Will you turn with me in your
Bibles to Acts chapter 18. Acts chapter 18. We'll begin reading in verse
one. After these things, Paul departed from Athens and came
to Corinth. Now I want you to remember, this
is his first time to Corinth. The gospel is being brought here
now for the very first time. And all that we read in the epistles
of first and second Corinthians go back to this day. And he found a certain Jew named
Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife,
Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded that the Jews depart
from Rome, and he came unto them. And because he was of the same
craft, he abode with them and wrought, for by their occupation
they were tent makers." Aquila and Priscilla. You're familiar
with the scriptures. You're familiar with this married
couple. I've titled this message, A Marriage
Made in Heaven. Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned
six times in the New Testament. Three times in this one chapter.
And each time they're mentioned, their names are reversed. They're never mentioned separately.
They're always together, Aquila and Priscilla. The next time
they're mentioned, it's Priscilla and Aquila. The next time they're
mentioned, it's Aquila and Priscilla, and so forth, six times. They reversed, the Holy Spirit
reversed the order of this husband and wife. What are we to learn
from that? This Bible is not about Aquila
and Priscilla. You know that. I mean, I thought
of Robert and Deanna. You know, you never see them
separated. They're always together. They're
always one. You might say Deanna and Robert, Robert and Deanna,
but you know, they're What an exemplary couple in marriage. And yet, just like Robert and
Deanna, and just like your marriage, and I'm sure just like Aquila
and Priscilla, you put two sinners together in the same household,
and there's going to be some conflicts. There's going to be
some moments of trouble. That's just the way it is, isn't
it? But this Bible is not about Aquila and Priscilla. It's certainly
not about Robert and Deanna or you or me. It's about Christ
and his church. That's what it's about. The union
that the Lord Jesus Christ has with his church. And we're gonna
look at the verses where Aquila and Priscilla, Priscilla and
Aquila are mentioned in the New Testament. And see how it is
that these references remind us of Christ. and his church. They're always mentioned together, never separately. And I can't think of another
married couple in the Bible where the wife's name comes first,
and yet we have it here. What is the Lord saying to us? Well, what he's saying is what
we read in the beginning of Genesis, when God put Adam, a type of
the Lord Jesus Christ, into a deep sleep and took from his side
a rib and made his wife, the church, Eve, from the rib of
Adam. And when Adam awoke, he said,
This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. A man shall
leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife
and the two flesh have become one. Now certainly that's true
in marriage, but it's perfectly illustrated. Our marriages are
far from perfect, but his was, his is, The marriage that the
Lord Jesus Christ has with his bride is a perfect union. So
that the Bible says, as he is, so are we in this world. Scott and I were talking about
that the other day and Scott said, well, that's a hard one
to get ahold of. I said, it's impossible. How can we begin
to comprehend how God sees the bride of Christ exactly how he
sees his son? And yet the scriptures are clear
that that is how it is. And so, like everything else,
we are brought by faith to believe what God has said, though we
can't begin to comprehend it. But here's the glorious truth. The union between Christ Jesus
the Lord and his bride is so perfect that God the Holy Spirit
would mention the bride before the bridegroom. Turn with me to 1 John 5. Scott, you read this in the men's
study this morning. Verse 18. of 1 John chapter 5,
we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, because,
but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and the wicked
one toucheth him not. Oh, we're in Christ. We are completely
without sin. And we know that we are of God
and that the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that
the son of God has come and has given to us an understanding
that we may know him that is true. And we are in him that
is true, even in his son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God. This is eternal life to be found
in him. Oh, just as there's no separation
between your body and your head, there's no division between the
head of the body of Christ and each individual member of that
body. The bride and the bridegroom
are all of one, made from the very rib, the very place where
that spear lanced our Lord and pierced his heart and out flowed
water and blood, our righteousness and our sanctification before
God. Oh, the church was birthed in
the slaying of the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary's cross. This is where we find our hope,
that God Almighty would look at the bride of Christ, he would
look at Priscilla in the same way he looks at Aquila. Jeremiah chapter 23, the scripture
says, and his name, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, shall
be called the Lord our righteousness. And that verse, Robert, that
you quoted, that God made him sin, who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him, is is declared in Jeremiah chapter
33 when the Bible, when God says, and she shall be called the Lord
our righteousness. Oh, brethren, this union with
Christ, it's real. Oh, it's a mystery. It cannot
be comprehended how God could love me in the same way he loves
his son. And yet the Lord has declared
it over and over again. Priscilla has the same standing
as does Aquila. No separation. Turn with me to
Isaiah chapter 54. Isaiah chapter 54. This is our
hope. If we're not found in Christ,
and if we don't have the righteousness of Christ, if we're not as sinless
as the Lord Jesus Christ, then we have no hope. We have no hope. This is what the Lord does. When
he married his bride, he made her just as he is. Isaiah chapter 54. Verse four,
fear not. By the way, you know how many
times the term fear not is found in the Bible? 365 times. One for every day. You need God
to say fear not? Well, he says it every morning.
