WOMEN MATTAZ 3
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| Women Mattaz Part 3: Should Women Remain Silent In Church |
THEME: SHOULD WOMEN BE SILENT IN CHURCH
In some of our churches, women are not
allowed to speak. They make 1 Corinthians 14:34&35 their stand. But I don’t
know if they’ve looked at chapter 11 verse 5.
But every woman who prays or
prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the
same as if her head were shaved.
To prophesy, it means to utter words of
comfort, encouragement and edification (1 Cor. 14:3). In other words, women in
the church in Corinth were ministers of the gospel. So what was Apostle Paul
saying in 1 Corinthians 14:34&35? Is he contradicting himself? Apostle
Peter wrote in his second epistle to the church that some things which apostle
Paul has taught and written were hard to understand and some people twisted it
to their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:15-17).
In scriptures, we see women praying among
the saints (Acts 1:14). And women going out to proclaim the good news (Jn.
4:28-30; 20:18). Even we have women who were God’s generals, women like Kathryn
Kuhlman, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Aime Semple McPherson, Joyce Meyer, Joan
Hunter, Gloria Copeland, and a host of others.
So what does 1 Corinthians 14:34&35, as
we have established that women can be ministers of God?
First of all, looking at it in context, the
whole chapter is themed on ‘orderly assembly of the congregation.’ And before
our verses of concern, we see that ‘God is not the author of confusion…’ (1
Cor. 14:33). So apparently, the church of Corinth was noted for chaos and lack
of orderliness; and no one was being edified (see vs. 5, 12 & 19). And now,
to remedy this problem, Apostle Paul instructs a number of people/groups to “be
quiet” at certain times and under certain conditions:
- « Verse 26-28a What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church...
- « Verse 29-31a Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent...
- « Verse 34-35 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
So looking at this in context, we know what
is going on. Some women in the church of Corinth were speaking out in a way
that did not acknowledge the spiritual authority of either their husbands or
church leaders. So we might envision Apostle Paul saying, “If a woman wants to
pray and prophesy in church, let her do so while showing the proper respect for
church authority; otherwise, let her remain silent.”
Still looking at some verses that precedes
our verses of concern, if someone offers a prophecy to the church in the public
meeting, the church is to pass judgement upon it (1 Cor. 14:29). That is, the
church is to weigh it and evaluate it to see if it is truly from God and, if
so, what actions should be taken. It seems that the best contextual
understanding is that women are to keep silent in this deliberative process,
since evaluating prophecy is an exercise of spiritual authority. Further
complications could also arise: what if a wife questioned her husband’s
prophecy? In that case, it would be proper for her to hold her peace in the
assembly and ask him about it privately at home (vs. 35). This would show
respect for her husband’s spiritual authority and minimize the possibility of
disorder in the church.
Apostle Paul’s original intent in 1
Corinthians 14:34&35 seems to be that a woman must not take part I the
deliberative process of evaluating prophecies. But does this apply today?
There may be another reason, rooted in
culture for a command for women to remain silent in the church. For a
first-century woman to participate in a deliberative action in any assembly
would have been considered a usurpation of authority (1 Tim. 2:11, 12). Because
in those days, women were less educated and Apostle Paul urged the church to
respect cultural practices regarding women in public, so the church could
remain effective in reaching people for Christ. Perhaps in today’s culture,
where women are invited to participate, their silence is not required in the
church in order to show proper respect to their husbands or church leadership,
though their participation should be done in submissiveness (1 Tim. 2:11-14;
Gen. 3:16).
Still, we should not forget that we are all
equal in Christ (Gal. 3:26-28), gender should never be an excuse for not being
used by God (Matt. 25:25-28). After all, it was a woman that God used to be the judge over Israel (Judg. 3:1-5:31). Even
apostle Paul recognised women in the church leadership positions of deacon
(Rom. 16:1). And apostle (Rom. 16:7).
In summary, 1 Corinthians 14 was written
based on culture and what was happening then. In this our contemporary world,
women are allowed to speak but should be done with total submission. And just
as how men are the heads of their homes, women should not be allowed to head a
church.
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