Had someone ask me a really great question about a controversial subject. He asked what Paul meant in 1Cor. 14:34 about a woman being silent. A co-worker (guess which gender) had told him that this means just what it says and that women are not to speak at all in church. Is that really what the Bible is saying?

Short answer – “NO”. As I like to say, “a text out of context is a pretext”. The first obvious problem is how to define where the church starts. As a friend recently remind me, at the time Paul was writing his letters, we don’t know of any churches who had yet purchased buildings specifically as places of worship, or ministry centers, so church doesn’t start at the building. Is Paul telling women that “When two or three are gathered together there you must shut your mouths?” That would be an interesting paraphrase of Matt. 18:20 for sure. In 1Cor. 11, Paul is telling women HOW to prophecy. Why then would he tell women to be completely silent a few chapters later? Especially since in 1Cor. 14:22 Paul has just made the statement that prophecy is given FOR the church. In Acts 2, the Bible says “Your sons and daughters shall prophecy” – how would someone suggest women use that God-given gift, since it’s given for use in the church? We know that Philip the evangelist had 4 daughters who were prophetesses (Acts 21:9), that Priscilla taught Apollos (Acts 18:26), and that Phoebe was deaconess at Cencrea (Rom. 16:1). I wonder how they were able to do all that without speaking a word!

Quite simply the guy is taking scripture out of context. The context of 1Cor. 14:34 is speaking about judging prophecies and prophets. That call to “silence” only applies in that specific area, and is saying that a woman should not do so in the midst of the full congregation, as a means of displaying submission. Think of it this way: if you see a child authoritatively correcting his parents in public, do you think “Wow, what a wonderful open-minded family?” No, you think those parents are whack! Likewise, if you see a woman repeatedly browbeating her husband on the street, do you think “Gee, what a strong woman!”? or “What a sensitive, liberated guy”? No (be honest now!), you think the guy’s a wimp don’t you? There is a divine order to nature that even unbelievers recognize, and Paul is simply reminding a church (that had gotten out of control in several areas), to think about their witness. Their witness was getting killed by drunkenness (1Cor. 11:21), by putting up with adulterous incest (1Cor. 5:1), lawsuits among believers (1Cor. 6:1), unrestraint in their services (1Cor 14), division (1Cor. 1:11,12), and several other areas.

I’m sure the guy means well (I hope!), but his understanding of the context of the letter would go a long way in helping him understand what was being taught there. Otherwise, 1Cor. 14:34 is just some random comment, out of nowhere, telling women to zip it. Placed in the context of what Paul was addressing, it is not nearly as offensive as it seems. Read it again and you’ll see what I mean – the context (and the entire chapter actually) is about judging prophetic speech, and the proper use of spiritual gifts, not about offensive women.

There are women who initially thought Paul was a sexist, who, once they understood what he was actually teaching, came to see that Paul’s writings probably did at least as much (if not more) to further women’s rights than any other significant historical figure – at least of that era. Paul was someone who commended women to various areas of leadership ministry (Romans 16:1), taught spiritual equality (Gal. 3:38), taught men to serve their wives as Christ served the church (Eph. 5) and taught the radical idea that women were full sexual equals in the marriage bed (1Cor. 7). That sure didn’t come out of first-century Jewish thought, ancient Roman thought, or Asian religious thought, and it definitely didn’t come out of Islam centuries later. Yes, Paul affirmed that there were still assigned roles for men and women due to creation (I can’t breastfeed no matter how hard I might try!) and due to our fallenness (for example, there was no requirement towards submission before Adam and Eve sinned), but the Bible is clear that those roles are temporary, and do not determine our permanent, eternal designations. Just as I am to submit to those over me in the Lord – but that does not mean they will be known as greater in eternity – so women are called to the role of gracious submission, to display certain aspects of the nature of God, and men are called to servant leadership within the home, to display other aspects, that neither could display on their own (Gen. 1:27). Paul is simply reminding the church what that order would look like, when put in practice in a particular situation in the church.

This is such a tough subject because (just bein’ real guys) we men have often contorted the Word to substantiate our positional authority, while simultaneously neglecting the development of authentic spiritual authority, which is what God is truly after in us. Positional authority is given in an instant, and has no bearing on how Christlike we are. But spiritual authority is developed through faithfulness over time, and through willingly surrendering our “rights” to become like Jesus.

So a little reminder to that co-worker. Yes, we’re called to different areas of surrender and sacrifice, but in order for them to glorify God, they must be voluntary offerings to Him. Forcing a woman to walk in submission no more causes Jesus to be reflected in her life than putting a gun to a man’s head and saying “Sacrificially serve your wife or I’ll blow your brains out” would. Compulsory submission, service, or sacrifice, does nothing to reflect the heart of God. But when we, as women and men, choose to walk in agreement to the call of Christ on our lives, and voluntarily lay down our rights to reflect Him, He is seen in us. Remember, Jesus said “When I am lifted up..., I will draw all to myself.” Not “When I’m forcibly displayed...”. As a father of a daughter who’s about to be married, if she came home one night and said “My fiancé told me that I have to shut up and do what he says. He’s always insulting me and looking down on me”, how would that make me feel as her father? There’s no way he could act like that and not harm his relationship with me. As the great prophet Rich Mullins once said “It’s not that Catholics revere Mary too much, it’s that we revere each other too little”. Definitely some truth there.

Good to be home...

Dave