Rev. Earl Jackson
The Women at Pentecost Were Not Out of Line
Some Observations by Earl Jackson
The Women at Pentecost Were Not Out of Line!
©2010 Earl Jackson
Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:16-18 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
We should all be troubled and disturbed by preachers and teachers who try to enforce Paul’s “let your women keep silence” commands, (1 Corinthians14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:12) where they does not belong. Since the scriptures do not contradict themselves, it behooves us to try to assess the fact that the women, and even Mary the mother of Jesus were present in the assembly which is sometimes considered to be the birthday of the church, and not only were they present, but when the Holy Spirit fell, he fell on all of them, male and female, sons and daughters alike, and they all prophesied and spake in tongues.
I submit to you that not one of them was out of line. They all participated, and not one of the women kept silent. They actively prophesied and spoke in tongues at the birthday of the church, and even a casual reading of the context will leave you, with the clear impression that this was the way, that it should be throughout the church age. This was the precursor event to establish normal activity patterns in the church of all time.
So, any preacher who even hints at the idea that what Paul meant when he gave commands that seem to say that women are to never open their mouths, but be forever muzzled in the assembly, and who suggest that the women at Pentecost were out of line, need to re- evaluate their interpretation and understanding of Paul’s commands. Paul did not contradict Pentecost! And Pentecost does not contradict Paul. The two agree completely. Paul was addressing women abusing the prophetic and tongues gift in Corinth, and who were operating as false prophets, and women with false gifts of tongues, who would blurt out things uncontrollably and disruptively in the church assembly. Corinth is a corrective to that kind of abuse. First Timothy, on the other hand corrects a different kind of abuse…women who were usurping authority over men…ie women who were trying to be pastors.
Neither of these passages contradict Pentecost, or the manifestations of the Holy Spirit operating, as it did at Pentecost, in any period of church history. Pentecost is the norm and standard. Paul’s correctives are of limited application.
So preacher, if you teach that women are to be muzzled in the assembly, you are teaching heresy. A half truth is always a whole lie.
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