22/10/11

The Church of Priscilla and Aquila

Romans 16:3,4 - 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.

The couple Priscilla and Aquila are among the few people who have been praised again and again for their work in the Lord. They were a Jewish couple who came to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. They worked in the Lord together and also did their family business together. It was because of their common business of tent making with Paul, they met and grew in relationship with him when they along with the other Jews were driven out of Rome.

Among Believers they are not spoken of like Paul or the 12 Apostles or the Patriarchs of the Old Testament, but in the Kingdom of God they were not less than any other. They did great work for the Kingdom of God that time and again Paul and others gave credit to them.

They were rooted into the Kingdom of God not only by their steadfast work but also by their own spiritual growth in the Lord which was not less than their work. There is an incident recorded where a Jew named Apollos who came into the Lord, was mighty in the scriptures and was boldly proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord Jesus even in the Jewish synagogues. These couple on hearing of him take him into their congregation and polish him in the ways of the Lord to make him better. They may have not been having knowledge in scriptures like Apollos but they knew the application of scripture very well and thus helped Apollos grow in the Kingdom of God. This shows the need of having each other in the Body of Christ.

These couple showed a perfect meaning of a family being a Church of God; their love for the Lord, for each other and for the people. They worked independently as well as together with the Body of Christ. They may have had no special ministerial calling but that did not mean they became an audience. They may not have been the gold vessels of the Temple but they became among the best silver vessels of the Temple. They were as holy and sacred to the Lord if not less than any other vessel.

Let us learn from these couple and make our families a true Church of God like them.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, we thank You for given us an inspiration in our brother and sister Aquila and Priscilla. Lord, help us to be selflessly dedicated to your Kingdom as Priscilla and Aquila. Help us make our families into the true purpose You intended this institution...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Acts 18:1-3
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
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.
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.

Romans 16:3-4
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
4 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.

1 Corinthians 16:19 - The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

2 Timothy 4:19 - Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

Acts 18:24-28
24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:
28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.


The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others.
(All rights are with God)