Unique in this month’s issue featuring women is Priscilla, because she is the only subject in the series whose devotion to the Lord is seen through the window of her marriage. Being a wife is not the Lord’s purpose for all women, but it is a good and normal role for a young woman to desire. God has provided marriage as the foundation and bond of family life, and therefore as a fundamental building block for society. So strong marriages are blessings to their communities as well as to local churches. Admittedly, marriage entails personal sacrifice – for both parties. For some women, this will involve forgoing career opportunities, particularly when children are in the picture, though taking care of one’s family doesn’t look identical in every home. But one of the ways that women enhance the testimony of the Lord is through committing themselves to one man and his leadership in their life (Titus 2:4-5). “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown” (Pro 12:4).1 Priscilla and her husband, Aquila, are mentioned six times in the New Testament and are always presented together. Sometimes it is “Aquila and Priscilla,” sometimes it is “Priscilla and Aquila,” but they are always seen as united partners in devotion to the Lord and His people.
Their Partnership in the Work of the Lord
In Romans 16:3-4, Paul wrote, “Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life.” Both partners in this marriage are called “coworkers”; in fact, Priscilla is the only woman explicitly given this appellation in the Scriptures. And both of them “risked their own necks.” They worked and sacrificed, and did so together. Christian marriages are enhanced by shared spiritual values and shared avenues of service. Not every stage of life makes it easy, but look for opportunities to be jointly involved in serving the Lord. And if it seems like you have a little more spiritual zeal than your partner at the moment, pray for him, and be intentional about verbally encouraging and supporting him in his contributions in the local church.
Their Ministry of Hospitality
Earlier in Romans, Paul wrote, “Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality” (12:13). The believers in Rome knew that they had a model to imitate among them in Priscilla and Aquila – a church met in their home (16:5). Earlier they had lived in Ephesus and a church met in their house there (1Co 16:19). In fact, the first time we are introduced to them in Scripture, it is in the context of their hospitality – Paul stayed with them in Corinth (Act 18:3). And later in that same chapter, they open their home to Apollos to teach him more of the Scriptures (v26). They seemed to share the conviction that the gospel comes with a house key.2 Do you appreciate that your property is a stewardship from God, and that your home can be a great blessing to both the church of God and unbelievers? We must not sin with sinners, but we can eat with them, and we can do so at our very own tables. In one sense, the citizens of our world have never been so connected, yet they may never have been so lonely. Hospitality does not need to be a performance in exceptional entertainment; that can sometimes be counterproductive in making others feel comfortable. “Hospitality is necessary whether you have cat hair on the couch or not. People will die of chronic loneliness sooner than they will die of cat hair in the soup.”3
Their hospitality to Apollos also demonstrates a shared interest in the Scriptures. Again, note that Luke tells us “Priscilla and Aquila” heard Apollos, and “they explained the way of God to him.” Priscilla may very well have been the more outgoing of the two, and in a private setting she contributed meaningfully in explaining the truth of God to a ready learner. Sisters’ interest and knowledge in the Scriptures should never be brushed aside.
Their Understanding of God’s Mission to the World
Recall that Priscilla and Aquila were with Paul during his crucial experience in Corinth when the Lord told Paul, “I have many people in this city” (Act 18:10). The Lord was not merely saying there were a lot of elect individuals; He uses a word that conveys “people groups.” It is akin to the language of Hosea 2, which Paul references explicitly in Romans 9:25, “I will call Not My People, My People.” In that cosmopolitan centre of Corinth, the Lord was saving people of varying non-Jewish backgrounds and uniting them in His multiethnic Church; Priscilla and Aquila were in on it and grasped God’s inclusion of Gentiles. They had experienced the expulsion of Jews from Rome under Emperor Claudius, and therefore became part of a predominantly Gentile testimony when they returned to Rome. Romans indicates there was some measure of conflict between Jewish and Gentile believers, but clearly Aquila and Priscilla were at the vanguard in how to work through that cultural diversity and enjoy unity; not only did they risk their necks for Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, but “all the Gentile churches” owe them thanks.
That is a remarkable commendation for Jewish Christians. They gladly embraced believers of pagan, Gentile background and walked in the unity of the Spirit. They lived in multiple large cities (Rome, Corinth and Ephesus, at least) and always attached themselves to the people of God and served them wherever they were, no matter the cultural backgrounds. They doubtless observed diverse environments and convictions among the churches in which they fellowshipped, but that didn’t compromise their understanding of unity in the Lord. There is wisdom in what we have often heard – that unity and uniformity are not identical in meaning or value. Unity conveys being joined together, believing the same thing. Uniformity conveys identicalness – no difference in any way. The former is a biblical truth; the latter is a human arrangement. Priscilla and Aquila held tenaciously to the apostles’ doctrine, knowing that the same truth of Scripture worked in every culture. With Christian grace and wisdom, they then applied its principles in a variety of contexts. They are a model for Christian couples today.
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the CSB.
2 The Gospel Comes With a House Key (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018) is the title of a lovely and challenging book by Rosaria Butterfield on the value of Christian hospitality.
3 Ibid, p.111