And his mercies are renewed day by day. And he says to his children,
fear not, I am with you. Fear not, as I am, so are you. Fear not, the wrath of God has
been put away. The fire of God's justice has
been quenched. Fear not, for thou shalt not
be ashamed, neither shall thou be confounded. There's no reason
to be ashamed or confused about this. Paul said, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of God is the power of God unto salvation. For thou shalt not be put to
shame, for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and thou
shalt remember the reproach of thy widowhood, or shall not remember
the reproach of thy widowhood anymore. No, when I make you
to be my bride, all those things are gone. For thy maker is thy
husband, and the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth, shall he
be called. For the Lord hath called thee
as a woman forsaken, and grieved in spirit, and as a wife of youth,
when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have
I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In
a little wrath, I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with
everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord
thy Redeemer. Thy maker is thy husband, thy
Redeemer." All the forsaken, broken lives that he has married
to himself and made as perfect as he is. Aquila. Priscilla? Or is it Priscilla and Aquila? Who can tell? Who can tell? Aquila's name translated means
eagle, and the Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 32, Speaking
of Moses, as an eagle stirreth up her nest, and fluttereth over
her young, and spreadeth abroad her wings, and taketh them, and
beareth them on her wings, so the Lord did lead Moses. And
there was no strange God with him. And when we read from 1
John chapter 5, I didn't read the very last verse where God
says little children. Little children, stay away from
idols. Oh, there's how we know the Lord
has married us. We can't bow to an idol anymore. The one and only living and true
God is the God of our salvation. We can't place the hope of our
salvation anywhere else than finding perfect union with Christ. Here's our hope. Aquila, our eagle. Here's what, you remember in
Job chapter 39 when the Lord begins to interrogate Job and Job's been accusing God of wrongdoing
and now Job's gonna be put in his place and he's gonna bow
before the Lord. One of the questions the Lord
asked Job, doth the eagle mount up at thy command and make her
nest on high? Job, are you the one that controls
the eagle? Are you the one who controls
the work of Christ in mounting up on high and making his nest
for his church? Proverbs chapter 30. The writer of Proverbs says that
the way of the eagle in the air, oh, it's too wonderful for me. I can't begin to comprehend how
glorious my Aquila is. But then the name Priscilla is
the name ancient. We think of the Lord being the
ancient of days, but here's the glorious truth, brethren, this
union that the Lord Jesus Christ has with his church. We think
of ancient as being something maybe a few thousand years ago. No, this word means before time
began. God's people were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. They've never been seen
outside of Christ. He said, I've loved you with
an everlasting love. Aquila at Priscilla here is seen. Well, here in second Kings chapter
19, the prophet Isaiah goes to the king Hezekiah and the king
of Syria, Sennacherib is threatening to destroy the city of Jerusalem,
which is a picture of the church. And the Lord speaks through the
prophet Isaiah, a word of encouragement to Hezekiah. And here's what
he says. Hast thou not heard long ago
in ancient days, how I have done it and of ancient times, how
I have formed Jerusalem? For I will defend this city and
I will save it for my own sake. This city of Jerusalem goes back
to ancient times. God's people have always been
in Christ. They've always been justified
in Christ. They've always been elected in
Christ. They've always been redeemed in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
is that lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
And so this union that Priscilla and Aquila have in the Bible
is a picture of Christ and his church, the perfect marriage
