Is It Okay for A Woman to Speak Out in Classes?

By Kent Heaton

The above question was submitted to the “Suggestion Box” with concerns of the role women (children and teenagers included) have in the classes “in the church.” Two passages were cited as concern for examination: 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. This is a very good question and one important to examine without a traditional view of how it has been done in the past or how a person may view this issue. What we practice at the Trenton church must be based upon proof text of the Bible and not tradition or opinions of men. The first question considers whether it is proper for a woman to speak during class time. The second question examines the Biblical authority for women classes in the church.

Should women speak during class time? It must be understood that the “modern” arrangement of services for the church is not a Biblical pattern of necessity. In almost all of the places I have worshipped we have had Bible classes on Sunday morning; a morning service and an evening service; a Bible class on Wednesday night. On occasion, there have been other gatherings on Sunday such as singings, group meetings, special studies and Bible classes. During the week gospel meetings are held, classes conducted and so forth.

The New Testament church was instructed to meet on the first day of the week and did so by example (Acts 2:40-47; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 1 Corinthians 12-14). They followed that pattern by divine command and we seek to follow the same pattern. When we meet on the first day of the week in worship to God we fulfill the divine command. In the last century efforts have been made to expand the work of teaching the Bible to families and Bible classes were encouraged for those who wanted to attend.

Meeting on Sunday morning and Wednesday night for Bible class is an extension of the work of what the elder’s desire for the church to grow. It is not a mandatory action commanded by the Lord but a time of exhortation to learn more about the word of God. It is important to note the difference between a Bible class and the worship commanded by the Lord on the first day of the week. Worship is commanded but Bible class is an expedient. The “rules of engagement” are clearly set forth in worship and the expediency of Bible class is based upon the principles of communication between the participants. To engage in a Bible study requires communication. We find an example of a Bible study in Acts 18:24-26 when Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and “they … explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

It is proper for a woman to speak in a Bible class whether it is at home or in a classroom at the church building. The church building does not make a gathering a worship. In the process of teaching a woman there is a need to communicate and this does not go against 1 Timothy 2 nor 1 Corinthians 14. Sitting in a Bible class at the church building does not fall under the restrictions of worship.

Should the Trenton church have Bible classes? One of the tasks involved in the work of the church is “the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). This can be done in many ways and one of the ways the Trenton church seeks to edify and equip the brethren is a concentrated study of the word of God – Bible classes.

In the context of these classes, the restriction of 1 Timothy 2 applies. “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:11-12). Women cannot conduct classes that usurp the authority of the man. Participation in a class through discussion does not suggest a woman having authority over the man. If such were the case that a woman was using her place in a Bible class (whether in the church building or the home) to control the class, she would be in rebellion to God’s will. Priscilla did not usurp the authority of Aquila when “they” taught Apollos. This was not done in a worship setting but privately.

Women teaching women or children is found within the context of their role and important work within the church. Sometimes the question is raised whether a woman should teach a youth who has been baptized. Baptism makes a Christian, not a man and her role as a teacher does not usurp the role of teaching a youth the word of God.

It must also be noted the language that is used when trying to determine what can be done “in the church.” Often we say we are going “to church” when in fact we cannot “go” to church. The idea of ‘meeting in a building’ is ‘church’ is a misuse of the term church. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47) is not speaking of the building but the body of saved persons. The church is made up of people who have made a covenant with God through His Son.

When it comes to the worship on the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10) there are specific commands that must be followed. “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 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 them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church” (1 Corinthians 14:33-35). The church at Corinth was admonished to refrain from allowing the women from taking a role of authority (1 Timothy 2:11-15) and were forbidden from having a leadership role in the worship.

This command does not forbid them from singing (Ephesians 5:19) but rather the place of speaking with authority within the worship of the church. Women cannot be used in worship nor called on to lead prayers or preach. This is forbidden by the “commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37). The Bible class is not the worship service. It is a time that individuals can come together and discuss the Bible in an open forum. If the church building is used for this forum the commands of 1 Corinthians 14 are not broken no more than if the class was held in a home, school auditorium or under the oak tree.

There is another distinction that is clear from Bible class to worship. The period of time devoted to Bible class does not include the taking of the Lord’s Supper as commanded by the Lord on the first day of the week. Saints gathering on the first day of the week does not require every gathering to have the Lord’s Supper. The command to remember the sacrifice of the Lord is fulfilled on the first day of the week when the Lord’s Supper is memorialized. If the church meets again that day for a singing the Lord’s Supper is not required for the purpose of the meeting is to sing. If the church meets for Bible class in the evening the Lord’s Supper is not required for the purpose of the meeting is to study the word of God.

This shows a distinction of the purpose of the gathering. Women speaking in Bible class does not apply to 1 Corinthians 14 but can apply to 1 Timothy 2. The worship service clearly is bound by the commands of 1 Corinthians 14 which is also fortified by the teaching of 2 Timothy 2. Is it okay for a woman to speak out in class? Within the confines of decency and propriety with submission the woman may do so. If her conscience does not allow her to do so then she will be bound by her conscience. Is it correct to have women classes in the church? Only in the context of the work of the church helping the members grow in the grace of the Lord.

Conducting Bible classes is a furtherance of the work the church but does not represent the command to worship on the first day of the week. If the church met only once on Sunday for the sole purpose of worship as directed by the New Testament pattern then it has fulfilled the command of the Lord. Anything else – while beneficial in many ways – is only an expediency to carry on a further work of the church. & (Via Bible Matters)