June 2, 2024
1 Corinthians 14:33-40
“Regaining Order from Chaos”
Service Overview: Here, Paul provides some concluding thoughts and prescriptions on how this church in upheaval could regain order. And while some of their particular problems may not be our own today, the principles upheld here hold important insights for the church in any day.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”
1 Corinthians 14:40 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- In the Greek culture, women were discouraged from saying anything in public, and they were certainly not allowed to confront or question men publicly. Apparently, some of the women who had become Christians thought that their Christian freedom gave them the right to question the men in public worship. This was causing division in the church. In addition, women of that day did not receive formal religious education as did the men. (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 211)
- Paul had already permitted the women to pray and prophesy (1 Cor. 11:5), so this instruction must apply to the immediate context of evaluating the prophetic messages. It would appear that the major responsibility for doctrinal purity in the early church rested on the shoulders of the men, the elders in particular. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 158)
- The most commonly held view is that which sees the problem [regarding women speaking] as some form of disruptive speech. Support is found in v. 35, that if the women wish to learn anything, they should ask their own husbands at home. Various scenarios are proposed: that the setting was something like the Jewish synagogue, with women on one side and men on the other and the women shouting out disruptive questions about what was being said in a prophecy or tongue; or that they were asking questions of men other than their own husbands; or that they were simply “chattering” so loudly that it had a disruptive effect. (Gordon Fee, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 703)
- Apparently, the women believers in Corinth, newly freed in Christ to be able to learn and take part in worship, had been raising questions that could have been answered at home without disrupting the services. In this entire chapter, Paul had been dealing with various forms of disorder and confusion taking place in the Corinthian church in particular. His words are corrective. In this instance, Paul was asking the Corinthian women not to flaunt their Christian freedom during worship. The purpose of Paul’s words was to promote unity, not to teach about the role of women in the church. (Grant R. Osborne, Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Corinthians, 211)
- The context of this prohibition would indicate that some of the women in the assembly were creating problems by asking questions and perhaps even generating arguments. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 158)
What key takeaways are left for us as we end this section of Paul’s letter?
- Church health is dependent upon godly order.
(vv. 33, 40 | 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 4:11-12; Colossians 3:23-24; Titus 1:5)
The quality of our worship forms a powerful expression of the reality of our conversion. Having been loved by God, we seek to love God back with our whole being. Our gatherings should be conducted in an orderly way so that we can worship, be taught, and be prepared to serve God. Believers should be encouraged to prepare for the expected in worship but also to anticipate God’s ability to do the unexpected. (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 212)
Where there is confusion, you will find the absence of God. God is not the author of confusion or disorder. He is the author of peace and order and purpose. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 271)
- Unique problems often require unique responses.
(vv. 34-35 | Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
Some interpreters have proposed that Paul is not really prohibiting women from praying and prophesying in the assembly. Rather, he is addressing a specific local problem at Corinth and restricting certain kinds of disruptive speech, such as chattering and asking questions (v. 35a)… If Paul’s aim was to suppress women, why did he send Phoebe as his emissary to the Roman churches? (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 247)
Our hermeneutical responsibility is to recognize these tensions where they exist and to make theologically informed judgments about how the different texts speak to our situation. We must try to discern the fundamental themes of the New Testament’s teaching and make decisions about contested matters in light of that discernment. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 248)
- Ridiculous humility is essential to any resolution.
(vv. 36-38 | Prov. 11:2; Luke 14:11; Eph. 4:2; 5:21; Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:12; James 3:13; 4:10)
Claiming to have a higher spirituality than all others, and likely appealing to the authority of their own so-called prophetic gifts, the Corinthians created a “do-it-yourself” form of Christian worship characterized by disorder, division, and chaos. (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 213)
We dare not rule out any of the spiritual gifts as limited to some previous age or as a sign of the immaturity of particular believers or congregations. But we dare not make any gift, especially tongues and prophecy, a criterion of anything. Unity and mutual edification always remain the overriding goals. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 383)
The more fractured we are, the greater we become spectacles to the world. The more we are united in love, the more the world sees Christ. (Curtis Thomas, Practical Wisdom for Pastors, 175)
Conclusion… How does a passage like this challenge us in countering culture?
