Commentary - 1 Corinthians 14:34-36

Bird's-eye view

In this section of his letter, Paul is addressing the chaos that had begun to characterize the worship services at Corinth. The whole chapter is a call to order, intelligibility, and edification. The charismatic gifts, which were given for the building up of the church, were being used in a way that was creating a three-ring circus. After laying down principles for the orderly use of tongues and prophecy, he turns his attention to a particular kind of disorder, which was that of the women speaking in a disruptive and unauthorized way. This instruction is not a stray thought, but is rather the application of a foundational biblical principle to a specific problem. The principle is that of headship and submission, a theme Paul has already addressed in chapter 11. Here, the principle is applied to the verbal order of the worship service. The command for silence is not absolute, but it is authoritative. It is a silence from a particular kind of speaking, the kind that disrupts the established order of authority that God has designed for His church, which is a reflection of the order of the Trinity itself.

The apostle's instructions here are frequently dismissed as culturally conditioned, but Paul grounds his argument not in the customs of Corinth, but in the Law, in the created order, and in the universal practice of the churches. He concludes with a sharp, rhetorical rebuke aimed at the arrogance of the Corinthians, who were acting as though they were the originators of the Word and the sole recipients of it. This was a church that thought it was on the cutting edge, but was in reality on the bleeding edge. Paul is calling them back to the ancient paths, to the apostolic pattern, and to the peace that comes from submission to God's good design.

Outline

Context In 1 Corinthians

This passage does not drop out of the sky. Paul has been carefully constructing his argument about true spirituality throughout this letter. The Corinthians were infatuated with the more spectacular gifts, particularly tongues, and they equated spiritual maturity with ecstatic experiences. Paul has been patiently correcting this by elevating love (ch. 13) and by insisting that the true measure of a spiritual gift is its ability to build up the body of Christ in an intelligible way (ch. 14). The instructions regarding women are therefore part of a larger argument about what it means to be a church that is truly led by the Spirit. A Spirit-led church is not a chaotic free-for-all; it is an orderly household.

Moreover, Paul has already laid the theological foundation for this command in chapter 11, where he discussed head coverings. There, the issue was a non-verbal symbol of submission to the created order. Here in chapter 14, the issue is verbal. The principle is the same: God has established an order of authority (God-Christ-Man-Woman), and our worship must reflect that order, not defy it. The command for silence here is not a contradiction of what he said in chapter 11, where he allows for women to pray and prophesy. Rather, it qualifies it. A woman may pray or prophesy, but she may not do so in a way that constitutes an exercise of authority over the men, or in a way that disrupts the good order of the service. The "speaking" forbidden here is of a particular kind, likely disruptive questions or challenging speech that would usurp the teaching authority of the elders and the headship of the husbands.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 34 The women are to keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.

The command is straightforward: "The women are to keep silent." The Greek word is sigao, and it means to be silent, to hold one's peace. As we've noted, this cannot be an absolute prohibition against making any sound at all, for that would forbid them from singing hymns or saying Amen. And in chapter 11, Paul has already given instructions for how women are to pray and prophesy. So the silence here must be understood in the context of the specific problem Paul is addressing, which is the disorderly conduct of the worship service. The "speaking" (lalein) that is forbidden is the kind of speech that would violate the principle of submission which he immediately references. This would include things like asking disruptive questions during the teaching, challenging the elders, or teaching authoritatively.

Paul gives two reasons for this command. First, "they are not permitted to speak," which indicates this is a firm apostolic prohibition, not a suggestion. Second, they are "to subject themselves." This is the heart of the matter. The silence is the fruit of a deeper reality, which is submission. This is not the subjugation of the inferior by the superior. This is the beautiful, voluntary ordering of relationships that reflects the very life of the Trinity. The Son submits to the Father, but is in no way inferior to the Father. Likewise, a wife's submission to her husband is not a mark of lesser value, but a glad acceptance of her God-given role.

And where does this principle come from? Paul says, "just as the Law also says." He is not referring to a specific verse in the Mosaic code that says, "women shall be silent in the assembly." Rather, he is referring to the whole tenor of the Old Testament Scriptures, beginning in Genesis, which establishes the principle of male headship. He is thinking of the created order (Gen. 2), where Adam was formed first, and Eve was created as his helper. He is thinking of the consequences of the fall (Gen. 3:16), where the woman's desire will be for her husband, and he will rule over her. In the new covenant, this rule is transformed from fallen domination into Christlike, self-sacrificial headship, and the desire is transformed from rebellious usurpation into joyful submission. Paul grounds this command in the bedrock of creation, not in the shifting sands of culture.

v. 35 But if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.

