14:26 ¶ How is it then, brethren? when ye come
together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a
revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue,
let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by
course; and let one interpret. 28 But if
there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak
to himself, and to God. 29 Let the
prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. 30 If any thing be revealed to another
that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. 31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all
may learn, and all may be comforted. 32
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33 For God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
14:34 ¶ Let your women keep
silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they
are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 35 And if they will learn any thing, let them
ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
14:36 ¶ What? came the word of
God out from you? or came it unto you only? 37
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him
acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the
Lord. 38 But if any man be ignorant, let
him be ignorant. 39 Wherefore, brethren,
covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. 40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
Here is a description of how the early church functioned. It was
apparently participatory with everyone getting involved. Paul’s emphasis is on
order in verse 33 and in 40. Paul reinforces his preference for preaching over
speaking in other languages except with interpreters around who understood
those languages. Keep in mind the passage about tongues in Acts, chapter 2, I
quoted earlier.
In 28 there is a command for men to be silent in regard to tongues
if there is no interpreter who knows the language they are speaking and in 34
women are commanded to be silent, but both in connection with tongues. The
silence here for women is not absolute. As an example, most conservative
churches today which would not permit a woman to preach or teach a class full
of men would not be opposed to a woman giving a testimony, asking a question in
a Bible class, teaching young people or other women, or singing a solo. The
commands here for men and women with regard to tongues, if not taken in
context, will cause confusion and violate the very order that Paul warns about.
As with table manners during the meal Paul mentioned earlier we
must not read back modern sensibilities into the Bible. A meeting of the church
without direction and guidance by the bishop, what we would call today a
pastor, could be quite a chaotic event. People whose culture and ancestry comes
from Northern Europe where long ages of cultural change have favored
orderliness, self-denial, and structure find other cultures without that past
to be strange. Where we might line up at a bank in other places people might
not be so willing to wait their turn. In a political meeting in some places a
fist-fight or wrestling match is likely to break out from a spirited debate.
People shouting questions or talking over other people in a meeting is not as
uncommon in other cultural contexts.
Paul is warning about disorder and confusion here.
An example of his warning coming to pass in reality was the heresy
of Montanism. In the first half of the second century, Montanus, a priest of
Cybele, declared himself a prophet and said that the Holy Spirit spoke through
him. He had two female priestesses, Priscilla and Maximilla, who were even more
popular than him. They claimed ecstatic visions and displayed other signs that
they insisted were gifts of the apostles, declaring a line of authority back to
Philip the Evangelist’s four daughters from Acts 21:9. So, there was a real
danger here of things getting out of order quickly.
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