September 17, 2022

Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 14-15
Meditation Verses: 14:36-38

Thought

Everything Paul has written here, concerning spiritual gifts and women in the assembly, perhaps even all the book of Corinthians, all these things are commands of God, not just of Paul. For any church or group to think that they can change these things just because they don't like them or agree with them is arrogance, as if the Word of God came to them alone, as if they are the first and last and alone know what God desires. All of us who come after, all of us who live today, we are all obligated to obey the same rules. We're not free to ignore anything the Lord has written, unless we want to be charged with arrogance.

Application

What God has written concerning women speaking in the Church, or the orderly exercise of spiritual gifts, these are not open to debate. If I want to be considered spiritual, if I am close to the Spirit of God, then I too should recognize that these things are the will of God and not just random cultural things. My desire is to please God more than to please people, so I should submit myself to these things, even if they're not popular today. People do not know the truth, but are tempted by deceitful hearts to do things their own way. Indeed, God makes things challenging to the human heart in order to make it clear what faith in God looks like. It looks like obedience to God, even when all the world says such obedience is wrong.