In a culture like ours where EQUALITY is highly valued and
talk of gender DISTINCTIONS is taboo, the teachings of the Apostle Paul, as
they relate to women in the church, have been classified as ‘male chauvinistic’. But is this label warranted? Have we
correctly understood what Paul meant when he said things like, “Men are the
image and glory of God but women are the glory of man” and “Women should remain
silent in the churches?”
In the last blog, we began to make the case that these
statements are often misunderstood because they are understood outside of the
context in which they are made. So is Paul trying to suppress the voice and
influence of women in the church by demanding, “Women should remain silent in
churches?” Let’s find out…
THE CONTEXT
As we learned in the last blog, women were allowed to pray
and prophecy in the church as long as they were wearing a head covering (for
cultural reasons). Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 11. And so we must
ask ourselves, “Is Paul contradicting himself in 1 Corinthians 14 or did he
change his mind later in the letter?” The answer: NO!
In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul is addressing the disorder that
has presented itself while people in the church are together prophecying (that
is, presenting a hymn, word of instruction, revelation, or a tongue and
interpretation—1 Cor. 14:26). Apparently, everyone in the church is trying to
prophecy at the same time (14:31) and this is presenting confusion and
discouragement rather than instruction and encouragement. This disorder is also not
allowing an adequate pause so that the individual prophecies can be weighed and
evaluated (14:29-30).
So how does Paul’s statement that women should be silent in
the church fit into this context?
WHO IS PAUL
ADDRESSING?
Apparently, some of the women in the church are bringing
disgrace to their husbands by speaking in the church (1 Corinthians 14:35). So
then why does Paul instruct ALL women to be silent in the church and not just
wives? Answer: HE DOESN’T! The Greek word gyne
used here can refer to either “women” or “wives” depending on the context (There is
not a separate Greek word for ‘wives’!).
And in this context where women are bringing disgrace to their husbands,
the word gyne is clearly (in my opinion)
referring to ‘wives.’ And so Paul is really saying, “WIVES should remain silent
in the church.”
So is Paul communicating that WIVES can never speak in the church?
THE EXTENT OF PAUL’S
INSTRUCTION
The context is clearly indicating that wives are bringing
disgrace to their husbands. But how are they doing this? The context would
indicate that the wives are ‘inquiring’ about their husbands’ prophecies and
‘asking’ them questions in the public forum rather than at home.
But what’s so bad about asking your husband a question in
public? Well, the compound Greek verb for ‘ask’ (epe-rotatosan) in this passage (14:35) is used elsewhere to mean
‘interrogate’ (Mark 11:29; 14:60-61). And so the wives are not just innocently
‘asking’ (rotatosan) their husbands
questions, they are ‘interrogating’ (epe-rotatosan)
them in public during the time when prophecies are being weighed and evaluated.
It isn’t difficult to imagine how a wife could bring shame to her husband by
interrogating him after he gives a prophecy. As Ben Witherington puts it, “The
speaking in question denotes activity of sifting or weighing the words of
prophets, especially by asking probing questions about the prophet’s theology
or even the prophet’s lifestyle in public.” This type of interrogation
certainly would bring a sense of disrespect to just about every husband I know!
THE BOTTOM LINE
And so Paul is not making a blanket statement that wives must
never speak in the church. He is instructing wives NOT to speak within the
church in ways that bring shame and disgrace to their husbands. In fact, the
word ‘silent’ (sigao) does not always
communicate an unqualified ‘lack of speech.’ Depending on context, it can
mean ‘to hold one’s tongue, hold one’s peace, or to refrain from using a
particular kind of speech, or speech in a presupposed context.’ And so in this
context, wives are being instructed to hold their speech in church contexts when their husbands are prophecying.
APPLICATION
And so the principle we can draw from this
passage is NOT: “Wives (or women) are not ever allowed to speak in the church.”
NO. The principle Paul is applying in this context is: “Wives should respect
their husbands by NOT belittling them in public.” And I would submit
that husbands should do likewise toward their wives! And so may God strengthen your
relationships as you show honor and respect to others (including your spouse)!
