1 Corinthians 14:34-35 ESV Women Leadership in the church 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted ...
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| Women Leadership in the church |
Introduction
This passage is from Paul’s letter to the Church in Corinth which at the
time of the writing was in a state that wasn’t pleasing to Paul and God and
from the report he got, he tried to use his letter to bring them back to the
original gospel and message he presented to them when he founded the church.
Some of the issues he addressed was orderliness during worship which was
a major issues if we try to read the passage in context and one of the ways he
addressed it was to admonish the women in the church to submit to the men in
the congregation which is the issue I will be talking about in this write-up.
I will be looking at what Paul meant by “the women should keep silent in
the churches” literally, culturally or historically (there and then) and how
that passage relates to us (here and now).
Literal Interpretation
Looking at 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 at first glance or superficially, the
passage seems clear and appear not to be ambiguous, it simply says; “women are not permitted to talk in congregational meetings and must be
silent”, they should submit; however, if there is need for them to talk or
share their opinion, it must be done transitively through a man who could
either be their husband, father or brother. This has been a popular
interpretation for this passage for so many years be preachers, theologians and
church denominations.
“From Tertullian[3] to Thomas Aquinas[4], commentators concluded that
women could not even sing or pray audibly among men. Although the Reformers
relaxed some of these restrictions, as late as the 1890s certain Presbyterians
still forbade women’s singing in the context of church worship”. (Grenz
1995:121)
The women should keep silent in the churches
If we look at the passage in context, we might have a feeling that the silence
being mentioned by Paul might not literarily mean to completely shut up women
in the congregation if we go by verse 28 of the same chapter where Paul asked
those prophesying in unknown tongues without interpreter should keep silent; he
was not asking them never to prophecy again. Also, looking critically at 1
Corinthians 11:5, Paul’s intention could not have been to silence women at all
times during church meetings as he acknowledged that they can prophecy and pray
aloud in church “Paul not only approved of praying and prophesying by women in the
assembly but he encouraged it! Reading 1 Corinthians 11:10 with the literal,
active voice (“has authority”) instead of the presumed, passive voice (“sign of
authority”), Paul states that a woman has authority (has the right!) to pray
and prophesy . . . “(Hicks 1990)
Therefore, “Since Paul seems to permit wives to pray and prophesy as long
as they do not dishonour their husbands by the way they dress (11:5, 13), it is
difficult to see this as an absolute prohibition of their speaking in church
meetings (compare Acts 2:17; 21:8–9). Paul is likely forbidding women to speak
up and judge prophecies (this is the activity in the immediate context; see 1
Cor. 14:29), since such an activity would undermine male headship. Law also
says. Paul is probably thinking of the woman’s creation “from” and “for” the
man (see 11:8–9; Gen. 2:20–24), as well as a general pattern of male leadership
among the people of Israel in the Old Testament” (ESV Commentary)
If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask
their husbands at home
In ancient world, men and women sit separately in a gathering which was a
prevailing culture then; they would normally sit in different groups which
still happen in some places till today such as in most Christ Apostolic Church
gatherings, men and women don’t sit together.
It was possible that amongst the Christians in Corinth, there was a
problem of women chattering or disrupting church meetings with questions; he
might probably had meant, please don’t disturb the meeting, ask your question
when you get home as your husband should be able to give you clarification.
The practice of separate seating might not be cultural and may have to do
with maintaining a practice that has been around since even before the early
Church, irrespective of culture, meant to inhibit the natural tendency to be
distracted around members of the opposite sex, so as to preserve modesty and
attention during worship. It is possible that the Church in Corinth may have
also adopted this sitting arrangement but with many women from Gentile
background, they might not be aware of how to conduct themselves at a church
meeting; this was one of the things Paul might have been teaching them about.
For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church
Here also, Paul assumed the right of women to pray and prophecy under
proper authority in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16; the context suggests “speak” may not
mean that Paul is contradicting himself.
Women in Apostle Paul’s Ministry
There are various evidences in Paul’s ministry to show that he has
regards for women and would not in any way want to undermine the importance of
women in the church or for him to want to make them either dormant or of no
importance in the church. These are some of the women in the Bible that worked
with Apostle Paul and helped in his ministerial works.
1. Priscilla: She and her husband Aquila are mentioned six times in the
Bible, as missionary partners with the Apostle Paul. They were also partners in
the craft of tentmaking. The author of Acts states that they were refugees who
came first to Corinth when the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome.
