She is mentioned exactly six times in the New Testament. Aquila is traditionally listed among the Seventy Disciples. Paul was generous in his recognition and acknowledgment of his indebtedness to them (Romans 16:34). They chose a wise mentoring approach with Apollos. Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned one more time in the New Testament, in the last chapter of the last book the Apostle Paul wrote. Their story begins in Acts 18 when they came in as a group of refugees who were fleeing from Rome in 49 A.D. as a result of the persecutions happening there. . We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Priscilla and Aquila were instrumental by partnering with Paul to found the churches in Corinth and Ephesus, then by providing correction to ensure accurate teaching that carried into other areas, and finally by providing encouragement and support to Timothy as he led the Ephesian church that met inside their home ( 1 Corinthians 16:19 ). Not all translations will use this name. SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Acts 18:1-4,18-21; Romans 16:3-5. This is exactly what many Christian marriages lack. He is thinking of his dear friends who were then back in Ephesus where Timothy was ministering, possibly having left Rome to escape Neros latest outburst of persecution against Christians. He absorbed the truth they taught him and made it a part of his life and ministry. She was not competing with Aquila. AQUILA was a natural Jew and a . Wow Andrea! The three would prove to become steadfast friends, traveling companions, and ministry coworkers. In the early days when Christianity was new and unpopular, many people lost their lives. . Are you sharing the Word of God with each other? Aquila had acquired that skill and later taught it to his wife, and she happily assisted him in his business. Her joy: To spread the gospel and nurture the church. There is no proof any of these ideas are really true. By his side was his faithful wife, Priscilla. Their lives were never the same again. Because of this, Priscillas leadership in the early church can easily be missed by our modern, western perspectives, especially as she and her husband receive only six mentions in Acts and Pauls letters. KEY VERSE: "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." Romans 16:3,4. Priscilla and Aquila had been among the Jews expelled from Rome by the Roman Emperor Claudius in the year 49 as written by Suetonius. In Acts 18:2428, Luke reports the couple explaining Jesus' baptism to Apollos, an important Jewish-Christian evangelist in Ephesus. Paul lived and worked with them while founding the Corinthian church. How did Aquila and Priscilla die? Even risking their lives for each other. discussing Gods word with others, and even correcting them. Do you seek praise from others at his expense? Here are the Bible passages that talk about Priscilla. Jesus had been crucified, was raised from the dead, went back to heaven and left a mandate for His disciples to turn the world upside down with His message of love and hope. Saints Aquila and Priscilla were a couple of Jews tentmakers living in Corinth. If you and your mate were considering working together in a business, what problems would you foresee arising? Why Isnt the Civil Rights Movement Considered a Revival Movement? They are mentioned six times in four different books of the New Testament, always named as a couple and never individually. Aquila and Priscilla are always mentioned together. Aquila and Priscilla exhibited such unity, they were one in their secular job of tentmaking, one in their love for each other, and one in their service for the Lord Jesus Christ. That is not difficult to do in a pastors home. Adolph von Harnack, "Probabilia uber die Addresse und den Verfasser des Habraerbriefes", Suetonius mentions this expulsion of the Jews from Rome (, "The Ministry of Women: An Argument for the Ordination of Women", "Comparing the Status of Women in the Early Christian Church with Their Contemporaries in Greco-Roman Culture at Large", "How a Woman Taught an Apostle and we Missed It", "St. Priscilla, with her husband, Aquila, at Ephesus | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Priscilla_and_Aquila&oldid=1142389469, Articles about multiple people in the Bible, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 14 July (other Orthodox Churches commemorate Saint Aquila alone as an Apostle), This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 03:35. Priscilla and Aquila are regarded as saints in most Christian churches that canonize saints. They have been called the most famous couple in the Bible since they . What is the meaning of Priscilla in the Bible? Young people have profited greatly by adults who have opened their homes to youth groups. Acts 18:1 Meaning 2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. If they did have kids, it appears their lives were not centered on their children, but Christ. His Latin name, Aquila, means "eagle." Most likely he was a freedman living in Rome because most of the Jews living in Rome at this time were such. 9. Actually, Prisca was her real name. So when they arrived in Corinth, they scoured the marketplace together for a small open-air shop to rent, and proceeded to set up their tent-making business. In Ephesus Paul leaves them there and goes on to Caesarea. using your resources for the advance of Gods kingdom. Acts 18: 1-3. