Aquila Priscilla Series

Text: Acts 18:1-3

Theme: Family Principles

Greetings: The Lord is good and His love endures forever!

Introduction:

The couple Priscilla and Aquila are friends of Paul, and teachers to Apollos. They demonstrate the daring and innovative possibilities of family working together for the flourishing of the Gospel in the early Christianity. This family is an exemplary couple for the Christian community.

Priscilla and Aquila are referenced in four different New Testament books such as, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians and 2 Timothy. The names of Aquila and Priscilla were mentioned six times in the Bible. The beauty of this family is that their names always mentioned as couple and never individually. Acts 18:2-3; Acts 18:18; Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19. They were expelled from Rome by the Roman Emperor Claudius in 49 AD. They landed at Corinth.

We have many best examples of couples jointly using their skills, abilities to he betterment of administration and advancement of the cause they have opted for. Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Romeo and Juliet, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Zipporah, and Ruth and Boaz, and many others are powerful pairs united their individual gifts and abilities to accomplish incredible things.

The couple Priscilla and Aquila were exhibiting three best qualities of a committed Christian family. They were God Centred Couple, mission minded Couple, and People oriented Couple.

1. God Centred Couple - Acts 18:2-3.

Aquila was originally from the Roman province of Pontus on the south shore of the Black Sea, called the Euxine Sea during the Roman period. 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.

We are not told where Priscilla is from, her ethnicity, or her religious heritage. Her name is a common Roman name among the aristocratic families. Luke hints at the fact that she is not of Jewish heritage because he states Aquila is Jewish, but does not refer to her as such. Whether she was a convert to Judaism, and thus a proselyte, or a convert to Christianity, we are not told. She could have been originally from Rome and Aquila met and married her in the City. Priscilla is a warm-hearted, gracious woman who doesn’t take herself too seriously.

This couple worshipped together, had deeper understandings of the Word of God. They organised their life centred around God.

There are at least three lessons we can learn from the life of this godly couple who wanted their lives to be used in the service of the Lord. First, they understood the providential workings of God in their lives. Second, they experienced togetherness, in their marriage. And finally, they put God first in their lives. They worked together, worshipped together and witnessed together.

So, it is not enough to simply stay married. Married couples ought to pray together, read the Word of God together, attend the church services together, and labor together to build their children’s lives. The desire of every believing husband and wife ought to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ together. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

Worshiping together offers benefits like a stronger emotional and spiritual bond, improved communication, increased unity, and the cultivation of shared values and virtues such as empathy, forgiveness, and humility.

The statistics of divorce shows that 50 percent of first marriages end in divorce, and 78 percent of second marriages end in divorce, but less than 1 percent of couples who pray together daily end their marriages.

Sue Seiff: ‘Prayer keeps humbled in front of God and your spouse. Prayer removes from continuing the cycle of hurting each other. Prayer brings unity, peace, and joy’.

Moses and Zipporah are a couple who rescued each other with the help of God. Moses rescued Zipporah from Shepherds and Zipporah rescued Moses when God was going to kill him for not circumcising his son.(Exodus 2:21-22, 4:24-26).

2. Mission minded Couple- Acts 18:18.

Priscilla and Aquila were first century Christian missionary couple filled with full gospel. According to the Christian traditions Aquila was one of the seventy disciples whom Jesus sent for ministry (Luke 10:1). Priscilla and Aquila were tent makers like Paul.

Paul acquainted with them. Paul lived with them 18 months (Acts 18:11). They traveled with him up to Syria but stopped at Ephesus(Acts 18:19). They labored in the gospel with the Apostle Paul, opened their home for the meeting of the local church and showed hospitality to traveling preachers worked with them. Paul refers them as his coworkers. They had a long lasting relationship with Paul. This couple explained the Word of God more accurately with Apollo.

A Spirit-filled couple will have a godly marriage that will result in a powerful ministry for the Lord. Their marriage would exemplify, or picture, the love of Christ for the Church. Paul mentioned to the church in Rome that Aquila and Priscilla put their necks on the line for the Apostle Paul Romans 16:3-4 “They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.” Since this couple risked their lives for Paul.