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we learn th a t they were still th ere when th e Epistle was w ritten. B u t in w riting to th e Romans P au l says, “ Greet Aquila and P riscilla, my helpers in Christ Jesu s” (Rom. 1 6 :3 ), so th a t they had wandered hack to Rome and were in happy fellowship w ith th e Roman as sembly. 2 Tim. 4:19 tells us th a t once more they were back in Ephesus where Timothy had h is abode. P riscilla is mostly mentioned before Aquila, from which we may learn th a t she, like o th er notable women of apostolic days, “ la bored for th e Gospel.”— Anno. Bible. C laudius h ad commanded. His un righteous edict doubtless seemed to them .a b itte r thing, b u t God tu rn ed it to th e ir good, to no less a good th an th e ir etern al salvation (Ps. 7 6 :1 0 ).— Torrey. v. 3. H e w rought. P au l did not have to w ait un til he could get a guarantee of support before he would preach ( 1 Cor. 1 0 :3 1 ).— Garry. P robably no t only of necessity because he had no con v erts th e re to whom he could look for support, bu t because he as a rule” pre ferred no t to he burdensome to those he taugh t. Already he had observed th is custom in Thessalonica (1 These. 2 :9 ; 2 Thess. 3 :8 ), and afterw ard he followed it a t Ephesus (2 0 :3 4 ).— Whitelaw . I t was a tim e of general pressure and though th e apostle toiled n igh t and day, all his exertions were unable to keep th e wolf from th e door (2 Cor. 1 1 :9 ).— F a rra r. They were te n t m akers. Sewing rough goat-hair cloth into ten ts may be as tru ly serving Christ as preaching His Name. All •manner of work th a t contributes to the same end is th e same in its worth and recompense. P erhaps the wholesomest form of Christian m inistry is th a t after the apostolic pattern , when th e teacher can say, “When I was present w ith you I was not a burden to any man.”—Mac- laren. v. 4. He reasoned. Let-the Gospel be propagated no t by force bu t by fair argum ent, meeting th e reasonings of sinners w ith ready answers from th e Scriptures.— Sum. Bible. Persuaded Jew s and Greeks. P au l departed from A thens and as he w ent away we said, “ Is he th en disgusted w ith the work? Will he preach no m ore?” The forty mile journey is completed and behold, P aul is once more in the synagogue ev ery^ Sabbath, reaching th e Jews and Greeks. W h at a hold th is Christian work gets upon a man. Who can five
“ And, lo, I am w ith you a lw a y s, even unto the end o f the world.” He will pro tect and provide (Phil. 4:19 ) “ B u t m y God sh all su pply all you r need according to his riches in g lo ry b y Ch rist He will give success to His Word. (Isa. 55:11) “ So sh all m y w ord be that goeth forth out o f m y m outh; it sh all not return unto me void, but It sh all accom plish that w h ich I please, and it sh all prosper in the th in g 'w hereto I sent it..” The Lord knew He had people in Corinth, n o t yet converted, and yet Paul was enjoined to go fo rth and win them . Foreordination is no t incompatible w ith hum an effort. PRACTICAL POINTS (1) W orking a t th e same trad e and witnessing to th e same tru th , they found fellowship in th e same Lord. (2 ) ' P aul divested th e apostolic Office of professional dignity, and hon ored it by personal labor w ith his hands. (3 ) P aul was pressed in th e sp irit a n d preached w ith fervor th e tra n s cendent tru th s of th e Gospel. (4 ) The shaken raim ent was a sign th a t his sk irts were clean. (5 ) The Lord spake com fort “F ear n o t;” command “S p eak ;” companion ship “ I am w ith th e e ;” compensation ‘.‘much people.” ( 6 ) Had we th e constraining love of Christ we would he consumed by the same zeal. (7 ) Can we have a faith th a t is healthy, th a t will no t include our house hold? ( 8 ) The g reat need of Jew and Gen tile is th e testim ony th a t Jesus is the Christ. v. 2. F ound Aquila an d Priscilla. How sweet th e ir fellowship must have been as they toiled together in th e ir tra d e as te n t m akers and spoke one to » ano th er a b o u t COMMENTS FROM th e Lord. From MANY SOURCES th e same chapter K eith L. Brooks we l e a r n th a t after P au l’s min istry had term inated, they w ent to Ephesus (v. 19)! F rom 1 Cor, 16:19
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