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Sunday 08/11/24
Title: The Spirit brings Edification & Order – Pt. 2
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The Spirit brings Edification & Order – Pt. 2
So as we have been learning, Paul in writing the Corinthian church, was addressing issues of maturity and order.
They were lacking in no gift of the Spirit, but lacked the maturity to do WHAT THEY DID in love rather than a focus upon self promotion and gratification.
Paul knew that the best way to engage these believers towards spiritual maturity was by the ongoing help of the Spirit of God. This was a perfect scenario in that these believers were very focused upon the Gifts of the Spirit anyway, so teaching them so as to purify their reasons for desiring spiritual gifts would go a LONG way towards forming Christ in them.
The Gifts are for the building up and edification of the body which requires a focus upon others and a passionate love for their spiritual well being.
So after addressing some rather carnal expressions of immaturity and selfishness among them Paul turned his instructions towards their doing ministry with and by the power of the Holy Spirit, which is what drew us to this division of scripture to begin with.
As we learned following Eastertide, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which is what Peter called Pentacost (see ) was a first example of the Spirit coming upon believers. This is a separate and distinct experience from initial salvation which is when the Spirit of God inhabits us, moves within us, makes our bodies into His temple in which He dwells.
The stated purpose of this is for empowering believers for the work of the ministry. While Jesus appoints Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists & Pastor–teachers to train and equip believers for ministry work, it is the Spirit of God Who directly empowers them in the doing of it.
So this was quite naturally a primary section of scripture to turn our studies to, in order to better understand how to work with our Helper in Kingdom work.
Paul explained the division of spiritual gifts & ministries to them and then ended with introducing those who are given AS gifts to the body. [See – Spiritual Gifts, Ministries & Callings]
He then dedicated an entire chapter (chapter 13) to love. What it does and does not do. What it does and does not focus upon. And then told them that without love being our motivation in desiring Spiritual gifts and flowing in them they have no meaning and serve no purpose.
It was on the heels of this thought that Paul opened our current chapter with the phrase, “Therefore PURSUE love and desire spiritual gifts”
Paul then begins to show them where they had been in error. They had, in their zeal and ignorance of the Spirit of God and the gifts He offers, attempted to use their personal prayer language – that language by which their spirits by the Holy Spirit prays to God in a language foreign to them and their natural understanding, as if it were the spiritual gift of tongues.
After explaining this in some detail he addressed the naysayers who sometimes came among them who believed tongues were of no value.
Then he branched into that division of the chapter we are now in and will conclude today.
In this closing portion of chapter 14, Paul began educating them about the person of the Holy Spirit which quite honestly would be easy to miss. You see, Paul brings up order in the assemblies because without order there is chaos or at least the potential for it and such does not lead to edification.
We need to understand that edification in this context is referring to the development and maturation of the image of Jesus within the believer. This IS the ministry of the Holy Spirit. So it is that in learning what the Spirit WOULD and WOULD NOT do in the church, teaches us about our Helper. One of the first things we learn is that the Spirit of God is dedicated to revealing Jesus to the church so that they might know Him better and be brought to spiritual maturity by being transformed into His image. Just as Jesus told us – “(13) When the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (14) He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” – John 16:13-14
So far we have learned that when addressing the church in tongues it MUST be the spiritual gift which is always accompanied by an interpretation. We are NOT to use our prayer language since that is not TO the church but to God and is not interpreted.
Paul told them that there should NEVER BE more than 3 who address the assembly in tongues and one person alone should interpret what they said.
Then he addressed prophets and the gift of prophecy in the church with very similar rules.
All of this was that there might be order and the reason for order was because God is NOT a God of confusion but of peace and this is true in every church everywhere throughout time – 1 Cor. 14:33.
Now this is not the last time Paul will say something about how these rules he is informing the Corinthians about apply to all churches of all time periods. This was clearly by inspiration of God because many today have attempted to side step these rules claiming they were for the church of Corinth alone due to special conditions in their church. While this church did have some special issues which Paul addressed in chapter 11, this was not one of them. These rules apply EVERYWHERE the Spirit of God moves in His church. These are not arbitrary but are based upon the unchanging person and character of the Spirit NOT the church. As such these rules are timeless!
So it is that we move on to this last division of order in the church and it deals with delegated authority within the assemblies of Christ’s body.
Fortunately for us we have covered this in great detail years ago and many times subsequently or this would take several weeks to teach thoroughly. As it is, we can move through them quickly – comparatively.
Paul says,
“(34) Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.
(35) And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.”
As you can imagine this has ignited a LOT of passionate debate over the years.
One of the first kickbacks is “where does God address this in the law?”
