1 Corinthians 14:33

1Co_14:33

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.

A God, not of confusion, but of peace

True religion teaches us to refer all questions to the highest tribunal, and to ask, not merely, What is agreeable and expedient? but what is the will of God? At Corinth many disorders had arisen, and there were many reasons why they should not be. But here is the highest. Christians are the servants of God, who is not the author of confusion, etc. This is apparent from--

I. His work as Creator. The more nature is studied the more clearly order is seen to be heavens first law. Indeed scientists affirm the universal presence of law, and to those who believe in a Lawgiver the regularity with which the processes of nature are conducted is an evidence of the working of mind, and that in accordance with the highest reason.

II. His method in revelation. The Scriptures unfold a plan gradually and regularly, according to a scheme of which the profound wisdom is apparent, although not fully, to a created mind. The truth was revealed first to a family, then to a nation, then to a race. The law was given by Moses, etc. The Bible is a marvellously organic whole; in its diversity is discernible a unity which only a Divine mind could impart.

III. The work of redemption. The whole motive of the economy of grace was to reduce the confusion which had invaded sinful humanity to order. To hush the moral discord was the purpose contemplated by the Incarnation and the Cross.

IV. The institution of civil society. Social and political life are attributed in the New Testament to God the Giver of all good. Jesus bade His disciples render to Caesar, etc., and Paul enjoined the duty of loyalty inasmuch as the powers that be are ordained of God.

V. The constitution and government of Christian Churches. Is it credible that the God in all whose ways order is so apparent should reverse His procedure in that realm which is the highest of all? Christ appointed apostles; apostles constituted churches, ordained their officers, and gave instructions for worship, business, and charity. Confusion here, therefore, is to be traced to human folly. In proportion as the Spirit of Christ lives and works in any society will subordination, co-operation, and unity prevail. (Prof. J. R. Thomson.)

God the author, not of confusion, but of Peace

I. God is the author of peace. Witness His operations--

1. In nature.

2. The human heart.

3. Society.

II. Consequently confusion cannot be the work of His Spirit.

1. It may accidentally be associated with it.

2. But arises from human defect, the want of--

(1) Self-control (1Co_14:32).

(2) Intelligent piety (1Co_14:20).

(3) Profounder acquaintance with the God of peace.

III. It follows that confusion should have no place in the Church.

1. Passion should give way to peace.

2. Confusion to edification. (J. Lyth, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. And that such claims of being moved by the divine Spirit to disorder are false, is clear from this solemn fact, that God is not the author of confusion. The Greek word for confusion often signifies the political tumults of cities, and here indicates that there had been very decided disorders in Corinthian assemblies.

As in all Churches—Here, as in 1Co_11:16, Paul finishes by nailing fast his directions with the authority of the Churches of the then small Christendom. This precedent shows the incorrectness of later scholars, who, in opposition to all ancient authority, bring this clause to begin the following paragraph, making it read: “As in all the Churches of the saints let your women keep silence in the Churches.” The jingle of the double use of Churches, here, is offensive; which Dr. Hodge covers up, but does not remove, by illegitimately translating: “As is the case in all other Christian Churches, let your women keep silence in the public assemblies.” Some of the old commentators have thought necessary to insert “I teach” after as, but it is the authority of the Churches, not his own teaching in them, that Paul intends to adduce. No additional words are needed to be understood. The as, taking into its grasp 1Co_14:33, necessarily includes under one glance all the laws laid down by Paul for the Corinthian Church, under the great maxim that God is author of order alone, and places them under the sanction of the then Catholic Church. It unquestionably so lay in the apostle’s own mind.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 14:33. Ὡς, as) This concluding clause is very like that of the next portion, 1Co 14:36.[129]

