"Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak" (1 Cor. 14:34).
Adding to the chaos of the Corinthian worship was the practice of allowing women to teach in the public assembly. Paul renounces this not on the basis of cultural norms but on the basis of God’s eternal decree. God created woman to be under the authority of man, and this has not changed since the dawn of time; therefore, we cannot dismiss Paul’s command as cultural: “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Tim. 2:11–12). The emphasis in this passage as in 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 is authority. As Calvin wrote, “authority to teach is not suitable to the station that a woman occupies, because, if she teaches, she presides over all the men, while it becomes her to be under subjection.”
Prophesying and speaking in tongues involve teaching, transmitting truth and revelation. A woman, who is to be in submission to male authority, should never seek to overshadow that authority. This does not mean that she is not endowed with these gifts, which she can use privately. Neither does it mean that she cannot pray or sing, because neither of these actions involve exercising authority. And even though Paul refers to women prophesying in 1 Cor. 11:5, there is no indication that he approves of the practice. If anything, his exhortation for them to cover their heads as a sign of submission would keep women from exercising authoritative gifts. In other words, if they were to teach and have authority over a man, it would be contradictory for her to wear a sign of submission on her head. But since she is supposed to have this sign, she cannot take a position of authority by teaching in the public assembly.
Paul, of course, encourages women to learn. This she can do in silence, and in private under her husband’s tutelage, or if she is not married, she can go to her elders for further instruction. Because women are to learn in subjection, which even means refraining from asking questions in public worship, their husbands must be able to instruct them. The husband, and the father, should lead those under their charge in all truth and not rely on pastors and teachers to take up the duty that God has primarily given to them.
Paul’s teaching here was given not only to the Corinthians, but to the church in Ephesus (1 Tim. 2:15) and all the “churches of the saints” (14:33)—an introductory phrase to v. 34. How have you personally failed to keep this command? Whether a man or woman, what changes do you need to make to keep this directive?
