Decency and Order in Worship

When it comes to discussions about corporate worship, there are all kinds of debates.

Should the song arrangements be spontaneous or planned beforehand,

or should the preacher speak from a manuscript or not,

so that there's more room for the spirit to move?

But at the heart of all these debates is a theological question.

It's the question, what does it mean to worship the Father in spirit and truth,

as John 4.23 tells us to do?

And the spirit is a reference to the Holy Spirit,

and truth is a reference to Jesus Christ,

who throughout the Gospel of John calls himself the true bread, true shepherd, true son,

and true resurrection and the life, and true vine.

And he explicitly says in John 14.6,

I am the way and the truth and the life.

So to worship the Father in spirit and truth is worship in the Holy Spirit

and in the truth who is Jesus Christ.

So that means Christian worship is Trinitarian, right?

We worship the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.

And in worship, then, we get caught up in the triune love of God,

and we become surrounded by his presence,

and we grow in our love for him and become more like him.

That's what happens in Christian worship.

But in the worship debates, people often pit Jesus against the Holy Spirit.

They say some churches, usually the more formal liturgical ones,

they emphasize the truth part,

and they say they insist on doing what is traditional and scripted.

Other churches, usually the more spontaneous charismatic ones,

they emphasize the spirit,

and they insist on doing what is innovative and spontaneous.

But this is a false dichotomy.

They're not mutually exclusive.

Things that are traditional and scripted are not necessarily biblical,

and things that are spontaneous and innovative are not necessarily spiritual.

According to Scripture, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not in tension.

Rather, they work together harmoniously, perfectly.

So the Holy Spirit is described in John 16.13 as the spirit of truth.

And he says he does not speak on his own authority,

but he speaks whatever he hears from the Son.

So they work together.

They're not in opposition to each other.

And so if that's the case,

and I think this passage shows us that,

we ought to worship in a way that is spirit-filled,

but also filled with truth in an orderly fashion.

And that's Paul's main point here in this passage.

We should use the gifts of the spirit in orderly ways

for the building up of the church.

And he gives us three specific guidelines.

First, guidelines on tongues.

Second, guidelines for prophecy.

Third, guidelines for teaching.

So having taught that the Corinthians should not speak in tongues

during corporate worship without interpretation,

Paul now teaches that they ought to speak,

they ought to use the spiritual gifts of utterance

in the context of corporate worship using these guidelines.

He says in verse 26, follow with me.

What then, brothers?

When you come together,

each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation,

a tongue, or an interpretation.

Let all things be done for building up.

Paul lists five things here, five different things.

Hymn, lesson, revelation, tongue, and interpretation.

And the common denominator of all of these gifts

is that they're all verbal manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

They are all spiritual gifts that involve speaking.

So first is a hymn,

which is literally the Greek word for psalm,

like an Old Testament psalm.

It refers to the time of singing during corporate worship.

And we might not normally think of singing as a form of speaking

or teaching,

but it does involve speaking and teaching.

And so Christian theologian Gordon Feast puts it this way.

He says,

I forgot to put this in the slide,

but he says,

show me a church's songs,

and I'll show you their theology, right?

Because it has a very important heuristic function.

It's a teaching for didactic function.

But this is why Ephesians 5, 18 to 19

puts it this way.

Be filled with the Spirit.

So do not get drunk with wine,

for that is dissipation,

but be filled with the Spirit,

speaking to one another in psalms,

that's the same word,

and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.

So singing involves speaking to one another

the truths of God's Word.

And similarly,

it says in Colossians 3, 16,

let the message of Christ dwell among you richly

as you teach and admonish one another

with all wisdom through psalms, hymns,

and songs from the Spirit,

singing to God with gratitude in your heart.

So again,

singing as a form of teaching is involved there.

So that's the first item, hymn.

Second is lesson,

which literally means teaching.

It's the same word that was translated as teaching

earlier in chapter 14, verse 6.

Now, brothers,

if I come to you speaking in tongues,

how will I benefit you

unless I bring you some revelation

or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?

And that same word is here translated as lesson.

And so in the Gospels,

the word teaching

is used to refer to Jesus' teaching,

which is characterized by authority,

unlike the teaching of the Pharisees and the scribes.

Later in the history of the early church,

recorded in the book of Acts,

the same word is used to refer to the apostles' teaching,

and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching

and the fellowship,

to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

And so it refers to the apostles' teaching,

meaning it's a faithful transmission of Christ,

the Lord, his teaching.

And in the New Testament epistles,

the letters that were written,

the word teaching refers to different kinds

of formal instruction

in the context of the worship of the church,

so especially the preaching of the gospel

and doctrinal instruction.

