WOMAN AND CHURCH LEADERSHIP.
According to
1CORRITHIANS 14:34, the Bible says, ‘’let
your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them for
to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is
shame for women to speak in the church. What came the world of God only from
you? Or came it unto you only. There
is an underlying truth behind this biblical injunction from Paul. The church of
Corinth was heavily blessed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Like the bible
tells us in JAMES 1:17, God does not have preference in His dispatch of good
gift. So the Corinthian women folk were heavily blessed with diverse gift. This excessive
gifting lead to insubordination from them. In most of the church’s services,
they indulged in unnecessary arguments, and claims of spiritual information. In
spite of the pastor’s effort to put them right, they refused and always claimed
that they heard the information from God. But from Paul’s spiritual judgment (1 CORINTHIANS 2:15), their claims were simply heretic. Now, let’s examine the
above claim from our text. THE SIGN OF INSUBORDINATION: ‘’but they are
commanded to be under obedience’’( verse 34c);
PRETENSE TO LEARN: ‘and if they will learn
anything, let them ask their husbands at home’’( verse 35a);
CLAIMS THAT GOD SPOKE TO THEM: ‘’what? Came
the word of God out from you? Or came it unto you only?’’
From the
above, it could be said that Paul was not against the Women hearing from God,
but they should not claim sole possession of this gift. Consequently, Paul was
clearly admonishing women to learn. They must not feel that possession of the
Holy Ghost or some Spiritual gift is an alternative to knowledge. It is an admonition
to all Christians that knowledge supersedes even spiritual gifts. It is the
ultimate. But if a woman had taken time to learn under an experience tutor,
then what stops her from teaching.
Note that Paul was not trying to introduce
man’s supremacy into Christian worship. He was only admonishing all to learn. In
1 TIMOTHY 2:11, he shows how they must learn. It reads, ‘’let the women LEARN
in silence with all subjection.’’ The learning period must be a time of
obedience and silence. And why should she learn if she is forbidden or not
allowed to teach what she had been taught. Every woman who has taken time to
learn can become a teacher herself.
WOMEN AND OPEN HEAD IN CHURCH
Many pastors
have simply taken this injunction for granted because they have become so used
to the Grace gospel. But we must not forget that the same Paul who could be
said to be the apostle of faith, the same gave this injunction. Believers must
not forget that the power of faith does not go beyond here. Faith is so
powerful that even native doctors and robbers used it to get whatever they need
from God, but on the judgment day, faith would not stand but obedience.
We must
remember that on the last day, even people who used the Name of Jesus for some
great works could get ‘I know you not’ from Christ. Samuel told Saul, to obey
is better than sacrifice (1SAMUEL 15:22). I went straight to give admonition
without first declaring my stand on this issue because I think the subject is
simple enough for every so called man of God, unless we simply claim what we
are not. Majority of pastors are not in confusion as to what the passage is all
about. The problem is purely spiritual arrogance.
For those
who don’t have clear picture of that Bible passage, let’s throw some light.
1 CORINTHIANS 11:2-16: ‘’But I would have
you know , that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of every woman is
the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having
his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or
prophsieth with her head uncorvered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all
as if she were shaven. For if a woman be not covered, let her also be shorn:
but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For
a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and
glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the
woman, but the woman of the man. Neither
was the man created for the woman but the woman for the man. For this cause
ought the woman to have power over her head because of the angels.
Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without
the man, in the Lord for as the woman is of the man, even so is the man by the woman; but all things are of God. Judge
in yourselves is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even
nature itself teach you, that, if a man has long hair, it is a shame unto him?
But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her
for a covering.’’
The apostle started by showing why the woman
should cover her head and why the man should leave his head uncovered. He said
because the head of the man is Christ, and the head of the woman, man. He did
not give clear details of the origin of the teaching, but says the only
condition why a woman would not cover her head is when the woman decides to
shave it completely, (Verse 6). The import of this is that Paul asks women to cover their HAIR and not their SKULL. So it is wrong for women to now think that their long hair would do the covering. No! Paul is saying that your so called long hair smells before God when it is not covered. Otherwise, you must shave it and appear bald skull before GOD. But in verse 15, he reasons that no woman should take the option of shaving her hair since that same hair is for her beauty outside the church. The covering is necessary for the angel’s sake (verse 10)
OHIMAI DANIEL, +234032452945
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