In Paul’s letters, he not only discusses theology and ethics but also very practical matters for the churches to which he writes. One of these more practical matters appears in 1 Corinthians 14, where Paul discusses ten ways in which the church can and should conduct itself in order to maintain ‘decency and order’. Much of what he says is straight-forward, and perhaps the only section that has caused some confusion is what Paul says about women in this chapter. In this brief article, I will offer my explanation of the verses, but the main purpose for writing it is to highlight the fact that the whole chapter is about practical ways in which the congregation might put into practice the principle of doing all things in decency and in order.
The first check
on disorderly worship is that the worship service should not be for someone’s personal,
religious experience but for building up, encouraging, and consoling others in
the church. For this reason, prophecy is
preferred over the speaking of mysteries in some message in tongues that only
builds up the individual (14.1-12). Crucially,
note that Paul does not establish order by suppressing prophecy and speaking in
tongues. Words of prophecy are put in
check by making sure that they serve the entire gathering.
The second check
on disorderly worship is that it should be understandable. Words spoken in tongues require an
interpretation of tongues so that others may understand what is said, and
therefore one speaking in tongues in the congregation should pray for an
interpretation (14.13-19). Paul quotes
Isaiah to make his point: ‘In the law it is written, “By people of strange
tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then
they will not listen to me, says the Lord”’(1 Corinthians 14.21, Isaiah 28.11,
12). Isaiah was speaking of God’s teaching
Israel a lesson through the punishment that would come through the foreign
armies of Assyria. Paul’s use of the
text is at the level of implication: a lesson in a foreign tongue does not
bring about obedience. That is, a lesson
in an unknown language does not lead to reform when it is not
understandable. Thus, Christian worship
can only lead unbelievers to conviction and repentance if they understand what
is being said.
The third and
fourth checks for orderly worship are that messages in tongues should be
limited to two or three and they should be delivered in turn, not all at once
(14.27). Paul does not, notably,
establish order by limiting participation to a select person or to select
persons. He encourages participation: ‘When
you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an
interpretation’ (14.26). Already in
chapter 12, Paul affirmed a diversity of gifts from the Spirit in the church.
The fifth check on
worship to maintain order is that, if there is no one to interpret a message in
tongues, a person with such a message should keep silent (14.28). This principle of keeping silent so as to
keep order will arise again in reference to women.
The sixth check for orderly worship is in reference to prophecy, which can itself be problematic in that a prophet can claim to deliver a message from God but may in fact not be inspired to do so. A prophet may come up with his or her own message and even use the mode of prophetic speaking for self-gain. This was a problem already noted in the Old Testament as there were false prophets. Jesus had warned against false prophets, too (Matthew 7.15-20). People were wary of prophecy, and Paul felt a need to warn against quenching the Spirit and despising prophecy (1 Thessalonians 5.19-20). Rather, the Church should ‘test everything’ (5.21). Likewise, John says, ‘Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world’ (1 John 4.1). To the Corinthian church, Paul says, ‘Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said’ (14.29). Prophetic messages only have a place in the congregation if the congregation weighs and approves what is said.
The seventh check on worship so that order
is maintained is that no one person should dominate. Paul says, ‘ If
a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so
that all may learn and all be encouraged’ (14.30-31).
The eighth check is that
prophetic inspiration is not, shall we say, ecstatic, in the sense that one is unable to contain or control the message and just has to blurt it out. Paul says, ‘the spirits of prophets are subject to
prophets’ (14.32). Paul explains
that ‘God is not a God of confusion but of peace’ (14.33). This principle of ‘peace’ runs deeply in Paul’s
thinking about the church. Based on it,
he allowed Christians to divorce non-Christian spouses if the latter did not
wish to remain in the marriage (1 Corinthians 7.16). Paul’s entire letter to the Ephesian church
was a letter explaining how the reign of Christ brought peace into the various
relationships of believers and resulted in their unity. Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2.14). Ecstatic prophecy—which was known in Asia
Minor especially in the cult of the goddess Cybele—was not Christian. The spirits of prophets were subject to the
prophets.