[129] In both alike there is an appeal to the usage of other churches.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_14:33. Establishment of 1Co_14:32 on religious grounds. For how could God have appointed it otherwise, seeing that by Him is produced not confusion (as would be the case if every prophet had to speak on involuntarily), but peace! Comp. Rom_15:33; Rom_16:20; Php_4:9; 1Th_5:23. The antithesis is correct, for the ἀκαταστασία would bring with it a jealous and unyielding disposition.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 14:33 . The apophthegm of 1Co 14:32 exemplifies the universal principle of order in God’s works; cf. the deduction drawn in 1Co 11:3 . God’s gift of the Spirit submits itself to the receiver’s will, through whose direction its exercise is brought into regulated and edifying use: “For God is not (a God) of disorder (or seditionis , Cv [2167] ), but of peace”. To suppose that God inspires His prophets to speak two or three at a time, to make a tumult in the Church and refuse control, would be to suppose Him the author of confusion, of chaos instead of cosmos. ἀκαταστασία (see parls.) is a word of the LXX and later Gr [2168] , denoting civil disorder or mutiny; it recalls the σχίσματα and ἔριδες of 1Co 1:10 f., 1Co 11:18 f., to which emulation in the display of spiritual powers seems to have contributed. “As it is in all the Churches of the saints”: in evidence of the “peace” which God confers on human society, P. can point to the conduct of Church meetings in all other Christian communities a feature proper to “assemblies of the saints ”. Here is a final and solemn reason why the prophets of Cor [2169] should practise self-control and mutual deference: cf. 1Co 11:16 ; also 1Co 1:2 b , and note; 1Co 16:1 . On the connexion of the ὡς clause, see Ed [2170] or El [2171] W.H [2172] attach it to 1Co 14:31 , regarding 1Co 14:32-33 a as a parenthesis; but this breaks the continuity of 1Co 14:31-32 ; nor does it appear that “all the churches” had the superabundance of prophets that necessitated the restrictions imposed in 1Co 14:29-31 . Other leading editors (Tisch., Mr [2173] , Hn [2174] , Hf [2175] , Bt [2176] , Gd [2177] ) link this qualification to the following context; but it comes in clumsily before the impv [2178] of 1Co 14:34 , and the repetition of ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις is particularly awkward. On the other hand, the ref [2179] to the example of the other Churches appropriately concludes the Apostle’s appeals on the weighty subject, of universal interest, which has occupied him throughout this chapter.

[2167] Calvin’s In Nov. Testamentum Commentarii .

[2168] Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.

[2169] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[2170] T. C. Edwards’ Commentary on the First Ep. to the Corinthians . 2

[2171] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians .

[2172] Westcott and Hort’s The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

[2173] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).

[2174] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklärung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).

[2175] J. C. K. von Hofmann’s Die heilige Schrift N.T. untersucht , ii. 2 (2te Auflage, 1874).

[2176] J. A. Beet’s St. Paul’s Epp. to the Corinthians (1882).

[2177] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. Ép. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).

[2178] imperative mood.

[2179] reference.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_14:33

For God is not (the author) of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

