Someone placed in the Suggestion Box two questions concerning the role women (children and teenagers included) play in the church's Bible classes. The query cited two passages--1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35--for examination. This is an excellent question which it is important to consider with open minds-that is, without regard to traditional or personal views. We must base what we practice at the Trenton church upon Bible proof text, not on tradition or opinions. The first question asks whether it is proper for a woman to speak during the church's Bible classes. The second requests consideration of Biblical authority for the church to have women's classes.

Should women speak during class time? It must be understood that there is not a Biblical pattern that necessitates the modern arrangement of the church's services. In almost all of the places I have worshipped, we have had Sunday morning Bible classes, a Sunday morning service, a Sunday evening service, and Wednesday evening Bible classes. On occasion, there have been other Sunday gatherings--singings, group meetings, special studies, and Bible classes. During the week, most churches hold gospel meetings, conduct classes, and so forth.

The New Testament church was instructed to meet on the first day of the week, and we have examples of their doing so (Acts 2:40-47; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 1 Corinthians 12-14). The early Christians followed a pattern given by divine command, and we seek to follow the same pattern. When we meet on the first day of the week to worship God, we obey the same divine command. During the past century, the churches have endeavored to expand the work of teaching the Bible to members and their families; thus, they have instituted and encouraged Bible classes for those who wanted to attend.

Meeting for Sunday morning and Wednesday night Bible classes is an extension of the work under the elders' authority to enable the church to grow. It is not a mandatory action commanded by the Lord but a time of exhortation to learn more about God's word. It is important to note the difference between a Bible class and the worship in which the Lord commanded us to participate on the first day of the week. He commanded us to worship, but a Bible class is expedient. The rules of engagement for worship are clearly set forth, and the expediency of Bible class is based on the principles of communication among the participants. Engaging in a Bible study requires communication. We find an example of a Bible study in Acts 18:24-26;-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 during a Bible class, whether that class is in a home or in a classroom at the church building. The church building does not make a gathering a worship service. In the process of teaching a woman, there is a need to communicate; this does not go against 1 Timothy 2 or 1 Corinthians 14. A Bible class at the church building does not fall under the restrictions God placed on worship.

Should the local 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 used by local churches to edify and equip the brethren is the organized, concentrated study of God's word--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 and thereby usurp the men's authority. Class participation, through discussion, does not suggest that a woman has authority over the men. If a woman were to use her right to speak during a Bible class (whether in the church building or at home) to control the class, she would be rebelling against God's will. Priscilla did not usurp Aquila's authority when "they" taught Apollos. They did this privately, not in a worship setting.

Women teaching other women or children resides within the context of the woman's role and is important work within the church. People sometimes raise a question regarding whether a woman should teach a youth who has been baptized. Baptism makes a Christian, not a man, and her role in teaching God's word to a youth does not usurp a man's authority.

We need also to note the language we use in our attempts to determine what we can do in the church. We often say we are going "to church," when in fact we cannot go to church. The idea that 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 a building, but the body of saved persons. The church consists 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), we must follow specific commands. "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) Paul admonished the church at Corinth to refrain from allowing the women to take roles of authority (1 Timothy 2:11-15) and forbade their having leadership roles in the worship.

This command does not forbid their singing (Ephesians 5:19); rather, it forbids them to speak with authority during the church's worship. The church cannot use women in worship or call on them 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 when individuals come together to discuss the Bible in an open forum. Using the church building for this forum does not break the commands in 1 Corinthians 14 any more than if they held the class in a home, a school auditorium, or under an oak tree.

There is another clear distinction between Bible class and worship. The time period devoted to Bible class does not include taking the Lord's Supper as the Lord commanded us to do on the first day of the week. Every first-day gathering of saints does not require the offering of the Lord's Supper. When the church memorializes the Lord's Supper, it fulfills the command to remember the Lord's sacrifice on the first day of the week. If the church meets again that day for a singing, the Lord's Supper is not required; 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; the purpose of the meeting is to study God's word.

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

Conducting Bible classes is a furtherance of the church's work, but such work is not included in the command to worship on the first day of the week. If the church meets only once on Sunday, for the sole purpose of worship as directed by the New Testament pattern, then it has fulfilled the Lord's command. Anything else-although beneficial in many ways-is only an expediency to carry on a further work of the church.

Brother Heaton has done a good job of addressing a question with which many have difficulty. Before moving to Ohio, I was unaware that some had objections to ladies speaking in Bible classes and teaching children. When I learned that the area churches were divided on this subject, I set out to study the issue and the passages that BOTH groups use to defend their positions.

I find it telling that both groups use the same passages-1 Corinthians 14:34, 35 and 1 Timothy 2:11, 12-- to defend their different positions. What I've come to recognize as the real problem is understanding the subject matter under consideration in both texts. That subject matter is authority-not teaching per se. Paul was dealing with the subject of authority and the different roles of men and woman in the church. Brother Heaton has correctly shown the differences between the worship service and Bible class settings. Women cannot assume leadership roles over men in the local church. Do they violate that restriction by reading God's word or answering a question? No, they do not.

I know ladies who have deep convictions regarding this subject. This is acceptable as long as they don't attempt to bind their convictions on others. Some refuse to accept the true meanings of the words silence and usurp but want to supply their own definitions. They are failing to handle the word of God rightly. My study reveals that the Bible does not say a woman cannot speak in a Bible class setting, but she cannot exercise authority over a man without violating God's word. There will be more on this subject at a later time. (KMG)