1Cor 14:35 | KingComments | STEP | . Things happened in a disorderly way at Corinth. You will come to this conclusion from everything Paul has already written to them. He had to correct many things. One disorder is women speaking in the meetings of the church. A woman has many capabilities with which she can serve the Lord. There are many examples of women in the Bible who have served the Lord, sometimes with more dedication and insight than men. The Lord notices that and appreciates that. God makes no difference between sinners. Men and women have sinned and can be saved without any difference. When they are saved there is still no difference to God. In Christ man and woman are equal ( ). But that still doesn’t mean that women have the same position as men in the meetings of the church. It is written clearly that they are not to speak in the meeting. It has been mentioned once that the issue here would be their gossiping with one another. That is not true of course, for gossiping is also a wrong thing to do for men. Speaking as it is mentioned here, is speaking as a prophet in the meeting and that is not suitable for a woman. The reason for this is written thereafter: it does not fit with the submissive attitude she ought to have toward the man. This submissiveness is not an invention of Paul. At the very beginning of the Bible, God Himself gave the woman this position. The expression “as the Law also says”, refers to what is told in Genesis 3. You read there about the fall. Due to the independent action of the woman, sin entered the world. This event is the reason for God to clearly establish the place of man and woman. The man is the head and the woman ought to acknowledge him in that position, for he will rule over her ( ). This doesn’t at all mean that Adam did not do anything wrong. In fact, his guilt was greater because he heard the prohibition against eating from that tree directly from God Himself. For him, sin also has consequences ( ). So there are no excuses for Adam. Because Eve entered, without Adam, into a discussion with the devil, which caused sin entering the world, God determined that she became subject to the authority of man. And this relationship is still valid. Just look at what it says in 1 Timothy 2 ( ). Of course that doesn’t mean that the man can exploit the woman. He ought to treat her with respect. This commandment is clearly defined in 1 Peter 3 ( ). It rather emphasizes the responsibility of the man more to guide the woman rightly, that she is not tempted to take actions without him anymore. . Therefore, when these things are general, then they should certainly be applied when the church meets. It is even shameful for a woman to speak there, even if it were only to ask a question. If she wants to have an answer on a question about a subject or a verse from the Bible, she ought to ask her own husband at home about that. This implies that the husband is expected to be able to answer the questions of his wife. It is true that no one knows the right answer to all questions. In fact a man has enough questions of his own. But I think that some men neglect this responsibility by saying that they are not able to do it. Each person who is aware of this task will make every effort to find an answer. There are resources in the form of books about the Bible that are helpful in this regard. Efforts sometimes ought to be made for that. But who doesn’t want to do that for his wife? It is a great blessing to speak with your wife about the Bible. All kinds of issues in the domestic sphere you will want to look at using the Bible. Thereby you can think for example of how to spend your money correctly or how to make wise decisions concerning your children. By the way, these issues can also be spoken of in the meeting of the church. New questions can arise after what is said about that. People can talk about this further later at home. Then there is still another question: ‘But what happens if a woman doesn’t have a husband or when her husband is an unbeliever?’ It is too simplistic to say that she can find answers in the books about the Bible. That might be helpful if it is about an interpretation of a certain verse. However, most questions have to do with the practice of life: how to deal with a certain situation. There are no standard answers to that. A possibility is for her to consult a married couple of whom she knows that the husband has an open ear for his wife and who also makes an effort to answer his wife’s questions. He who dares to proclaim loudly in these days what is previously said, will find no favor with those who think that these verses are outdated. There are a lot of such people and their number is increasing. More and more Christians become victim of modern thinking, which gradually erases the difference between men and women. Not only worldly people, the unbelievers, do that. You cannot expect from them that they do differently. The most dangerous are people who pretend to be Christians and tell you that you should see everything differently, more in accordance with the time in which we live. Do not be deceived! Hold on to the trustworthy Word of God. . Paul says to the Corinthians: “Was it from you that the Word of God [first] went forth?” By that he means: ‘The Word of God originated from God Himself and not from you, right? You are not able to determine what should happen in church, as if God has not said the necessary things about that, are you?’ When God speaks, you cannot do better than surrender yourself unconditionally to that, even though it means that you do things against the tide and even if the crowd is against you. There is another thing to be added. They were not the only ones who were reached by the Word of God. What God has to say, He speaks to all churches. They could look around and see how things happened in other churches that took into account what God had said. They would do well if they accepted that as an example. . What Paul has written about the order in the church, was not invented by him. It neither is a friendly request to do it that way. It is “the Lord’s commandment”. This commandment is also, whether it is consciously or unconsciously, flouted in professing Christianity. He who thinks himself to be a prophet, someone who passes on a message he has received from God, or he who thinks himself to be spiritual, someone who is guided by the Spirit of God, will have no difficulty with this commandment. . He who does not recognize this commandment, is not to be recognized. Let him go. It is no use trying to convince such a person of this commandment. . Paul concludes his explanation of prophesying and speaking in tongues with a kind of summary. On the one hand he exhorts the believers at Corinth to prophesy; you have seen in this chapter that all the emphasis is on this gift. On the other hand they did not have to hinder the practice of speaking in tongues; you have seen in which cases this gift can have been practiced in church. . You notice that the way Paul phrased his comments here is the same as he does through the whole chapter. It is all about prophesying, while speaking in tongues is of secondary importance. In any case, everything, whatever happens in the church, it should happen in the right way and in the right order. To accomplish that, there is no need to record the service of the church, as it happens too often in professing Christianity. If we let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit in the meeting, He will surely show us the way of how to gather and He will protect the order. It is striking that in this chapter there is no mention of the guidance of the Spirit in the meeting. Here it is made clear that it is most important that each believer has his own responsibility in the meeting. You are not suddenly overwhelmed by a certain feeling. God assumes that you are consciously present and that you consciously partake of the meeting. You will have to make efforts to experience it that way. And that is what the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen you for (cf. ). Now read 1 Corinthians 14:34-40 again. Reflection: Where does ‘the commandment of the Lord’ ( ) refer to?

