Is the Oikos Principle Biblical? (Part One)
At least 95% of the time, people who give their hearts to Jesus actually give their hearts to Jesus because of the primary influence of someone in their oikos. That’s a flat-out staggering number. And, evidently, an important one to recognize. But I lived 23 years before I ever heard it.
During those 23, I grew up in a great ministry family, attended a well-respected Christian university and seminary, and served in a vocational ministry role for several years. So, yeah, I understand why people wonder if the oikos principle is biblical. When I first heard about it, 45 years ago, it was even a shock to my system. I mean, being immersed in “church world,” my entire life? You’d think I would have discovered something that is evidently that big of a deal much earlier than year 23. But, come to find out, it had been staring at me through the pages of the Bible all along.
My next few posts are dedicated to people who question the biblical veracity of the oikos principle. Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe you too can’t believe you’d discover something so important so late in the game. If so, I invite you to hear me out. Oh, and welcome to the club!
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
- Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28 is one of the most prolific verses in all of Scripture. It’s probably been tagged as the “life verse” for more people than most any other passage. But, it’s interesting how we tend to ignore the most important part of Paul’s statement, the “his purpose” part.
We love verses that talk about good things happening to us. We love verses that talk about how much we love God. But verses that talk about God’s purpose in history tend to fade into the background. Not for all, certainly, but for many, to be sure. We find it very easy to make every passage somehow about us.
With so much turmoil flaring up in the Middle East the last couple of weeks, Christians everywhere are, once again, renewing their interest in the return of Christ. And that should be expected. As time goes on, the world gets crazier. And as the world gets crazier, our longing grows for a Day of Judgment for the godless and salvation for the faithful. We love the thought of Jesus restoring order. Have you ever thought (as I have), “Lord, I just don’t see how this world can hang on much longer!” So, that begs the question. Why does it?
Peter weighs into the convo with a few Spirit-induced thoughts about Jesus’ return.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
- 2 Peter 3:9
So, why does God allow all of this insanity and rebellion to continue? One word.
Purpose.
God has a purpose in history. It frames the theme of Scripture. It framed the reason God sent His Son to Earth. It framed the reason Jesus decided to build His Church. It framed the reason He gave us the Great Commission. And it frames His rationale for not yet returning to clean the mess we’ve created. Therefore, Paul reminded the Romans, it should frame our plans for the coming day when we wake up every morning.
Seeing the oikos principle in the Bible goes well beyond looking for a singular word. When you get your head around God’s purpose for history, you can then start to understand God’s purpose for your own life. Jesus-followers are intentional because we follow a very intentional Jesus. He came to turn lost people into saved people. In the middle of everything that happens globally, no matter how depressing it might be, God is still at work fulfilling the same purpose, the greatest initiative in human history, the redemption of humanity from our sin.
Actually, rather than hoping Jesus would come sooner and save us from all the chaos, maybe we should hope He waits a little longer, because someone in our front row is still lost.
So, when we connect God’s historic purpose with the clear data associated with how He continues to accomplish that purpose, you would fully expect the oikos principle to bleed through every section of Scripture. So, I guess it should not surprise us that it shows up so often!
Jesus came with a clearly-stated purpose. He engineered a uniquely compatible process, centered around the oikos. All that to say (and to paraphrase Romans 8:28), God has great things in store for those who make it a focus of their lives to focus on that great cause.
We’ll pick up this same theme with our next post.