EXEGESIS
To begin our study of this next passage, I’ll give a quick overview of the historical context into which 1 Corinthians is set. This is Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. Corinth was a wealthy, religiously-eclectic port city in ancient Rome. Paul helped establish this church, which we can read about in Acts 18, and stayed there for a year and a half to support its early life. After moving on to other cities and churches, Paul got some reports about certain things that were not going well in the Corinthian church. This letter is Paul’s response to those problems. I’ll once again note that all of this historical context can be found within the Bible itself.
We can now move to a quick synopsis of the whole letter, which will provide us the literary context we need to understand our passage. Paul divides his letter in a very straightforward way, with each section addressing one of the problems he heard about in the reports. His structure in each section is the same, and goes like this 1) an acknowledgement of the reported problem 2) pointing the church to a truth about the gospel of Jesus 3) explaining how that gospel truth can be applied to resolve the problem. Here’s a quick summary of each problem and how/where he addresses them:
Chapters 1-4 are addressing some divisions occurring within the church because the people were only listening to the teachers/speakers they prefer. Paul’s response is that the community of the church is to be united around Jesus, not divided over favored personalities.
Chapters 5-7 is about the sexual immorality going on in the church and the fact that some people were excusing it on the basis of God’s endless grace. But Paul reminds them that Jesus paid the price for sin, so they should not take lightly the weight of that which he bore upon his shoulders for them. Paul then goes on to remind them that their bodies will be resurrected with Christ. So if their bodies will be raised up, in light of their eternal value, they should treat them with respect and integrity today.
Chapters 8-10 are about a dispute the church was having regarding whether or not they can/should eat meat that has been sacrificed in temples to other gods. Paul directs them to be as publicly clear as possible in their allegiance to Jesus; so if there’s anything (like eating food sacrificed to idols) might confuse their neighbor about where they give their allegiance, they should avoid doing it. Their actions should always be moved by Christ’s love for God and for others.
Chapters 11-14 (where our passage occurs) is about the weekly worship gathering. Their gatherings were getting chaotic and disorganized because people were speaking and prophesying over one another without any semblance of order. But Paul says that the Church should function not chaotically, but in harmony like a human body; each member performing its function for the building up of the Church. What’s more, every aspect of the weekly gathering should be compelled by the love of God and others, rather than getting one’s own time in the spotlight or having some highly-spiritual experience.
Chapter 15 is about the reality of the resurrection. Some people in the church were trivializing the resurrection and saying it is not a vital part of the gospel. Paul, however, says that the resurrection is indeed an indispensable part of the gospel and tells the church that they must hold on to its literal truth. For Paul, it is the thing that gives the church their hope, their worldview, and the strength they need to live in the ways Paul has called them to in the previous sections.
The last chapter closes the letter with some thoughts on the collection of money that Paul is taking up for the church in Jerusalem, some details on his imminent plans, and a personal greeting from the people with him.10
Now that we have a literary context into which this passage is set, we can note that there is one main piece of Biblical context we will need for verse 34, in which Paul makes mention of the “Law.” The interesting thing about this reference is that Paul does not mention what specific part of the law to which he is referring. This leads some, such as NT Wright in his podcast “Ask NT Wright Anything,” to believe that Paul is once again referring to the order revealed in the Law of Genesis 2.16 This understanding makes a lot of sense, because he has referred to the same passage in other letters and it seems to be his main argument for why women should be “subject” or “submissive” in the context of the worship gathering at his time of writing. With that said, we will once again be utilizing the work we’ve already done regarding Genesis 2 and Paul’s interpretation of it as our Biblical context.
One final piece of historical context that NT Wright brings up in that same podcast is that it is quite possible, probable even, that women in the first century were not only uneducated as regards Torah and philosophy, but also lacking in Koine Greek which the worship gatherings may have been conducted in. So the women would not have been able to understand the teaching until they got home to ask their Koine Greek speaking husbands.16 This knowledge will help us make sense of what Paul says in verse 35.
