His two friends were willing to give everything in the service of the Savior, even their lives. Priscilla was a woman whose spiritual maturity and understanding of the faith helped build up the early church. [10], While the view is not widely held among scholars, some scholars have suggested that Priscilla was the author of the Book of Hebrews. Its impossible to know if they were already believers when they were forced out of Rome, of if they became Christians through their relationship with Paul. - Acts 18:1-3. Luke clearly indicates Priscilla's "agency and her interdependent relationship with her husband. Some time after this, when Jews were allowed back in Rome, Aquila and Priscilla returned to live there for a time. Six times. BulletinInserts.org - A ministry of Christian Communicators Worldwide. Apollos wasnt wrong. There are only two messages to friends in the second Epistle to Timothy, and one of these is to Prisca and Aquila. Paul could not do it alone. I will not go into why this might be so. His name means eagle. They chose a wise mentoring approach with Apollos. Sixth, they taught Apollos the way of God more accurately (18:26). Sharing the Word together strengthened their love for each other and their spirit of togetherness. Scripture tells the story like this: After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. Claudius cared little about the reason for the trouble, and even less about who the guilty parties were. In ancient mediterranean culture, women were viewed as property of their husbands, of lesser status, needing to live under the protection of their fathers or husbands for their survival and well-being. Yet five times out of six, Luke and Paul mention Priscillas name first in the husband-wife pair (Acts 18:18, Acts 18:19, Acts 18:26, Romans 16:3, 2 Timothy 4:19), highlighting her personal agency and her value to the early church movement. First, their names always appear together. She had a budding, thriving ministry. Why Isnt the Civil Rights Movement Considered a Revival Movement? Now that Vacation Bible School is Over . Priscilla and Aquila packed up their lives and went with him. Paul lived and worked with them while founding the Corinthian church. For several years, Priscilla and Aquila were leaders in the Ephesian church. She is mentioned exactly six times in the New Testament. This is not explicitly revealed, but it is assumed that the year and a half they had with Paul in Corinth must have been full of learningespecially since he lived with them! There is so much she can teach us. God will just throw it back. Along with her husband, Priscilla worked alongside the Apostle Paul with whom they became very close friends. At least Aquila, however, geographically came from the diaspora of northern Anatolia,. The greater your intimacy, the happier your marriage. She taught the gospel to people and had a church in her home. Although acclaimed for its artistry, originality, and literary excellence, it is the only book in the New Testament with author anonymity. 9 Both were makers of tents and had their own business. They served God anyway. Priscilla and her husband Aquila met the apostle Paul when he came to Corinth in approximately 50 C.E. But we do know from Scripture that when they left Rome they went to Corinth. Tradition reports that Aquila and Priscilla were martyred together. Its not always easy to find but God can provide godly friends who are similar to you in heart and purpose. Copyright 2015 - 2023. Many years later Aquila and Priscilla were living back in Ephesus, no doubt helping Timothy in the difficult work Paul had given him to do there. In Acts 18:2428, Luke reports the couple explaining Jesus' baptism to Apollos, an important Jewish-Christian evangelist in Ephesus. According to church tradition, Aquila did not dwell long in Rome: the Apostle Paul is said to have made him a bishop in Asia Minor. Some resisted and blasphemed. Some of us will never be powerful preachers, but we can be faithful students of the Word, and our homes can be open to people whose hearts are hungry to hear the Word. And, although tantalizingly limited in detail, those six mentions tell the story of a woman who used her gifts and resources to influence the spread and nurturing of the early church. Eighth, they risked their necks for Paul (Rom 16:3-4). 1st century Christian missionary married couple. Instead, she saw an opportunity to pour into him. And the home of Aquila and Priscilla was always open to people who wanted to learn more about Christ, and for Christians who wanted to grow in the Word. You know what you are really looking for. [4], The Christian Church, beginning with Jesus, had a radical view of the status of women. He preached about John the Baptist and the need for repentance in preparation for the coming of Jesus the Messiah. In the Catholic Church, the Roman Martyrology lists their feast as July 8. In other words, they put themselves in a situation where they could have died for Paul. That was when a Jew named Aquila, who had migrated to Rome from the province of Pontus on the Black Sea, packed his belongings, bid farewell