flesh is what Genesis 2:24 talks about. And we see that with them. Because when you really get down to it, is two always better than one? That might be a memory phrase. Two is better than one. Well, no, not always, If the two are still functioning as individuals, if they're individual entities instead of working together, it's not going to work as good, especially for us as Christians. It's just not going to work. I mean, unfortunately, some have the same name, but a different vision. I mean, unfortunately, some live in the same house, but they're each doing their own thing.

And according to what God wants, that's just not acceptable. Because they live a life of togetherness, they live a life… a different way to say it, a life of intimacy and intimacy on so many different levels. it is amazing. Certainly, you look at Genesis 2:24 and it talks about the fact to be one flesh. Okay, implying a sexual intimacy. Yeah, probably should be, needs to be. There's some glue that binds a couple together, no doubt about that. But we find in their example, didn't just stop there, was so much more, the emotional intimacy that they shared together. You think this couple could share their feelings? There goes our house, we have to change jobs. We have to move. We're working together. You can imagine the feelings that they shared together. Definite emotional intimacy. But goes beyond just that as well. There was an intellectual intimacy, was somehow Aquila the man who was so much smarter than this lowly, first-century woman? Not at all.

They were sharing, being travelers, they were world travelers of the day. You think they shared ideas? The world of ideas were certainly things that they shared together. And of course, if you've ever traveled through that area of the world, or even just traveled around here, some of the things you see are just remarkable, aren't they? Just remarkable. So think of the aesthetic intimacy that they shared. Look at these beautiful things. Look at the creation of God. Can you imagine them having those discussions and talking about the beauty of God's beautiful earth? I mean, you could just imagine them sharing that? Maybe even sharing some of the things about the architecture of Corinth and the beautiful columns on these buildings, some of that was just absolutely amazing. And wonderful, and they would have talked about that. And of course, the two of them working together, you think they would have had a creative intimacy? I mean, they were working together, creating together, spending time together. Of course, that would also then mean having fun, having fun together. I suppose you could say recreational intimacy, doing things together, having activities together, sharing their life completely together, doing common tasks together. And of course, most importantly, the spiritual intimacy, they shared their faith, what was absolutely most important to them. And how did they do it? Together, they did it together. Togetherness is so important when it comes to committing your marriage to a Kingdom lifestyle.

But there's a second facet, I think that's also important that's evident in their life. A second facet is an outward focus. An outward focus. Do we find any evidence that they're all about themselves, that they were worried about how they would do things? All we find here is their view of helping and serving others. And we see what an amazing value it is when men and women partner, they are married. And over a long period of time, they serve the cause. This is just absolutely remarkable. They weren't focused on self, they weren't in it for themselves, they weren't worried about their wellbeing, we can start over, this is no problem, we can recreate this whole thing in Corinth, we can do it in Ephesus, we can go back to Rome again. And so the cause, the cause of the Kingdom consumed their lives and their marriages with a holy purpose. With a holy purpose. This is absolutely critical. We have to ask ourselves, is my marriage fulfilling a holy purpose? Because the evidence points to how they represented that way so well.

Now, the challenges are everywhere, though. We live in a world that could care less about that. We live in a world that gets entangled in the temporary. Isn't that what most people are concerned about? Am I going to get another stimulus check? Oh, that'd be great. Yeah, we're worried about those kinds of things. But if we're so focused on those, we get short-sighted. I mean, is that what it's all about? Building up the physical, making more out of the temporary, putting our energies into things that won't last? They were ready to move, they were ready to go. And so each of us have to ask ourselves, am I entangled in my own temporary kingdom of narcissistic self-preservation? That's the American way, isn't it? Yeah, all too often it is. If we get caught up in that kind of a lifestyle, where is it going to lead? I mean, it leads to very little passion for God's Kingdom. Very little passion for preaching the gospel. Little zeal for the Word of God. I don't have time to contribute, what can I do? Because I'm so overloaded with all these temporary things. And so what remains? Simply ordinary couples in ordinary marriages, but that's not what God wants. He wants that commitment to a Kingdom lifestyle.

There's a third facet, I think, that shines forth in the example of Aquila and Priscilla. And it ties in with this outward focus. What did they do? They did their share. And I think for all of us, we must do our share. I'm sure that didn't come automatic to Priscilla and Aquila. You think they had to figure out how that would work in their life, in their marriage, with their job? What would that look like? What does serving God and serving His people look like for them? Well, they figured it out. They figured it out. They discovered it, and they did it. They found their part as a couple. And in ways, they were blazing new trails. They were pioneers in a way, pressing God's Kingdom against the forces of the Roman Empire, against the forces of principalities and powers that come against God's people, but they were willing to step up and take it on. In fact, I can't help but wonder if the apostle Paul might have had the two of them in mind when he wrote to the Church in Ephesus.