‏ 1 Corinthians 14:35

Properly and in an Orderly Manner

1Cor 14:34. Things happened in a disorderly way at Corinth. You will come to this conclusion from everything Paul has already written to them. He had to correct many things. One disorder is women speaking in the meetings of the church.

A woman has many capabilities with which she can serve the Lord. There are many examples of women in the Bible who have served the Lord, sometimes with more dedication and insight than men. The Lord notices that and appreciates that.

God makes no difference between sinners. Men and women have sinned and can be saved without any difference. When they are saved there is still no difference to God. In Christ man and woman are equal (Gal 3:28). But that still doesn’t mean that women have the same position as men in the meetings of the church. It is written clearly that they are not to speak in the meeting.

It has been mentioned once that the issue here would be their gossiping with one another. That is not true of course, for gossiping is also a wrong thing to do for men. Speaking as it is mentioned here, is speaking as a prophet in the meeting and that is not suitable for a woman. The reason for this is written thereafter: it does not fit with the submissive attitude she ought to have toward the man.

This submissiveness is not an invention of Paul. At the very beginning of the Bible, God Himself gave the woman this position. The expression “as the Law also says”, refers to what is told in Genesis 3. You read there about the fall. Due to the independent action of the woman, sin entered the world.

This event is the reason for God to clearly establish the place of man and woman. The man is the head and the woman ought to acknowledge him in that position, for he will rule over her (Gen 3:16). This doesn’t at all mean that Adam did not do anything wrong. In fact, his guilt was greater because he heard the prohibition against eating from that tree directly from God Himself. For him, sin also has consequences (Gen 3:17-19). So there are no excuses for Adam.

Because Eve entered, without Adam, into a discussion with the devil, which caused sin entering the world, God determined that she became subject to the authority of man. And this relationship is still valid. Just look at what it says in 1 Timothy 2 (1Tim 2:11-14). Of course that doesn’t mean that the man can exploit the woman. He ought to treat her with respect. This commandment is clearly defined in 1 Peter 3 (1Pet 3:7). It rather emphasizes the responsibility of the man more to guide the woman rightly, that she is not tempted to take actions without him anymore.

