Search — Theology Explorer

1 Corinthians 12:7 Discovering Biblical Equality Stanley Grenz 1 Corinthians 12:7

Grenz argues the Spirit's sovereign call and gifting, not gender, determines who can be an elder

Grenz's more detailed argument: since the Spirit calls believer-priests to ministry, gender cannot be an overriding disqualifying factor.

1 Corinthians 11 Acts 2 Joel 2 1 Corinthians 11 Acts 2 women prophesying

1 Corinthians 11 gives rules for how women should prophesy in public gatherings; Acts 2 / Joel 2 declares sons and daughters shall prophesy

Key NT evidence that women prophesied publicly in church gatherings.

1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14:34 John MacArthur 1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14:34 John MacArthur

Two key passages used by strong complementarians to deny women speaking publicly: 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2

Mike identifies the passages that fuel the opposing view.

1 Corinthians 11 head coverings 1 Corinthians 11 women prophesying

1 Corinthians 11 clearly refers to prophecy in public mixed-gender gatherings; the whole section (chs. 11-14) deals with gathered worship

Mike argues the broader context of 1 Corinthians leaves no room for limiting this to private settings.

1 Corinthians 11:4-5 head coverings women prophesying 1 Corinthians 11:4-5

1 Corinthians 11:4-5 gives parallel instructions for men and women prophesying in the same context

Mike reads the key text: men are told how to prophesy, and in the same breath women are told how to prophesy.

1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur 1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur Grace to You (gty.org)

John MacArthur's response: maybe Paul means public places but not congregational worship gatherings

Mike quotes MacArthur's article (from gty.org) about head coverings to show his interpretation.

1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 14:34 John MacArthur hermeneutics 1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 14:34

MacArthur's real basis: 1 Corinthians 14:34 (women keep silent) overrides the plain reading of 1 Corinthians 11

Mike identifies that MacArthur's position depends entirely on 1 Corinthians 14:34 controlling the meaning of chapter 11.

John MacArthur 1 Corinthians 11:16 John MacArthur 1 Corinthians 11:16 church gathering context

Four reasons why 1 Corinthians 11 must be about Christian worship gatherings, not just public places

Mike gives detailed reasons for rejecting MacArthur's reading.

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 1 Corinthians 12-14 1 Corinthians 14:3-4 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 1 Corinthians 12-14 1 Corinthians 14:3-4

Broader context of 1 Corinthians 11-14 confirms it is about gathered worship: Lord's Supper and spiritual gifts in church

Mike appeals to the wider literary context to confirm his reading.

1 Corinthians 14:34 John MacArthur women prophesying Philip's daughters 1 Corinthians 14:34

MacArthur's conclusion quoted and rejected: 'women may have the gift of prophecy but normally are not to prophesy where men are present'

Mike quotes MacArthur's specific position and says the rule 'seems wrong.'

1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 11 women prophesying how vs. where

Key distinction: Scripture limits HOW women prophesy, not WHERE or WHEN

Mike summarizes his position on women and prophecy.

1 Corinthians 14:31 soft complementarianism 1 Corinthians 14:31 prophecy and teaching

Claim 2 analysis: Prophecy is similar enough to teaching that women should be able to teach in mixed gatherings

Mike now analyzes the second egalitarian claim from women prophesying.

1 Corinthians 14:29 1 John 4:1 prophecy and authority 1 Corinthians 14:29 1 John 4:1

Prophecy is tested; the prophet has no authority over the evaluation of their own prophecy

Mike explains the testing process for prophecy per 1 Corinthians 14:29 and 1 John 4:1.

1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11 headship 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11

Scripture places limits on women prophesying: they must acknowledge male headship (1 Corinthians 11) and may not judge prophecies (1 Corinthians 14)

Mike notes that even within prophecy, there are gender-specific limitations.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Philip Payne spiritual gifts argument 1 Corinthians 12:7

Philip Payne's two-part argument: complementarians either assume God never gives women certain gifts OR they wrongly restrict those gifts

Mike presents Philip Payne's formulation of the gifts argument.

1 Corinthians 12:28 apostles 1 Corinthians 12:28 kubernesis (administrating)

1 Corinthians 12:28 — 'administrating' (leadership) appears as a gift distinct from the office of teacher

Mike examines another gifts list.