This verse clarifies the nature of the "speaking" that is forbidden. It appears that one of the problems in Corinth was women interrupting the service with questions. Paul's solution is not to forbid women from learning. On the contrary, he wants them to learn. The desire to learn is a good thing. But the proper venue for this particular kind of learning, the kind that involves questioning the public teaching, is the home. This instruction is not primarily a restriction on wives, but rather a commission to husbands. It presupposes that the husbands are paying attention in the service, that they are understanding the teaching, and that they are competent to instruct their wives. A man may not be a vocational theologian, but in his own home, he must be the resident theologian. He has a duty to lead his family in the things of God, and this includes being able to answer his wife's questions about the sermon.

Paul then adds that it is "disgraceful for a woman to speak in church." The word is aischron, meaning shameful or disgraceful. Why is it disgraceful? Because it is a violation of the created order. It is a woman acting out of her God-given role. It is like a soldier giving orders to his general, or a child commanding his father. It throws the whole system into confusion. When our worship services reflect God's created design, they are a thing of beauty and order. When they defy it, they become disordered and, as Paul says, disgraceful. This is not about arbitrary rules; it is about reflecting the glory and wisdom of our Creator.

v. 36 Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it arrived to you only?

Having given the command and the reasons for it, Paul now anticipates the pushback. The Corinthians were a proud bunch. They were spiritual peacocks, strutting about and showing off their gifts. They likely thought of themselves as being on the vanguard of a new move of the Spirit, one that left old-fashioned ideas about male and female roles in the dust. Paul confronts this arrogance head-on with two sharp, sarcastic questions.

"Was it from you that the word of God first went forth?" The answer, of course, is a resounding no. The gospel did not originate in Corinth. It came to them from Jerusalem, through the apostles whom Christ had appointed. The Corinthians were recipients of the tradition, not the originators of it. They had no authority to edit or rewrite the apostolic pattern for church life. They were a franchise, not the home office.

"Or has it arrived to you only?" Again, the answer is obviously no. The church in Corinth was not the only church. The gospel had gone out into all the world. Paul is reminding them that they are part of a universal body, and they are expected to be in step with the other churches. As he says elsewhere, this is the practice "in all the churches of the saints" (v. 33). Christian liberty does not mean that every church gets to make up its own rules. There is an apostolic pattern, a received tradition, that governs how we are to conduct ourselves in the household of God. The Corinthians' disorderly, egalitarian worship was out of step with this universal practice, and Paul is calling them to get back in line.

Application

The modern world, and sadly, much of the modern church, regards these verses as an embarrassment. We are told they are hopelessly patriarchal, culturally backward, and must be explained away. But if we believe the Bible is the Word of God, we must receive them as a gift, as a wise and loving instruction from our Father. The world's way is the way of confusion, competition, and chaos between the sexes. The world preaches egalitarianism, which in practice means a constant, restless jockeying for position and power. The result is not liberation, but exhaustion.

The gospel, in contrast, offers a way of peace, order, and fruitful cooperation. It does so by calling us back to God's design in creation. God has made men and women equal in value, dignity, and worth, but different in role and function. When a man embraces his calling to be a loving, sacrificial head, and a woman embraces her calling to be a strong, intelligent, submissive helper, the result is a beautiful harmony that displays the wisdom of God to a watching world. This is true in marriage, and it is true in the church.

For the men, the application is a call to step up. This passage requires you to be the theological leader in your home. You cannot outsource this responsibility to the pastor or to Christian radio. You must be a student of the Word, able to give an answer to your wife and children. You must lead with love, patience, and a deep humility, remembering that your headship is meant to be a picture of Christ's love for the church.

For the women, the application is a call to trust God's good design. Submission is not a dirty word. It is the path to true freedom and influence. A godly woman who joyfully embraces her role is a powerful force for the kingdom. Her quiet and gentle spirit is, in God's sight, of great price. In the church, this means respecting the authority of the elders and contributing to the life of the body in the myriad of ways that God has gifted you, without seeking to usurp the role of authoritative teacher that God has assigned to men.