made in heaven, made in heaven. Oh, literally, literally this
marriage was made in heaven. The second thing we see about
Aquila and Priscilla as a type of Christ and the church, back
to our text, is that they were exiles. They were refugees. Does our heart not go out to
some of these people that are fleeing the the horrible troubles
of third world countries and trying to find some freedom and
life and I mean I'm all for vetting refugees and make sure we don't
get criminals and stuff like that but you can't help but to
just be and we've got so many comforts in this world. What a horrible existence that
would be to be a to be a refugee. You've got all your possessions
in a bag you're carrying along with you. And that's who Aquila
and Priscilla were. The scripture tells us that Claudius
had issued a decree in Rome demanding that all the Jews leave the city. Now historians tell us that there
was a conflict between the believing Jews and the unbelieving Jews
as we see everywhere Paul goes. The riots and the conflicts all
break out because of the unbelieving Jews and the threat that the
gospel is to their religious position. And so Claudius in
52 AD just said, I decree all Jews, I don't care whether you
believe in Jesus or not, if you're a Jew, get out of Rome." And
Aquila and Priscilla were forced to leave the city and go to Corinth. You know what Rome is a picture
of. It's a picture of this world. Scripture depicts Rome as all
the things that the systems and the philosophies and the values
and the mores and the morals of this world stand for is Rome. And though we live in the world,
And I'm not suggesting that we don't enjoy the handiwork of
God in creation, that we don't enjoy the pleasures of life that
the Lord gives us, and good meal, and loving family, and good health,
and comforts. We enjoy those things. And yet
the scripture says, love not the world, nor the things that
are in the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, For he that hath the love
of these things knows not the love of God. So here's what the
Lord's, here's what I'm trying to say. We're exiles. We're refugees
from Rome. We're in this world, but we're
not of this world. We have a different God. We have
a different everything. Peter, when he began his epistle
in 1 Peter 1, he said, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to
the strangers scattered abroad in Pontus and Cappadocia and
Galatia, and he mentions all these places in Asia Minor, the
strangers that have been scattered out into the world. That's God's
church. That's who we are. We don't have
anything in this world, really? This world is not our home. We're pilgrims in this world.
We're setting our affections on things above. We're looking
to get out of this world alive. All Jews have been exiled from
Rome. And he is not a Jew, which is
one outwardly, but which is one inwardly. He is not a Jew, which
is the physical seat of Abraham, but the spiritual seat of Abraham,
which has not had flesh circumcised with the hands of men, but he's
had his heart circumcised by the spirit of God. This is the
true Jew and all Jews, all Jews are exiles. They're pilgrims,
they're strangers. Truth is, the more we grow in
grace, the more grieved we become over
how attached we are to this world. And the more we long to be rid
of this world. We're talking about the systems
of this world. Talking about the religions of this world.
We're talking about the philosophy of this world. We're talking
about the morals of this world. Not in this world. Just like Aquila and Priscilla. The king has set out. Out of
the city. And we live walk by faith, not
by sight, day by day, waiting on the Lord. Third thing I want you to see
about Aquila and Priscilla being a type of Christ, not only do
we see their union as a picture of our union with Christ, the
bride and the bridegroom, not only do we see that they, like
us, truly were refugees from this world. Thirdly, we see that
they were tent makers. They were tent makers along with
the Apostle Paul. Now a tent is also referred to
in the Bible as a tabernacle. It's a temporary dwelling place.
And this goes along with the fact that we're pilgrims in this
world. This body that we live in is a temporary dwelling place.
