Silent?
My Bible says "women should remain silent in the churches" (1 Corinthians 14:34). These words sound harsh and totally unlike the God I know and whose fullness we see in Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:19). Let us see why this is. Are these English words a true reflection of the original Greek New Testament Scriptures?God Is
The great tapestry of Scripture shows that "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and “all God’s ways are just” (Deuteronomy 32:4). The Bible is God's Word, and God's Word is Jesus who died to "redeem us" (Titus 2:14) from the twin curses of "death and sin" (Romans 8:2); all of us: women and men, girls and boys. We enter His Kingdom (Acts 8:12) to "become sons and daughters of God" (2 Corinthians 6:18), “being knit together in love” Colossians 2:2).
New Covenant
Jesus became "mediator of the New Covenant" (Luke 22:15-20; Hebrews 9:15). His death, resurrection and ascension fulfilled all of Israel's ancient Law (Matthew 5:17) and transformed spiritual life for humankind. New Covenant hallmarks of Christian life are inclusion and participation (Acts 2:42-44).
■ "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
■ "There can't be Greek and Jew, circumcision and un-circumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond-servant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all" (Colossians 3:11).
■ “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Christian men and women receive Holy Spirit gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11), and are expected to:
"teach" (John 4:29; 1 Corinthians 14:26; 1 Timothy 1:3),
"prophesy" (Matthew 7:22; Acts 2:17,18; 1 Corinthians 14:1),
"speak in tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:28,14:26),
"interpret tongues" and
"discern spirits" (1 Corinthians 12:10),
"heal" (Luke 9:2),
"deliver from evil spirits" (Acts 8:7; Luke 10:20),
"lead churches" (Acts 18:26; Romans 16:7), and
"minister" in every way (Acts 16:14; 1 Corinthians 12:4-14; 1 Peter 5:2).
Men and women!
Christian Life
Jesus said:
■ "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel" (Mark 16:15)
■ "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons" (Matthew 10:8; Luke 10:9)
■ “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Historians tell us:
■ Men and women sat separately in early Christian meetings, it is known that women would sometimes chatter or interject or ask questions.
■ Throughout history women had been excluded from education and from religious participation. Corinthian Christian women were in the midst of a radical emancipation (Isaiah 43:19).
■ Now Christian women were encouraged (Ephesians 4:11-13) to learn all about their faith and its written Word (Matthew 12:3,5; 19:4; Acts 2:42). For centuries all Jewish boys and youth had received formal Scripture teaching. Paul suggests that women now do this exciting learning at home with their husbands (1 Corinthians 14:35).
■ Our individual history comes from our traditions, our family relationships, faith traditions and celebrations; these help make us who we are.
Bible Translations
Bible translations abound, they were and are made by Christian scholars who love God and His Son Jesus; they work hard to faithfully bring us the Scriptures, none can truly be called "wrong".
■ Translators try to find the exact meaning of every Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic word or expression (many of which have no direct parallel in English.)
■ Different Bible translations have differences in wording, phrasing, sentence structure, even paragraph formation; each brings its own meaning.
■ New Testament Greek language has no punctuation; every comma, semi-colon, period, hyphen, paragraph and chapter has been carefully placed by translators.
■ “BROTHERS”, “MEN”, “SONS”: in Bible times these words were often used to address men and women; neither the intention nor the impact of the wording was gender specific (Luke 8:21; Acts 13:38; Matthew 4:19; Luke 8:21; Matthew 5:9; 13:38).
■ The challenge is to choose English language which correctly reflects God's intent when He "breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16) on the original author, in this case, on Paul.
■ Scholars show how the first letter to the Corinthians was structured in a Chiasm format; this is a word picture which shows that Church meetings should be orderly while being fully inclusive.
■ A few verses after Paul encouraged "that you all may prophesy" and that "all speak with other tongues" (1 Corinthians 14:1,5) he writes to those who speak in tongues: "be silent", to the prophets: "be silent", to the women: "be silent" (1 Corinthians 14:28,30,34). The exact same words and structure are used when he addresses each of these three groups. Was Paul simply teaching the whole Corinthian church to worship and minister in a considerate and orderly way?
The King James Bible had, and still has, a profound impact on Christianity. King James insisted that his translators adhere to certain rules where:
■ Words traditionally used by the Church were to be included, for example "church" was to be used in place of the scriptural Greek word "ecclesia" (which means “congregation” or "gathering"). This rule can be seen to have encouraged the separation of the ordained church leadership from the laity (congregation), and of worship and ministry from everyday life. Today "church" is usually seen to be a building where we gather for "church", that is, for structured services, (not meetings), run, from the front, by ordained ministers.
■ The Greek Scriptures show Christian leadership as inclusive and equal. King James' rules biased his English translation towards cultural norms of his day. These were based on an inherited monarchy of absolute power, a rigid class system, and a long-established, formalised, hierarchical structure of ordained ministers in the church (where bishops were regarded as "princes of the Church" and lived in palaces).
Although King James' aim was to have the best possible English translation, his rules tended to overlay New Covenant Christian principles with many of the accepted cultural values of his century. We see the effects of this in our Bibles and our churches even today.
A Suggestion
I now use a number of Bible versions in my quiet times and my study. Each translation shines in different areas and in different ways. This helps me to grow my relationship with Jesus and our Father.
The Bible paraphrase "The Message" by Eugene Peterson is written in modern English and, I believe, expresses this passage in a way where Jesus' love and lordship shine through to include all Christians equally. What do you think?
(1 Corinthians 14:30-33 The Message) Take your turn, no one person taking over. Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other. If you choose to speak, you're also responsible for how and when you speak. When we worship the right way, God doesn't stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches - no exceptions.
(1 Corinthians 14:34 The Message) Wives must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening,
(1 Corinthians 14:35,39-40 The Message) asking questions that could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at home. God's Book of the law guides our manners and customs here. Wives have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking. Three things, then, to sum this up: When you speak forth God's truth, speak your heart out. Don't tell people how they should or shouldn't pray when they're praying in tongues that you don't understand. Be courteous and considerate in everything.
Teach Us All Things
God is God. He does not change or have favourites. We are all His favourites! When we find a Bible passage that does not appear to reflect the true nature of God and His Saviour Son Jesus, we have tools to help us find and cling to the truth. Jesus and Holy Spirit will "teach us all things" (John 14:26).
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Praise Jesus.
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Amen.
