Blogs by Pastor Boggs

“I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.”

~ 1st Corinthians 1:11

“Now concerning the things about which you wrote…”

~ 1st Corinthians 7:1

In The Apostle Paul’s letter to The Church in Corinth, responding to the “quarrels”, he was informed of by the people of Chloe (a woman who hosted a house church) he tackled several moral, social, and cultural issues and many scholars believe that 1st Corinthians 14:34-35 was just one of those many “issues” that needed to be dealt with before closing out his letter to the believers in Corinth.

This issue of letting women speak in the church?

Putting quotation marks around verses 34 and 35 when you read this chapter should help change the way you understand Paul’s rebuke of people’s oppressive and subservient stance concerning the women in the 1st-century Church of Christ. Also, let it be noted that The Corinthian Church began in a Jewish synagogue where Paul attended and reasoned with people but then became a Christian House Church that moved to Titius Justus’s house next door (See Acts 18). So the plausible issues, divisions, and factions here would be obvious, just as they would be today with any modern-day church schism.

As a good Apostle does, Paul makes his stance clear on these debates one by one, and then strongly rebuttals the stance found here in verses 34-35 (that states women should remain quiet in the Church) by saying to the Christian Church in Corinth: “What? came the word of God out from you?” ~1st Corinthians 14:36 (KJV) Which I personally find quite the equivalent of our English statement “Who died and made you God?” He then goes on to clearly say: “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.” ~ 1st Corinthians 14:39

I could only imagine how relieved Chloe must have felt as a woman to have heard The Apostle Paul’s scroll being sent to settle this debate once and for all…

Let me close, by saying, I know there has been a lot of discussions and debate overtime on whether 1st Corinthians 14:34-35 was Authorative or not and as you search these things out (as I hope you do) I found this compelling piece below quite substantial and useful in trying to close out this long debate ourselves.

I hope you do as well. ~ Stay in Love https://www.patheos.com/…/1-corinthians-1434-35…/…