1 Corinthians 14:34-35
In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 (NKJV) the Apostle Paul declares, “34Let 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. 35And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.” Many of the scholars of today, as they have sought reasoning for this passage, have argued that for some unknown reason a scribe implanted these words into the Scriptures as he copied the old and worn manuscripts onto new parchment. But if this were true, it would prove the Holy Scriptures to be errored and flawed. I must believe that these words of Paul in his teachings to the church at Corinth must have a reason for being there. If we look at the facts, we will find that the letter was written, as we have already discovered, to a church that was dealing with divisions and contentions (1 Corinthians 1:10-11). We must also take into consideration that the relationship between a man and a woman in marriage was much different than what we in the Western world experience today. The man was the leader of the family as well as the spokesperson. This was not a relationship that was condescending or abusive as you might think, but in respect for one another. I believe that Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 are reflective of the relationship that God desires between a man and a woman in marriage as Paul states in Ephesians 5:22-33, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ [Genesis 2:24]. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Paul teaches in 1 Timothy 2:12, “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” These words may seem very harsh to us today in the Western world, but they are directly reflective of the words of God in Genesis 3:16 as He spoke the punishment to the woman for falling to sin, “To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” The Apostle Paul is simply explaining to the church at Corinth what the Bible – what God says about the relationship of a man to a woman.
This is an example of the proper relationship between a man and a woman in the eyes of God, and in respect for one another – something that in today’s Western culture, I am sure that for many people is so far gone that it is hard to imagine.
This may seem to be a very harsh lesson for women, but in the proper context, taking away all of the presuppositions of marriage as we see it today through the eyes of the secular world, it is spoken of in a proper way of life for a man and a woman in marriage. The man should love his wife so much that He would lay down his life for her; he should cherish her as precious diamonds and gold that his desire for her is to lift her up in her beauty. And the woman should have a confidence in her husband that is stronger than anything else she knows. She should stand in support of her husband in the decisions that he is making for their family as these decisions should be with the upmost priority in both of their lives – together – in Christ. This is biblical marriage as it was written some two thousand years ago; if any of you actually experience this type of marriage today, you are truly blessed because I believe it to be a rarity. We have all fallen to sin and it is reflective in our lives and in our marriages, but as the punishment for sin was handed out in Genesis 3:16, there is another 3:16 that makes it all wash away, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Dear LORD,
I pray dear God that this lesson is taken by all as You would have us to understand Your Word and the instructions that You desire for us to learn and grow not only in our relationships with You, but with each other in marriage. That You would help us to realize that the way in which the secular world views marriage today is not as You intended it to be, but that You would have us to be dedicated to each other as Christ Jesus is dedicated to the church. Please let it be so LORD. In Jesus name I pray, amen.