Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [1 Corinthians: Chapter 14].
dierm•neut•s\). Third class condition. Earliest known instance
and possibly made by Paul from verb in verse 27. Reappears in
Byzantine grammarians. {Keep silence in church} (\sigat• en
ekkl•si•i\). Linear action (present active imperative). He is not
even to speak in a tongue once. He can indulge his private
ecstasy with God.
14:29 {By two or three} (\duo • treis\). No \kata\ here as in
verse 27. Let two or three prophets speak. {Let the others
discern} (\hoi alloi diakrinet•san\). Whether what is said is
really of the Spirit. Cf. 12:10 \diakriseis pneumat•n\.
14:30 {Let the first keep silence} (\ho pr•tos sigat•\). To give
the next one a chance.
14:31 {One by one} (\kath' ena\). Regular idiom.
14:32 {The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets}
(\pneumata proph•t•n proph•tais hupotassetai\). A principle that
some had forgotten.
14:33 {Not of confusion} (\ou--katastasias\). God is not a God of
disorder, but of peace. We need this reminder today. {As in all
the churches of the saints} (\h•s en pasais tais ekkl•siais t•n
hagi•n\). Orderly reverence is a mark of the churches. This is a
proper conclusion of his argument as in 11:16.
14:34 {Keep silence in the churches} (\en tais ekkl•siais
sigat•san\). The same verb used about the disorders caused by
speakers in tongues (verse 28) and prophets (30). For some
reason some of the women were creating disturbance in the public
worship by their dress (11:2-16) and now by their speech. There
is no doubt at all as to Paul's meaning here. In church the women
are not allowed to speak (\lalein\) nor even to ask questions.
They are to do that {at home} (\en oik•i\). He calls it a shame
(\aischron\) as in 11:6 (cf. Eph 5:12; Tit 1:11). Certainly
women are still in subjection (\hupotassesth•san\) to their
husbands (or ought to be). But somehow modern Christians have
concluded that Paul's commands on this subject, even 1Ti 2:12,
were meant for specific conditions that do not apply wholly now.
Women do most of the teaching in our Sunday schools today. It is
not easy to draw the line. The daughters of Philip were
prophetesses. It seems clear that we need to be patient with each
other as we try to understand Paul's real meaning here.
http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson_at/wordpictures/htm/1CO14.RWP.html (5 of 6) [28/08/2004 09:11:58 a.m.]