Peter said in 2 Peter 1, verse 13, as long as I am in this tabernacle,
in this flesh, in this tent, I will stir you up and put you
in remembrance, knowing that shortly we must put off this
tabernacle. We're being constantly reminded
that the repairs that we're making on these tents is not forever. There's going to come a day when
the tent's going to get folded up. We're not going to need it
anymore. This tabernacle is going to be
put away and this mortal is going to be made immortal. Oh, we're
so, so much of a way. We're just tent makers on this
world, aren't we? We're just trying to keep the tent up. So
we'll have a temporary place of shelter and safety and protection
while we're in this world. But we know it's a tent. It's
just a tent. How do we know that? The Lord's
taught us. The Lord's taught us. Let the
men of this world invest all their hopes and all their resources
in tents. No. No, our affections are set
on things above, not on things of the earth. Paul said in 2
Corinthians 5, We know that our earthly house
of this tabernacle, when it is dissolved, we have a house made
in heaven eternal, not made by the hands of men. That's the
resurrected body. That's what Christ and his church
are waiting for and longing for and looking to. Let those who mine the things
of the flesh, Concern with themselves with the things of the flesh
I'm not saying we don't patch up our tent every chance we get
you get a leak in your tent fix it You know do what you can to
keep that tent good and healthy and sturdy But just remember
it's a tent The man of this world what I
mean even in religion it's all about the tent and It's all about
how to beautify the tent. It's all about how to make the
tent better and make the tent, you know, more impressive. They that are of the flesh do
mind the things of the flesh. But they that are of the spirit,
they mind the things of the spirit. And we are no longer of the flesh,
brethren. We're of the spirit. Christ and his church are interested
in spiritual things. Paul went on to say in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5, why we are in this tabernacle, we groan. We groan. The older you get,
the more you groan. Isn't that true? Isn't that true? I mean, you groan just getting
up, you know? Getting down on the floor and thinking, what
else do I need to do while I'm down here? You know, I don't want
to have to get down here again. Young people don't have any idea what
I'm talking about. Trust me, you will. A tent's gonna, you
know, one thing that happens with tents after they get old,
they get real stiff. They get kind of crusty, you
know, and that's what's gonna happen to your tent. Enjoy it
while it's, you know, while it's working good, but there's gonna
come a day when it's not gonna work so good. They were tent
makers. There's another place that we
can understand this thing of being a tent maker, and that's
the preaching of the gospel. Christ and his church are all
about declaring the gospel. The word was made flesh and tented
among us. He tabernacled among us. That's
what that word dwelt means in that passage in 1 John 1. He
dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as the glory of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and full of truth,
made in the likeness of sinful men. God made flesh. Oh, he took on himself that tent. And then he carried that tent
right to Calvary's cross, and he folded it up. And God saw
the travail of his soul, and God said, I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied. That's the tent. That's the tabernacle. Hebrews
chapter eight says we have a high priest, a minister of the true
tabernacle, which is not pitched by man. The pitching of a tent. And the Lord's saying, this tent's
not pitched by man. In other words, man's not gonna
just decide, well, I'm gonna start a church, or I'm gonna
be saved, or I'm gonna have some influence over this person to
be saved. No, this tabernacle, this tent, this church, and this
gospel is not pitched by man. It's pitched by God. We take our orders from him.
