As in all the churches of the saints, 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. 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 - 1 Cor 14:35-36
So, this is the knockout punch that has ended many Bible studies before they even start. You know, some things are so intimidating that you either run from them or confront them head-on. I mean there are some topics; some Bible verses that are so hard to understand that God’s people either run from and ignore or they just have to deal with them.
Believers, throughout history, have found clever ways to dismiss this verse. One of those methods, I have noted, is to assault Paul himself; all his authorship and authority as an inspired Apostle. By doing that, they forget that “All Scripture is inspired by the Spirit of God” (2 Tim 3:15-17). Hence to denounce Paul is to denounce the Holy Spirit Himself. How dangerous is that?
The second bypass method against the “women must be silent” statement is a cultural one. This one says that this passage was relevant only to that old, primitive, uneducated culture of the Corinthian people that only delighted in oppressing women. “We are in the 21st Century now”, I hear them say. That, also is problematic because we might as well discard the whole Bible because it wasn’t written in 2024, but it is as old as 4 thousand years, describing events, and people who lived a long time ago. However, we who believe Scripture are not ashamed to say that the Word of God is powerful enough to transcend every culture from any time in history. Hence I can read the book of Ruth or Job and still apply it to my life today – as fresh as it can be.
Now let’s get to it: what does it mean? To get to that, we must begin by asking: What does it NOT mean? That is, this passage doesn’t mean that women must not talk at all in church because just a few chapters before that we saw the statement, “but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven”(1 Cor 11:5). Which means women could prophesy (speak the Word of God) even in the context of the Corinthian church; they were not supposed to be “silent” at all. This means that they could also do other things like praying and singing. So we understand that the word “silent” means something other than “not opening one’s mouth.”
If we look at the context, we see that Paul is talking about judging/examining prophetic words during the church service. Remember, there is a slight difference in the way church services are conducted nowadays and the way they did in the New Testament era. That is, we are familiar with only one man standing up to bring the Word, while the rest of us receive and go home in silence. During that time, however, there were multiple speakers; all coming with the “Word of the Lord” to the congregation. Hence Paul says, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said (1 Cor 14:29),” If some wrong doctrine or falsehood was discovered during that examination, the women were not to take part in the correction process. Why so, because men are the ones responsible for spiritual leadership in the house of God; all in the name of order and authority. Therefore, the final solution for these women was to consult their husbands at home about that whole matter of examining the words of prophecy spoken at church. Is it all clear my brethren? Let me use the next paragraph to apply it to our current church gatherings.
Here is me going with my wife to church as usual. We arrive there and we all pray, sing and even share some Scriptures with others. Since in our services, we have only one minister who stands to give us the Word from the Lord, when he does, we must all sit quietly, learning but also examining what’s being said. Suppose my wife hears something during the sermon that she would like to discuss further, instead of interrupting the message, she must be silent, and reserve that question to when we get home. If however, I also have the same question concerning the message from the minister, I have spiritual authority to raise my hand during the service and present that question. Do you see? Like I said, the services at the Corinthian Church were not conducted the way we do today. Once we get that understood, it won’t be hard to catch the meaning of this whole passage.
To summarise, Scripture in its totality does mean forbid women to speak in the Church. It’s only in the context of judging prophecies that women are to remain silent. It’s a shame for them to do so because it violates order and respect for church leadership. Simple.
I pray that you will also give yourself to the study of this beautiful portion of Scripture, perhaps you might find something worth noting. Until we meet again, adios.
Sinothi Ncube
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