1 Cor 14:26-39 Orderly and God-honoring Use of Spiritual Gifts

Orderly Worship

26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. 29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the congregations of the saints.

One of Paul's favorite metaphors for the Church is a human body with Christ as the head and believers the various members. Everyone knows that our bodies function because signals are exchanged between the head to the members. We call them the transmissions of the nervous system. In the Body of Christ signals come from Jesus our Head through our reading of the scriptures and praying and being sensitive to the Spirit's guidance. Much of this in-coming transmission comes through our direct contact with the Word and Spirit. But some comes through other believers sharing what they have learned. Paul is saying here that those with the gift of "prophecy," by which he means communication of God's truth, should avoid disorderliness, chaos and confusion. This means seeking clarity of communication and respect for others who also have a contribution to make.

34 The women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

This is probably one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament to defend or explain. It seems to go directly against truths about the dignity of womanhood and the equality of the sexes before God taught elsewhere in the New Testament, including by Paul himself (Acts 2:18; Gal 3:28). One way to understand it, favored by many evangelicals, is to assume that "the women" spoken of are persons in the Corinthian assembly who were defying the resolution just given by Paul concerning limiting the freedom to speak in tongues or prophesy while others were doing so, thus causing a disorderly meeting. Paul's use of the article "the" in "the women" (present in the Greek text) would allude to women about whom he had received letters from Corinth, describing their behavior. The force of "the" would be "those women that you wrote me about." They must be "in subjection", not to their husbands, but to the rule that Paul laid down, just like the rest of the congregations in Corinth. Asking their own husbands at home simply means that animated discussion of this issue should take place in the privacy of homes, and the logical person to discuss it with is a spouse. "It is disgraceful for a woman to speak (in this way) in the church" is what the final clause means. Since elsewhere in this very letter Paul permits women to pray and prophesy in the churches (11:4-6), we are not free to interpret this passage as claiming that all public speech by women in churches is "disgraceful".

36 Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. 38 If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored. 39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

This is Paul's final words, which sum up his goal in this section of the letter. The words Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? remind these Corinthian believers that they are not free to go their own way at the price of abandoning the core traditions of all the apostolic churches scattered around the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Anyone in the assembly who is spiritually aware and knows the traditions about Jesus' teaching should be able to recognize that Paul's principle here is based upon known teachings of Jesus.

If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored expresses a possible first stage of church discipline for rebels who refuse to follow the teaching of peace, good order, and mutual respect. To be "ignored" in the church might mean to be excluded from its gatherings during a period of discipline.

"Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way" summarizes Paul's teaching in chapters 12-14: If they must seek to exercise gifts, let it be one that does the most good (prophecy), not the most spectacular and showy (tongues). But everything must be governed by love for each other, and decent, orderly behavior, not chaos.

ⓒ2008 Harry Hoffner