We just like Paul and like Aquila and Priscilla, Christ and his
church are tent makers. We're one with him, perfect union. Oh, and the Lord would, the Lord
would put his bride before himself. Like I said, I don't know anywhere
in the scriptures where a husband and wife are mentioned and the
wife comes first, but three times out of the six that Aquila and
Priscilla are mentioned, Priscilla's mentioned first. What's the Lord
saying to me and you? I put my bride before me. When
did he do that? When he went to the cross. He
laid down his life for his bride. Look at verse 26. Aquila and Priscilla are going
to encounter a man by the name of Apollos. In verse 26 of chapter 18, and
he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, when Aquila and Priscilla
had heard, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the
way of God more perfectly. Isn't that what we do every time
we come together? Are we not expounding the way
of God more perfectly? Every time you have an opportunity
to share with one of your brethren what God has taught you, are
you not, as iron sharpeneth iron, expounding unto them the way
of God more perfectly, and they to you, as we pray for one another? Here's Christ and His church. expounding unto Apollos, another
gospel preacher, another believer, the gospel more perfectly. He had some misunderstandings
about some things that needed to be, and we know that he was
the Lord. Listen, I talk to people a lot
who have some gross misunderstandings about the gospel, and here's
the difference. You can correct them and they
will balk against you. I had a man recently ask me,
after a long extended conversation over weeks of time over the gospel,
he said, I just want to know one thing. He said, are you saying
that election guarantees salvation? I said, yeah. Haven't heard from you since. Apollos humbly received the instruction
of Aquila and Priscilla, Christ and his church, teaching them
the gospel more perfectly. Can believers be confused about
some things concerning the gospel? Yes, yes, they can. You be patient and loving with
them. But if they're the Lords, they will receive what God tells
them. They'll believe they won't. They
won't say, well, yeah, I see that. But and hold to their error. No, they would be quickly and
easily changed from their error. As was Apollos. As we speak together, the things
that we've heard and we share together the blessings of our
group, of the grace of God, and as we struggle together. with the trials and troubles
and temptations of this world. Do we not grow together in grace? Is this not the great blessing
of the church assembled? There are believers who don't
have this benefit. They don't have this blessing.
They just listen to the sermons and they have to process them
on their own. See, this is the way the Lord,
Priscilla and Aquila are. It's the body. The body is made
up of many parts and yet it's one. And each part, no one part's
more important than another. The eye can't say to the foot,
I don't need you. Or the ear to the hand. No, we're
all, it's a family of God. And so every time we come together,
we have Aquila, the eagle, and Priscilla, the ancient one, with
union together as refugees from the world, building
the tabernacle of God by expounding to one another the things of
God more perfectly. This book and everything that
God's concerned with in this world has to do with Christ and
his church. Nothing else is of any, the nations
are dropping a bucket to him. And when the last of God's elect
is called out of darkness into his marvelous light, the tent
of this world is going to get folded up, put away. The only reason that it's here,
the only reason that it exists, God told Abraham, I'm going to
bless the nations for your sake. And the only reason it reigns
in the world and the only reason they have any, any comforts and
prosperity in the world because of the presence of God's people.
That's just true. We've come here this morning
to find out what God thinks about things. Because what God thinks
about is the way it is. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 16. We skipped one of the verses
in chapter 18 where Priscilla's name comes before Aquila, but
here Aquila's name comes first. Look at verse 19. The churches
of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you
much in the Lord with the church that is in their house. So now Paul is writing from Ephesus. Aquila and Priscilla have followed
him to Ephesus and he's writing back three or four years later
to the church at Corinth. You remember they were there
at the inception of the birth of the church at Corinth. They
were the first ones that the Apostle Paul met. They were part
of the first preaching of the gospel and the raising up of
that church that we read about in chapter 18 of the book of
Acts. And now several years later,
they're with the apostle Paul and he's writing the letter and
he expresses to the believers in Corinth the love that Aquila
and Priscilla have for them. Scripture tells us in chapter
18 of Acts that Priscilla and Aquila stayed in Corinth with
Paul for a year and a half. They were there for 18 months.
And small town. I mean, if you've ever been to
Corinth, it's not a very big place. It's a very small place.
And a lot of the ruins are still there. So these people would
have seen each other and been with each other. We get together,
we see each other sometimes once a week or twice a week, but they
were with each other every day. every day for a year and a half. What is the point here? Oh, chapter 16. Did I read that verse? 1 Corinthians
16, 19. Yeah, that they salute you much
is what it says in the scriptures. And the translation is there
that they greet you heartily in the Lord. They remember fondly
their time with you. They've been praying for you,
they love you. People of God love each other, not just in
their own assembly, but they meet a brother, sister from another
place, they love them the same way. Caleb, you went up and preached
for the brethren in Pennsylvania. You just fell in love with them,
didn't you? Of course you did. And you're gonna go out to Montana
in a few weeks and you're gonna fall in love with them. Why?