With the context now in hand for our passage, we’ll examine the structure of the text. It is clear that this section of Paul’s argument does not begin at verse 34, but in verse 26. When we begin there, we see that Paul is hinging off of the previous section to continue to give instruction regarding the worship gathering and how it should be conducted. Previously, he was addressing some members of the body who were speaking in tongues, but to no sort of edification for the church body.
So Paul opens the next section, starting in verse 26, saying ‘here are some guidelines to maintain order during worship gatherings, and to ensure that the body is always being edified during worship, rather than confused by the chaos.’ He then lays out some guidelines in verses 27-32 that can be summed up as ‘so whatever gift you bring to the gathering, it should only be used for the building up of, and kept in check by, the other members of the body. Tongues must have interpreters, prophecies must be subject to other prophets, and everyone who wishes to speak should take their own turn.’
Why should the gathering function according to these principles? Verse 33 answers, because God brings peace and not disorder.
Paul then continues stressing order in the worship gathering with a note about the womens’ behavior in verses 34-36. His instruction here follows this line of thought:
- Women should remain silent in the gathering
- Instead of speaking, they should subject themselves to the teaching being given
- Which is what the Law said (in Genesis 2)
- (But since they may not be able to understand the teaching at the gathering) if a woman does want to learn, she should do so by asking her husband to teach her about it at home
- For it would be shameful for her to speak in the church (without having learned properly first)
- (This is what Genesis 2 taught us, remember?) Did the word of God go forth from you? Or did it come from you?
Once again this logical flow only makes sense if we bring along a right interpretation of Genesis 2 with us. Paul says that the women in those 1st century churches should stay silent in the gatherings and subject themselves to the teaching being given, because of the Law. What does the law say? He concludes in 36 by restating; the law says it is shameful for a woman to speak without having submitted to proper teaching. Once again, Paul is trying to protect the Church from shame and error that results from women hastily wielding their new-found equality. To make his point, he once again references Genesis and reminds them that the Lord’s teaching did not come forth from woman or be given to her, but to the man. So when the woman then did not submit to the full teaching that the man passed on to her, she was deceived. So, just as in 1 Timothy, Paul instructs the women at that time to learn in a space that allows them to fully receive the teaching they need before attempting to speak in the gathering and so bring shame to the Church by teaching out of a deception caused by their educational lack.
But, again, that space is not the worship gathering at this time; remember that women then may not all be able to understand the teaching because of their insufficient education as it regards Koine Greek. So, what should they do? Verse 35 is Paul’s answer, “wait til you get home and ask your husband to teach you what was being taught.” Notice that Paul doesn’t simply say “ask your husband to teach you” but “ask your husband at home.” This is a key piece to understanding why Paul says what he says here, because this section is about keeping order in the gathering. Paul wants women to be able to learn and be taught, but knows that their educational deficit would create an environment where no one is actually edified because there are so many clarifying questions being asked. So Paul’s solution is to maximize time in the gathering by having the women stay quiet while they’re there, but also creating a space for them to learn at home where they will not be disrupting the order of worship.
After addressing the clear problems women face in the 1st century church gathering, Paul warns the Corinthians in verse 37-38 to heed all these guidelines about orderly worship because they are from the Lord.
He then closes by restating his purpose for this section in 39-40 by saying ‘so it’s good to prophecy and speak in tongues, but do it all in a way that is proper and orderly.’
Before moving on, I want to again use this section to show the importance of grounding Biblical interpretation in proper and sufficient exegetical work. Without doing this work, this passage becomes impossible to use for the good of the church or to point to the glory of Jesus. Once again, I am so thankful that I’ve never heard a pastor insist on a literal interpretation of this entire passage or prevent women from speaking at all on Sunday mornings, but unfortunately I know that it does happen. Yet, I have heard pastors refer to this passage when backing their complementarian views, but walking back some on the “women should be silent” portion. This is part of the problem I’ve noticed with complementarian interpretation; it tends to point to some scripture as if it is absolutely clear regarding God’s intent for women in the Church, but then is forced to acknowledge that either 1) Paul doesn’t totally mean what he says or 2) even though he does mean it, we just don’t really apply it those parts in our context. Proper exegesis removes the tension, not as an “easy way out” but rather as the intended way forward.