This is the reason why the spirits of the prophets must be assumed to be subject to the prophets. They are from God; but God is not a God of disorder or of commotion, but of peace. Therefore every spirit which is from him, must be capable of control. He never impels men to act contrary to the principles which he has ordained. If he wills order to prevail in the church, he never impels men to be disorderly. This is a truth of wide application. When men pretend to be influenced by the Spirit of God in doing what God forbids, whether in disturbing the peace and order of the church, by insubordination, violence or abuse, or in any other way, we may be sure that they are either deluded or impostors.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In all the churches of the saints God is a God of peace; let Him not among you be supposed to be a God of confusion [ALFORD]. Compare the same argument in Co1 11:16. LACHMANN and others put a full stop at "peace," and connect the following words thus: "As in all churches of the saints, let your women keep silence in your churches."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 33. For God is not the author of confusion] Let not the persons who act in the congregation in this disorderly manner, say, that they are under the influence of God; for he is not the author of confusion; but two, three, or more, praying or teaching in the same place, at the same time, is confusion; and God is not the author of such work; and let men beware how they attribute such disorder to the God of order and peace. The apostle calls such conduct ακαταστασια, tumult, sedition; and such it is in the sight of God, and in the sight of all good men. How often is a work of God marred and discredited by the folly of men! for nature will always, and Satan too, mingle themselves as far as they can in the genuine work of the Spirit, in order to discredit and destroy it. Nevertheless, in great revivals of religion it is almost impossible to prevent wild-fire from getting in amongst the true fire; but it is the duty of the ministers of God to watch against and prudently check this; but if themselves encourage it, then there will be confusion and every evil work.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. For God is not of confusion. We must understand the word Author, or some term of that kind. Here we have a most valuable statement, by which we are taught, that we do not serve God unless in the event of our being lovers of peace, and eager to promote it. Whenever, therefore, there is a disposition to quarrel, there, it is certain, God does not reign. And how easy it is to say this! How very generally all have it in their mouths! Yet, in the meantime, the most of persons fly into a rage about nothing, or they trouble the Church, from a desire that they may, by some means, rise into view, and may seem to be somewhat. (Galatians 2:6.)

Let us, therefore, bear in mind, that, in judging as to the servants of Christ, this mark must be kept in view — whether or not they aim at peace and concord, and, by conducting themselves peaceably, avoid contentions to the utmost of their power, provided, however, we understand by this a peace of which the truth of God is the bond. For if we are called to contend against wicked doctrines, even though heaven and earth should come together, we must, nevertheless, persevere in the contest. We must, indeed, in the first place, make it our aim, that the truth of God may, without contention, maintain its ground; but if the wicked resist, we must set our face against them, and have no fear, lest the blame of the disturbances should be laid to our charge. For accursed is that peace of which revolt from God is the bond, and blessed are those contentions by which it is necessary to maintain the kingdom of Christ.

As in all the Churches. The comparison does not refer merely to what was said immediately before, but to the whole of the foregoing representation. “I have hitherto enjoined upon you nothing that is not observed in all the Churches, and, in this manner, they are maintained in peace. Let it be your care, therefore, to borrow, what other Churches have found by experience to be salutary, and most profitable for maintaining peace.” His explicit mention of the term saints is emphatic — as if with the view of exempting rightly constituted Churches from a mark of disgrace.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(33) For God is not the author of confusion.—Better, For God is the God, not of confusion, but of peace. The Church is the Church of God, and should bear on it the moral image of its King: there should be order, therefore, not confusion, in their assemblies.

As in all churches of the saints.—It is best to make these words read as the commencement of the next subject, thus:—As in all the churches of the saints, let the women keep silence in the churches. At Corinth one evil of neglecting the principles of order just laid down was that women spoke in the public assemblies. This was not the custom in any other churches, therefore the example of other churches was against such a practice.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace] Confusion; literally, unsettlement. Cf. St Jas_3:16. Also St Luk_21:9, where the word is rendered commotion. As in the natural, so in the moral and spiritual world, God is a God of order. The forces of nature operate by laws which are implicitly obeyed. If it be otherwise in the moral and spiritual world, God is not the author of the confusion, but man, who has opposed himself to His Will.

as in all churches of the saints] It is a question whether these words belong to what goes before or what follows. If to what goes before, it would seem as though a hint was intended that these disorders were peculiar to the Corinthian Church. If to what follows, it is a repetition of the argument in ch. 1Co_7:17, 1Co_11:16, and it would then appear that the Apostle had especial reason to fear insubordination on the question of the position of woman in the Christian assembly, and that he therefore fortifies his own authority by an appeal to the universal custom of the Church of Christ.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if they will learn anything,.... If they are desirous of learning anything in relation to doctrine, duty, or discipline, and of improving their knowledge of divine things, which is very commendable in them; if any difficulty arises in their minds whilst hearing the word, which they want to have removed, or any question to ask for information sake,