1Cor 14:35. Therefore, when these things are general, then they should certainly be applied when the church meets. It is even shameful for a woman to speak there, even if it were only to ask a question. If she wants to have an answer on a question about a subject or a verse from the Bible, she ought to ask her own husband at home about that. This implies that the husband is expected to be able to answer the questions of his wife.

It is true that no one knows the right answer to all questions. In fact a man has enough questions of his own. But I think that some men neglect this responsibility by saying that they are not able to do it. Each person who is aware of this task will make every effort to find an answer. There are resources in the form of books about the Bible that are helpful in this regard. Efforts sometimes ought to be made for that. But who doesn’t want to do that for his wife? It is a great blessing to speak with your wife about the Bible.

All kinds of issues in the domestic sphere you will want to look at using the Bible. Thereby you can think for example of how to spend your money correctly or how to make wise decisions concerning your children. By the way, these issues can also be spoken of in the meeting of the church. New questions can arise after what is said about that. People can talk about this further later at home.

Then there is still another question: ‘But what happens if a woman doesn’t have a husband or when her husband is an unbeliever?’ It is too simplistic to say that she can find answers in the books about the Bible. That might be helpful if it is about an interpretation of a certain verse. However, most questions have to do with the practice of life: how to deal with a certain situation. There are no standard answers to that. A possibility is for her to consult a married couple of whom she knows that the husband has an open ear for his wife and who also makes an effort to answer his wife’s questions.

He who dares to proclaim loudly in these days what is previously said, will find no favor with those who think that these verses are outdated. There are a lot of such people and their number is increasing. More and more Christians become victim of modern thinking, which gradually erases the difference between men and women. Not only worldly people, the unbelievers, do that. You cannot expect from them that they do differently. The most dangerous are people who pretend to be Christians and tell you that you should see everything differently, more in accordance with the time in which we live. Do not be deceived! Hold on to the trustworthy Word of God.

1Cor 14:36. Paul says to the Corinthians: “Was it from you that the Word of God [first] went forth?” By that he means: ‘The Word of God originated from God Himself and not from you, right? You are not able to determine what should happen in church, as if God has not said the necessary things about that, are you?’ When God speaks, you cannot do better than surrender yourself unconditionally to that, even though it means that you do things against the tide and even if the crowd is against you.

There is another thing to be added. They were not the only ones who were reached by the Word of God. What God has to say, He speaks to all churches. They could look around and see how things happened in other churches that took into account what God had said. They would do well if they accepted that as an example.

1Cor 14:37. What Paul has written about the order in the church, was not invented by him. It neither is a friendly request to do it that way. It is “the Lord’s commandment”. This commandment is also, whether it is consciously or unconsciously, flouted in professing Christianity. He who thinks himself to be a prophet, someone who passes on a message he has received from God, or he who thinks himself to be spiritual, someone who is guided by the Spirit of God, will have no difficulty with this commandment.

1Cor 14:38. He who does not recognize this commandment, is not to be recognized. Let him go. It is no use trying to convince such a person of this commandment.

1Cor 14:39. Paul concludes his explanation of prophesying and speaking in tongues with a kind of summary. On the one hand he exhorts the believers at Corinth to prophesy; you have seen in this chapter that all the emphasis is on this gift. On the other hand they did not have to hinder the practice of speaking in tongues; you have seen in which cases this gift can have been practiced in church.

1Cor 14:40. You notice that the way Paul phrased his comments here is the same as he does through the whole chapter. It is all about prophesying, while speaking in tongues is of secondary importance. In any case, everything, whatever happens in the church, it should happen in the right way and in the right order. To accomplish that, there is no need to record the service of the church, as it happens too often in professing Christianity. If we let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit in the meeting, He will surely show us the way of how to gather and He will protect the order.

It is striking that in this chapter there is no mention of the guidance of the Spirit in the meeting. Here it is made clear that it is most important that each believer has his own responsibility in the meeting. You are not suddenly overwhelmed by a certain feeling. God assumes that you are consciously present and that you consciously partake of the meeting. You will have to make efforts to experience it that way. And that is what the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen you for (cf. Phil 3:3).

Now read 1 Corinthians 14:34-40 again.

Reflection: Where does ‘the commandment of the Lord’ (1Cor 14:37) refer to?