As in all the churches of the saints, [34] 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. [35] 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. (1 Corinthians 14:33b-35)

There are a number of passages in scripture which are troubling. In the New Testament this is one of them.

At first our response may be to laugh Paul off – he’s probably just being first century minded, for us in the 21st century we have no need of passages like these. Others may have a bit more shock in their reply, ‘You’ve got to be joking!’

From there we have a few unhelpful solutions.

The first might be to simply write the passage off as a peculiar situation and circumstance within Corinth, therefore it doesn’t apply to us today. This type of argument, however, is often based upon some reconstruction of the events in the first century that we have little evidence to support. Using reconstructions to explain away passages has also proven to be a dangerous slippery slope leading to denials of many other parts of scripture: including passages regarding homosexuality and the resurrection.

Some have tried in recent years to argue that the passage is some later addition not originally part of Paul’s letter. The main issue with this argument is that the documentary evidence overwhelmingly supports these verses appearing in the original letter.

While it can be simple to take our initial reaction to write the passage off, as people of the Word it pays to take a closer look at what the passage is arguing for, and what Paul intends.

These verses come within a section related to order within the church (14:26-40). One surprising thing comes through these verses: the ability to do something does not guarantee you the right to do it, or that we will do it right.

Consider the issue of silence. While it can be easy to focus in on v34 and ask why women should keep silent, we may miss that there are in fact three groups of people told to be silent in the church gathering. The tongue-speaker (v28), the prophet (v30), and women (v34) are to remain silent. And as we read the passage we can see when these certain people are to remain silent.

First, the tongue speaker is to remain silent. Just because you can speak in tongues doesn’t mean you should do it all the time. Paul gives three reasons in v27-28 when the tongue speaker should remain silent:

1. When another tongue speaker is speaking, s/he should remain silent.
2. When two or three have already spoken, s/he should remain silent.
3. When there is no interpreter, s/he should remain silent.

Second, the prophet is to remain silent. Paul outlines two reasons in v29-30 for when prophets should remain silent:

1. When two or three prophets have already spoken, s/he should remain silent.
2. If a new revelation is received, then the first prophet should be silent and await their turn again.

It all sounds very orderly and proper – and that’s the point. God is a God of peace (and order) and not of confusion (v33). Orderly corporate worship reflects something of God’s character and nature. So the tongue-speaker is perfectly able to wait their turn and control their gift. The prophet is also able to wait his or her turn. Everything is to be done in an orderly way – and part of that order is silence on the part of most people.

Which brings us to the women, and the instruction directed towards them.

The first question to ask is what sort of silence is in view? Some have taken chapter 14 as a blanket prescription: that women are to never speak in church at all – never to: pray, read the bible, lead singing, teach or preach (whether men are present or not).

The problem with this is when we flip back a few pages to 1 Corinthians 11, it’s clear that Paul allows women to pray and to prophesy in the gathering, provided it is done so in a gender-appropriate manner. Paul elsewhere does restrict the office of teaching and preaching to men (1 Timothy 2:12-15), which together with 1 Corinthians 14:3 suggests that prophecy is less authoritative than preaching and teaching, but still gospel-shaped and gospel-centred words of upbuilding, encouragement and consolation. This is why Paul does not object to women praying and/or prophesying in the gathered setting.

So the silence does not appear to be absolute.

The next question then is to ask when women are to be silent. On this there is much debate – most of it neatly summarised by DA Carson in his book ‘Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14’, which I will not reproduce here. But the best explanation so far, which makes sense of the context, is that women are to remain silent ‘when the others weigh what is said’ (v29). Paul has said in v29 that the church is to weigh the prophecies presented (for their accuracy, their truthfulness, and their harmony with the gospel), and it seems that women were not permitted to publicly join in this process.

So although women may have their own opinions about whether or not a prophecy is the real thing, they are not to participate in the public weighing and testing of it. It’s crucial to understand here that Paul is not devaluing the contribution of what would be said – but for the sake of order, women are not permitted to participate.

There is also a further theological reason for the restriction. One of Paul’s arguments for the restriction on speaking comes from ‘The Law’ (v34b). The ‘Law’ here is referring to the Torah – the first five books of the bible. Paul is appealing in particular to the creation order of Genesis 2.

While Genesis 2 does not instruct that women are to be silent, it does suggest that because man was made first and woman was made from man, a pattern has been laid down regarding the roles the two play. While both men and women are clearly made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), woman was created from man to be a helper fit for him (Genesis 2:18). They were to both fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28), and the man was to do that by leading and the woman was to do that by helping.

Paul understands from this creation order that woman is to be subject to man, or at least a wife is subject to her husband. Paul’s reference to the same creation order in 1 Corinthians 11 also sheds light on the use of the word ‘shame’ in 1 Corinthians 14:35. It is shameful (Greek: aischron) for a woman to speak (in the process of weighing up the prophecies)(14:35), in the same way it is disgraceful (aischron) for a woman to have her head shaved (11:6), because these acts deny or undermine God-given gender differences in the creation order.

In the context of weighing up prophecy, such submission could not be preserved if the wives participated in the weighing of their husbands prophetic utterance. Taken together with Pauls other instructions in 1 Timothy 2:11-15, it seems that all women are restricted from weighing these prophecies as it would amount to teaching with authority over men.

All of this certainly does not mean that women should never learn or ask questions. One of the final instructions (14:35) is that if a women desires to learn anything she should ask her husband at home (or, if unmarried, the head of her household – her father).

So Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 14:33b-35 runs like this: women display their God-given gender roles by their quiet submission to the words of prophets in the gathering, and by asking any questions to their husbands or fathers at home.

The final question of this now lengthy essay is to consider what this might look like in our 21st century present-day gathering at SLE Church.

As mentioned in the sermon on 1 Corinthians 14 we want to build a culture of everyone speaking to each other for their upbuilding and encouragement. You may not have the gift of prophecy, but everyone has the ability to ask, ‘How are you and how can I pray for you?’ Everyone can bounce off the sermon and ask pointed questions to encourage and build up others.

In the light of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 we all need to be cautious about how we do this, particular as we raise questions. It’s possible to ask questions in a way which reflects an attitude of non-submission to what has been preached. This is not to say that everything the pastors and preachers say will be perfect and must be submitted to, but to say that we must be cautious not to express ourselves in ways which don’t show godly submission. In particular, women need to express their questions in a manner which reflects quiet submissiveness.

Another general principle of this particular passage is to remember that just because one has an ability to do something doesn’t mean we have the right to do it. There are greater issues at stake than our individual liberty and freedom – including what is best for an orderly gathering, and God’s word on the relationship between men and women.

For further reading on this topic I highly recommend the following (in order of increasing technicality):

Claire Smith, God’s Good Design: What the Bible Really Says about Men and Women

Don Carson – Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14

Andreas J. Kostenberger & Thomas R. Schreiner – Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15

John Piper and WA Grudem – Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism