Presentation 28

In chaps 12-14 Paul has been correcting some of the abuses that existed in the worship services in Corinth. He has placed the charismatic gifts in their proper context first, by asking, “what is your motive behind the exercise of these gifts? - if it isn't love then you are wasting your time”. Secondly, he asks, “what effect does the exercise of your gifts have on public worship? - if it is not building each other up in the faith then you are failing to produce a mature Christian congregation.”

Now in this last section, Paul is concerned to show the value of balance and order in the worship service.

Introduction

There is no pattern laid down in scripture for public worship. Evidence suggests a continuously developing pattern of worship in the early church. If this early epistle suggests that informality and sharing of spiritual gifts were chief features of worship, then later epistles like Ephesians [5.19] and Colossians [3.16] suggest a more stylised pattern of worship.

Praise features prominently, as does the reading of scripture and its exposition [Acts 20.7ff]. In none of the later epistles is the gift of tongues mentioned. Had spontaneity in worship degenerated into confusion and disorder? And had the church reacted to that? What is clear is that this passage does not provide a standardised pattern for worship.

The Pattern of Worship

Some think that in v26 Paul is taking the church to task for the self-regarding manner in which they approached worship i.e. "I have a hymn… a word… a revelation". In other words they allowed themselves to be become so distracted by the contribution they were going to make in the service that they jostled for position to ensure they would be heard. Suggesting that they could be more taken up by how well they would perform than by how much the church might be edified?

Self-obsession is dangerous and tends to produce a performance rather than God honouring praise. This was one of the grounds upon which Jesus criticised the Pharisees cf Matt. 6.5ff! They were performers.

The Pattern of Worship

The confusion and disorder in the Corinth worship service caused Paul to lay down some restraints. First, cf v27.... Why no more than 2 or 3 contributors? In order that time be given for other aspects of worship. One person’s hobbyhorse can displace everything else and side-line things of greater value.

A well known speaker was invited to address a young people's rally. He had been asked to speak on a subject that would help young Christians grow. The meeting began at 7.30 and was scheduled to finish at 9.00. At 8.50, after much protracted chorus singing, he was asked to speak. He stood up and said he had insufficient time to deal with the important subject that had been given him and then sat down again!

The organisers were flummoxed but would have done well to consider the principle Paul lays down here.

The Pattern of Worship

A second restraint is placed by Paul upon the use of tongues. Their use is forbidden in public worship, where no one was present to interpret their meaning. Paul had previously argued for the priority of edification over self gratification in worship.

Again we see that worship involves the enlightenment of our understanding. Communal worship does not existto provide one or two individuals with the prospect of a spiritual high but is intended for the whole people of God, who must all have some understanding of what is going on.

It is not uncommon in some church set ups today for foreign nationals to be provided with an interpreter to help them follow the service.

The Pattern of Worship

Those with the gift of prophecy are addressed in v29... The limit on 2 or 3 speakers would allow hearers to assimilate and weigh carefully what was said. False prophets existed in the early church. Anyone can claim to have a word from God, which is why it is important to test what is being said.

Young Christians are often confused when they read Christian literature uncritically. They think because the book was sold in a Christian bookshop, all its contents must be true! Paul says, ‘test what you hear’. You need spiritual discernment in your fellowship lest you be led astray.

Discernment was one of the gifts Paul had listed earlier in 12.10 [cf also 1Thes 5.21; 1John 4.1.]

The Pattern of Worship

All ministry must be carefully weighed. Paul commends the Bereans for testing the content of his preaching by verifying it from scripture Acts 17.11. Preachers should never feel threatened when tested in this way. What sort of tests can we use? 1.Does the preaching glorify God? 2.Does the preaching build up the church? 3.Is the preaching in accord with scripture? A vacancy committee asked a potential candidate, ‘Can you assure us that you will always preach from the word of God’. You ask, ‘Was that not an unnecessary question?’ Sadly some ministers claim that they turn, not to the Bible, but to the Sunday newspapers as the source of their preaching.

The Pattern of Worship

In addition Paul would not allow a prophet to claim, that he must continue to speak for the Spirit compelled him do so - a great excuse to hog the floor and prevent others from speaking. In v32 we read, "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets". There is no excuse for loss of self control. The Holy Spirit doesn’t override the mind reducing the Christian to a kind of helpless robot. Unlike the spiritualist medium who when in a trance can lose self-control to a malevolent spirit.

Therefore it was quite wrong, for those responsible for the prophetic free-for-all in Corinth to blame their behaviour on the God of order and peace. The Holy Spirit is often blamed for much that parades Itself under the guise of self-promotion..

The Pattern of Worship

Finally, Paul turns his attention to women in the church cf v34... This has been a contentious issue of late. What does Paul mean when he says he requires women to ‘keep silent in church’? Some churches have used this text to forbid women even to pray in prayer meetings. But in the light of Ch.11v5 which describes women praying and prophesying in the worship service, it is difficult to conclude that Paul means that women should have no vocal part in the service.

What then is Paul’s meaning here? A number of possibilities have been suggested.

The Place of Women in Church

1. Some refer this prohibition back to v28... where it is argued that the din created by a large number, all speaking in tongues, would make it impossible for anyone to make out what the preacher was saying. The difficulty with this view is that v28 would refer to both men and women.

2. Paul is rebuking women for the chattering that went on during the service. This view argues that women had found a unique freedom in the life of the Christian community that they did not have outside of it –women were still second class citizens in the ancient world - and their new found freedom within the church had gone to their heads or rather their tongues.

The Place of Women in Church

3. The women, who were enjoying considerable freedom according to pre-suffragette standards, were taking further unwarranted liberties by seeking to seize the reigns of authority within the church. So that in the course of the prophet’s message, the women were to the fore in judging its worth and asking questions of the prophet. And it is in response to this behaviour that they are reminded that submission to male headship is a part of God’s creation ordinance.

A matter already touched upon in 11.8-10 cf also Gen 1-3. This view also points to v35 for support for there the womenfolk are told to wait and ask their questions of their husbands when they get home.

The Place of Women in Church

Which view do we adopt? When the passage is read as a whole unit and we remind ourselves that Paul's general purpose is to restrain confusion and disorder in the church, then we have the necessary context in which to understand this passage. Paul's concern is that women should not step over the bounds of good order, which they would do if they failed to recognize their God-given role in relation to men v34.

Paul wants them to recognise that God's word, which they decided they would judge, did not originate with them v36. For this reason the interpretation that bests recommends itself favours the last of the three views mentioned.

The Place of Women in Church

This passage aims to change a situation of chaos and disorder into one of order, harmony and edification, where woman do not usurp their God-given role within God's created structures. It does not teach that women must be silent in church at all times. It does not imply that a woman cannot pray, speak or teach publicly.

However, she must be careful not to do so in a setting that suggests that her aim is to usurp the respective roles that God has given to men and women.

The ‘disgrace’ to which Paul refers would then be the rebellious spirit that says, ‘I reject both God’s authority and the Roles that God has assigned his creation’.

The Place of Women in Church

Some have tried to avoid the implications of passages such as these by emphasising that we live in a different world and a different culture today. In other words they claim that scripture is culturally conditioned. They argue that 1Cst century culture made no provision for women in public life and that things are different today and we must remove cultural conditioning from the Pauline epistles.

The difficulty with this view is that Paul builds his teaching not upon contemporary culture but upon God's word. Note the reference to the law in v34 and the even more explicit instruction in 1Tim 2.12-14, a passage that is rooted not in culture but in both the creation ordinances and the distinct consequences of the fall.

The Place of Women in Church

Others have treated these passages dismissively saying, “This is just Paul's view we don't need to pay much attention to it”. This objection is met head on in v37... Anyone who fails to recognise the inspiration and authority of Paul’s words not only shows that they have no spiritual discernment, but also reveal according to 1 John 4v6 that they are not of God.

Again in 2Pet 3.15-16 we read, “our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction”.

Notice that Paul’s epistles are categorised and given the same weight by Peter as other inspired scripture!

The Place of Women in Church

True worship involves submission to God. It disinfects us of all egotism, whether that egotism takes the form of waving a spiritual gift around in order to impress others, or seeking to hog the limelight thus excluding other helpful ministry, or a determination not to accept our place in God's created order.

The egotism Paul deals with in these verses militates against true worship and ultimately robs God of his glory. It is for this reason Paul would have our services regulated by a sense of what is fitting and orderly and thus the better to bring glory to God.

Conclusion