Teaching Text

Acts 18:1-4, 18-28

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.

After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

Sermon Recap

This week, Pastor Suzy Silk continued our Summer sermon series, The Fifth Act, with a sermon on Acts 18 and the ministry of Priscilla and Aquila in the Early Church. By studying their twenty year ministry journey with Paul and other disciples, we can learn what it looks like to truly live as a community of missional disciples, confident in our mission to spread the Gospel in New York. 

Pastor Suzy first outlined the principles of missional ministry, explaining God’s intention for His disciples to go out in pairs or teams, to share the Gospel and multiply His Kingdom. Priscilla and Aquila served together as a married couple to perform their missional ministry, but they also joined forces with other believers, like Paul, Timothy, Silas, and later Apollos, who they also discipled. By following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they allowed their ministry to evolve as they changed locations and reconfigured their ministry teams based on who God brought in their path, resulting in profound spiritual multiplication. 

Like Priscilla and Aquila, spiritual multiplication should be the result and purpose of our missional ministry. Their faithfulness had far-reaching impacts on the Early Church, as they discipled many people through the founding of the churches in Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome, and were on mission with Paul during the writing of these epistles. Pastor Suzy encouraged us to map our own spiritual family trees, using Priscilla and Aquila as an example, to reflect on the people who have influenced our own faith and those we have had a similar impact on through discipleship. 

Based on the mandate in Genesis for mankind to be fruitful and multiply, and Jesus’ final command to go and make disciples of all nations, it is clear that God’s hope for us is that every ordinary disciple engage in spiritual multiplication. Pastor Suzy offered three steps of response to achieve this. First, we should reflect on our spiritual families, expressing gratitude for God for those that discipled us and praying for our own spiritual children. Next, she encouraged us to seek out missional ministry partners or teams to join in the work of sharing the Gospel and spiritual multiplication. By moving from community to communitas, we honor each other by showing deep love and commitment to one another through the work of spiritual formation of our teams and the communities we are planted in. Lastly, we should determine and train to be spiritual parents to spiritual children. Whether or not you already have spiritual children, we all should consider the areas in our spiritual lives that can be improved as we seek to disciple others, make a plan to train for spiritual parenthood, and prayerfully step out as spiritual parents in our communities. 

Through the story of Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18, and beyond, God shows us that we are not meant to do life or ministry alone. We must ask God to help us be fruitful disciples that lay down our lives to see Him glorified in our city, and faithfully carry the Gospel wherever we go.