¹⁹The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. ²⁰All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. ²¹The greeting is in my own hand—Paul.

Greetings were important ways of connecting, a means of encouraging the networking of churches in the first century. Seen today as mere incidentals, statements like these reflected the solidarity the apostle Paul sought to build up among God’s people across the geographical distances. We find these in many of Paul’s letters.

We can also see the movements of some of the early influencers in the expansion of the Christian movement. Aquila and Prisca were two such people, a husband-wife team who originally appeared on the Christian scene in Corinth in Acts 18:2–3. They had originated in Rome but due to persecution were driven out of the imperial city, which seems to have been a relatively short stay. While there, they met Paul and were presumably converted at that time. Interestingly, the Lord informed Paul in a vision,

“Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” (Acts 18:9–10)

It is not difficult to imagine the intimacy between this couple (Aquila and Prisca) and Paul for the eighteen months he stayed in Corinth establishing the church (Acts 18:11). In time, Paul was accused of wrongdoing by the political powers of the city, and even the synagogue leader by the name of Sosthenes was beaten (presumably because he too had become a Christian). As it turns out he was one of the co-authors of this first letter to the Corinthians.

Priscilla and Aquila left Corinth with Paul, setting sail for Ephesus (in Asia), where the couple remained and had a church in their home. So we can see the affinity that small Ephesian church would have for the Corinthian congregation. Through Priscilla and Aquila’s ministry, Apollos came to the knowledge of the truth and then later moved to Corinth, where a group there became his ardent followers (albeit in a sectarian way, see 1 Cor. 3:4–22).

Paul extends the greetings out to include “all the brethren,” encouraging unity across the miles. “Greet one another with a holy kiss” indicates the depth of fellowship he encouraged; it was a common greeting of affection in the ancient world. Finally, Paul pens in his own handwriting a final greeting—he apparently used a stenographer (technically called an “amanuensis”).

Lord, help me to see beyond the borders of my church fellowship and to enjoy and promote fellowship with other Christians and churches.