So for example,

Titus 1.9 says,

he must hold firmly to the trustworthy word

as taught,

the same word to teach,

so that he may be able to give instruction

in sound doctrine,

that's again teaching,

and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

So it refers to lesson that's in view here in Paul's letter,

refers to some kind of teaching

in the context of corporate worship.

And then Paul mentions the three spiritual gifts of utterance

that he has been focusing on up to this point in chapter 14,

revelation, tongue, and interpretation of tongues.

And by revelation,

Paul is probably simply referring to prophecy,

and he paired those two words together early in chapter 14,

verse 6,

since prophecy is the mode by which revelation

that's received from God is communicated.

And in tongues,

he mentions here is prayer or praise

uttered in the spirit

in an unintelligible non-human language.

So for that reason,

it requires the gift of interpretation

in order for it to be intelligible

and instructive for others in the church.

So after listing these gifts,

this speech,

Paul reiterates their ultimate purpose,

let all things be done for building up.

This is now the seventh time

he's used the word

that means to build up in chapter 14 alone.

This is an overarching concern

from all the spiritual gifts

are to be used for building up the church.

And so verse 26 really serves as a topic sentence.

That's kind of the thesis

of the rest of the passage

that flows from this verse.

And so from this point on,

then Paul teaches the Corinthian church

specifically how they should use

these spiritual gifts of utterance

during corporate worship.

Follow with me.

Verses 27 to 28.

If any speak in a tongue,

let there be only two or at most three,

and each in turn,

and let someone interpret.

But if there is no one to interpret,

let each of them keep silent in church

and speak to himself and to God.

Right?

So first,

let there be only two or at most three.

The fact that you have received tongues

during worship

doesn't mean automatically

that you have to share it

or that you should share it

with the whole church.

So Paul caps the number of tongues

that are shared to at most three.

And then second,

and each in turn, right?

The tongues should not be shared simultaneously,

but in sequence,

in order,

unless they cause confusion

and disorder.

The fact that believers

are expected by Paul

to be able to control this

shows clearly that tongue

is not ecstatic speech

like used in some pagan religions

where they just utter things

and they are not in control of themselves.

People speaking in tongues

are in full possession

of their mental faculties.

And third, he says,

and let someone interpret.

So it has to be,

it has to be,

there has to be interpretation.

There has to be no more than three.

And he says,

lastly,

it needs to be interpreted.

Paul mentioned

in last week's passage

that interpretation

is absolutely necessary

when sharing tongues

because it has no value

in the corporate worship context

without interpretation.

And that's why he says,

if there's no one to interpret,

let each of them keep silent in church

and speak to himself and to God.

And because tongues is prayer

or praise uttered in the Spirit

in an unintelligible non-human language,

for that reason requires

the gift of interpretation.

And in order for it

to be intelligible to other people

and instructive for them,

it needs to be interpreted

in the context of worship.

So that's the guidelines for prophecy.

Next, he turns to the prophecy,

the number and weighing of prophecy.

He says in verse 29,

let two or three prophets speak

and let the others weigh what is said.

It's similar, isn't it,

to the instructions to tongues?

Like tongues, prophecy should be limited

to two or three.

But because prophecy is already intelligible,

it's shared in the language

that people speak,

it does not need interpretation like tongues.

Nevertheless, it needs to be weighed,

it says.

And earlier in 1 Corinthians 12.10,

when he was listing the gifts of the Spirit,

right after listing the gift of prophecy,

he listed a gift called

the ability to distinguish between spirits.

And that Greek word,

to distinguish is the same word

that's translated here as weigh.

So it's the ability to test prophecy,

to ensure that it conforms

to the Spirit of God.

So this responsibility to weigh what it says

falls on the others,

probably in particular to those

who have the gift of the distinguishing of spirits,

but probably to all who are in the audience,

who are there,

it's incumbent upon them to test prophecy,

to weigh what is said.

So it requires the gift of discernment.

And then having dealt with

the number of prophets that can speak

and the necessity of weighing it,

he speaks to the sequence again

in verses 30 to 31.

If a revelation is made to another sitting there,

let the first be silent,

for you all can prophesy one by one

so that all may learn

and all be encouraged.

Multiple people should not prophesy at once,

and when one is prompted to speak

by the Spirit of God,

the other should sit and be silent

when one person is being told to speak

so that you can all prophesy one by one

so that all may learn and be encouraged.

So he's once again concerned

with building up the church

and he intentionally contrasts

one by one with the all.

The only way in the context of corporate worship

for all to be built up,

to be encouraged,

is for people to speak prophecy one by one.

And so, and this again,

and it's submitted,

subsumed under the concern

to make sure that it builds people up.

Purpose of building up one another

necessitates an orderly practice.

