The Vision of the Tabernacle |
Service to God |
The Bible mentions a married couple, Aquila and Priscilla, in which it may have been the wife who was spiritually more mature than her husband. In the Bible, generally the name of the husband is mentioned before that of the wife, but in three sections Priscilla is mentioned before her husband (Acts 18:18, 26; Rom. 16:3; 2 Tim. 4:19). In three other passages Aquila is mentioned first (Acts 18:2; 1 Cor. 16:19).
Paul highly regarded this couple for the love they had for the Lord, His economy and for the care they showed to him. He also recognized the spiritual experience of Priscilla. Although she was sometimes mentioned before her husband, she was most surely submissive to him, otherwise, they would have received a word of correction from the apostle. There is no passage where Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned by themselves. Any reference to them is always as a couple. This denotes the oneness and submission of the wife to her husband.
This is an important lesson that Christian women need to learn. Even if they are more capable than their husbands humanly or spiritually, the husband is still the head and she is his helper. If the sisters do not take this position, the Lord’s blessing will not be on their marriage or on their service to Him.
Paul met Aquila and Priscilla when he went to Corinth. He spent some time with this couple making tents (Acts 18:2-3). In spite of being an apostle and consecrating all his time to serve the Lord, Paul had to work because the church in Corinth was not supplying his needs or the needs of those who were with him. As they were working, surely Paul, Aquila and Priscilla did not talk about worldly things. At that time Paul must have transmitted his vision and experience of Christ to them. In the time that they were together, this couple was strengthened in their faith through their fellowship with Paul. Consequently, when Paul left Corinth to go to Ephesus, he took this couple with him and left them there because the church needed their help (vv. 18-19).
When they were in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla met a very eloquent man named Apollos. As they listened to his preaching, they realized that, in spite of being eloquent and presenting doctrines in a good way, Apollos was not very clear about God’s economy or the most important truths concerning God, Christ, the Spirit and the church. Hence, they called him to them and transmitted all they had received from Paul to him. Doubtless, the word from this couple changed Apollos’ spiritual vision.
Aquila and Priscilla were intimately joined to Paul, even to the point of risking their own lives for him. In Romans 16:3 Paul says that he considered them as his co-workers. To be a co-worker implies not only being together, but also to have the same vision, the same mind, the same spirit, the same burning desire for God’s work. Persons like this can be God’s co-workers, and a married couple like this is truly a marriage of ambassadors of God.
Verse 5 says that the church in Rome met in the house of Priscilla and Aquila. (This does not mean that there was a “church” in their house, but that the church in Rome met there.) Every Christian couple must desire to be like them, giving themselves to serve the Lord, both sharing the same spiritual vision. Even if there are difficulties and limitations in the married couples serving together, such as financial problems or children, they should both pray for this, seeking the Lord’s wisdom and the way to practice His word together.
We cannot forget that serving the Lord is not merely doing things for Him. We cannot forget that the most important aspect of our service is to be in fellowship with the Lord, before Him, in the Holy of Holies, feeding on His word. Therefore, if the married couples cannot go out together to preach the gospel or to feed a new brother, for example, they can arrange a schedule to read the Bible together, pray together, read a spiritual book together or listen to messages about God’s economy. The wives have a special responsibility to be genuine co-workers to their husbands. We need to practice what we have seen in the word of God. Moses built the tabernacle according to the pattern that was shown to him on the mountain. In the same way, in the tabernacle we have seen many details regarding our Christian life and now we need to build the church of God according to His revelation.
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