Acts 18:3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers
You are probably well aware that Jeff Bezos was recently married in Venice, Italy. Now, I wish Mr. Bezos nothing but the best and I don’t think you should bet on marriages, but would you bet on this marriage? How likely is this marriage to succeed? I have no idea. I don’t know much about Mr. Bezos. I think he has made my life easier in many ways, but the question is, “What are the chances for that marriage?”
Successful couple have something bigger than happiness and themselves for which to live. In Acts 18 we have an example of a couple who lived for something beyond themselves and therefore preserved themselves. This example is a man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla. We find them in Acts 18:3. The Bible says about the Apostle Paul, “And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them.” He stayed with them. They were hospitable.
Something to know about Aquila and Priscilla is that they are mentioned four times in the Word of God. The second thing worth mentioning is that they are never mentioned alone. Every time you find Aquila, you find Priscilla. Every time you fine Priscilla, you find Aquila. This was a couple who was never mentioned separately. They were obviously a team. Now, just being a team is not virtuous. For instance, if I mentioned Bonnie and Clyde or other notorious couples who committed crimes together and even died together, they are not good. In Acts 5 we find another couple, Ananias and Sapphira. They died together because they lied together.
So, Aquila and Priscilla are never mentioned alone and Aquila and Priscilla are never mentioned apart from the ministry of giving. For instance, Romans 16:3 says, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus.” These were people where every time you see them, whether they are dealing with Apollos, Paul, or other believers, they were giving. They were givers, giving what they had to the cause of Christ.
Romans 16 goes on to say, “Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” So, you never see them mentioned apart from working together for the ministry. So, shared ministry fosters a unified marriage. If I am sharing ministry with my spouse, it is going to tend to unify our marriage. If all I am sharing with my spouse is money, ambition, or some other thing, those things can actually drive us apart and not bring us together. But if we are both aiming at the same goal and the same God and unified in our giving, whether it is our talents, time, or money, that tends to unify a marriage.
What did this couple share? They shared resources. They housed both Paul and at least one church, maybe a few. Many couples get married and have some kind of legal agreement, what will happen to their money if they split up. What a miserable way to live. This was a shared ministry that fostered a unified marriage. They shared their resources.
They shared hospitality to others. When they found Apollos, he was eloquent, mighty in the Scriptures, fervent in the spirit, and spoke and taught diligently, but there was a lot he did not know. When they heard Apollos, “they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” They didn’t think, “This dumb preacher. We know better. We’ll help him and then gain notoriety once he gets a name for himself.” No, they just wanted to give, whether it was to another lay person or another orator like Apollos. They shared hospitality.
Ultimately, what Aquila and Priscilla shared was purpose. Their marriage wasn’t about what they could get. It was about what they could give. Because they gave as a couple, they stayed together as a couple.
How about you? My nature both in marriage and in life is to be selfish and to isolate myself from other people by my own ambition, but here is a couple who was successful because they had something bigger than their own happiness and their own marriage for which to live. Shared ministry fosters unified marriage, and may God help me to partner with the spouse God has given me to serve others.