A. By challenging the speed at which we draw conclusions of others.
(Luke 6:31; Romans 12:3; Ephesians 4:32; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 1:22; 3:8)
We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God. (Vance Havner, Pepper ‘n’ Salt, 26)
Proud people focus on the failures of others and can readily point out those faults. Broken people are more conscious of their own spiritual need than of anyone else’s. (Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Brokenness – The Heart God Revives, 88)
B. By challenging us to get over ourselves.
(Proverbs 18:12; 29:23; Luke 14:11; Philippians 2:3; James 4:6; 1 Peter 4:10-11; 5:5)
The true test of a man’s spirituality is not his ability to speak, as we are apt to think, but rather his ability to bridle his tongue. (Kent Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Man, 142)
Selfishness is the controlling force of sinful living. It is this motive which pulsates through the natural mind, emotions and will. (Walter Chantry, The Shadow of the Cross, 11)
If we only spent more of our time in looking at Him we should soon forget ourselves. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression – Its Causes and its Cures, 88)
Man’s basic problem is preoccupation with self. He is innately beset with narcissism, a condition named after the Greek mythological character Narcissus, who spent his life admiring his reflection in a pool of water. In the final analysis, every sin results from preoccupation with self. We sin because we are totally selfish, totally devoted to ourselves, rather than to God and to others. (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7, 447)
C. By challenging us to embrace the unity we are called to as Christ’s ambassadors.
(Ps. 133:1; Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Ephesians 4:3; 4:15-16; Hebrews 10:24-25)
Paul’s vision of the body of Christ is of a unity which consists in diversity, that is, a unity which is not denied by diversity, but which would be denied by uniformity, a unity which depends on its diversity functioning as such – in a word, the unity of a body, the body of Christ. (James Dunn, Theology of Paul the Apostle, 564)
He that is not a son of Peace is not a son of God. All other sins destroy the Church consequentially; but division and separation demolish it directly. (Richard Baxter)
Gospel Connection…
The good news of Jesus is the good news of how harmony comes from humility. As Christ humbled himself to bring harmony between people and God, he calls his followers to humble themselves to live in harmony with one another.
(Psalm 149:4; 11:2; Luke 14:11; John 13:35; Romans 12:4-5; 12:16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 12:25-26; Ephesians 4:2; Philippians 2:3; Colossians 3:12)
Spiritual gifts were intended by God to bring harmony not disharmony, to bring unity not disunity, to be a rallying point not a dividing line. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 271)
Spiritual pride is the illusion that we are competent to run our own lives, achieve our own sense of self-worth and find a purpose big enough to give us meaning in life without God. (Tim Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, 15)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- How do you determine if you are using your spiritual gifts for the glory of God or the glory of self?
- What might cause people to shift from using their gifts to edify the church to using their gifts to promote themselves?
- If someone were to say that women are not allowed to speak in the church, how could you respond?
- How can we tell when people at a worship meeting are more interested in exhibition than in edification?
- How can we apply these lessons on church order to our own public worship?
Quotes to note…
In Paul’s vision for Christian worship there is neither stiff formality nor undisciplined frenzy: the community’s worship is more like a complex but graceful dance, or a beautiful anthem sung in counterpoint. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 243)
Egalitarians and hierarchicalists alike need to stop accusing each other of being unbiblical and instead acknowledge more humbly that the biblical data simply aren’t clear enough to permit dogmatism on either side. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 390)
The union of believers is grounded in the mystical union of Christ and His Church. The Bible speaks of a two-way transaction that occurs when a person is regenerated. Every converted person becomes “in Christ” at the same time Christ enters into the believer. If I am in Christ and you are in Christ, and if He is in us, then we experience a profound unity in Christ. (R.C. Sproul, Tabletalk, p. 7, June 2004, Ligonier Ministries)
Unlike any other gift listed in any other New Testament book, these two gifts, tongues and prophecy, are to be highly regulated. Why? Verse 33 says it all: “since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” There was confusion in the Corinthian church. The worship services were chaotic. Praise had been replaced by pandemonium. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 271)
The Corinthian church was having special problems with disorder in their public meetings (1 Cor. 11:17–23). The reason is not difficult to determine: They were using their spiritual gifts to please themselves and not to help their brethren. The key word was not edification, but exhibition. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 155)
Church should be a place that exudes joy and life, but never to such a degree that outsiders are repelled or insiders alienated from each other. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 384)
God is not looking for gifted people or people who are self-sufficient. He is looking for inadequate people who will give their weakness to Him and open themselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the transforming grace of the new covenant as it is ministered by Christ Jesus Himself. (Kent Hughes, 2 Corinthians, 74)
Fundamentally, sin is a matter of our hearts, for as fallen creatures our ruling desire is to remove God from His throne and to sit there instead. (Michael Lawrence, Biblical Theology, 135)
A proud faith is as much a contradiction as a humble devil. (Stephen Charnock, A Puritan Golden Treasury, 223)