Paul mentions that at some point they had risked their necks for him. When Paul
refers to Priscilla and Aquila, Priscilla is listed first two out of three
times. Romans 16:3, 1 Corinthians 16:19, 2 Timothy
4:19
2. Julia: He greets Julia, and Nereus' sister, who worked and travelled as
missionaries in pairs with their husbands or brothers Romans 16:15
3. Phoebe: He commends to their hospitality, Phoebe, a leader from the
church at Cenchreae, a port city near Corinth. Paul attaches to her three titles:
diakonos meaning a deacon , sister, and prostatis meaning "a woman in a
supportive role, patron, benefactor" Romans
16:1
4. Junia: Paul sent greetings to Junia and Greet Andronicus for their
sacrifices and their sufferings for the gospel and even referred to her as an
apostle being the only woman so recognised in the bible. Romans 16:7
5.
Chloe: Chloe was a prominent woman of
Corinth. It was from "Chloe's people" that Paul, then at Ephesus
learned of the divisions in the congregation of Corinth. 1 Corinthians 1:11
These were some of the evidences that women were not insignificant in
Paul’s ministry and wouldn’t have relegated them to the background in his
reference in this passage
What could Paul be saying in this
passage?
The command for women to remain silent seems to deal with two important
issues: proper order in the church and proper demonstration or acknowledgment
of authority. Apparently, some women were speaking out in a way that did not
acknowledge the spiritual authority of either their husbands or church leaders.
This issue is addressed in 1 Corinthians 11 as well. Women are allowed to pray
and prophesy, as long as they have their heads covered to show proper respect
for spiritual authority. (In the first century, the head covering was the sign
of a chaste, respectful woman, so women in the church were not to cast it off;
to do so was to convey insolence or impropriety, according to the contemporary
culture. Today, head coverings do not communicate the same message, so most
evangelical interpreters stress that the attitude of respect, displayed by
culturally significant symbols, is important, not a head covering
specifically.) We might envision Paul saying, “If a woman wants to pray or
prophesy in church, let her do so while showing the proper respect for church
authority; otherwise, let her remain silent.”
Contemporary roman culture might have liberalised women to be outspoken as against some
reservation in the Jewish culture or laws which might have been brought into
the church and make the women quite as outspoken as their male counterparts
such that could have spiralled out of control and a source of concern for Paul
which might have necessitated the statement in this passage.
Conclusion
Based on the full context of 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and other
overwhelming pointers or evidences of Paul’s acknowledgment of women in
ministry and their importance, I take the position that the reference in verses
34 and 35 is not to completely silence women in the church but to foster
orderliness in church meetings and services which might have been one of the
issues causing chaos in the Corinthian church as reported to Paul.
Bibliography
1. Free Bible
Commentary, http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/new_testament_studies/written_commentaries.htm
3. Tertullian, “On
the Veiling of Virgins”, at NewAdvent,
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0403.htm
Accessed December 2019.
4. Aquinas, Thomas, “Summa Theologica, Second of the second part, question 177”,
at NewAdvent. http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3177.htm Accessed December 2019
5. Grenz, Stanley
J., and Kjesbo, Denise Muir, “Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women
in Ministry” (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995)
6. Hicks, John
Mark, “Women in the Assembly: Issues and Options” (First Corinthians 14:34-35).
(1990, 2009)
http://johnmarkhicks.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/women-in-the-assembly-1-corinthians-1434-35/
Accessed December, 2019.
7. Grudem, Wayne A., “The Gift of Prophecy in the New
Testament and Today”, (Westchester, IL,: Crossways, 1988)
8. Mowczko , Marg., “Interpretations
And Applications of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35”, https://margmowczko.com/interpretations-applications-1-cor-14_34-35/ Accessed December 2019
9. Habib, John, “The Early
Church Tradition of Separate Seating: Ancient Practice, Not a Cultural
Anomaly”, https://johnbelovedhabib.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/the-early-church-tradition-of-separate-seating-ancient-practice-not-a-cultural-anomaly/ Accessed December 2019
10. Wikipedia, Paul the Apostle and women, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle_and_women, Accessed December 2019
Leonhard
O.S.F., Barbara. "St. Paul and Women: A Mixed Record", St.
Anthony Messenger, Franciscan Media". Archived from the original on 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
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