Now I’m telling you that selfishness and “trigger issues” will ALWAYS blind you to the truth. This is NOT just for those who take exceptions with this and similar passages but any and all of us. There is a real need for reverence for God at all times but ESPECIALLY when studying His Holy Word.
I have read from egalitarians who make two claims which are easy to understand, but which are simply incorrect and both would never get off the ground if they held to the belief that the word of God is inspired by God and is not simply the opinions of any one person.
The first is that the phrase “as the Law also says” is talking about the women not speaking in the church. Obviously this is NOT the part Paul is talking about since the church did not even exist under the Law. What Paul was talking about was women being submissive which is not only mentioned in the Law its first address is in the beginning chapters of Genesis!
The second is that because this phrase is not found in the Law, Paul must be referring to the man made law of the Judaizers. Which means that Paul was addressing this from the perspective of coming against the idea that a woman cannot speak in the church.
I’m not kidding you, they really say that and it gets MUCH worse than that, but I’m not going to deal with all of the ways people twist this passage. Rather I am going to work through the passage so that we might understand that truth and by knowing the truth it will be very easy to identify errors when we see them.
Beginning in verse 34 lets examine the key issues. I will read it from the NET because it sets some things straight from the onset and makes our study easier.
“(34) the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says.”
Notice that Paul says the women should be silent in the church.
Two words here – silent and speak.
The word silent is not the best word choice to be certain. The word itself and this given context clarify the meaning as “hold their peace”. To be perfectly honest with this passage, it would seem directly connected with what Paul had just told them regarding judging prophecy and not all speaking in general.
We know that in the other places where women speaking in the church are addressed, they are free to pray and prophecy so long as they maintain a symbol of male authority on their heads, but they are not free to teach or speak on the scriptures from an authoritative standpoint as if they are instructing. (See 1 Corinthians 11 & 1 Timothy2)
As such all speaking is clearly not what Paul here means. So in keeping with good exegesis and study of scripture we must conclude that in this place Paul was specifically pointing out that to participate in judging prophecy in the assembly would be to assume an authoritative role and this is NOT permissible! In fact the Spirit of God called it shameful.
The word translated as shameful or disgraceful means it is indecent, indecorous, inappropriate and dishonorable. It is the same word used for dishonest gain. Dishonest meaning not gained through proper channels, but through lying, cheating and deceit.
So for a woman to speak up and judge prophecy in the church would be to assume a role that does not belong to her in that such is a role requiring authority delegated by God regarding understanding and interpreting the scriptures and God’s spoken word to His church.
This points back to what we covered last week. We know that women can be prophets and be used in prophecy since both are nothing more than informing others about what God is saying. The role of a prophet is NOT authoritative in that they do not teach, expound on or explain its meaning, they are simply anointed to give God’s word as His mouthpiece.
If a word NEEDS exposition, explanation or teaching – THAT is the role of the men in the church NOT the women.
This agrees with what Paul taught by the Spirit in both 1 Corinthians where he said that women can pray and prophecy so long as they are under male authority and have a symbol which indicates their submission to that authority and in 1 Timothy 2 which says that women cannot teach nor exercise authority over men.
Paul tells the Corinthians that this is what the Law says.
Of course those who believe the Law has no meaning for the believer immediately deny the relevance of this command claiming that Paul’s was a progressive revelation and that when he wrote 1 Corinthians he clearly did not realize that we were no longer under the Law.
Well the difficulty of this claim is that parts of it are true and parts are just plain wrong.
Yes, Paul grew in his knowledge and understanding of the truth, but NEVER in all of scripture does Paul contradict himself.
For example:
Paul believed there was no need for circumcision for the Gentiles from the beginning, but he didn’t teach that from the start. It came with time and the authority of those who were appointed by Jesus as Apostles of the Lamb and the Elders in Jerusalem. As his ministry progressed, he came to the point where he pointed out that it benefited no one. Then he said that if one relied upon it Christ would do them no good. Then finally Paul became downright antagonistic against it calling it mutilation of the flesh. So yes, we see a progression of understanding but not a reversal of a teaching.
Paul’s teachings never were against the Law, but only pointing out that while we are obliged to keep the moral law, it was so that our actions would live out the righteousness we have in Christ – not so we can obtain righteousness by our own efforts. That in that sense we are no longer under the oppressive thumb of the Law like those under the Old Covenant. It is no longer our task master.
Not to mention that Paul wrote Galatians and Romans prior to 1 Corinthians and his letter to Timothy was written a few years after all of them. This clearly demonstrates that Paul’s understanding of male authority in the church and our relation to the Law remained the same throughout his ministry. So that is NOT the basis for these statements!
Next he points out that this is a truth NOT just in the Corinthian church, but in the churches PLURAL – meaning all churches of all time.
Next Paul says,
“(35) If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.”