If you look at Ephesians 4:16, Paul writes some powerful words in this section of Scripture. And it certainly reminds me of Priscilla and Aquila's example in how they were definitely going to do their share. In Ephesians 4:16, we have a vision for the church, for each and every one of us. And so as we read Paul's words in verse 16, he says, "The whole body is joined and knit together by what every joint supplies," so that knitting and joining is complete with everyone, every single person, married or not, has something to supply. And he says, "According to the effective working, by which every part does its share." And as a result, they grew in Rome. As a result, they grew in Corinth. As a result, they grew in Ephesus. Now, we're not talking just about numbers. But we're talking about spiritual growth, most importantly. And so here we find Aquila and Priscilla causing the growth of the Body for edifying itself in love.

So this couple was effectively doing their work. And it advanced the cause of the Kingdom. It advanced the Body it advanced the church. And that's what happens when every one of us do our part, do our share. It's going to promote the growth of the Body of Christ, and every joint contributes. So how do you contribute? Have you considered, especially as a married couple, what's your thing? What can you do? What's your holy purpose? How can you serve God and His people? It can be in so many wonderful ways. Doesn't have to be at the School of Tyrannus. Maybe that's not going to happen. But can I write letters of encouragement? Can I bake bread like we heard about earlier? Can I do that? Can I get in touch with those that I haven't seen for a while? Can I be hospitable like an Aquila and Priscilla? Can I take to heart people's circumstances and pray for them? Maybe like they probably did. They probably sewed for people. They were tentmakers, they were leather workers. I'm sure they did.

So can we help and repair for someone? Can we fellowship and talk and get to know people better? Can we inspire one another? I mean, the list just can go on and on and on. But they all connect to being a power for good. We can be a power for good. We can pray for each other. There's nothing like prayer. Because we are in this dark world and this darkness surrounds us. And we need to invade this darkness and go against the gates of hell of this kingdom that's around us. And God's called us to do just that. And when we think of extraordinary matrimony, amazing couples live up to the challenge. And they do it looking forward to the real kingdom, the real kingdom that will last, and so we must have that type of contributing character.

Now, when we think about commitment to a kingdom lifestyle, one last facet we could talk about from the example of Aquila and Priscilla. Another thing that they did, they chose the good life. We need to choose the good life. Now, that might sound a little funny because it's a little different than what society might identify. We're not talking about, the great American dream of the bigger house and the nicer car and the bigger paycheck. Right? No, that's not it. Choosing the good life for Priscilla and Aquila, well, that led to persecution sometimes. Choosing the good life sometimes meant hardship. Sometimes it meant struggling through persecution, definitely meant trials, difficulties. But they were willing to pay whatever the price in giving up their own lives for the sake of God's call. And they did it over and over. And so they were at home in Rome. They were at home in Corinth. They were at home in Ephesus, and anywhere else. Why could we say that? They could make that work. Why? Because their real home, their citizenship, they knew is in heaven. They looked to the Kingdom of God. And they demonstrated that Kingdom. That's what they looked for. That's what they hoped for. And they lived their religion, they live the truth. And they recognize that.

And so they kept their spiritual bearings as members of the Body of Christ. And that's why when we study, Priscilla and Aquila, it's not just about married couples, either. Hopefully, if you're not married, you've seen a lot of connections here. And especially you think about this, we're going to be a bride. We're going to be a bride, we are the Bride of Christ, the Church is symbolic of the Bride of Christ. Should we have these attributes when it comes to that marriage? We better or we may not be there. And so being the Bride of Christ, all of these principles, they apply to every single one of us as single or widow or widower, it applies to everyone, every Christian is to become a part of the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. And so when we look at this amazing marriage, it still boils down to having a commitment to a Kingdom lifestyle, no matter what our situation at the moment may be. And in a way, Paul summarizes that perspective. When he wrote to Titus, about the same time he writes to Timothy, he also writes to Titus.

So if you turn with me over to Titus 2:11, here we find that perspective, once again delineated for us, very specifically, as we all do our part, as we recognize, no matter our marriage situation at the moment, we are the bride, and we have to have this kingdom lifestyle, a commitment to that perspective. So in Titus 2:11, Paul writes, "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,” Christ has come. And we recognize the truth of His word. “Teaching us,” verse 12, "that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, we should live righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." That's the perspective.

So for the good of your family, for the good of the Church, for the cause of the Kingdom, we must commit to a Kingdom lifestyle. And as married, we need to make sure we do it together. And as a church, we draw together as one. And we make sure we're living this way, that we're not just self-focused, that we're looking out in ways to serve and ways to give and ways to preach the gospel, in ways to inspire others in ways to serve our communities, ways we can give because we must live a holy purpose in our marriage. And so do your share. Do your part, God says, discover it and put it into action, and ultimately, choose that good life. So what's the state of your union? If you choose to be a husband and a wife working in unison for the advancement of the Kingdom of God, you're choosing to be a power for good. And if that's the case, you will have an extraordinary matrimony.