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. He expelled the Jews. 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. I really appreciated how she consistently poured into others. Whether you worship alone or with some of your friends, make sure the enemy knows your space is a place of godly worship, peace, and praise. Priscilla is the diminutive of Prisca, feminine of Prisca meaning "primitive," hence, "worthy, or venerable," as belonging to the good old For one thing, they made their living together. Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned one more time in the New Testament, in the last chapter of the last book the Apostle Paul wrote. When Priscilla and Aquila met Paul in Corinth, they spent 18 months together. She is certainly not Aquilas property as was customary in Greco-Roman society but rather his partner in ministry and marriage".[5]. Find more free articles at www.BulletinInserts.org, a ministry of Christian Communicators Worldwide: www.CCWtoday.org. "For my sake," says the Apostle, "they laid down their own necks." We do not know to what incident he refers; possibly it may be the riot in the theatre at Ephesus, in which he was in great danger, and which made a deep . He has been in pastoral ministry since 1994, serving in both Fellowship and Canadian Baptist churches in Oakville, Mississauga and Orillia, Ontario Canada. That is not always easy for an extremely talented woman to do, but Priscilla did it. Aquila and Priscilla were martyred with other Christians. 9. Let's begin by reading the end of Acts 18 and the beginning of Acts 19. They liked each other a lot. According to Acts 18:2f, before Paul meets them in Corinth, they were part of a group of Jews whom the Emperor Claudius ordered expelled from Rome; if this edict of the Emperor can be dated, then we would be able to infer when Paul arrived in Corinth. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took . Priscilla, Aquila, and Timothy ministered together with Paul in Corinth, and Priscilla and Aquila worked alongside Timothy in Ephesus. They became the honored and much-loved friends and ministry partners with the Apostle Paul. Your ministry may even be under the disguise of a business. But it may be more difficult at your house, especially if you have never done it. The greater your intimacy, the happier your marriage. Some resisted and blasphemed. Jesus demonstrated that he valued women and men equally as being made in the image of God. 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). Once Pauls ministry was complete the first time he went to Corinth, he set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there (Acts 18:19). Making the decision to become Christian missionaries was a big deal. Seventh, they learned the Scriptures together. However, it apparently works out well for some. Aquila and Priscilla were baptized by Paul and were cited in the scriptures as among the 70 disciples of Christ. Priscilla and Aquila were a first century Christian missionary couple described in the New Testament. 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. 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.) She was one of the most prolific female missionaries of the Scriptures. Yet Priscilla and her husband took the charismatic preacher and evangelist Apollos under their wings, explaining to him the way of God more accurately, empowering him to preach the Word of God with truth and clarity (Acts 18:24-26). Their door was open to anyone who wanted to enjoy good Christian fellowship and encouraging, uplifting worship. Evangelical interpretation is that she was simply a companion to her husband, Aquila, but not necessarily a leader or contributor to the ministry of the church in any substantial way. This indicates Priscilla was a leading figure in the church in Rome. The Apostle Paul, after staying in Corinth for a year and a half, travels to Ephesus in the spring of 52 A.D. Paul lived and worked with them, for . She is often thought to have been the first example of a female preacher or teacher in early church history. It seems, from what the Roman historian Suetonius says, that they were persecuting their Christian neighbors and causing considerable disturbance in the city. And so they could easily spend hours upon hours upon hours together and not get bored or sick of each other. Read the only passages that feature Priscilla: He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the . It is suspected that they went back to Rome at some point when things had settle down. The number of ways to build a ministry is countless. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Apollo is often depicted as playing a golden lyre, but he was also known as the Archer, shooting with a silver bow, and also the god of healing. Priscilla was also called Prisca. They were inseparable, and they were equals. Priscilla and Aquila are known as one of the power couples of the Bible. Rather than correcting him in public or openly challenging his teaching, they fostered a relationship with him in the context of loving fellowship. Priscilla and Acquila traveled alot on missionary work.