john

To Lin and Don,

you both still hold to a false premise and that is:

verses 34 & 35 are the words of “Judaizers” in the Corinth Church who wanted Women to remain silent in church in accordance with The Oral Law.

Yet the basic grammatical composition of the passage clearly shows that this is not true!

Paul is giving instructions and later in the chapter he clearly says:

If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

And in regards to an Old Testament Written Law stating that women should remain silent at all times in Church, I did not say that there was.

If you will review my comments you will see what I said Paul is referring to when he instructs the women to remain silent in verse 34.

It is not a blanket proscription against women speaking or teaching in Church ever!

The context of chapter 14 is in regards to the Corinthian church body being unruly and disordered with the “gifts of the spirit” when they got together.

The Corinthian Church had a lot of issues going on that Paul was attempting to address and correct. The Corinthian Church was in many ways similiar to today’s Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches where the people speak in “tongues”, “Prophecy” etc and are very unruly and disordered about it. And many Pentecostal Church goers can be very carnal in their personal lives.

Paul in verses 34 & 35 is reminding women of their God ordered role and place in regards to their husband. And that God ordered role and place is established in Genesis 3:16. And in Paul’s other writings in regards to marriage he speaks of this order.

So again, verses 34 & 35 are not blanket proscriptions against women speaking in Church. Paul is addressing a specific situation in the Corinthian Church and he is giving instructions of how women are to conduct themselves in that situation so as to not shame their husbands who they are to submit to.

And I will also say this for the final time.

A person who pushes for equality in the Church to their own benefit is doing it from their own flesh and not from a pure heart.

God does not choose those to lead who demand equality. God chooses those for leadership who are content with what they have and the position they are in.

The mistake the visible chuch makes today is to assume that since a person is in leadership then they have been chosen by God to be there.

Leadership in churches today owes more to a “corporate” type system than it does to God’s intended system for picking people for leadership.

Paul is instructing them to