Day 11 of 12
Priscilla: Teacher and Church Planter
A Woman at the Heart of the Early Church
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Acts 18:24-26: "Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures... But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."
Then read Romans 16:3-5: "Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house."
Reflection
Priscilla — also called Prisca — is one of the most important and most overlooked figures in the New Testament. She appears six times in the New Testament, and in four of those six instances, she is named before her husband Aquila. In the ancient world, this ordering was significant. As N.T. Wright notes, it would indicate that she was the more prominent of the two in the life of the early church.
We first meet Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18, when Paul arrives in Corinth and stays with them because they share his trade of tentmaking. They become his closest co-workers, traveling with him to Ephesus and eventually hosting a church in their home in Rome. Paul calls them "fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life" — language that suggests they faced mortal danger for the sake of the gospel and for Paul personally.
But the most remarkable detail is what happens with Apollos. This brilliant, eloquent Alexandrian scholar arrived in Ephesus preaching about Jesus — but his understanding was incomplete. He knew only the baptism of John. Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and "explained to him the way of God more accurately." The word Luke uses for their instruction implies careful, thorough theological teaching. And Priscilla is named first in the act of teaching.
The result was transformative. Apollos went on to become one of the most important leaders in the early church — so gifted that some in Corinth preferred him to Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12). His entire ministry was shaped by the theological instruction he received from Priscilla and Aquila.
Wright observes that Paul's letters reveal a world in which women were active participants in the mission of the early church — as teachers, hosts, and fellow workers. This was not an accident. It was a reflection of the gospel itself, which broke down the barriers of gender, ethnicity, and social status.
Going Deeper
Priscilla's story demonstrates that faithfulness in the early church looked less like platform prominence and more like quiet, strategic investment. She and Aquila opened their home, risked their lives, and poured themselves into people. They shaped Apollos not by public confrontation but by taking him aside. Their influence was enormous precisely because it was personal.
Priscilla represents the countless women throughout church history who have taught, mentored, hosted, risked, and served — often without recognition — and through whom the gospel has advanced across the world.
Key Quotes
“The fact that Priscilla is often named before her husband Aquila in the New Testament is significant. In the ancient world, this would indicate that she was the more prominent of the two in the life of the early church.”
“Paul's letters reveal a world in which women were active participants in the mission of the early church — as teachers, as hosts, as fellow workers. This is not an accident or an anomaly; it is a reflection of the gospel itself.”
Prayer Focus
Asking God to use your gifts, your home, and your relationships for the advance of the gospel — and to give you the humility to teach and the humility to be taught
Meditation
Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos aside 'and explained to him the way of God more accurately.' Think of a time when someone gently corrected your understanding of something important. How did you receive it?
Question for Discussion
Priscilla is consistently listed before her husband Aquila in the New Testament — an unusual ordering in the ancient world that suggests her prominence. What does the example of Priscilla and Aquila teach us about partnership in marriage, in ministry, and in the church?