Women Preachers?, Part 3
Throughout the book of Corinthians, Paul addresses different problems that have come to light in the church. Here is a quick list of some of the issues he highlights and brings correction to:
- various factions that came up within the church
- sexual immorality
- communion
- confusion in their worship services
- speaking in tongues
- prophecy
From reading 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Paul highlights another problem so that it might be addressed and corrected.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women remain silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak. They are commanded to be under obedience, as the law also says. If they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
Now in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul talks about women praying, and prophesying...in context Paul is setting in order the issues of the Church at Corinth. The church at Corinth was experiencing a certain amount of turmoil. Paul's letter to this young church was providing much needed direction.
The entire chapter addresses chaos in worship:
- Multiple people speaking in tongues at once.
- Prophets interrupting each other.
- General confusion in the assembly.
In this context Paul says:
"Let your women keep silent in the churches..." (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)
Yet only three chapters earlier he acknowledged women praying and prophesying publicly.
Because of that, common sense can conclude Paul was not issuing an absolute prohibition against all female speech. Rather, he was correcting a specific disruptive behavior occurring during the evaluation of prophetic messages or during teaching sessions.
The repeated theme of chapter 14 is:
"Let all things be done decently and in order." (1 Corinthians 14:40)
At this point, we've established that yes, women can speak in church...in orderly conduct.
From a Torah-oriented perspective, one of the strongest observations is that Paul's concern in Corinth mirrors a recurring biblical theme: maintaining order, honor, and proper authority structures within the covenant community. The problem was not simply women speaking; the problem was disorderly behavior that undermined the peace and edification of the assembly.
Next up we'll explore requirements set out in the Brit Chadasha (New Covenant)...