to his friends, and embarked for the city of Corinth. But one thing we do knowthey were together. The Jews hated Christians and the Romans killed them for sport. Seventh, they learned the Scriptures together. and McMaster Divinity College (MDiv). Aquila and Priscilla may not have been accomplished public speakers, but they were diligent students of the Word, and they loved to share it with others. It is easy to imagine that at this time the home of Priscilla and Aquila was a real hive of theocratic activity. Perhaps 15 or 16 years later, when Paul is near death and writing his final letter to Timothy in Ephesus, he urges Timothy, Greet Prisca and Aquila (2 Tim 4:19). Priscilla and Aquila had been among the Jews expelled from Rome by the Roman Emperor Claudius in the year 49 as written by Suetonius. Apollos received their words, traveled to Achaia, and flourished in ministry there. Priscilla and Aquila were also good friends of and ministry partners with Paul (Romans 16:3). Aquila and Priscilla returned to Rome by 57 CE where they became church leaders again. He continued travelling while they settled down and opened their home, not only to Apollos but to other believers. What is your ministry? Paul brought the couple with him to Ephesus, an ancient Greek city, where they stayed, while Paul proceeded to Antioch in Turkey. Aquila is traditionally listed among the Seventy Disciples. When Paul left Antioch on his third missionary journey, he traveled through Asia Minor by land and returned to Ephesus, where he remained teaching the Word of God for approximately three years (cf. If she is preparing a lesson, she may come to get my help in understanding a particular verse, and we find ourselves sharing the Word together. Related Topics: Christian Home, Issues in Church Leadership/Ministry, Leadership, Marriage, Richard L. Strauss authored nine books, and served as pastor of churches in Fort Worth, TX, Huntsville, AL. among Jews and was used by the Church Fathers Origen in the 3rd century and St. Jerome in the 4th and 5th centuries. True oneness can only be found in Christ. Children are not mentioned, so why even mention this? Lets dig a little deeper into Priscilla specifically. After Paul left them in Ephesus, they heard Apollos speaking in the synagogue, but his knowledge of the truth was deficient. Priscilla and her husband are identified among the power couples in Scripture. Apollos received their words, traveled to Achaia, and flourished in ministry there. The wonderful thing is that as women, God has equipped us with what we need to do what He has called and commissioned us to get done. In ancient mediterranean culture, women generally did not have access to roles of power or influence, yet Paul says that Priscilla, with Aquila, risked their lives (literally necks) on Pauls behalf (Romans 16:3-4). They had to be able to accept suggestions as readily as they offered them. The Master said, " Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends " (John 15:12). The three of them became instant friends. They had each others back. Why? She could have gotten killed but Priscilla kept going. As you live your life, ask yourself this question: if the Bible were to be rewritten with your story in it, what would you like to be known for? Our knowledge of divine truth would be incomplete without the epistles which God inspired him to write. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took . They were true life partners. It does not always happen that way. This happened before 54, when Claudius died and the expulsion of the Jews from Rome was lifted. Priscilla is mentioned only six times in the New Testament, and in each instance, she is named in a strikingly countercultural way. When Paul came to Corinth, he met Priscilla and Aquila and joined them in their tentmaking business (18:3). Does it always mean taking the gospel to a dangerous land and literally dying there? Jekyll and Hyde. The fact that she is always mentioned with her husband, Aquila, disambiguates her from different women revered as saints in Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Lutheranism, such as (1)Priscilla of the Roman Glabrio family, the wife of Quintus Cornelius Pudens, who according to some traditions hosted St. Peter circa AD 42, and (2)a third-century virgin martyr named Priscilla and also called Prisca. They probably had a booming tent making business in Rome but when they were chased out, God made it work for their good. No matter what the case, Priscilla and Aquila meet Paul in Corinth. 2 Timothy 4:19 suggests that the couple returned to Ephesus at a later date, possibly around 62-64 CE. Lewis and Clark. I hear that! Possibly at this time they became Christians ( Acts 18:1-3). Neither did Apollos. All other uses require written permission. The careful description of Aquila as a Jew, a man of Pontus (Acts 18:2), rather implies that Priscilla his wife was not a Jewess; because her name is usually put first (4 out of 6 times), it is thought that she was of higher social standing than her husband. [2] She also is thought by some to be the anonymous author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. An extensive research on husband-wife saints listed only 10 since the time of Christ. