Priscilla & Aquila

Introduction

There’s Something Special About a Home

Your Home Tells a Lot About You

It Tells a Lot About the Kind of Lifestyle You Live

It Tells a Lot About Your Tastes and Interests

It Tells a Lot About What is Important to You

A Home Also Serves a Lot of Wonderful Purposes

It’s Where Love, Marriage, and Family Grows

It’s Where Meals, Laughter, and Secret Burdens Can Be Shared

In Times Past and Still in Some Places Today…

It’s Where Prayer, Study, and Worship Takes Place Amongst Believers

Last Night, Several of Us Who Went to CYC Sat Around the Livingroom of Our Shared Weekend Home…

And We Sang Songs of Praise to God

We Studied and Discussed Biblical Topics

And We Opened Up and Shared Our Burdens and Struggles with Each Other

Things Like that Just Don’t Happen Much Without a Home

I Say All this for 2 Reasons:

1.) Because We are Going to Look at a Couple Tonight Who Used Their Home to the Glory of God

2.) Because We are Going to Start Having In-Home Studies On Monday Nights Again

We Will Announce More Information on that Soon

But for Those Who Don’t Know What I’m Talking About:

Whoever is Interested Can Join Us On Monday Evenings at Someone’s House

And We Will Study, Discuss, and Fellowship with Each Other

If You Would Be Willing to Offer Your House to Host a Monday Night, Please Let Us Know

I Guarantee You that You Will Gain Something Wonderful From These In-Home Gatherings

Love Like Ours Series

We are Looking at Relationships in the Bible that Resemble Our Own Relationship to Jesus

We are Looking for a Love Like Ours

Tonight We are Going to Look at My Favorite Couple in the Bible

Priscilla & Aquila

We First Meet Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18

Paul had Just Traveled From Athens to Corinth When He Met Them

Acts 18:2–3 (NASB95)

And he found a 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 came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.

They Allowed Paul to Live and Work with Them

They Were Jews Like Him

They Were Tent-Makers Like Him

And it Seems They Were Already Christians Like Him

Other Than that, We Don’t Know a Great Deal About Their Background

Either or Both of Them Were Possibly Roman Citizens

They Were Likely Wealthy

They Had a Residence that Could Accommodate Paul Living With Them

And Their House was Often Used as the Gathering Place for the Church

This was Not Something Many Christians Would Have Been Capable of Doing

1 Corinthians 16:19 (NASB95)

The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

Romans 16:3–5 (NASB95)

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; also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.

Not Only Did They Share Their House with Their Siblings in Christ…

But Paul Mentions How They Even Risked Their Own Necks for Paul

All of the Churches of the Gentiles Knew, Loved, and Were Thankful for Priscilla and Aquila

Paul Referred to Priscilla as “Prisca” (More Formal)

Luke Always Referred to Her as “Priscilla” (Less Formal)

4 Out of the 6 Times Priscilla and Aquila are Mentioned…

Priscilla is Named First

It was Only On Very Rare Occasions that the Wife Would Be Mentioned Before Her Husband…

It Suggests that She Held a More Prominent Position Than Her Husband

Some Believe that to Be a More Prominent Social/Cultural Position

(Coming From a Wealthy or Political Family)

Some Believe it to Be a More Prominent Religious Position

(Held in Higher Regard By the Church Than Her Husband)

Later in Acts 18, We See Priscilla and Aquila Travel With Paul to Ephesus

Then Paul Left Them in Ephesus While He Continued On to Caesarea, Jerusalem, and Antioch

While Priscilla and Aquila Were in Ephesus, a Man Named Apollos Came into Town

Acts 18:24–26 (NAS)

Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.

