Silent in the Churches (Part 2)
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33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 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. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?
Alright, last week, we got a bit into the weeds,
so today I’m going to try a different approach to covering this passage.
Instead of teaching TO the truth
let’s try teaching FROM the truth,
and see that helps us better piece all of this together.
The Right View
The Right View
In 1 Corinthians 14:34–36, Paul instructs women to be silent in the church.
But this silence isn’t absolute silence, it’s selective silence,
it’s specific to a certain kind of speech.
So in 1 Cor 14, the women being silent in church section in the context of judging prophecies during church gatherings,
Why?
Because it was a teaching role which is reserved primarily for male elders, in order to maintain order.
Which aligns with the rest of Scripture,
including 1 Corinthians 11:5,
where women are permitted to pray and prophesy.
Question:
So if that’s the right view, why do some people reject this view?
Largely it’s because of their motive.
And the motive is feminism, which seeks to erase all gender lines.
And in our culture, we are now facing feminism’s 4th wave,
which has taken things so much further than feminism’s first wave ever did.
But they do have arguments,
and understanding the principle behind the arguments is helpful for understanding right biblical principles.
And for the record,
that’s why I cover false views sometimes,
It’s not because I expect you to remember every false view out there,
it’s because, if you see the truth principle that dismantles the false view,
then you’ll be able to identify counterfeits much easier.
So today we are going to look at several truth principles found in these false views,
so we can trust our Bible’s and hold the right conclusion on what God has told us.
The goal is to obey all that God has said.
So here is what we’ll see today.
Properly understanding 1 Corinthians 14 will help us understand:
The reliability of Scripture
The importance of interpreting the Bible consistently.
The joy God’s Word brings us.
As we looked at last week,
The first argument against our view of 1 Corinthians 14, is that these verses were added to the Bible.
And while it’s true, that our Bible’s have a handful of issues like that,
It really doesn’t threaten our trustworthiness of God’s Word.
In our study of the Bible, it is true that we occasionally come across some difficult passages or discrepancies in different manuscripts.
But, these don’t diminish the reliability or authority of Scripture,
but rather, they give us an opportunity to explore the process of how the Bible has been preserved,
which actually increases our trust of it today.
So briefly here, let’s look at 3 common passages that people point to when they try to argue that the Bible has been changed/added to,
which is the basis of the “Paul didn’t write this” argument on our 1 Cor 14 verses.
1. "He Who is Without Sin, Cast the First Stone" (John 8:7)
1. "He Who is Without Sin, Cast the First Stone" (John 8:7)
In John 8:7, we find the well-known statement,
"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."
Which occurs in the story of a woman caught in adultery.
What happens is, the religious leaders bring this woman to Jesus,
hoping to trap Him with a question about the law,
which prescribed stoning for adultery.
But instead of directly answering them, Jesus says,
“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”
One by one, they leave, recognizing their own sinfulness.
Without a doubt, this powerful statement underscores God's grace and challenges us not to judge others harshly.
However, the fact is the earliest ancient manuscripts of John don’t include this story.
(such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus).
These early manuscripts date from the 4th century and are some of the most significant early copies of the Greek New Testament.
Other early manuscripts, such as the Papyrus 66 and Papyrus 75, which are also from the 3rd century, also do not have this passage.
and it’s not until the 5th century that it starts to show up in various manuscripts of the Bible.
So is this a big problem for trusting our Bible’s today?
I really don’t think so,
because for one, a lot of our English Bible’s include a reference to everything I just said,
but secondly, just because it MIGHT not have been original to John’s gospel, doesn’t mean it’s made up...
Most likely what happened was this story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery REALLY happened,
and a 5th century Scribe decided to add it there, because it was such a common part of the church’s oral history and teachings from Jesus.
Remember, not EVERYTHING the apostles taught was written down in Scripture.
And this passage perfectly fits with the teaching and character of Jesus.
Yes, it’s likely not written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
But, I think we can be reasonably confident that it truly happened.
OK, secondly,
2. The Various Ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20)
2. The Various Ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20)
The Gospel of Mark has three different endings (Mark 16:9-20),
and the variations in the manuscripts raise questions for some. Here’s a brief overview:
Shorter Ending (Mark 16:8):
The earliest and most reliable manuscripts, such as Codex Sinaiticus (4th century) and Codex Vaticanus (4th century), end at Mark 16:8, with the women fleeing from the tomb in fear and saying nothing to anyone.
This is the shortest and earliest form of the ending.
Longer Ending (Mark 16:9-20):
This version, which includes resurrection appearances and the Great Commission, is found in later manuscripts, like Codex Alexandrinus (5th century) and Codex Bezae (5th century).