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 2. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He wrote a history entitled the 'Life of Claudius' in which he stated the following: This passage shows Priscilla as a leader. Aquila and Priscilla were baptized by Paul and were cited in the scriptures as among the 70 disciples of Christ. We dont know when this occurred (perhaps during the riot in EphesusActs 19:23-41? Wherever they lived, Christians met in their home for worship. No doubt they must have been disappointed by having to close their business and give up their home in Rome. Priscilla and Aquila took him aside in a private setting and shared vital insights. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house (1 Cor. Jesus demonstrated that he valued women and men equally as being made in the image of God. When they met Paul, they adopted his lifestyle. Because they all did the same type of work for money, they became fast friends. In 1 Corinthians 16:19, Paul passes on the greetings of Priscilla and Aquila to their friends in Corinth, indicating that the couple were in his company. All he knew beyond the Old Testament was the message of John the Baptist, which merely looked forward to the coming Messiah. It is easier for them not to show up at all than to have their wives outshine them. From Priscillas life, I am taking lessons for faith, marriage, ministry, and business. Priscilla was a businesswoman who, with her husband Aquila, likely owned leatherwork or tent-making shops in several urban centers of the ancient worldRome, Corinth and Ephesus. How sweet and mature and godly of them to not embarrass Apollos in public. AQUILA was a natural Jew and a . Youve heard their names, they show up occasionally in your Bible reading, and you might even remember something about this married couple. Truth is, we will never know for sure. The names Aquila and Priscilla are Latin, but the man and woman who bear them were of Hebrew origin. Apollo is a Greek name and in Greek mythology, he was the son of Zeus and Leto, the twin brother of Artemis. There is an interesting observation to be made from that short verse, however. Together, they are credited with instructing Apollos, a major evangelist of the first century, and "[explaining] to him the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18:26). Its a good thing to be mindful of the kind of spiritual energy we allow to influence the atmosphere of our home. In stark contrast, Priscilla and Aquila are a husband and wife ministry team. Their affinity for each other was instantaneous, and a deep and lasting friendship was born that day. But Paul wanted to be remembered to them in the last hours of his life. Of those six references, Aquila's name is mentioned first only twice: and one of the times on account of it being Paul's first encounter with them, probably through Aquila first. Your email address will not be published. Priscilla was a businesswoman who, with her husband Aquila, likely owned leatherwork or tent-making shops in several urban centers of the ancient worldRome, Corinth and Ephesus. Today we can read, dissect and examine what we know of their story and mine lessons we can use to guide our own Christian experiences in practical ways. 3. When Priscilla saw and heard Apollos, she realized that he was passionate and brilliant and a gifted speaker. Acts 18-27 New Living Translation Paul Meets Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth 18 Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. Share this with each other and discuss how it can be avoided. Of those six references, Aquilas name is mentioned first only twice, Priscillas name is mentioned first on four occasions; this may indicate her equal status with her husband, or even possibly that Priscilla was thought of as the more prominent teacher and disciple. Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus (2 Tim. Her name is a Roman diminutive for Prisca which was her formal name. The Apostolic Constitutions identify Aquila, along with Nicetas, as the first bishops of Asia Minor (7.46). Paul lived with Priscilla and Aquila for approximately 18 months. 16:3-5). They became close friends with Paul, helping him to bear the burden of ministry. Apollo was thought to have given the science of medicine to mankind, but Apollo was also the . Jesus said, Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel will save it (Mk 8:35). Some husbands feel threatened because their wives are more knowledgeable or capable than they are, and in order to avoid embarrassment and save face they sometimes become spiritual dropouts. being willing to die for fellow believers. They grew to love Gods Word. Priscilla is commonly identified with her husband, Aquila. 