let them ask their husbands at home; privately, when retired from the public assembly; for though men might ask one another concerning this, and the other point, in the church, as was usual in the synagogue worship, to which this church at Corinth in many things conformed; yet women were not allowed this freedom, and even in things which belonged to women to do; as for instance, making the cake of the first of their dough, which was to be an heave offering to the Lord, the men were to teach the women at home how, and when to separate it from the rest (d). So the apostle directs women, when they wanted to be informed about any point, to apply to their husbands at their own houses, if they were such as were capable of instructing them; if not, they might apply to other men that were Christian men, and men of knowledge, especially to the prophets, pastors, and teachers of the church, at their habitations:

for it is a shame for women to speak in the church; it is a shame to themselves, as being contrary to the natural modesty and bashfulness of the sex, and a shame to the church, to the non-members of it, and especially to the elders, and more experienced part of it, to be taught and directed by a woman; it is a disgrace to herself and sex, as betraying uncommon pride and vanity, and an unnatural boldness and confidence; and a disgrace to the church to be under such a ministry and conduct.

(d) Bartenora in Misn. Challa, c. 3. sect. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Ver. 33. Not the author of confusion] Nec author, nec fautor. Unquiet spirits are of the devil, who keeps ado, and fills the Church with confusion by his turbulent agents and emissaries, sowing sedition and spreading schisms.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

God is not the author of confusion - Margin, “Tumult,” or “unquietness.” His religion cannot tend to produce disorder. He is the God of peace; and his religion will tend to promote order. It is calm, peaceful, thoughtful. It is not boisterous and disorderly.

As in all churches of the saints - As was everywhere apparent in the churches. Paul here appeals to them, and says that this was the fact wherever the true religion was spread, that it tended to produce peace and order. This is as true now as it was then. And we may learn, therefore:

(1) That where there is disorder, there is little religion. Religion does not produce it; and the tendency of tumult and confusion is to drive religion away.

(2) True religion will not lead to tumult, to outcries, or to irregularity. It will not prompt many to speak or pray at once; nor will it justify tumultuous and noisy assemblages.

(3) Christians should regard God as the author of peace. They should always in the sanctuary demean themselves in a reverent manner, and with such decorum as becomes people when they are in the presence of a holy and pure God, and engaged in his worship.

(4) All those pretended conversions, however sudden and striking they may be, which are attended with disorder, and confusion, and public outcries, are to be suspected. Such excitement may be connected with genuine piety, but it is no part of pure religion. That is calm, serious, orderly, heavenly. No person who is under its influence is disposed to engage in scenes of confusion and disorder. Grateful he may be, and he may and will express his gratitude; prayerful he will be, and he will pray; anxious for others he will be, and he will express that anxiety; but it will be with seriousness, tenderness, love; with a desire for the order of God’s house, and not with a desire to break in upon and disturb all the solemnities of public worship.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Here he showeth the principle upon which he said, that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets: what any prophets speak is not so certain, or at least not more certain, than this, that nothing which is

confusion can be from God. Now, for two or three to speak together in a public assembly, is a confusion, and a breach of order, of which God cannot be the author: therefore, in such a thing as that, the spirits of the prophets must be subject to other prophets; and there is a general rule which concerneth not only the church of Corinth, but all churches.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Of confusion. The word is rendered "commotion in Luk_21:9; "tumult," in 2Co_6:5 and 12:20. "Confusion" is, as St. James says, (Jam_3:16) the result of envious and pushing Egotism. but of peace; which cannot coexist with inflation and restlessness. As in all Churches of the saints. The clause probably belongs to this verse, not to the following. It is a reflection on the exceptional turbulence and disorder which disgraced the Corinthian Church.

Vers. 33-40. Concluding views.