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 word of wisdom word of knowledge

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 — speaking gifts (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, tongues, interpretation) seem available to women by analogy with prophecy

Mike examines another gifts list and finds it would be arbitrary to say women can prophesy but not have other speaking gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 12:7 common good

Second part of gifts argument: Philip Payne says gifts are 'for the common good' so you cannot restrict who a woman teaches

Mike addresses the more challenging claim from Payne.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 varieties of ministry

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 — there are 'varieties' of gifts, service, and activities; not all gifts are expressed the same way

Mike uses Paul's own language to show gifts are meant to be expressed in diverse ways.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Philip Payne 1 Corinthians 12:7 common good

Rebutting Payne's 'for the common good' argument: Paul meant gifts should benefit others, not that all gifts must be expressed Sunday morning in front of everyone

Mike directly addresses Philip Payne's use of 1 Corinthians 12:7.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 Stanley Grenz gifts expressed outside eldership 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Grenz presumes (1) teaching and leadership can only find true expression in eldership — Mike disagrees

Mike identifies the first false premise in Grenz's argument.

Colossians 3:16 1 Corinthians 14:26 Tom Schreiner Apollos Colossians 3:16

Tom Schreiner quote: complementarians should not give the impression women are unintelligent or lack teaching ability

Mike quotes a fellow complementarian to correct unhealthy attitudes toward women's teaching.

1 Corinthians 12:29-30 Philip Payne teaching ministry 1 Corinthians 12:29-30

1 Corinthians 12:29-30 — Paul's rhetorical questions show not everyone is supposed to teach

Mike cites Paul's own words against the idea that all Christians should have a teaching ministry.

1 Corinthians 14:34 Galatians 3:28 1 Timothy 2:11 1 Corinthians 14:34 Galatians 3:28 hermeneutical priority

F.F. Bruce's declaration that Galatians 3:28 is the basic principle governing other Pauline texts

Mike quotes F.F. Bruce via Groothuis to show how the verse is used as a hermeneutical rule.

1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11 1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11

Ben Witherington III's (1981) two arguments against over-reading the Genesis allusion

Mike cites Witherington's earlier work to push back against the creation/new-creation dichotomy.

1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14 1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14 silver bullet argument

The silver bullet uses a passage not about the topic to override passages that are about the topic

Mike summarizes the fundamental problem with the egalitarian use of Galatians 3:28.

1 Corinthians 14 Galatians 3:28 1 Timothy 2:11 1 Corinthians 14 Galatians 3:28 Cynthia Long Westfall

Revisiting Westfall and F.F. Bruce quotes on Galatians 3:28 as an interpretive override

Mike re-presents key quotes to drive his point home.

1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14 Galatians 3:28 1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14 Galatians 3:28

Egalitarians use a verse not about the topic because the verses about the topic are unhelpful to them

Mike's pointed assessment of the egalitarian strategy.

1 Corinthians 11:3 kephale 1 Corinthians 11:3 headship hierarchy

1 Corinthians 11:3 — the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, the head of Christ is God

Mike presents the key verse establishing male headship.

1 Corinthians 11 Ephesians 5 1 Corinthians 11 Ephesians 5 contextual argument

Bible study argument introduced: Paul's context in 1 Corinthians 11 and Ephesians does not imply authority

Mike introduces the third egalitarian argument — the contextual/exegetical claim.

1 Corinthians 11:3 Ephesians 5:23 kephale BDAG 1 Corinthians 11:3

BDAG lexicon (2000): kephale denotes 'superior rank,' cites 1 Cor 11:3 and Eph 5:23; no mention of 'source'

Mike surveys the most respected NT lexicon first.

1 Corinthians 11:3 kephale 1 Corinthians 11:3 Louw-Nida

Louw-Nida lexicon: kephale means 'one of supreme or preeminent status in view of authority to order or command'

Mike surveys the Louw-Nida semantic domain lexicon.

1 Corinthians 11:3 Ephesians 4:15 kephale 1 Corinthians 11:3 DBL Dictionary

DBL Dictionary of Biblical Languages (2001): kephale means 'superior, one of preeminent status'

Mike surveys the DBL lexicon.

Ephesians 5:23 kephale hierarchy Ephesians 5:23

Exegetical Dictionary of the NT (1990): kephale refers to 'hierarchy of God, Christ, man, woman' — sovereignty in Eph 5:23

Mike surveys the EDNT.

1 Corinthians 11:3 kephale 1 Corinthians 11:3 Analytical Lexicon of the Greek NT

Analytical Lexicon of the Greek NT (2000): kephale means 'first or superior rank' — cites 1 Cor 11:3

Mike surveys the Analytical Lexicon.

kephale Pocket Lexicon of NT Greek ruler/lord

Pocket Lexicon of NT Greek (1917): kephale means 'head, ruler, or lord' — cites 1 Cor 11:3

Mike surveys the oldest lexicon in his sample.

1 Corinthians 11:3 kephale The Passion Translation 1 Corinthians 11:3

26+ Bible translations translate kephale as 'head' or 'authority' — only The Passion Translation (2017) used 'source,' later corrected

Mike surveys Bible translations for how they render kephale.