A Series of Fortunate Events

What I’m not aware of sometimes comes back to bite me.

But I’ve also learned that unintended consequences don’t always have to be bad. They can even be a blessing.

In the apostle Paul’s first letter to the church of God which [was] at Corinth, he unveiled a remarkable outcome of being set apart to God for those bound by the marriage covenant.

“For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband, for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy… For how do you know, O wife, whether you shall save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you shall save your wife?” [1Cor. 7:14,16] [my emphasis]

[σῴζω: (sō’-zō) to save in regard to Christian salvation; save, rescue, deliver, keep safe, preserve, cure, make well]

[ἁγιάζω: (hâ-gee-âh’-zō) to set apart as sacred to God; make holy or sanctify, consecrate; regard as sacred; purify, cleanse]

It’s interesting that Paul indicated these sentences to be his opinion as opposed to being a revelation from Christ, something he noted in the previous sentence. But that shouldn’t discount the weight of his words. He seems to be suggesting that a bond of mutual purity is just one of the many things the marriage covenant is intended to establish, and that honoring that commitment is, in fact, one avenue to sanctification in itself.

So, do I have the means to actually keep my wife clean? Not necessarily. But I can keep my marriage intact simply by guarding it. And by doing that, I’m preserving her purity and my children’s as well. That’s regarding them as sacred [see: ἁγιάζω above].

However, I’ve learned that becoming holy isn’t a spectator sport. The Spirit sets me apart as I also set myself and my family apart.

It’s a partnership.

To fully grasp how I, as a believing husband, should be able to accomplish this purification process in the sight of God, I must understand the relational paradigm of the family—and particularly how a husband and wife should model themselves after Christ and His church. [see: Eph. 5:25-27; 1Cor. 11:3, 7]

[How can I be like Christ in my marriage? see: A Recipe for Confusion]

Being a Godly father and husband is a tough job. The foundations of our families must be laid, built upon and guarded by holy [see: ἁγιάζω above] husbands in order to keep their families clean, thereby saving them [see σῴζω above] from contamination by the world.

Fathers, don’t let the world diminish your role as a sanctifier!