And lest the Corinthian prophets

protest at this point and say,

well, but this is the Spirit of God speaking,

I can't control myself.

I mean, it's God speaking.

What can I do?

Paul corrects them,

tells them this in verse 32.

And the spirits of prophets

are subject to prophets, right?

The noun word prophet

does not refer to an office

or a special category people.

It refers to believers

with the gift of prophecy.

They're called prophets.

And prophecy, like tongues,

is not a form of ecstatic speech

where they lose control

and start saying things

that they have no idea what they're saying,

have no control of themselves.

The spirit of prophets

are subject to prophets.

They can control when

and how they prophesy.

The content they receive from the Lord,

but they interpret and apply it

and they use their mental faculties

to do that.

They're in full possession

of their mental faculties

so they can start and stop

when they want to.

And then Paul gives the reason

for that in verse 33.

The reason for this order.

For God is not a God of confusion,

but of peace.

The demonic forces behind

the idols of this world

might induce disorderly

and unruly conduct

and ecstatic speech,

but God never does that

because he is not a God of confusion,

but of peace.

Because prophecy is a gift of the spirit,

it reflects the character of God,

and God is not characterized

by confusion or by disorder.

A worship service that is chaotic

and disorderly,

therefore,

does not rightly represent

the character of our God.

And it's interesting

that Paul uses the word peace here

instead of order,

because that would be

a more logical thing to say, right?

For God is not a God of confusion,

but of order.

But he doesn't say that.

He says God is not a God of confusion,

but of peace.

Paul begins all 13 of his letters

with greeting of grace to you

and peace from God,

our Father,

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's how he began

1 Corinthians as well.

And the word peace

doesn't merely refer to

an absence of conflict.

It's the concept of,

the Old Testament concept

of shalom,

peace,

wholeness,

state of being whole,

state of being in right relationship

with God

and with the rest of creation.

It's about having

a rightly ordered life

in accordance with God's design

and desire for us.

And that's what that peace is.

So the fact that God

is a God of peace

means that he's the one

that brings into fruition

and fulfillment

the intended purposes

of everything in the world.

He's the architect of creation.

He alone fully understands

its blueprint.

And we ought to bring

our life and ministry,

every aspect of it,

into conformity with God's will

because God is the God of peace.

That's what it means.

So far from,

you know,

depriving ourselves

when we decide,

no, I'm not going to share

that prophecy

because two or three

have already spoken.

I'm not going to speak

when this person is speaking.

When we choose to do that

and we restrain ourselves,

far from depriving ourselves

of the gift of prophecy,

we're using the gift of prophecy

to its full potential

so that it brings encouragement

to all.

And then we come to the final,

and in our day,

the most controversial part

of Paul's guidelines

in verses 33 to 35.

It says,

As in all the churches

of the saints,

the woman 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.

Now,

before you start accusing me

of biblical unfaithfulness,

saying,

why do you let women

speak in church?

Because we have women

not only prophesy,

but also lead prayer times,

and so they reduce

scripture reading as well,

so we have women speak

quite frequently

in our services,

so you could say,

you're not being faithful

to scripture.

But let me explain

why this is not,

and I'm fairly certain

of this,

that this is not

an absolute prohibition

of generally women

speaking at all

in the context

of corporate worship.

And the reason why

is because in 1 Corinthians 11,

1 Corinthians 11:2–16

verses 2 to 16,

Paul specifically taught

that women should prophesy,

and that they should do so

while properly observing

the cultural conventions

that uphold the complementary

relationship between men

and women.

So we know that Paul

does not,

in fact,

prohibit women

from all forms of speaking,

because he specifically

tells them to prophesy

with,

in that context,

with heads covered.

So what then

does Paul mean?

That the women

should keep silent

in the churches,

for they are not

permitted to speak

but should be in submission.

In order to do that,

we need to understand

what it means to speak,

right?

So,

this is going to be

a little bit dense.

I just ask you

to stay with me

and follow along

because it's going

to help us understand

what this means

and it's going to prove

to you that this is

actually what the scripture

is trying to say.

Out of the 52 times

the word speak

occurs in Paul's letters,

28 of those times,

more than half of it,

occurs in 1 Corinthians.

So it's obviously

a significant word

in this letter.

It's a key recurring word.

It has a range of meanings.

So the first range

is what we would think of it.

It just refers to talking,

to speaking.

And it can also refer

to,

second meaning

would be more formal

kind of speaking.

For example,

the word is used

to refer to prophets

speaking in the name

of the Lord.

So it refers to

spiritual utterances,

prophecy,

for example.

And even more formally,

the word,

this is the third meaning,

the word speak

refers to official teaching

during corporate worship.