This is another place where having a strong working knowledge of the scriptures would be invaluable for deciphering the meaning of a passage.
The clear point is for women to HOLD THEIR PEACE in the assemblies. Meaning, don’t assume authority that is not yours and thus confuse and issue. Do not judge prophecy, speak authoritatively as if to teach the scriptures to men or attempt to clarify it for them.
People get hung up on “ask their husbands at home” but this is due to not knowing the scriptures. It was the most common thing for a woman to be married, but this was not always so. However, IN CONTEXT this whole thing is about being UNDER the authority God established and so knowing what that expression of authority was for a woman clarifies this statement.
If a woman was NOT married, she was to continue in the home of her father until he died. At which point she was to marry or move in with the closest male relative. IF she was widowed she was to be redeemed by the brother of her former husband or return to her father’s house. THESE were the rules laid out in the Law God gave to Israel.
So it has always been God’s design and command that women ALWAYS have a male as their immediate authority and covering.
So if a woman had no husband to ask, who would the Law tell her to turn to?
Her father, closest male relative and if none of them were alive or knowledgeable about the scriptures, she should go to her elders OUTSIDE of church.
If you remember, men were allowed to stand up in the assemblies and further expound upon a passage of scripture, question the one teaching or even present an alternative point of view, but women were NOT allowed to do this. Not in the Jewish synagogues or in the Christian churches.
None of this had or has anything to do with superiority or value or personal worthiness or acceptance with God. This simply has to do with the order of authority God established in mankind from Creation before there was ever a fall AND the fact that women were not designed to lead the men, but the men the women. God established this order and supports it by delegating authority to the men not the women. So to take the lead or teach is to disgrace the Spirit of God.
Paul addresses this in 1 Timothy and Titus where he clarifies God’s reasons.
- “For Adam was formed first THEN Eve” – that order existed BEFORE the fall
- “Adam was not deceived but the woman being completely deceived fell into error” – which event precipitated the fall of man.
This is further explained and in detail in this very same letter to the Corinthians and it clarifies the idea of silence which literally does not mean to say nothing, but to be submissive and of a quiet spirit.
It will behoove us to read this passage so let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 11 and see if I can’t do a quick yet sufficiently thorough enough job to justify moving on in 1 Corinthians 14.
As we read through I will draw your attention to the key points.
1 Corinthians 11:1-16,
“(1) Be imitatorsof me, as I also am of Christ. (2) Now I praise you because you remember me in all things and keep the traditions [meaning precept, doctrine or injunction of the Law of God]just as I delivered them to you.”
So Paul, as a matter of course, taught Gentile believers the precepts and injunctions of the Law which means that all that follows either came from the Law or is a means of living those precepts in an otherwise pagan society. The key issue is that Paul built up the Law, highlighting the importance of living its true meaning before God and man.
The first precept he underscores for them here is the delegated authority inherent in the human race BY DESIGN of God from the beginning before the fall.
“(3) But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.”
Back when we first studied this passage in depth we discovered that man and woman here were not in reference to husbands and wives, but men and women in general. Which is further proven by the next words. Paul does not say every husband or every wife, but every man and every woman.
“(4) Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head. (5) But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since that is one and the same as having her head shaved.”
This is not an injunction for women to wear a shawl, hat or veil. Veils were and are still, a typical head covering for women in the east. These coverings are worn by women in the east AS A SYMBOL of being under authority. So we need to understand that this segment of this chapter is about SYMBOLS OF AUTHORITY. That a woman distinguishes herself from pagan women by making it clear both inside and outside of the assembly that she is under male authority.
THIS AN IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION:
The symbol used to make this distinction was cultural,
the need to be in submission and appear to be so is NOT cultural but scriptural.
So this is NOT an injunction for all women, in all churches throughout time to wear a head covering, nor is it a prohibition of men wearing hats. Paul was taking a LAW of God for all humanity and applying it to these Corinthians with a view to their society.
Commentator Poole has this to offer regarding this passage,
“Nothing in this is a further rule to Christians, than it is the duty of ministers, in praying and preaching, to use postures and habits that are not naturally, nor according to the custom of the place where they live, uncomely and irreverent, and ill looked upon.” (Poole)
An illustrative comparison from our not so distant past would be that those who wore leather jackets, drove motorcycles and were heavily tattooed would be mistaken for a biker in a gang.
This was not a desirable affiliation for civilized society at the time.
So if you dressed in this manner, drove a loud bike and were tatted up you might not be a “hell’s angel” but it would most certainly have been assumed true of you.
Paul here is establishing the biblical mandate of male authority and expressing it in the assemblies by how they did or did not present themselves.
For a man to wear his hair long was a cultural statement of being submissive – to be one under authority.