It became widely accepted in the early church and is included in most modern Bible translations.
Intermediate Ending:
Some manuscripts (e.g., Codex Washingtonianus) include a hybrid version, combining elements of both the longer and shorter endings.
Regarding the "snake handling" and "drinking poison" verses (Mark 16:17-18),
these are part of the longer ending found in later manuscripts but are absent in the earliest manuscripts,
which suggests they were added later.
But this isn’t a major issue because:
1. Mark could have written it later.
2. A Scribe added it later to harmonize Mark with the resurrection accounts in Matthew, Luke and John.
(It does not add any new teachings, but only repeats other teachings).
3. Mark could have passed on the longer ending orally, and it was later added.
Maybe he wanted to go back and finish the ending, but just never did.
4. The longer ending is the correct one, and the other ones are just missing it.
Maybe the scribe ran out of ink...
But either way,
Even if these verses were added later,
they align with the themes found throughout the rest of the New Testament,
and they do not change the core message of the gospel.
so it’s really not a big deal.
3. Who Killed Goliath? (1 Samuel 17 vs. 2 Samuel 21:19)
3. Who Killed Goliath? (1 Samuel 17 vs. 2 Samuel 21:19)
As we saw last week with the question of “Who Killed Goliath?”
1 Samuel 17 clearly states that David killed Goliath,
but in 2 Samuel 21:19, we find a variation in the text, where it says that a man named Elhanan killed Goliath.
But as Greg pointed out last week, translations like the King Jame’s version, which go off of the Masoretic Text have this right, that it was the brother of Goliath that Elhanan killed - not Goliath, since David killed him.
Plus, in 1 Chronicles 20:5 we find that Elhanan killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath.
The reason some translations have different than the King James Version,
is because they are using earlier manuscripts, which don’t say “The Brother Of.”
Even though, that’s certainly what happened.
So, most likely is that some of the manuscripts actually left a few marks out.
Conclusion
Conclusion
These examples show that while there are occasional discrepancies or textual variants in the manuscripts,
they do not undermine the overall trustworthiness of the Bible.
Through careful study and the process of textual criticism,
we can have confidence that the Bible we read today accurately represents the original writings.
The message remains unchanged: Jesus’ teachings are true, and the salvation He offers is certain.
Minor variations, like those in John 8, Mark’s ending, or who killed Goliath, remind us that Scripture has been faithfully transmitted to us over thousands of years,
and we can trust its authenticity and divine inspiration.
So, when skeptics of the Bible use these examples to try and undermine the trustworthiness of Scripture,
they are really grasping for straws.
They often will use these as examples to try to get people to doubt all of the Bible.
“how can we really know what else has been copied with error?” - they ask.
But this isn’t supported by the evidence,
Especially with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
in the dead sea scroll, they found an ancient copy of the scroll of Isaiah, which is almost a 1 for 1 of what we have in our Bible’s today,
and contains no difference of any substance.
Which is absolutely wild!
So bringing this back to 1 Corinthians 14.
Those who try to ague that Paul didn’t write this have an uphill battle with their claim.
If they try to say that not original, even though all of the earliest manuscripts have it - they have to give actual evidence for that
they can’t just assert it.
Or, if they try to argue that it’s an addition because it doesn’t fit Paul’s Style
They have a problem, because who decides what is and isn’t someone’s “style.”
People have a lot of different styles when they write,
and that style changes over time.
The way I write today, is very different than I did 5 or 10 years ago.
Also, if they argue it can’t be original to Paul because it doesn’t fit the theme,
My question is: “Says who?”
Who get’s to decide what fits the theme or doesn’t fit the theme?
Maybe it actually does, and we just don’t see how,
Or maybe Paul didn’t prioritize sticking to his theme.
We all go down rabbit trails sometimes...
AND, if we take these verses as I do,
to be speaking of selective silence in terms of interpreting prophecy, and not absolute silence,
it absolutely does fit with his theme!
And perfectly fits with 1 Corinthians 11 where Paul says women can pray and prophecy.
there’s absolutely no contradiction if we understand 1 Corinthians 14 to be referring to selective silence when it comes to interpreting prophecies, not giving them.
Properly understanding 1 Corinthians 14 will help us understand:
The reliability of Scripture
The importance of interpreting the Bible consistently.
The fact is, if we throw out 1 Corinthians 14, verses 33-36 because it:
A. Doesn’t fit with Paul’s theme,
B. Doesn’t fit with Paul’s style,
C. Doesn’t fit with Paul’s teachings in other passages,
We open Pandora’s box when it comes to interpreting our Bible’s consistently.
