Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1113
“I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the Church which is at Cenchrea: that you receive her in the Lord, as becomes saints, and that you assist her in whatever business she has need of you: for she has been a succorer of many, and of myself also. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: 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. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the first fruits of Achaia unto Christ. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us. Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles who also were in Christ before me. Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord. Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus ‘household. Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that are of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which labored much in the Lord. Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes and the brethren which are with them. Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them. Salute one another with an holy kiss. The Churches of Christ salute you.” Romans 16:1-16.
THIS chapter contains Paul’s loving salutation to the various Christians dwelling at Rome. Remember that it is an Inspired passage. Although it consists of Christian courtesies addressed to different individuals, yet it was written by an Apostle and written not as an ordinary letter but as a part of the Inspired volume. Therefore there must be valuable matter in it and though, when we read it, it may appear to be uninstructive, there must be edifying matter beneath the surface because all Scripture is given by Inspiration and is meant to benefit us in one way or another. It shows to us one thing, at any rate, that Paul was of a most affectionate disposition and that God did not select as the Apostle of the Gentiles a man of a coarse, unfeeling, selfish turn of mind. His memory, as well as his heart, must have been in good condition to remember so large a number of names and these were but a few of his many beloved Brethren and spiritual children all over the world whom he mentions by name in his other Epistles.
His warm heart, I doubt not, quickened his memory and secured to his remembrance the form, condition, history, character and name of each one of his friends. He loved them too well to forget them! Christians should love one another and should bear one another’s names upon their hearts, even as the great High Priest wears the names of all His saints upon His jeweled breastplate. A Christian, because of the love he bears to others, is ever anxious to please by courtesy and desires—never to pain by rudeness. Grace makes the servant of God to be, in the highest sense, a true gentleman. If we learn nothing more from this passage than the duty of acting lovingly and courteously, one to the other, we shall be all the better for it, for there is none too much tender consideration and gentle speech among professors at this time.
I. Beyond this, our text is singularly full of instructive matter, as I shall hope to show you. Without preface, let us notice, first, that THIS PASSAGE REMARKABLY ILLUSTRATES THE VARIOUS RELATIONS OF FAMILIES TO THE CHURCH. Note in the third verse that the Apostle says, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus.” Here you have a household in which both the father and the mother, or say, the husband and the wife, were joined to the
Church of God. What a happy circumstance was this! Their influence upon the rest of the household must have been very powerful, for when two loving hearts pull together they accomplish wonders. What different associations cluster around the names of “Priscilla and Aquila” from those which are awakened by the words, “Ananias and Sapphira”!
There we have a husband and a wife conspiring in hypocrisy, and here a wife and a husband united in sincere devotion. Thrice happy are those who are not only joined in marriage, but are one in the Lord Jesus Christ! Such marriages are made in Heaven. This couple appears to have been advanced Christians, for they became instructors of others—and not merely teachers of the ignorant, but teachers of those who already knew much of the Gospel, for they instructed young Apollos—an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures. They taught him the way of God more perfectly and therefore we may be sure were deep-taught Christians themselves.
We must usually look for our spiritual fathers and nursing mothers in those households where husband and wife are walking in the fear of God. They are mutually helpful and therefore grow in Grace beyond others. I do not know why Paul, in this case, wrote, “Priscilla and Aquila,” thus placing the wife first, for in Acts we read of them as, “Aquila and Priscilla.” I should not wonder but he put them in order according to quality rather than according to the rule of sex. He named Priscilla, first, because she was first in energy of character and attainments in Divine Grace. There is a precedence which, in Christ, is due to the woman when she becomes the leader in devotion and manifests the stronger mind in the things of God. It is well when Nature and Grace both authorize our saying, “Aquila and Priscilla,” but it is not amiss when Grace outruns Nature and we hear of, “Priscilla and Aquila.”