Monday, May 14, 2012

What role can a woman have in the church?

This is another question raised by Peter Wiig and the context is the well know verse in I Corinthians 14:34-35. Many churches based on these verses have denied any leadership role in the church for women. They cannot teach men, only children. They cannot preach or even pray but be silent.

In I Corinthians 11:5 it says "But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven." This shows that women did pray and prophesy in the church, and the covering of their head showed they were married.

Prophesying as defined by Paul in I Corinthians 14:3 "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." This is more preaching and forth saying than foretelling and therefore it means that women did preach in the early church.

Mind you that all these references are from I Corinthians, the same epistle which has the controversial passage that silences women!! So what does I Cor 14:34f mean?

This passage needs to be understood in the cotext in which it is written. Chapter 14 is dealing with the confusion in the church caused by the speaking in tongues of people. Paul is maintaining that God is a God of order and does not like disorder. So our worship needs to be orderly. In this context Paul says that women need to keep quiet. We really do not know what was happening with the women in Corinth that made Paul make this suggestion that they be quiet and discuss with their husbands at home instead of arguing in the church. This was more in this context and I take it as not being an universal principle since if it is, it contradicts the rest of the epistle.

We see Priscilla's ministry described in Acts of the apostles and I would say that there were a few women who ministered in the leadership of the church.

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