This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Apollos was From Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria and Her Citizens were Known for Their Incredible Knowledge

So it Makes Sense that Apollos was Considered “Eloquent” (Persuasive Speaker/Intelligent)…

And “Mighty in the Scriptures” (Knew and was Able to Use the OT Very Effectively in Teaching)

And He Had Been Taught About “the Way of the Lord” (The Church and Kingdom)

He was Very Enthusiastic and Zealous in His Speaking and Teaching About Jesus

But He Only Knew About John’s Baptism

It was Connected to Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins

But it was to Prepare People for the Coming Messiah

He Had Not Heard of the Baptism that Came After Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

The Baptism of Jesus was Also Connected to Repentance and Forgiveness of Sin…

But With Jesus’ Baptism also Came the Gift of the Holy Spirit

When Priscilla and Aquila Heard Apollos Speaking and Teaching in the Synagogue…

They Recognized the Lack in His Knowledge

So They Took Him Aside and Taught Him More Accurately About the Gospel and Baptism

This is the Correct Way to Go About Correcting/Informing/Teaching/Rebuking Our Siblings in Christ

Too Many Christians Like to Make a Public Spectacle of Their Siblings…

Before Actually Having a Private Conversation With Them

The Only Correct Way is the Gentle and Loving Way

Priscilla and Aquila Were the Perfect Example of a Christian Couple

And What We Can Read About Them Gives Us a Perfect Picture of a Love Like Ours

Their Relationship is the Perfect Picture of How Our Relationship With Jesus Should Look

1. Priscilla & Aquila Were a Team

They are Always Mentioned Together

There’s Never a Time in the NT Where One is Mentioned Without the Other

They Worked Together

They Served Together

They Taught Together

Paul Called Them “Fellow-Workers”

They Worked/Served Alongside Other Christians as They Worked/Served Alongside Each Other

They Both Taught Apollos Together

Just as Priscilla and Aquila Were a Team…

The Church is Meant to Be a Team with Jesus

We Ought to Always Be Seen with Him

Wherever We Go, We Ought to Bring Jesus with Us

We Need to Bring Jesus Home with Us

We Need to Bring Jesus to Work with Us

We Need to Bring Jesus to the Restaurant/Grocery Stores with Us

We Need to Bring Jesus to Weddings, Funerals, Birthday Parties, Ball-Games, Vacations, Doctors Offices, in the Car, and Everywhere Else We May Go

What Does that Look Like?

Not Being Ashamed of Him or His Gospel

Obeying His Teachings

Following After His Example

There Should Never Be a Time When We Don’t Bring Jesus Along with Us

When We Serve, it Should Always Be to the Glory of Jesus

When We Teach, it Should Always Be About Jesus

When We Were Baptized into Jesus, We Became a Team with Jesus

We are His Servants, His Ambassadors, His Friends, His Siblings, His People

Wherever We Go, We Must Bring Him with Us

Just Like Priscilla and Aquila…

Jesus and His Church are a Team

2. They Used Their Home to the Glory of God

One of the Things Priscilla and Aquila Were Most Known for…

Was Using Their Home to the Glory of God and to the Benefit of the Church

Not Only Did They Open Their Homes Up to Christians Like Paul

But They Opened Their Homes to the Entire Community of Believers in Whatever Town They Happen to Be Living in at the Time

With the Lack of Church Buildings to Meet Together in…

They Were Willing to Offer Their Own Home as a Shared Home to Their Siblings

They Understood a Key Principle of Discipleship that Many Christians Seem to Struggle with:

Use What You Have to the Glory of God

Use What You Have to Serve the Church

Use What You Have to Minister to Your Community

Use What You Have to Share the Good News with the Lost

Use Your House, Your Occupation, Your Hobbies, Your Skills, Your Intelligence, Your Gifts, Your Blessings, etc.

They Also Understood Something that Jesus Seemed to Have Understood as Well:

The Christian Home is One of the Best Tools for…

Sharing the Gospel with the Lost

Encouraging, Uplifting, and Discipling the Saved

Together, Priscilla and Aquila Used Their Home to Glorify God

Do We Team Up with Jesus and Use Our Homes for God’s Glory?

Christians are Meant to Have Close Personal Relationships with Each Other

There’s No Better Place to Cultivate Close Personal Relationships than in the Home

Everything that I Am and Everything that I Have Belongs to Jesus

Therefore, I Should Team Up with Him and Bring Glory to Him

Conclusion

Not Only are Priscilla and Aquila a Wonderful Picture of Jesus and His Church…

But They are a Perfect Example of What God can Do with Christian Couples

When We Look at Priscilla and Aquila, We See a Love Like Ours