For example,

1 Peter 4, 10 to 11.

It says,

As each has received a gift,

use it to serve one another

as good stewards

of God's varied grace.

Whoever speaks,

as one who speaks

oracles of God,

whoever serves,

as one who serves

by the strength

that God supplies,

in order that in everything

God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ.

The phrase,

oracles of God,

is literally words of God.

So it's probably referring

to formal speaking,

official speaking

in the context of the church.

That's probably why

Peter only lists two gifts,

unlike Paul in places

where he lists many gifts.

He only lists two

because he's listing

the two gifts

that are representative

of all the gifts,

the two gifts

that represent

the two offices

of the church.

Elders speak,

and the deacons serve.

The word deacon

means to serve.

So I think that's what

he's referring to here.

The word speaking

is referring to

that official teaching.

And then,

I don't think

I wanted to go to that yet,

so forget about it.

I'll get to it later.

But in Hebrews 13, 7,

it mentions church leaders

who spoke to you

the word of God.

And Paul mentions

speaking the gospel

or speaking the mystery

of Christ

in numerous places

throughout his letters.

And then Titus 2, 1,

which is up there,

it says,

but as for you,

teach,

and it's in Greek,

it's speak,

what accords

with sound doctrine.

So the third meaning

of the word speak

is teaching sound doctrine.

It's doctrinal teaching.

It's preaching.

It's official.

It's formal teaching

in the context

of corporate worship.

And so there's three meanings,

and we see all three

of those ranges

of meaning

of the word speak

in 1 Corinthians.

And Paul uses the word

generically

to refer to saying something,

speaking or talking,

five times in this letter.

But more importantly,

the other 23 times,

Paul uses the word

in a more technical sense

to refer to speaking

in a more formal,

official capacity.

For example,

Paul refers to expressions

of the spiritual gifts

of utterance

such as tongues

and prophecy

as speaking.

Right?

And this is how

he uses the word speak

13 times in chapter 14

to refer to

these spiritual utterances.

And so this contextual evidence

surrounding the word speak

tells us that

he's not speaking

about speaking in general,

just talking

or saying anything,

but he's referring

in the more technical sense

to formal speaking

and teaching.

And so look back

at 1426.

Remember I told you

that that's kind of

the thesis,

the topic sentence

of this paragraph

or this passage?

It says,

What then, brothers,

when you come together,

each one has a hymn,

a lesson,

a revelation,

a tongue,

or an interpretation.

Let all things be done

for building up.

Now, for now,

leave out the word hymn

because I think Paul mentions

that for the sake

of completeness,

of mentioning all the gifts

of speech that are used

in the context

of corporate worship,

but that's not one

that he's concerned about.

The ones that he's been

concerned about

have been the other gifts

that he's been talking about.

And so if you don't count that

and look at the other gifts

that he mentions,

he says lesson,

which is teaching,

and then revelation,

tongues,

and interpretation of tongues.

And if you look at

the intervening verses,

he addresses each

of those gifts

that he mentions

in reverse order.

So if you look at the passage,

so he addresses first tongues

and its interpretation,

verses 27 to 28,

and then he addresses

revelation in verses 29 to 33,

and it's weighing

of the revelation.

And in each of those instances,

Paul teaches

that there are circumstances

where people should be silent,

right?

And so when you're speaking

in tongues,

you should be silent

if you don't have interpretation.

When you're speaking prophecy,

you should be silent

when someone else is speaking

so that you can speak in turn.

And so there's only one

gift of speech

as he goes through that

in reverse order

that he hasn't addressed

directly up to this point.

And that's the lesson.

It's the teaching.

And so I think

he set us up

through his structure

that the speaking,

what he means by speaking

is teaching.

It's the formal teaching

in the context

of corporate worship.

And verses 34 to 35,

if you look at it,

in light of that pattern,

it follows the pattern exactly.

So once again,

Paul addresses a population

that has a particular

gift of speech,

and in this case,

the gift of lesson

or teaching.

And then in verse 34,

he tells the woman teachers

to keep silent

in the context

of corporate worship

just as he taught

tongue speakers

certain prophets

to be silent

earlier in verses 28 to 30.

And then just as he mentioned

that prophets

should speak one at a time

so that all may learn

in verse 31,

in verse 35,

he mentions that the woman

who desired to learn

should ask their husband

at home.

So these parallels

suggest that Paul's

giving us the guidelines

for the third gift of speech

he mentioned in verse 26,

namely teaching,

lesson.

That was the long part,

so thanks for staying with me.

You guys been with me?

Okay, hopefully that's helpful.

And Paul's spoken about

how women may share

various forms of spiritual utterances

up to this point.

