Search — Theology Explorer

1 Corinthians 14:21 Isaiah 28:11-12 John 12:34 1 Corinthians 14:21 Isaiah 28:11-12 John 12:34

Paul uses 'the law' to refer to all of scripture, not just the Pentateuch

Mike argues that 'law' in Paul's usage can mean the Old Testament generally, citing 1 Corinthians 14:21.

John 15:25 Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 law as scripture John 15:25 Psalm 35:19

Jesus also uses 'law' to refer to Psalms, not just the Pentateuch

Mike provides additional evidence that 'the law' was used broadly in the NT.

1 Corinthians 14:34-36 Pauline quotation-refutation style 1 Corinthians 14:34-36

Paul's quotation-refutation style in known instances differs dramatically from 1 Corinthians 14

Mike compares how Paul actually does quotation-refutation elsewhere versus what is claimed here.

1 Corinthians 6:12 1 Corinthians 10:23 Corinthian slogans 1 Corinthians 6:12 1 Corinthians 10:23

Paul's consistent pattern: he qualifies Corinthian slogans with wisdom rather than fully disagreeing

Mike shows from multiple examples that Paul never fully disagrees with Corinthian slogans.

1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 11 Corinthian church practices internal consistency

The refutation view creates internally contradictory beliefs about the Corinthians

Mike argues the refutation view requires believing contradictory things about Corinthian church practice simultaneously.

1 Corinthians 14:35 education view 1 Corinthians 14:35 asking husbands at home

Advantage of the education view: it explains the 'ask husbands at home' phrase well

Mike acknowledges the education view has one genuine strength.

1 Corinthians 12:2 Priscilla Apollos apostolic doctrine

Problem with the education view: women were not so education-deprived in Christian context

Mike challenges the assumption that Corinthian women were significantly less educated than men in matters relevant to church.

1 Corinthians 16:19 Apollos 1 Corinthians 16:19 Priscilla and Aquila

Paul spent 18 months in Corinth teaching men and women equally

Mike emphasizes the extensive Christian education Corinthian women had received by the time of this letter.

1 Corinthians 10:1 1 Corinthians 12:1 Plutarch agnoeo idiotes

Education View Hinge 1: Why only women? Why not uneducated men too?

Mike presents the first critical hinge point that undermines the education view.

1 Corinthians 14:33b D.A. Carson 1 Corinthians 14:33b universal scope argument

D.A. Carson: it is not plausible women are silenced because they were uneducated

Mike quotes Carson's response to the education view.

1 Corinthians 11 creation order submission 1 Corinthians 11

Education View Hinge 3: Why is submission an issue if it is about education?

Mike identifies the fatal disconnect between the education view and Paul's mention of submission.

1 Corinthians 14:35 laleo 1 Corinthians 14:35 questions vs. ecstatic behavior

Problem 2 with the cult view: why are questions forbidden if the issue is screaming?

Mike identifies the disconnect between ecstatic behavior and the passage's content about questions.

utter silence view women's speech prohibition

Introduction of View 4 analysis: The Utter Silence View

Mike begins analyzing the most strict complementarian view.

1 Corinthians 14:28 1 Corinthians 14:30 Anthony Thiselton sigao 1 Corinthians 14:28

The word 'sigao' (keep silent) in 1 Corinthians 14 consistently refers to limited, context-specific silence

Mike examines how the same Greek word for silence is used in the same chapter.

1 Corinthians 11:5 1 Corinthians 11:2-6 head coverings 1 Corinthians 11:5 women prophesying

Utter Silence View Hinge 2: 1 Corinthians 11 proves women could prophesy publicly in church

Mike presents the strongest challenge to the utter silence view from within the same letter.

1 Corinthians 11:16 Tom Schreiner 1 Corinthians 11:16 women's public prayer and prophecy

Tom Schreiner: Paul encourages women to pray and prophesy in church with proper adornment

Mike quotes complementarian scholar Tom Schreiner against the utter silence view.

1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 11 utter silence view rescue attempt

The attempted rescue of utter silence: women can prophesy publicly but should not, and must wear coverings if they do

Mike addresses another attempt to reconcile utter silence with 1 Corinthians 11.

church authority judging prophecy view testing prophecy

View 5 analysis: The Judging Prophecy View -- Mike's preferred interpretation

Mike presents the increasingly common complementarian view that the passage restricts women from judging/testing prophecy.

1 John 4:1 1 Corinthians 12:10 1 John 4:1 testing prophecy 1 Corinthians 12:10

Judging Prophecy Hinge 1: Was testing prophecy a real practice in the early church?

Mike establishes that testing/judging prophecy was indeed a regular church practice.

1 Corinthians 14:29 1 Corinthians 14:6-28 1 Corinthians 14:29 1 Corinthians 14:6-28 structural parallel

Judging Prophecy Hinge 2: The passage's structure mirrors tongues/interpretation with prophecy/judging

Mike shows how 1 Corinthians 14's structure supports the judging prophecy view.

1 Corinthians 14:29-36 D.A. Carson 1 Corinthians 14:29-36 structural analysis

D.A. Carson's structural analysis: verse 29 maps the two-part expansion

Mike quotes Carson's explanation of how verse 29 introduces the two topics expanded in what follows.