The ninth check on worship that would keep
it decent and orderly had to do with women.
Paul says that the women are to remain silent and not speak in the
church (14.34). We know that this does
not exclude ordered speech in the congregation, since women did pray out loud
and prophesy (1 Corinthians 11.5). Women
who did so, Paul insists, were to do so with their heads covered, which was a
culturally appropriate way of acknowledging household order. That is, it was a way of recognizing that
they were under their husbands’ authority, and to pray or prophesy without
their heads covered would be to challenge the household’s order. One might discuss how to apply this in other
cultures, but Paul’s purpose in saying this is to keep order and to avoid
introducing disorder in the church gatherings.
To return to what he says in chapter 14, we therefore note that women keeping silent is not about their not saying anything but must be about their not disrupting the service. Paul says that women should be in submission (14.34) and ‘If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home’ (14.35). Speaking appears to have to do with questioning what was being taught in the church, either for a lack of understanding or to challenge the speaker’s message or teaching. (Even today, congregations listen quietly to the preacher in a service without turning the sermon into a lecture followed by questions and answers or debate.) The particular speaking in the service that Paul has in mind is a speaking that would render a disruption of order.
The cultural context is important to appreciate as we may be confused why women speaking in a meeting might be taken as indecent and disorderly. Women in the Greek context more than in the Roman were confined to the home. This was in part for their protection, but women out in the streets may be thought to be loose and wanton. Of course, women might go out to the marketplace or attend a theatre, so they were not prisoners in their homes. Their presence in the business of the city was, however, a matter of stepping into the domain where men played out their social roles. Coupled with this, we might further need to appreciate, was the fact that education was normally for men. A few centuries earlier, Socrates thought it unusual that the women of Crete and Sparta, the most ancient of the Greek states, allowed women to learn philosophy. He said that they in fact excelled in it, and women prided themselves in their education (Plato, Protagoras 342d). Thus, elsewhere in Greece (and throughout the known world at the time), women wanting to participate in the teaching in a service by asking questions would prove disruptive for their lack of education as well as for their taking on a different social role. Paul is not opposed to their learning, but that learning should take place at home. Their husbands could answer their questions. (It goes without saying that this passage is not only culturally embedded but also that it has nothing to do with women in the ministry, preaching, or teaching. (In fact, Priscilla and her husband, Aquilla, instructed the noted Bible teacher, Apollos, in the full Gospel--Acts 18.26). It has to do with women creating disorder by speaking in a public service in 1st century Greece.
The tenth check that Paul mentions, and with this he concludes, is that those independently minded for thinking themselves prophets or spiritual in their own right do not have the right to assert their own views. Rather, if they really are prophets and spiritual, they should agree with him. He does not say this because he is an apostle, although he might have done so. Rather, they should agree with him because together, as spiritual people, they can discern what is a command of the Lord (14.37). In this point, Paul is saying that nobody has the right to private interpretation along with claims of authority (v. 36).
The verse that concludes the chapter is
where we find the language of ‘in decency and in order’—the theme of the whole
chapter. Paul says, ‘So,
my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be
done decently and in order’
(14.39-40). Paul could not cover
every topic facing churches in his time, let alone in subsequent centuries
after him. However, the principle of ‘in
decency and in order’ is one that should still apply. We need to appreciate that this does not
exclude spiritual gifts but regulates their use according to their purposes and
the nature of congregational worship.
The principle might apply in different ways at different times, as I
have suggested in regard to women’s silence.
Finally, we are reminded that private interpretations cannot be
legitimated on the grounds that one claims to be a prophet or spiritual. This is an important point in our time, when innovative
and revisionist interpretations in liberal denominations have undermined orthodoxy
and when prophetic voices in certain charismatic churches (and notably in
Africa) give prominence to individual prophets seeking attention and power
rather than seeking to promote the upbuilding of the church.
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