6 Warning Signs of a Toxic Church Culture, 5 Differences Between a Critical Mind and a Critical Spirit. During their time in Ephesus, one day, Priscilla and Aquila went to the synagogue. Their lives can take a completely different direction because of your willingness to pour into them like God is asking you to. They probably helped to establish the church in Ephesus. Romans 16:3-4 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; From Thematic Bible [8][9], Priscilla was a woman of Jewish heritage and one of the earliest known Christian converts who lived in Rome. Since 1Corinthians discusses a crisis deriving from a conflict between the followers of Apollos and the followers of Cephas (possibly the apostle Peter), it can be inferred that Apollos accompanied Priscilla and Aquila when they returned to Corinth. And they were doing just that. Who were Priscilla and Aquila in the Bible? The Church Is Born: 30 CE - 60 CE. From the day Aquila and Priscilla met the Savior, they grew in the Word together. God has no problem if your ministry is your business and your business is your ministry. 1. He expelled the Jews. Paul had no problem with a godly, capable woman being a church leader. A lthough Priscilla had a household to manage, she still found time to be a thorough student of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If so, we are 80 generations into the Christian faith. And that is unusual! They ended up in Corinth. [1]. Such language was traditionally used for the hero of a Greco-Roman story, not of women. I am sure Aquila thanked God for her many times and accepted her wise counsel on many occasions. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. His death at the hands of the emperor Nero was imminent, and he was writing the last paragraph of his long and fruitful life. They had hardly gotten to Rome and already there was a church meeting in their house. The journey to the city, with friends Priscilla and Aquila, is considered part of what is called Paul's second evangelistic or missionary journey. Paul is the happy husband of Shauna Lee and the proud papa of 5 beautiful children, Madison, Max, Mikayla, Peyton and Noa. Husbands and wives need to open the Word together. Priscilla and Aquila were a married couple from Rome. Aquila, also called Akilas, (flourished 2nd century ad), scholar who in about ad 140 completed a literal translation into Greek of the Old Testament; it replaced the Septuagint (q.v.) There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his . And true, we better not throw in the towel. 6. Bert and Ernie. Priscilla and Aquila encountered a man named Apollos, who was courageously speaking about Jesus in the synagogue, but he did not yet fully know and understand Jesus. Amongst churches today, this passage is often held in perceived tension with 1 Timothy 2:1214, in which the author, Paul,[13] writes, "I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. It is particularly to be noticed that she took part, not only in her husbands exercise of hospitality, but likewise in the theological instruction of Apollos. Priscilla and Aquila are known as one of the power couples of the Bible. discussing Gods word with others, and even correcting them. At this time the church in Ephesus used the house of Aquila and Priscilla as a meeting place ( 1 Corinthians 16:19). He had been "instructed in the way of the Lord" which he taught with great "enthusiasm". Are there occasions when you feel that your mate undermines you in public? And as a result of this encounter with Aquila and Priscilla, he became an effective servant of God whom some of the Corinthians later placed on a level with Peter and Paul (1 Cor. Apollos, Aquila, Prisca. And that would not be the last time their home served that purpose. Permission granted for reproduction in exact form. They risked their lives for me. In some cases the wives are to blame. Aquila and Priscilla were living in Rome at the time of an outbreak of anti-Jewish feeling when the Emperor expelled all Jews from the city. The Great Fire on July 19 AD, which destroyed 10 of the 14 districts in Rome, was blamed on Christians. These two who lived together, worked together, and suffered exile together, came to know and love Jesus Christ together, and it made their marriage complete. The greater the intimacy, the more fulfilled you will be. Although he (likely) starts the first Christian church in the city he stays for only a . Priscilla and Aquila flesh this idea out and call us to similar discipleship. Think of it, eighteen months of intensive Bible study under the greatest Bible teacher in the early church. In every place where the Bible refers to Aquila or Priscilla, it speaks of them together, suggesting that they formed a useful and well respected partnership. The mention of her name before the name of her husband (also in Acts 18:18; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19) is a way of honoring her. If they didnt have kids, it may have been sad for them, but they still maximized their days for the Lord. It was inevitable that he would amble into the tent-making shop of Aquila and Priscilla. Fifth, they traveled with Paul. They lived, worked, and traveled with the Apostle Paul, who described them as his "fellow workers in Christ Jesus" (Romans 16:3).[1].

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