Origially posted 11/21/23
Acts 18:2 ESV And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them,
Acts 18:18 ESV After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.
Acts 18:26 ESV He began to speak 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.
Romans 16:3 ESV Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
1 Corinthians 16:19 ESV The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
2 Timothy 4:19 ESV Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
Priscilla and Aquilla are mentioned several times in the Bible. They are never mentioned separately. They are a model for what marriage should look like. They hosted a church in their home and promoted the gospel together. As a couple, they shared their gift of hospitality. They even worked together as tentmakers. Paul was also a tent maker so one can assume that they had a great deal in common. They became close friends with Paul. They originally met in Corinth after Priscilla and Aquilla had to flee Rome. They served together and we know that Paul had a great deal of respect for them and the work they did for the early church.
Many people will use Priscilla as an example of a woman pastor because she and her husband corrected Apollo’s errors. Apollo had gaps in his knowledge of the gospel based on what he was preaching. He had little knowledge beyond John the Baptist. The couple pulled Apollo aside and spoke to him privately. They were able to help him understand the full gospel message. The Bible does not mention whether Priscilla or Aquilla did the talking. It makes sense that Paul would not have thought so highly of Priscilla if she had been doing something outside of God’s plan.
According to John Macarthur in his book, God’s High Calling for Women, Priscilla and Aquila instructed Apollos. However, such instruction would not take place in the public worship service of the church. Women can have the same spiritual gifts men have, including the gifts of teaching and leadership. The Lord gives women ample opportunity to use those gifts in a setting that doesn’t violate His designed role for them. p. 47-48
These passages are descriptions of what happened. They are not instructions. You should not look at any descriptive passage and make it mean something that it does not. We would not read a passage about David and then apply it to marriage. While she is a New Testament woman and isn’t bound by the Mosiac or Davidic Covenants, we need to be careful how we apply Scripture. There is no mention in the New Testament stating that a woman ever spoke in the Temple or in any of the home churches. To use these passages and to say that a woman can be a pastor is twisting it to say something it doesn’t say. Scripture cannot mean to us what it didn’t mean to the original audience.
According to Len Woods in his book, 31 Women of the Bible, “Priscilla and Aquilla resolved to engage in the mission of God. They used their home as a powerful ministry tool. As a result, they had tremendous influence on at least three of the early church’s most significant leaders–Paul, Apollos, and Timothy.” p. 128
“It’s easy to make a mess in marriage. It’s common to just make do. Priscilla (along with her husband, Aquila) encourages us to make something else–an eternal difference.” Woods p. 128
For those of us who are married, how would our church families describe our ministry effort as a couple? would we be up to their standard or would we fall miserably short?
Photo: John Heseltine / Pam Masco / FreeBibleimages.org.