If we can throw out passages on that basis alone,
what else is up for grabs?
The answer is: Almost anything!
Instead, we need to recognize that because of the culture we live it, it would be very convenient to throw out passages like this,
But… my argument is that we shouldn’t do that,
and instead, we should actually lean into these passages harder,
Because they correct our cultural biases.
And we all have them...
And if we think we don’t,
we are deceived.
The fact is, if it were up to me, the Bible would teach total equality on men and women’s roles in the church,
but the fact is, it doesn’t.
So I can either bend Scripture to my beliefs,
or I can change my beliefs to match Scripture.
Which is obviously what we all must do.
One of example of this is the refutation view we looked at last week.
That’s the view where they put almost all of the weight of their argument on the word “What” that we see in the Revised Standard edition.
33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. 35 If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 What! Did the word of God originate with you, or are you the only ones it has reached?
But we discussed last time, the word “What” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
AND, Paul doesn’t even address any of the things he brought up,
which is VERY unusual for Paul.
Instead, what Paul usually does is he almost never outright rejects everything the Corinthians think,
Instead, he points out the error and the truth.
He qualifies it.
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
Question:
How can we apply this “yes, but” principle when correcting people in a gentle and loving way?
Next we come to to the EDUCATION view on 1 Cor 14, which rejects our understanding,
because it holds that this wasn’t for all women.
instead, they argue that this was a situational prohibition on women speaking,
because they were uneducated and kept asking silly questions that was messing up the church service.
In American culture, we often hear “There are no stupid questions”
But the Greeks and Romans didn’t feel this way.
They expected people to only ask informed questions.
But there’s several problems with this way of interpreting the Bible.
1st. Women were much more educated that this view thinks.
and, they were being educated weekly in the church gathering.
2nd, churches weren’t teaching “General Education” - they were teaching Christian doctrine.
So everyone - both men and women who got saved didn’t have any greater knowledge than the other.
and in the church, both men and women got the same Christian education.
3rd, Corinth wasn’t a new church - it was an established church.
Paul had already spent a year and a half teaching both men and women daily.
AND do you remember Aquila and Priscilla?
This couple trained others, including men like Apollos.
so how was she so educated while the rest were not?
4th, this view fails to explain why why only uneducated women were to be silent, and not uneducated men?.
Why not some women and some men?
Do we really think EVERY single male in Corinth was educated?
Of course not.
And, this doesn’t address verse 34 which mentions this being an issue of submission.
But our view does.
So yes, 1 Corinthians 11 and head coverings was most likely a cultural practice of a biblical principle,
But we can’t use that interpretation all willy-nilly without thought.
It’s a bad way to interpret the Bible.
OK, lastly we have the utter silent view,
which says that women were not allowed to talk at all - period.
And this interpretation doesn’t work, because it doesn’t fit with what Paul just said two chapters earlier,
about women being able to talk when they pray or prophecy.
Plus in Acts 2, we read:
17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
All of this, I believe, shows why our view on 1 Corinthians 14 is the right one.
It’s about JUDGING prophecies,
which is a teaching role that is reserved only for men - especially the elders of a church.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Finally, let’s deal with some arguments against our view, that 1 Cor 14 is about being silent when it comes to judging prophecies.
One criticism of our view says that it says that there is a spiritual gift of the spirit that women can’t have.
But this isn’t true...
It’s not about the gifts, it’s about the timing of the gifts.
So yes, every prophecy has to be judged by both men and women,
but in the local church context,
it’s men who are to do it - ultimately the Elders/Pastors.
Lastly, some say our view doesn’t deal with the “no asking questions” part of verse 35.
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.
So if this passage is about judging prophecies, why can’t women ask questions?
1st - the judging of prophecies was primarily done by Elders
2nd - a way women could passively slide into that role, was by asking questions.
And we know this
whoever controls the questions controls the moment.
Which can lead, intentionally or unintentionally take control of judging prophecies.
Properly understanding 1 Corinthians 14 will help us understand:
The reliability of Scripture
The importance of interpreting the Bible consistently.
The joy God’s Word brings us.
So yes, women can pray and prophecy,
But they can’t take an authoritative teaching position of judging prophecies.
And remember, that Paul sees asking questions in terms of submission.
Which is why this passage in the middle in a section that is all about judging prophecies.
We can’t despise this passage - we need to champion it.
We need to love God’s Word, not despise it.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
We can’t love Christ without loving Christ’s Words & Commands.
and when we love both Christ and His Word,
it brings us joy and blessing.
QUESTIONS:
