Priscilla: A Woman of Influence
Becky looks at the many roles Priscilla undertook in the early church.
Priscilla is widely acknowledged as an early church leader and female teacher, who along with her husband Aquila, helped to start the church in Corinth with Paul, and later planted a church in Ephesus.
What’s in a Name?
Of the six times that Priscilla and Aquila are named in the bible, four times Priscilla is named first. In fact, whenever we read about the couple’s job as tent makers or reference to the church that meets in their house it is Aquila’s name that comes first (Acts 18:2-3; 1 Corinthians 16:19). However, the references to their teaching and ministry leadership always begin with Priscilla’s name (Acts 18:18-19, 26; Romans 16:3-4; 2 Timothy 4:19).
This is no coincidence – especially in the cultural norm of the time that Luke and Paul are writing. They intentionally put Priscilla’s name first, and this points to her ministry prominence and gifting. As we will see, she was a woman who was released in the early church to operate fully in her God-given gift of leadership.
So, what can we discover about who she was?
A Fellow Worker in Christ
In Romans 16 Paul greets 27 people in the Roman church. Ten of these people are described in terms that reveal their significant ministry contribution, such as ‘fellow workers in Christ’ or those who ‘work hard in the Lord’. These people are most likely part of the leadership team of the Roman church.
Wonderfully, seven of these ten co-labourers are women. And of all the people greeted in the Roman church, Priscilla’s name is first on the list! Paul refers to her and Aquila as his ‘fellow workers in Christ Jesus’ who ‘risked their lives for me’ (Romans 16:3-4). Indeed, their ministry was so widely known that not only does Paul commend them both himself, but he also passes on gratitude from ‘all the churches of the Gentiles’ (Romans 16:4).
A Church Planter and Leader
Paul first met Priscilla and Aquila when he arrived in Corinth (Acts 18:2-3). They were all tent makers, and Paul was invited into the couple’s home to live and work with them. No doubt Paul used this time to train and disciple them both. We know from 1 Corinthians 16:19 that during this time Priscilla and Aquila helped start the church with Paul, hosting it in their home and financing its work.
After this season of training and equipping, the pair set sail with Paul, arriving at Ephesus, where Paul then continued on to Syria (Acts 18:18-19). During the 6-12 months that Paul was gone, Priscilla and Aquila planted a church in their new hometown of Ephesus. It was here that they met a man called Apollos.
A Gospel Teacher
One Sabbath, Priscilla and Aquila went to the synagogue, probably looking for people who were open to engage with the gospel. On this particular occasion they met Apollos, ‘a native of Alexandria’ who was a ‘learned man with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures’ (Acts 18:24).
Apollos began speaking boldly in the synagogue and although he knew the Old Testament and had been instructed in the way of Jesus (Acts 18:25), there were gaps in his knowledge that Priscilla and Aquila quickly spotted.
After hearing him speak, they invited him back to their home and ‘explained to him the way of God more adequately’ (Acts 18:26). The word ‘explained’ in this context can also mean ‘teach’, for example when it is used to describe Paul’s ministry in Rome where he ‘witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the Kingdom of God’ (Acts 28:23).
Again, as Priscilla is named first in this account, it is probable that she had the dominant teaching ministry and was therefore instrumental in teaching and training Apollos, who went on to become a teacher himself, with his ministry resulting in great fruit (1 Corinthians 3:6).
A Woman of Influence
Clearly, Priscilla was a significant woman who influenced the lives of many as she lived out the gospel and shared the good news of Jesus with those she met. She used her leadership gift to pioneer and pastor, and she taught in a way that released the teaching gift in others.
Who is God calling you to influence for the Kingdom of God today?
How can you use the gifts you have been given to release others to step out in faith too?