For a woman to have short hair was a cultural symbol that she was NOT under authority, but that she assumed authority herself.
Thus this instruction was offered.
“(6) So if a woman’s head is not covered, her hair should be cut off. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should be covered.
(7) A man, in fact, should not cover his head, because he is God’s image and glory, but woman is man’s glory.
(8) For man did not come from woman, but woman came from man; (9) and man was not created for woman, but woman for man.
(10) THIS IS WHY a woman should have a SYMBOL of authority on her head: because of the angels.”
Now again I have to bring back up the fairytale deception of angels marrying women before the flood.
Many people who believe that deception, also believe that this is what this passage is referencing. However, such an interpretation is not necessary, desired or warranted.
This is simply a reference to the angels who fell with satan – who did not maintain their position, but attempted to revolt against God’s authority over them.
We know that angels are watching the church and that God has ordained that they learn wisdom through us.
You remember that it was satan’s success in deceiving Eve and encouraging her to take the lead in her relationship with respect to her husband that precipitated the fall.
Also it was Adam’s failure to assume and walk in his authority that allowed it to happen. He not only failed to speak up – he actually submitted to her lead.
So it is that under the New Birth, God commands that we honor His creation mandate by men assuming all leadership roles and women assuming a submissive role in relation to the authority at home, in society and in the church.
Paul goes on to say…
“(11) However, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, and man is not independent of woman. (12) For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, and all things come from God.
(13) Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
(14) Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has LONG HAIR it is a disgrace to him, (15) but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her as a covering.
(16) But if anyone wants to argue about this, we have no other custom, nor do the churches of God.”
Now these last statements may seem confusing but I will quickly clarify but if you want more information I will link to a message where I covered this in greater depth.
By “does not even nature itself teach you” it means, does not the culture around you.
Now we know this for several reasons, but the most obvious is that if it were truly against God’s ordained design from Creation He would never have made “not cutting your hair” one of the rules of setting yourself apart for God’s service in a nazarite vow. [See Num. 6:1-21]
Also, priests would not have been told BY GOD to wear priestly hats in their temple service if it were intrinsically true that such was a disgrace. [See Exodus 28:40]
This was a cultural thing, not a truth from creation which is why he ends with the statement,
“But if anyone wants to argue about this, we have no other custom, nor do the churches of God.”
Now let’s return to 1 Corinthians 14 and see if we can’t sum this lesson up.
So after addressing the authority of Prophets over the prophetic gift Paul said this about women,
“(33) For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
(34) Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but THEY ARE TO BE SUBMISSIVE, as the Law also says. (35) And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.”
So Paul is pressing the Law of God upon these Gentile believers regarding authority. This is NOT saying women cannot speak at all. Such is an unfortunate translation. It means to be of a quiet or unintrusive spirit. We know that women could pray and prophecy because we just read that in 1 Corinthians 11 so long as they are women under authority and dawn the symbol of such in the assemblies.
Now these immature Corinthians were not going to all take this lying down. Paul knew the most immature and unlearned among them would bulk at this command. So he presents them with this rhetorical question…
“(36) Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?
(37) If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you ARE THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD.
(38) But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.
(39) Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. (40) Let all things be done decently and in order.”
So to recap…
- Tongues are represented in scripture as both a prayer language and as a gift which needs interpretation.
- The prayer language is between you and God. Is for YOUR edification though you do NOT understand what you are saying and it builds up your faith!
- The Gift of Tongues is for the church. Is for THEIR edification but ONLY when interpreted so they WILL understand what you are saying. It edifies, exhorts and comforts the church!
- Tongues are also used as a sign against the hard hearted – helping to throw more logs on the fire of their own eventual condemnation as they scoff at the Holy through their ignorance!
- Prophecy is superior to all BECAUSE it speaks to EVERYONE and it edifies, exalts them and comforts them, though it appears that Tongues WITH interpretation does the same, only more directly!
Now in closing I promised you last week that I had a verse which indicates rather clearly that praying in the Spirit is a privilege and power granted to every believer and we will read that passage in closing right now.
Turn with me to Jude…
“(20) But you, dear friends, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, (21) KEEP YOURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD, expecting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for ETERNAL LIFE.”
Jude tells all believers that by building themselves up in their faith and praying in the Holy Spirit they would keep themselves in the Love of God for eternal life.
Now if it really has that kind of power, why would God show favoritism by granting it only to a few or only to the early church?
This was in injunction to all believers, not a select group. Notice he did not say, “Oh and you guys who can pray in the Spirit need to really use that unusual ability to your advantage”. No, he was addressing ALL BELIEVERS!
The opening words in his letter are:
“Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James: To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.”
Jude just described every believer who has ever lived or ever will live! So those are the ones who can pray in the Spirit.
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Blessings!