So prophecy, for example,

in chapter 11.

So then he anticipates

the question,

does that mean

that women can bring

a lesson

to the corporate worship

service as well?

And I think Paul

was prescient really

to anticipate that,

that line of thinking,

because that line of thinking

is exactly actually

how some denomination,

some Pentecostal denominations,

for example,

justify women teaching.

They say,

well, they have the gift

of prophecy,

they have the gift

of spirit just like us,

so why shouldn't they

teach also?

So Paul actually

anticipates that

and specifically says,

no, that does not apply

in that situation.

And I think,

and so there,

and so in verses 33, 35,

read that with me

once again.

As in all the churches

of the saints,

this woman,

she actually,

I'm going to put that up

so you guys can see it,

and I think my interpretation

of this is confirmed

by a parallel

in 1 Timothy 2, 11 to 12.

If you look at those two

side by side,

there's a lot of parallels

and that's explicitly

talking about teaching,

so look at it with me.

1 Corinthians 14, 34, 35 says,

the woman 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's anything

they desire to learn,

let them ask their husbands

at home.

And then look at

1 Timothy 2, 11 to 12.

Let a woman learn quietly

with all submissiveness.

I do not permit a woman

to teach or to exercise

authority over a man.

Rather, she is to remain quiet.

The word man and word husband

are the same in Greek,

so if you count those,

there are six verbal parallels,

almost exactly the same phrasing

in both of the two verses.

So I think Paul is here

referring to teaching

in the official context.

A lot of people think

that it refers to

weighing up prophecies.

I don't think

that's what it means.

I think it's referring

to the formal teaching,

the speaking,

that he mentioned earlier

in verse 26.

So in summary,

I think you're getting

what I'm saying.

The type of speaking

that he's mentioning here

is the type of speaking

that he mentioned

in chapter 2,

verses 6 to 7.

Yet we do speak wisdom

among those who are mature,

a wisdom, however,

not of this age

nor of the rulers

of this age

who are passing away,

but we speak God's wisdom

in a mystery,

the hidden wisdom

which God predestined

before the ages

to our glory.

The wisdom of God

that he's talking about

that refers to the gospel,

the good news of Jesus Christ,

his saving message.

He's referring to

what's the speaking,

the formal speaking.

That's the kind of speaking

that Paul has in mind

in the context

of the corporate worship

of the church.

So what's Paul's reason

for this?

He better have good reasons,

right?

He gives a couple

different reasons.

First, he says in verse 34,

for they are not permitted

to speak

but should be in submission

as the law also says,

right?

The law,

which is the shorthand

for the Old Testament,

scripture mandates

that Christian women

should be in submission.

Since in two other places

where Paul addresses

the different roles

of men and women

in the church,

he specifically cites

Genesis 2, 20 to 24.

So that's in 1 Timothy 2,

1 Timothy 11,

he both cites Genesis 2.

So that's probably

the passage he has

in mind here also

when he says law also says.

And so he quoted that

in 1 Corinthians 11,

8 to 10 here.

For man was not made

from woman,

but woman from man.

Neither was man created

for woman,

but woman for man.

That is why a woman

ought to have a symbol

of authority on her head

because of the angels.

So God created man

from the dust of the earth

and then he created woman

from the rib of the man.

So the woman was made

from man.

And in this sense,

man was created first.

He was the source

of the woman.

And the woman was also created

for man as his helper

and is oriented toward him.

And that conveys the idea

of the man's leadership

and authority.

And for Paul,

he sees the creator's design

and intentionality

in this creational order.

The fact that man came first

as a source

and the fact that he was

called to be the head

while the woman is called

to be the helper

in their relationship

within Adam and Eve's marriage.

And so that's what he means

when he says,

as the law also says.

So his point is that

when women formally teach

the whole church

that they are violating

that complementary relationship

between men and women

by their teaching.

So God appointed husbands

to exercise headship

and wives to exercise helpership

in the family

and those complementary roles

are subverted

when, for example,

women teach the whole church

of which their husbands

are also a member, right?

To whom they are supposed

to be submitted.

And then secondly,

because God appointed men

who have the requisite calling

and character

and competence

to serve as heads

of the spiritual family

of God, the church,

the elders of the church,

when women usurp

that role for themselves

by preaching

in the context

of corporate worship,

when they formally teach

scripture or theology

for the whole church,

they're again subverting

that God-given design

and relationship.

So that's the first reason

that Paul gives

for that prohibition.

It's what the law teaches.

And then Paul gives

a second reason

in verse 35.

It is shameful

for a woman

to speak in church.

The word shameful

is the same word

that Paul used

in 1 Corinthians 11, 6

to say that

in the same way

it is disgraceful

for a woman

to cut off her hair

or shave her head,

it is disgraceful

for her to pray

her prophecy

in the church

with her head uncovered.

