Questions regarding the assembly and what women are and are not allowed to do…

Question: Is it wrong for a woman to read in a Bible class or study? Also, is it wrong for a

woman to make comments in a class?

Passages that specially deal with women in the assemblies:

1 Cor. 11:2-16 1 Cor. 14:34-35 1 Tim. 2:9-15

“Assembly” Jas. 2:2

“in the church”1 Cor. 14:19; Col. 4:16

“when you come together”

1 Cor. 11, 14:26

“meeting together” Heb. 10:25

“gathered together” Acts 20:7

“when you are assembled”

1 Cor. 5:4

Passages that specially deal with women in the assemblies:

1 Cor. 11:2-16 1 Cor. 14:34-35 1 Tim. 2:9-15

“Assembly” Jas. 2:2

“in the church”1 Cor. 14:19; Col. 4:16

“when you come together”

1 Cor. 11, 14:26

“meeting together” Heb. 10:25

“gathered together” Acts 20:7

“when you are assembled”

1 Cor. 5:4

“Bible Study”1 Cor. 14:34-35 1 Tim. 2:9-15

“Assembly” Jas. 2:2

“in the church”1 Cor. 14:19; Col. 4:16

“when you come together”

1 Cor. 11, 14:26

“meeting together” Heb. 10:25

“gathered together” Acts 20:7

“when you are assembled”

1 Cor. 5:4

“Worship”1 Cor. 14:34-35 1 Tim. 2:9-15

“Bible Study”1 Cor. 14:34-35 1 Tim. 2:9-15

“Assembly” Jas. 2:2

“in the church”1 Cor. 14:19; Col. 4:16

“when you come together”

1 Cor. 11, 14:26

“meeting together” Heb. 10:25

“gathered together” Acts 20:7

“when you are assembled”

1 Cor. 5:4

“Worship”1 Cor. 14:34-35 1 Tim. 2:9-15

Should 1 Cor. 14:34-35 and 1

Tim. 2:9-15 apply to both, or only

one?

Why or why not?

“Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let t h e m a s k t h e i r o w n husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.” (NKJV)

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

1 Corinthians 14:34–35

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

“women” — same word as wife, contextually, could be speaking of wives (14:35), perhaps the wives of those giving prophecy.

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

“keep silent”• “Contextually, this is a temporary renunciation of speech.”

• 1Cor. 14:28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

• 1Cor. 14:30 But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.

• cf. 1 Tim. 2:11 — the words can mean absolute silence, but does not in that context. Virtually all scholars believe that term means with a quiet spirit, quietly.

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

“in the churches”• scope clearly limited to the gathered assembly (cf. 1 Cor. 11:18)

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

“not permitted to speak”• the contrast (“but”) is with “subject themselves.” • “speak” is almost exclusively used in reference to speaking in

tongues in 1 Corinthians 12-14 (numerous times). It can also refer to prophecy or the discerning of such.

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

“to subject themselves”• all Christians are to submit to one another and the only other time

we have women submitting to men is in the context of marriage relationship

⁃ Col. 3:18   Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

⁃ Eph. 5:22   Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

⁃ Titus 2:5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands,

⁃ 1Pet. 3:1   In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

“This prohibition was directed against the arrogant leadership of some of the Corinthian women in the promotion of a fad, that of speaking in tongues. Their vigorous advocacy of it had cast them in a role of immodesty and rebellion even against their husbands, hence Paul's rule as stated here. It was this sinful usurpation of their husbands' status as head of the family which was the essence of their wrongdoing. Not so much their voices being heard in a Christian assembly, but the rejection of lawful authority, is the thing suggested by Paul's statement that the Law of Moses forbade it” (Coffman).

“The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.” (NASU)

“to learn anything” • obviously not all learning, women are to learn just as much as

anyone else in the assembly. • what ‘learning’ is in mind here?

“Let a woman learn in s i l e n c e w i t h a l l submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, b u t t o b e i n silence.” (NKJV)

“A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.” (NASU)

1 Timothy 2:11-12

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I d o n o t p e r m i t a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” (NKJV)

“A woman must quietly receive instruct ion w i t h e n t i r e submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.” (NASU)

1 Timothy 2:11-12

“Let a woman learn in s i l e n c e w i t h a l l submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” (NKJV)

“A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.” (NASU)

1 Timothy 2:11-12

God’s Commands

God’s Commands

Binding where God did not bind

Binding where God did not bind

God’s Commands

Loosing where God

did not loose

God’s CommandsWe want to be

biblical, wherever that may lead us.

The real questions here are:1. What exactly do the passages that discuss

women’s roles in the gathered assembly limit women from doing, if anything?

2. What functions of the modern assembly do those limitations apply to (if any)?

3. How do we practically respect and honor those limitations today (without binding where God did not bind or loosing where God did not loose)?

Question: Is it wrong for a woman to read in a Bible class or study? Also, is it wrong for a woman

to make comments in a class?

Answer: It depends on one’s understanding of the questions on the previous slide. It especially depends

on one’s understanding of the limitations discussed in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-12.

Whatever one’s answer, it would seem that the answer should be the same for what we call “Bible study” and

what we call “worship” since both constitute the “gathered assembly.”