I attended a Mennonite church
and after the corporate Sunday School gathering in the auditorium the speaker
dismissed the group in an orderly fashion — first preschoolers, then primary
children, followed by juniors. I laughed to myself when the next class to be
dismissed was the women. It occurs to me that this denomination, by allowing
the women to have their own discussion class, has found a way to work within the
confines of Paul’s instructions for the church of his time period, “For God is
not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the
saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They
are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says” (1 Cor 14:33-34).
1 comment:
Gail;
-----I’m still searching the scriptures for where the Holy Spirit sanctioned I Cor 14:34 for Paul’s time period alone, then relinquished it for ours. Evidentially, He forgot to jot down this reconsideration, because it just isn’t in the Bible. But God indeed is glorious in all His effects. So maybe the Holy Spirit inspired the message of this change of mind into historical information. While driving to work, I was listening to a preacher on the radio. As this guy was talking about how music is the purpose of the worship service because it serves glory to God, I was thinking that rightly knowing glorifies God just as much because of all His wonders we mentally grasp when knowing rightly all He has done and written, “In the way of thy testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on thy precepts, and fix my eyes on thy ways.” (Ps 119:14-15) The Bible is replete with exhortations to deal with life while holding a mind full of His testimonies and statutes and words. His -the key word, not ours, but His. But, maybe the Holy Spirit did write this change for us in the history of culture.
-----That is precisely what the, “it doesn’t pertain to us because Paul’s was a different culture” thing means. But funny, I am old enough to remember very well a culture different from today’s which drowned in the flood of the 1960’s rebellion. We thought like Paul did about women in the church just fifty years ago. That’s why I call women’s lib “the second bite of the apple.“ It addressed the right issue -respect for women- with the wrong solution, just like Eve addressed the right issue -growing in knowledge- with the wrong solution -by disobedience. Knowledge of righteousness is what God wants in us, not knowledge through disobedience. Nor is this second bite of the apple fully chewed yet. A big lot of God honoring Christian’s today do accept Paul’s Holy Spirit inspired thinking. Why? Because culture is not why the Spirit inspired it.
-----God’s testimony to Eve’s being deceived was. Paul actually wrote his reasoning to Timothy. “I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” (I Tim 2:12-14) Eve succumbed to Satan’s ploy, then spread the rebellion to Adam, or at least the Bible says so. Sure, they both sinned. But at Satan’s milky, smooth words “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived...” There’s much more than just culture here.
-----We must be careful with the tone of our response to 14:34. It is part of the inspired Word of God, says the Holy Spirit, “If any one thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. If any one does not recognize this, he is not recognized.” (I Cor 14:37-38) Funny thing how God’s Word doesn’t need culture to rest upon. It uses God for that.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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