So shame

is what we experience

when we do something

that is inappropriate

or dishonorable,

something improper.

And because it transgresses

the creational,

the complementary gender roles

that God has instituted,

when a woman teaches

the word

in the context

of corporate worship

in the church,

it brings shame.

It's seen as inappropriate.

The converse,

of course,

is also true.

When men and women

fulfill their God-given

complementary roles,

gender roles,

it is honorable.

It is good.

Our attitude toward this teaching

should not be one

of begrudging concession,

but of enthusiastic celebration.

And when the sea proceeds

and recedes in order

without overflowing the banks

and causing destruction,

right?

When the earth rotates

around its axis

and revolves around the sun

so that the sun rises

and sets in orderly fashion,

bringing light

and rest to the world,

there's goodness there.

There is beauty there.

There is order there.

Likewise,

when men and women

relate to each other

in accordance

with God's created design,

it is right.

It is good.

It is honorable.

And the fact that

this command is given

in the context

of the corporate worship

of the church

is really a very important

qualification

that we must not forget.

So three times

in verses 33 to 35,

Paul said,

repeated the word church.

Follow with me.

Verses 33 to 35.

He says,

as in all the churches

of the saints,

the woman 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's anything

they desire to learn,

let them ask their husbands

at home,

for it is shameful

for a woman to speak

in church.

It's almost redundant.

He says it over and over again

because he wants

to drive that point home.

Paul's not concerned

with the role of women

in society at large,

but in the churches.

And the church

is a Greek word

that means gathering

or a congregation

of believers.

It's a gathering

of Christians.

The church,

which is a colony

of heaven on earth,

is supposed to showcase

a different ethic.

It's supposed to exemplify

God's creative design

for men and women,

for the world to see.

That's why it's significant

that this has to be observed

in the context

of corporate worship.

Furthermore,

it's only within

the community

of God's people

where men embody

Christ-like

sacrificial leadership.

And women embody

Christ's humble submission

to the Father.

It's only in that community,

only in that kind

of a context

where this command

can be observed

without degenerating

into abuse

and misogyny.

That's why he emphasizes

in the churches,

in the church.

And Paul's not saying

that women should never

teach in any church context.

He says specifically

in Titus 2-3

that older Christian women

should teach

what is good

to the younger woman.

It's only in the context

of the whole church,

the gathered church,

where both men

and women are present,

young and old are gathered,

that women are to

refrain from teaching.

And as a church,

we work hard

to try to equip women

who are gifted to teach,

to use those gifts

in appropriate contexts.

And with his two

preceding guidelines

relating to tongues

and prophecy,

Paul addressed

both the speaking

and the church's

interaction with it,

right?

So in verse 27,

he says,

if anyone speaks

in the tongue,

let someone interpret.

So the speaking

and then the interaction

with the speaking,

how the church

should interact with it.

And then again,

in verse 29,

Paul said,

let two or three prophets

speak and let the others

weigh what is said.

So again,

the speaking

and the interaction

with what is said.

So there are two churches

to weigh the prophets

that are spoken.

And I think verse 35

is following

this exact pattern.

So it's,

in the ancient world,

listeners customarily

asked questions

in response to lectures.

So just as,

and it was a way

of critiquing

or interacting,

dialoguing

with the speaker.

So just as the church

interpreted tongues

and weighed prophecies,

they questioned teachings.

And,

but in the context

of public worship,

women were not

to partake

in the formal teaching.

And in that,

Paul includes

the formal questioning

that goes with that.

So bringing,

critiquing the formal teaching

of the church here.

So because that,

again,

brings that person

under the authority

of the person

who is leveling

that critique.

So if there is anything

they desire to learn,

he says,

let them ask

their husbands at home.

The inquiry should be made

in the private context

of the home

rather than in the public

context of the church.

Now that,

we don't have

that kind of formal

questioning

in our church context,

mainly because

I don't want to be

questioned by anybody.

I'm just kidding.

No,

we have,

there's too many people.

So we ask people

to come up with questions

after service.

And so it's informal.

So in that context,

everybody could obviously

ask questions.

This is,

this wouldn't apply to us

because we don't practice

that in the context

of corporate worship.

Now,

while it's easy,

right,

it's,

I'm going to just

digress for a little bit

to then defend this.

It's because it's easy

for us nowadays

to dismiss scriptural teaching

on this as kind of

a cultural artifact,

of a regressive bygone era.

But we need to recognize

how progressive this is,

this teaching is,

and downright how subversive

it was at the time

it was given.

Because Paul's not,

as we might think,

simply regurgitating

the cultural customs

of his time.