1 Corinthians 14:32 hupotasso 1 Corinthians 14:32 prophetic self-control

The 'spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets' means self-control, not a hierarchy

Mike interprets verse 32 as a parenthetical about prophets' ability to control themselves.

1 Corinthians 14:37 1 Corinthians 14:39-40 1 Corinthians 14:37 1 Corinthians 14:39-40 prophetic context

Only the judging prophecy view properly accounts for the prophetic context running through the entire passage

Mike shows prophecy is the continuous context from verse 29 through the end of the chapter.

1 Corinthians 14:29 eldership Craig Keener 1 Corinthians 14:29

Debate over who judges prophecy: prophets, elders, or everyone?

Mike addresses the objection that it was prophets, not elders, who judged prophecy.

1 Corinthians 12:10 1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Corinthians 14:39 1 Corinthians 12:10 1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Corinthians 14:39

Problems with the 'other prophets judge prophecy' view

Mike argues against the interpretation that only other prophets test prophecy.

1 Corinthians 12:10 1 Corinthians 12:10 gift of discernment church governance

Women can have the gift of discernment but are restricted in its public exercise during church governance

Mike addresses the objection that his view means women cannot have a spiritual gift.

1 Corinthians 14:35 judging prophecy view 1 Corinthians 14:35 questions as control

Judging Prophecy Hinge 3: Why are questions forbidden? Questions as a way to control the judging process

Mike addresses the potentially weakest point of the judging prophecy view -- the prohibition on asking questions.

1 Timothy 3 1 Corinthians 11 Titus 1 1 Timothy 3 1 Corinthians 11 Titus 1

Summary of why the judging prophecy view is superior: answering all four key questions

Mike walks through the advantages of the judging prophecy view over all other views.

1 Corinthians 14:35 1 Corinthians 14:35 gune (woman/wife) women vs. wives debate

Side issue: Does this passage address women in general or wives specifically?

Mike briefly addresses whether 'women' (gunai) should be translated as 'wives.'

1 Corinthians 14 context women teaching view 1 Corinthians 14 context

Brief refutation of the 'women as teachers' interpretation

Mike quickly dismisses the view that 'keep silent' refers to women teaching.

1 Corinthians 11 head coverings role differences 1 Corinthians 11

Conclusion 1: Women can prophesy and speak in public church gatherings with role qualifications

Mike begins his six conclusions from this study.

1 Corinthians 14:35 1 Corinthians 14:35 women's education Jewish education debates

Conclusion 2: Women have no restrictions on learning

Mike notes that Paul's instruction actually preserves women's right to pursue knowledge.

Genesis 2 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 1 Timothy 2:12-13 creation order Genesis 2 male headship

Pillar 1: Male headship and female submission in marriage — pre-fall creational realities

Mike details the first pillar with five pre-fall evidences from Genesis 2.

Genesis 2 1 Corinthians 15:22 Romans 5:14-19 ezer Genesis 2 1 Corinthians 15:22

Adam bears primary responsibility for sin — 1 Corinthians 15:22 and Romans 5:14-19

Mike argues Adam's greater representational role and accountability shows his greater authority.

1 Corinthians 14 Titus 1:6 1 Corinthians 14 apostleship Titus 1:6

Additional evidence: Titus 1:6, male-only apostles, biblical rules about NT prophecy

Mike stacks additional scriptural evidence for Pillar 2.

1 Timothy 2:12-14 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 1 Timothy 2:12-14 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 creation to marriage to ministry

The flow from creation to marriage to eldership suggests principles are not totally isolated

Mike argues the softest complementarian view of totally isolated rules seems artificial.

1 Corinthians 11 Luke 2 Acts 21 Deborah 1 Corinthians 11 women prophesying

Women prophesying congregationally in the Bible — some speech to mixed groups is permitted

Mike uses biblical prophecy as evidence women can speak in congregational settings.

1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur 1 Corinthians 14:29-35 1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur judgment of prophecy

1 Corinthians 14:29-35 — women silent in judging prophecy, not silent in general

Mike interprets the controversial silence passage.

1 Corinthians 11:16 1 Corinthians 7:17 1 Corinthians 4:17 Pauline consistency 1 Corinthians 11:16 universal application

Paul's consistent teaching across all churches

Mike argues that Paul's restrictions on women in church leadership were not unique to Ephesus but applied universally.

Genesis 2 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 1 Timothy 2:13 creation order Genesis 2 1 Corinthians 11:8-9

Adam and Eve appeal: creation order argument (1 Tim 2:13)

Mike examines Paul's use of 'For Adam was formed first, then Eve' as the basis for his restriction.

Genesis 3:15 1 Timothy 2:4-6 Galatians 4 converging evidence Messianic interpretation Genesis 3:15

Summary of positive evidence for the Messianic view

Mike lists the accumulated arguments in favor of his preferred interpretation.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Pauline typology 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 OT typology

Paul's love of OT typology supports a typological reading of childbearing

Mike provides one more example of Paul's typological interpretation of the OT.