Because they love Christ. They love Christ. The Lord tells us in 1 John chapter
3, don't say that you love God and hate your brethren. That's
not possible. How can you love him whom you've
not seen and not love them whom you have seen? Christ and his
church love one another. Let us love one another. For
love is of God, and he that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God,
and he that loveth not knoweth not God. Knoweth not God. Christ loves his bride. Ephesians
chapter five, when the scriptures is likening the husband and wife
relationship to Christ and his church, he says, no man ever
hated his own body, but nourishes it and tends to it and loves
it. He's talking about husbands providing
for and caring for their wives, but he says at the end, I speak
to you of a great mystery concerning Christ and his church. Christ
doesn't hate his body, he loves his body. And he nourishes it
and provides for it in every way. Turn with me to Romans chapter
16. Romans chapter 16. Look at verse three. Greet Priscilla and Aquila. Here Priscilla's mentioned first.
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus. who have for my life laid down
their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also
all the churches of the Gentiles." Now, Quill and Priscilla are
now in Rome, but they were with Paul in Ephesus. And Paul says,
I battled wild beast while I was in Ephesus. And riots broke out
in Ephesus and he was beaten in Ephesus. Now, those wild beasts
were two-legged beasts, and they were the enemies of the gospel,
and Aquila and Priscilla were part of that. Now, what's the
point here? Christ and his church will hazard
their lives for the sake of the gospel. Christ is their life. This isn't a sidekick. This isn't
something, well, you know, we do that on Sunday and we've got
other things that we do the rest of the, no, Christ who is our
life. And no child of God would do
anything but die before they forsook the gospel. That's right. I say that without
apology. You won't forsake the gospel.
You can't. The gospel's your life, Christ
is your life. You can't risk eternal damnation for the sake
of getting by in this world. No, if somebody threatens to
kill you or you deny the gospel, I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to
die. I'd gladly give a thousand lives for what the Lord has done
and for who he is. They laid down their necks, the
scripture says. Christ laid down his life. And
the Lord says that I've laid down my life, so lay down your
life for one another. Greater love hath no man than
this. This union we have. Lord Grace and I were talking
about this the other day. You want something in this world,
you know, the world loves to promote. men and women of extraordinary
achievements. But what they don't tell you
is what they had to pay for that achievement. What it cost them
to accomplish that, to amass that much wealth, or to become
that famous. Fame and fortune. Oh, it's in
the eyes of young people. Oh, and the world is constantly
telling you, you know, reach for the stars and go, you can
do it. but it's going to cost you. And
what it's going to cost is not going to be worth it. Trust me, those of us that have
tried to walk with the Lord for a while and have gotten a little
age on them, I have no interest in being extraordinary. I just
want to be ordinary because what men have to pay The sacrifices
that you have to make, and men will sacrifice their families,
their wives, their children, their friends for fame and fortune. It's not worth it. It's going to cost you. Just
be satisfied with ordinary. One of the Old Testament writers
said, Lord, don't make me so wealthy that I forget my need
for you, or so poor that I'm tempted to steal, but give me
that food which is convenient for me. In other words, give
me that which you've ordained for me to have, just what I need. And your heavenly father knows
what you need, and he'll give it to you in the right portion
for you. Now that having been said, you
want to cast it all in for something? You want to lay everything on
the line for something? You want to hazard your life
and lay down your neck? That's what Christ and his church
does for the gospel. It'll cost you everything. Everything. Aquila and Priscilla, one perfect
union. Refugees, tent makers, expounders
of the scriptures, lovers of the brethren, and all in for
Christ. Our Heavenly Father, bless your
word. Increase our faith. forgive us of our sin. Lord,
thank you for this table. Bless it to our souls as we're
brought by your spirit to look to the body and blood of thy
dear son. For it's in his name we pray.
Amen. Number 30. Number 30 in the spiral
hymnal. Just remain seated. Oh, OK, stand
for now. OK, let's stand. we can stand
together for this first hymn. Number 30 in the spiral hymn
book.