In the Roman Empire,

a woman did not have

the authority to speak

for herself in public context.

In fact,

married women were not

even allowed to be

instructed by other men,

men other than

their husbands.

And for example,

the first century

Jewish historian Josephus

says this in his book

Against Apien,

but let not the testimony

of women be admitted

on account of the levity

and boldness of their sex.

Right?

They didn't even let

women's testimony

be admitted in public context.

And their testimony

in legal cases

were not heard.

Similarly,

Roman philosopher Philo

writes this,

marketplaces

and council chambers

and courts of justice

and large companies

and assemblies

of numerous crowds

and a life in the open air

full of arguments

and actions relating

to war and peace

are suited to men.

But taking care of the house

and remaining at home

are the proper duties

of women.

The virgins

having their apartments

in the center of the house

within the innermost doors

and the full-grown women

not going beyond

the vestibule

and outer courts.

Right?

That's the context

in which the apostle

Paul writes.

And later,

moral philosophers

like Aristotle

echoed sentiments.

They didn't deviate

from these.

But Paul,

in his letters,

not only directly

addresses women,

even though he's

not their husband,

but teaches

that they should

receive instruction

in the context

of corporate worship

from the elders

of the church

who are not

their husbands.

He expects

a level of moral

responsibility

from women

that was unprecedented

in Greek thought.

And so he does not

prohibit women

from participating

in public society

at large.

And he doesn't

stop there.

He encourages women

to speak

in the context

of corporate worship

through the use

of their gift

of prophecy

and presumably

the use of the tongues

as well.

In Greco-Roman society,

they were not even

allowed to be instructed

by someone other

than their husband.

But in the church,

they were able

to receive revelation

from God himself

and share that

with the church.

The whole church.

So it's a mistake

to think that the Bible

is merely echoing

the culture of its times.

It's not afraid

to challenge

where the culture

is wrong.

And if the idea

of complimenting

your general role

still seems regressive

or oppressive

to you,

then we need to consider

that perhaps

it's so because

we are so enmeshed

in our own culture.

In other cultures

in Asia,

the Middle East,

in places of worship,

sometimes women

are not even admitted.

Or if they are admitted,

they're completely

segregated from men.

To them,

leading this passage,

this would seem

way too progressive,

not regressive.

So if that's the case,

why should

our cultural sensitivities

trump their

cultural sensitivities?

If the Bible

really is the revelation

of God,

and therefore

it is not the product

of any single culture,

but it transcends culture,

even though it is written,

of course,

in culture,

would it not challenge

every culture

at some point?

If it really is from God,

would it not offend

your cultural sensitivity?

Sensibilities,

and sinful preferences

at some point?

As Christian pastor

Tim Keller

often says,

quote,

if your God

never disagrees with you,

you might just be

worshiping

an idealized version

of yourself.

Paul said in verse 33

that what he is teaching

is the common practice

in all the churches

of the saints.

Now,

this is the fourth time

in this letter

Paul's correcting

the Corinthians behavior

by appealing to the practice

of all the churches,

other churches.

And if that was a strong

argument in Paul's day

when there were not

as many churches

and when they haven't had

as much church history,

this is a much stronger

argument for us

because for 1900 years

of church history,

every major stream

of Christianity,

Catholic,

Orthodox,

and Protestant

have taught

the differentiated rules

of man and woman.

And even today,

if you examined,

even after the rise

of feminism,

if you examine the churches

throughout the world

and not just here

in the U.S.,

in Western civilization,

that is still

the dominant teaching.

And the Corinthians

were acting presumptuously

by deviating

from such a well-attested practice.

And so Paul admonishes them

with two rhetorical questions

in verse 36.

Or was it from you

that the word of God came?

Or are you the only ones

it has reached?

They were acting in pride

as if they were themselves

the originators

of God's word,

as if they were unique

in their reception

of God's word.

The word of God

is another way

to refer to God's revelation

and usually it refers

to God's ultimate revelation

which is the gospel,

the saving message

of Jesus Christ.

So we did not invent

the gospel,

we did not originate

the gospel,

and we are not the only ones

who have received

the word of God,

we are not the only ones

who have the spirit of God,

so like the ones

who have gone before us,

we should submit

to God's word

and be wary

of departing

from what churches

have done

and trying to twist

the word of God

to fit our purposes

and preferences.

Thomas Jefferson

is infamous

for cutting out

parts of the Bible

that he found offensive

or he found hard to believe

and he glued together

parts that he liked

and he called it

the Jefferson Bible,

right?

And Thomas Jefferson

was acting like

he was the originator

of the word of God.

He made himself

and not God

the ultimate arbiter

of truth.