AUTHOR’S AIM BASED ON EXEGESIS
Having now sufficiently exegeted the passage, Paul’s aim is doubly clear. He gives us his purpose statement in verses 39-40 and the “why” in verse 33: when you gather, use your Spiritual gifts for the edification of the Church in a way that is orderly, because our God is the God of peace and order, so your church gatherings should model that.
THEOLOGY AND GOSPEL PREACHING
One great thing about this passage is that verse 33 explicitly lays out at least part of the theology that motivates Paul’s words in this section. Paul believes that the God he serves is a God of peace and not disorder. Since Paul already seems to be referencing Genesis in verse 34, I think it’s fair to say that Genesis would also be a good place to turn regarding God’s nature as one who brings order and peace. The Spirit that worked peace into creation works now within the Church/believers who are new creations, moving us to live by His order and His peace.
Of course, the full revelation of God’s order and peace is found in Jesus. It is only because of Jesus that the world may truly know order and peace; because He has defeated sin and satan, the sower of discord, and conquered death, peace’s truest adversary.
Turning one chapter over to 15:20-28 reveals a deeper look into the theology of Jesus’ resurrection to which Paul points as the reason for his instructions here for the Corinthian church. It is this understanding of the resurrection that moves Paul’s application in every section of the letter, and so should be the center point from which we preach the gospel in 1 Corinthians and the root from which its applications grow out.
HOMILETICS AND SERMON OUTLINE
So with all of this work done, we can finally move to a quick sermon outline and application section that I would structure something along these lines:
- I would begin with verse 26, making Paul’s point that the church gathering in Corinth was becoming about individuals doing things just for their own religiosity. But, continuing into verses 27-32, that it’s intended to be a place where everyone brings their gifts before the Lord and toward one another, to build up the Church. Turning back to 1 Corinthians 12 would be helpful to make this point as Paul sees it, ensuring that it points toward Jesus’ glory as he lays it out there. I would then reiterate that our weekly gatherings are still for the building up of the church to the glory of Jesus; so if our hearts aren’t there, we need to humbly repent and then ask the congregation to consider “what do I bring to build up the church and glorify God? How am I gifted for such a purpose?”
- I would then ask the question, “why is this the way the church ought to function? What is the heart behind it?” and show Paul’s belief that it’s because of the gospel. I would then follow his lead and preach the gospel of Jesus’ resurrection, starting in verse 33 and turning to 15:20-28 (and maybe Genesis if I have the time to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of the plan set out from the beginning). I would then move toward a theological application that God desires His Church to be one that lives out of the peace He has won and given to us, giving Him glory by submitting ourselves to His rule and reign.
- I would use that last part about “giving him glory by submitting ourselves to Him” to transition into verses 34-38 and carefully walk through it, explaining the “why” behind Paul’s words in the first two verses, by pulling in the context we’ve already discussed, to point out that he is not permanently banning women from participating in worship but warning those in Corinth of the danger and shame that comes with jumping up to teach without first being humble and patient enough to be taught the full truth of Jesus from those who have already received and are teaching it properly. For, as we saw in 15:20-28, Jesus does not take the Kingdom for His own, but gives it over to the glory of the Father; and so should we in the Church. I would then conclude this section by giving the same warning as Paul does in 37-38. (this could be its own point worthy of more attention, if the pastor felt they have a greater need to address it with their congregation).
- I would finally conclude with 39-40, showing that Paul does not want to have his previous point discourage the Corinthians from using their gifts, but that he simply wants them to approach their gatherings with humility and to employ their gifts for the good of the body, to God’s glory. In this, I would encourage my congregation that they too have been gifted by the Spirit and serve Jesus (perhaps referencing 1 Corinthians 12); so, like Paul says, eagerly pursue those good things while examining your own heart and walking humbly alongside the brothers and sisters in the same way.
Once again we can see that this section, when properly exegeted and interpreted, is incredibly practical for the Church and can open up very specific conversations around what is meant to occur when we gather together. It sets up helpful frameworks for the Church to work within that keep us healthy by ensuring we are using our gifts for the good of others and being grounded in the truth of the gospel, all while encouraging us that we are gifted by the Spirit to build up one another and give glory to God.
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