Women of the Bible: Priscilla

Acts 18:1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth. 2 He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers. 4 He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. 23 Having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples. 24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26 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 Greet Prisca [Apparently Prisca was a variation of the name Priscilla, and the two were the same person.] and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the assemblies of the Gentiles.

1 Corinthians 16:19 The assemblies of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you much in the Lord, together with the assembly that is in their house. 20 All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

2 Timothy 4:19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the house of Onesiphorus.

In three of the passages above, Priscilla is mentioned first, then Aquila. This may signify that she was the leader of the couple.

Priscilla is sometimes used now as a name for girls and women.

Salvation acrostic

Sin: separates us from God, and hurts us and others. It is something we have all done, but can’t pay the penalty for. Romans 3:23, 6:23.

Atonement: Christ’s death paid the price for my sin. Romans5:6-15.

Love: God loved us so much that He sacrificed Himself for our sin. Luke 19:10.

Victory: With the help of God the Holy Spirit, it is possible to live a holy life, victorious over temptation, including the temptation to take credit for our own salvation. Psalm 13:5-6; John 17:6-26, Romans 6:1-2, 1Thessalonians 5:5-11.

Attractiveness: A victorious life should be attractive to other people. John 7:37-39, Acts 16:25-34.

Teaching: Jesus told his disciples to teach all nations, and to make disciples of converts. Converts should learn from the Bible on their own, and be part of a teaching church. Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke24:45-49, 2 Peter 3:17-18.

Immortality: Believers, whose sins have been paid for, are promised immortality with Christ. Ephesians 1:11-14, Romans 6:23

Overcoming: The church, and individual Christians, seem to be weak, at times. But Christ has promised that the true church – composed of actual believers, not necessarily church members – will endure. Matthew 16:18, Revelation 2:8-11.

New life, with purpose, and with fruit: Those who have experienced salvation should manifest the Fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians5:22-23) They will also participate, often with others, in attracting new believers, especially by serving, giving, testifying and praying. John 15:8, Acts 6:7, 11:27-29, Romans 12:4-8, Matthew 25:31-46. They will have intimacy with God. Matthew 10:16-20, John 14:16-16:15.

I have probably left out important concepts, and important scripture passages. Let me know if you think of such, in a comment, if you can. Thanks for reading. 

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On September 5, 2016, the links to scripture -- ESV -- were added.

Suggested guidelines on discipling others

In Matthew 28:16-20, Christ commanded His disciples to make disciples, which means to teach others carefully and thoroughly. How are we to do that? Here are some suggestions:

Guidelines on Discipling Others
The most important guideline is to be an example of Christlikeness.
 
Children: 1. read Bible stories to them, from the Bible, or from Bible story books.
2. Pray with them. Teach them that prayer is not just asking for things, but is also confession of sin, and asking for forgiveness, and is also thanking God for who He is and what He has done. Prayer should become a way of life.
3. Answer questions (Why isn’t my grandfather here anymore?) honestly, scripturally, and not so as to overwhelm the child. including “I don’t know, but I’ll try to find out” when appropriate.
4. Learn and live the Golden Rule. (Matthew 7:12)

Adults: Follow guidelines 2 and 3 above.
5. Teach that God loves sinners (John 3:16, Christ’s suffering and death) but hates sin.
6. Teach them to read the Bible regularly. New Christians shouldn’t start with Revelation or Ezekiel. They should become familiar with these passages: Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 23, Psalm 51, Psalm 119:11, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 53:3-12, Matthew 7:12, Matt 5-7, 22:34-40, 25:31-46, 28:16-20, John 14:5-15:27, John 17, 1 Corinthians 13 and 15, Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 2:3-11, Hebrews 11, 1 John 1, 1 John 4:7-9. The rest of the Bible, especially the Gospels and Acts, is also good, and should be read, but probably these passages should be absorbed first. Teach that Christians disagree over the meaning of some Bible passages, but the main message of the Bible is clear. We shouldn’t expect to understand all of scripture. Bible study and teaching will increase our understanding. 
7. Teach that Christ’s death and resurrection is the only remedy for sin. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, except accept God’s grace by faith. (Ephesians 2:1-10) However, accepting Christ’s sacrifice, and following Him, will lead to good works, such as giving, helping, befriending and discipling others.
8. Teach that God expects us to become part of a Christ-honoring church. Such a group won’t be perfect, but we should be part of it.
9. Teach that Satan will continue to try to discourage and defeat believers, but that there is no temptation that we can’t overcome. (1 Corinthians 10:6-13). If we do sin, there is forgiveness. (1 John 1:9.)
10. Teach that although salvation gives us hope of heaven, that’s not its main purpose. The main purpose is to enable us to live a victorious life – a Christ-like one, full of joy, now. (Ephesians 3:14-21, John 10:10.)
11. Teach that salvation does not guarantee that bad things won’t happen. But God cares for us in those times, whether we feel like He does or not. He cares so much that He died for us, and God the Holy Spirit comforts and guides us.
12. Teach that the Bible does not tell us how, when or why the universe came to be, but that it is here because of a Who – there is a purpose in the universe.
13. Discipling doesn’t mean reproducing our personal convictions, our slant on things that Christians disagree on, or our politics and prejudices. That would be making my disciples, or yours, not Christ’s.
14. See the most important guideline, at the top of the page.

Thanks for reading! Any suggestions would be appreciated. I thank a member of a small group I am part of for a suggestion, which has been incorporated above.

Christ's commands -- what are they?

What are Christ’s commandments?

There are a lot of them, and I'm not going to list them all, but this post is an attempt to present some of the most important ones.

Many of Christ's commandments to us are found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), which includes commands to let our light shine; keep our motives pure – don’t even want to commit adultery or murder; be reconciled to others, and forgive them, especially before you try to worship; turn the other cheek – that is, don't retaliate when others do evil to you; don't pledge that you will do something, just do it; love even your enemies; don’t draw attention to your good deeds; don’t be anxious about worldly possessions; judge yourselves before judging others; beware of false prophets; treat other people as you would like to be treated yourself.

He also told us to live the summary of the Old Testament Law: Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Bible quotations are from the World English Bible, which is public domain.)

In Mark 12:14-19, Jesus commanded His listeners to honor the government, including paying taxes. We should remember that this was an occupying government, and its head was a Roman pagan emperor.

There are other commands, but one more is found in the last words of Matthew’s gospel: Matthew 28:19 Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

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I updated this by adding a couple of items that I had forgotten, and by rewording, on August 25, 2012. See also a post on Jesus and the Ten Commandments.