He did not follow God.

He did not love Christ.

He followed himself.

He loved himself.

He was not a Christian.

He was a Jeffersonian.

So we must strive

rather to be found

on the side

of all the churches

of the saints.

Paul continues

in verses 37 to 38.

If anyone thinks

that he is a prophet

or spiritual,

he should acknowledge

that the things

I am writing to you

are a command of the Lord.

If anyone does not

recognize this,

he is not recognized.

The guidelines

that he has just produced

for an orderly worship service

is a command,

not a suggestion.

And if anyone

is truly spiritual,

he says,

if anyone is truly a prophet,

he would acknowledge

and abide by his teaching.

And whoever does not

recognize this teaching

will himself be unrecognized.

That repetition

highlights the reciprocity.

Whoever ignores

Paul's teaching

on these matters,

whoever ignores

the word of God

on this matter

will himself be ignored.

And then Paul concludes

this passage

by reiterating

his main point

in verses 39 to 40.

So my brothers,

earnestly desire

to prophesy

and do not forbid

speaking in tongues,

but all things

should be done

decently and in order

in this.

And the reason why

it's important

that all things

in the worship

should be done

decently and in order

again is what he said

in verse 33

because the God

of worship

is not a God

of confusion,

but of peace.

Now I want to speak

to unbelievers

that are missed

for a moment

because if you're

not a believer,

you're not yet

a part of the church.

Before you can observe

any of these practices,

receive any of these gifts

to use them

in the context

of corporate worship,

you need to first

become a follower of Christ.

You need to receive

the giver,

the gift,

the giver of all good gifts

and come into relationship

with them first

before you can receive

this gift.

And the God

is the God of peace.

He's the one

who orders all creation

as it ought to be.

And we all need

to come to Christ

because we have deviated

from that order

in all of our lives,

myself included.

All of us have done this.

God is the creator.

He created the world.

He created men and women

to follow Him,

to obey Him,

and to worship Him.

And in that,

to find their greatest fulfillment

and to find their ultimate

purposes met.

But instead of following God,

we have deviated

from that creation order

by rebelling against God,

guilty of high treason,

and seeking to live

for ourselves

and for our own glory.

That's what every single

human being on earth

has done.

That's what,

we're all sinners.

But God,

in His grace,

instead of leaving us

to ourselves

and saying,

forget about you,

He's the one,

even though He's

the offended party,

He takes the initiative.

While we are still

His enemies,

He loves us,

and He Himself

comes to pay

the price

for our sin

and our rebellion.

And sends His only Son,

Jesus Christ,

to die on the cross

for our sins.

If anything

in the history of mankind

was disordered,

that cross

was disordered.

Christ,

who alone deserved glory,

who deserved to sit

at the right hand

of the Father,

came

and died

on that shame

of the cross.

that's disordered.

God

did that

so that He can

bring us back

in the right order

of the relationship

between Him

and us.

So if you're not

a believer,

come to Christ,

repent of your sins

and believe in Him.

And if you are

already a believer,

let me encourage you

by sharing this,

it might feel stifling,

right,

from one point of view

to be silent

and not speak out

in tongues

just because you don't

have interpretation.

Maybe you're singing

or doing something

and all of a sudden

you receive tongues

and you really want

to share it,

but I tell you no

because you don't

have interpretation.

Yeah,

that could feel stifling,

right?

Or it could feel stifling

that when you have

to sit down

because someone else

is prophesying

and two or three

have already prophesied

so you don't get

to share your prophecy.

That could be

stifling as well.

Likewise,

it might feel stifling

for women to be silent

rather than being allowed

to preach

and teach the whole church

in the context

of corporate worship.

But in all of those contexts,

we can follow these guidelines

joyfully

because we know

that this order

that God commands

is consistent

with His character

and He's the God

of peace,

He's good,

and He's the God

of love.

The Lord

who commands silence

in these various contexts

is the same Lord

who according

to Isaiah 53, 7

was oppressed

and afflicted

yet opened

not His mouth.

Like a lamb

that is led

to the slaughter

and like a sheep

that before it shears

is silent,

so He opened

not His mouth.

Jesus Christ,

the Word of God

itself,

silenced

before sinful men.

Why?

So that He could save us.

so that He could build us up,

bring us into His family.

He was punished

so we could be free.

Similarly,

we then

should use our gifts

of speech

in orderly ways

for the building

of the church.

So let us gladly

curb our freedoms.

Let us gladly

forego our rights.

Let us gladly

submit ourselves

to the God-given order

within corporate worship

for the glory of God

and up-building

of the church.

Let's take a moment

in silence

to reflect on His teaching

and then we'll respond

by praying together.

Amen.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

Thank you.