1 Corinthians 7:12-19
Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer[c] has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him.14 For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband[d] brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife[e] is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you[f] to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
17 Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18 For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19 For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
In the fascinating book, the Patient Ferment of the Early Church, Alan Kreider explores the reasons for the explosion of the early church in the first few centuries. Early Christians had no evangelistic strategies and would often put off visitors and slow down converts. Quality and depth of faith was vital to them. They did not open their services to the public, insisting that people went through months of training before being allowed to participate in weekly worship. On the surface, it seemed that they did everything that they could to remain small and secretive.
But they grew! They grew rapidly. There were many reasons that Kreider identifies. Their believe in equality of all people was extraordinarily radical in a Roman world set on dominating, enslaving and subjugating the world. They refused to engage in any kind of violence and would not defend themselves even up to death. At the centre was their strong belief in the virtue of patience, choosing not to rush but to bring peace while God was out-working his plans. Their job was to be faithful, holy and to bring peace to the world around them, while God was at work. This doesn’t mean they were not vocal about their faith, their lives were radical. There was a story about Christians who died so bravely that the soldiers immediately converted and suffered the same fate. Loved by some, hated by many, they stood out against the darkness of the Roman World.
These values underpinned the integral role of women in the church. Women were given positions of leadership, authority and responsibility at every level. They were at the heart of the Church but also often at its frontiers. As women responded to the Gospel, they found themselves in homes with husbands whose lives were often radically at odds with the way of Jesus. Paul’s teaching was for them to not run away from their domestic responsibilities or to seek divorce and pursue a Christian husband (or become nuns), but to be faithful and patient in the place where they already are.
Their patient faithfulness went in the opposite direction of all our modern strategies for church growth but the Holy Spirit used them powerfully and the church exploded. They loved their families brought peace and wisdom, faith and hope. God did not use the most impressive people in the Roman Empire but changed the world through simple people living faithfully for him.
What does faithful patience look like in that setting?
Take a moment to think about a woman in your life whose strength and faithfulness has shaped your walk with God. Spend some time praying for them and thanking God for their presence in your life.
If appropriate, why not send them a message honouring and thanking them.