I Corinthians 14:34  Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
35  And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
36  What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
37  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
38  But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
39  Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
40  Let all things be done decently and in order.

God’s Word teaches a patriarchal order. God is the Father. He is not father/mother. He is Father. God created Adam first and then he took a rib from Adam to make the woman. He brought the woman to Adam and he named her Eve. Man does not own the woman, but she is to be the help meet for him. She cannot be that help if she tries to usurp his place as the head of the home and in the church and in society.
We cannot take our direction from our governments or other secular organizations. Paul has just stated that God is not the author of confusion. He was then directed to address the place of women in the local church. Apparently another abuse taking place in the church in Corinth was that the women were getting up and either debating things men were saying, or they were seeking to teach. It is possible that they were also getting up and trying to show their spirituality by speaking in a tongue or possibly prophesying.
The apostle Paul reminded the saints that it is not permitted for women to speak in the churches. He stated that they are commanded to be under obedience. He reminded the saints that the law stated this to be so. He was likely referring back to God’s order as stated in Genesis 3:16.

Genesis 3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

The woman was never designed to act independently. As we have already noted, she was created to be the help meet for her husband. In verse 35 Paul further explained that if the woman wants to learn anything, she should ask her husband at home. The husband was to be more knowledgeable of the Scriptures. He was to be involved in public and personal Bible study. He was to make it part of his business to know the Word of God. Of course this would imply that he needed to be a saved man. This is not a matter of keeping the wife dumb so that she will not assert herself. Obviously God wants the women to know the truth as well. The place for her to ask questions was at home. She should attend the church services, but she was not to ask questions there.
Paul further stated that it was a shame for women to speak in the church. Today there are men who accept women preachers. There are men who allow women to teach men in the local church. The Bible teaches that the older women are to teach the younger women to be obedient to their own husbands and to be keepers at home. If God blesses the home with children, the wife/mother should be at home looking after the home and the children. They should not send the children off to daycare so that they can go and get a job. The husband is to be the bread winner. He is to provide for his family. He is also to lead in the spiritual health of the family.
In too many homes, the wife is the spiritual leader in the home. The man may be the bread winner but he leaves the spiritual leadership to his wife. This is not Biblical. The wife will have many opportunities to teach the children during the day, as the husband is out working. She has much work to do in the house.
In verse 36 Paul was directed to address a defiant attitude that existed in the church. There were those who assumed that the Word of God came from them. They assumed a higher position than that of the apostle Paul. These people were proud and out of line.
In verse 37 Paul challenged those men who assumed they were prophets or spiritual. If they were truly spiritual men and called of God to speak publicly, then they would acknowledge that what he was telling them was the commandments of the Lord. There would be no disagreement with what Paul was teaching. The same would be true today. If someone assumes they have been called of God to give leadership in the local church, then they must acknowledge that what God has said here is true and right.
There would be no confusion in the church if God’s order was upheld. A person should be able to read the Word of God and see what It says being taught in the true local church. There are saints who are frustrated with what they have seen in local churches and they have decided that there is no good church in their area and they stay home. They might tune in to some online services, but they are greatly lacking in the blessings of true fellowship. Their soul and spirit will not be content to remain in that place. You cannot minister to the needs of others if you are not a part of a true local church. That is God’s design.
In verse 38 Paul warned that those who disagreed with what he was writing, were ignorant. They chose to defy God’s order. Paul was not going to waste his time arguing with such people. God’s word is clear. It needs to be taught faithfully. If a man is not understanding something, then he needs to talk to the pastor and get clarity on that issue. If he just wants to argue, there is no room for that in a true local church. God’s way is always the right way.
In verse 39 the challenge is to seek to prophesy. The word “prophesy” here is to preach. There is still a great need for sound Bible preachers today. There was also a need for people to speak in other languages. That was a need then and still is today. There are evangelists that go to other countries and they spend years learning the language in order to minister to the spiritual needs of the people. God wants all people to know Him. That will require those who know Him to be willing to go to areas where more people do not know Him, with the intent of teaching the local people the truth.
In verse 40 we see that everything must be done decently and in order. There should be no need for a person to attend a local church and leave confused because he witnessed things happening that are not in agreement with God’s Word. The confusion is when some leader chooses to go against God’s Word.
The pastor of the local church is to keep order in the church. He is not a dictator. He is not a self-made man. He is a humble servant of the Lord and in his capacity as a pastor, he is to be the “watchman” in the local church. He is to teach the truth and guard against heresies. That is what Paul taught the elders of the church in Ephesus. The pastor needs to be aware of what discussions are taking place in his church. He needs to be the head of the local church. He is under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not here and the pastor is called upon by Him to uphold the Word of God.

Jude 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

The pastor is accountable for what he teaches and for what he permits in the local church. He may have others to help him with that work, but whoever is the main pastor, needs to be aware of all that is happening in the local church. There can be a group of “elders” which are also pastors. However, someone needs to be the lead pastor. Someone needs to be assigned to be the final human authority in a local church.
That seems to have been the problem in Corinth. There did not seem to be any person there that was in charge. It was a free for all and it was a mess. The apostle Paul was faithful in writing this letter. The saints needed to take heed to what was written. They would be held accountable for what they believed. The same is true today. The local pastor is in charge, and the saints attending a particular church need to be in obedience with the will of God.
Pastor Bartel