Abstract

For centuries Augustine’s thought has been influential in the development and understanding of Christian Doctrine. His treatise On the Good of Marriage (De Bono Coniugali) is one of the most authoritative treatises on marriage in Christianity. This study examines how Augustine’s view is manifested in John Calvin and Timothy Keller’s exegesis of the household code (haustafeln) in Ephesians 5:18-33. Therefore, the contents of Augustine’s treatise, Calvin’s sermons and commentaries on Ephesians as well as Keller’s book about marriage based on his exegesis of Ephesians are reviewed. I conclude that despite Augustine’s “goods” influence upon these two Protestant churchmen, their reading of Ephesians leads them to somewhat different conclusions about the chief purpose of marriage in Christian life. While Augustine upholds the goodness of marriage for its role in keeping the couple faithful and legitimate childbearing, Calvin’s view is informed by his preoccupation with maintenance of social order; whereas Keller purports marriage as a journey on which spouses embark as mutual, self-sacrificing helpers, becoming their God-intended-self along the way.