If edification was to be the rule of conduct in everything, it is plain that the prophets must govern themselves. No matter how sincere and truthful their zeal, or how honest and excellent their purpose, feelings, and even the best feelings, must be held under firm restraint. They had this power, and it was from God; for he is "not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all Churches of the saints." St. Paul directs further that "women keep silence in the Churches." If the Corinthians objected to this injunction, what right had they so to do? Usage in the Christian community as a whole was to be observed; local peculiarities offensive to the spirit and tastes of the body of Christ were not to be indulged. How could they claim exemption from a rule recognized everywhere? Were they the original Church? or did their position warrant any exclusive customs at variance with established custom? To enforce this view and the argument in the chapter, he asserts in the strongest manner that he spoke from Divine inspiration. "No more direct assertion of inspiration can be uttered than this" (Alford). If any one deny this inspiration, no controversy must be had with him. "Let him be ignorant," and, perchance, he may be self convicted of his error. Then the idea which has been so prominent in his mind is introduced again in the words, "covet to prophesy." Had he not made good its claim to a preeminent excellence? By the concurrent "Amen" of approval and sympathy, by his own special delight in this gift, by the manliness connected with its exercise, by the effect on spectators, by the capacity of self government which accompanied its activity and the culture given to volition and feeling, he exhorts his brethren to desire fervently this means of usefulness. What a momentum has the argument acquired before it comes to a close! Vapours rise from large tracts of territory, float in the air, run together, condense in clouds, and then descend in fruitful blessing to the fields. Far inland a stream begins its flow, gathers rivulets and creeks into its channel, and, before it reaches the ocean, has drained half a continent. St. Paul omits nothing essential to the greatness of his argument. From the Hebrew Scriptures, from musical instruments, from the "many kinds of voices in the world," from the laws of the human mind in respect to the difference between "spirit" and "understanding," he has drawn materials to enlarge and vivify the presentation of his doctrine. In other connections (Ro 12 Eph 4) we find him urging substantially the same view, pressing on the conscience and heart of the Church the individuality of gifts, and, at the same time, showing their worthlessness unless blended in unity. The most truly gifted, the most nobly endowed man, is portrayed in this chapter with singular distinctness, and this man is the prophet. Yet, he adds, "forbid not to speak with tongues;" let them be regulated, not discarded a lesson widely applicable in the management of Church affairs. A genuine orthodoxy is always tolerant, charitable, and heartily disposed to make much allowance for idiosyncrasies in others. Many persons are content with love in their hearts. Intellect is left to itself. But the really orthodox man is a Christian in his method of thinking, and in many a thing not to his liking, ay, repellent to his tastes and sensibilities he makes a special point to remember the "forbid not." The last constituent of a man to feel the thoroughly subduing grace of God is the intellect. Often when the animal nature has been conquered, often when the coarser struggles of life are all over, this besetment of dogmatic and tryannical intellect remains as the final entrenchment of evil. Orthodoxy is an admirable thing. It is beautiful and even glorious to feel the oneness of our beliefs with the greatest and best thinkers of the Church; but if truth of thought be exaggerated at the expense of truth of feeling and truth in external relations, it is truth despoiled of its supreme charm, and therefore the wisdom of the "forbid not." One who knows that be shall live for ever must needs feel, if he is a cultivated man, that a long past is not simply at his back, but is a part of himself, and that the parentage of much of the wisest and best in his soul lies in ancient years. Sympathy with the past is a foremost element in a charitable intellect. And he has also a keen fellow-feeling with forms of belief current in his own times. The sense of immortality widens his embrace of the present, and the "forbid not" is a welcomed dissuasive when he is tempted to the most disagreeable and pernicious form of vanity, viz. self insistence. Only one thing remains for the apostle to say on the topic that has elicited so much wisdom and fervour from his soul: "Let all things be done decently and in order." And, doubtless, it commended him to the trim minded among the Corinthians as it has done ever since, that he should be so considerate of behaviour. There is an art of Christian behaviour, and St. Paul would have us make a conscience of it, and not leave it to mere taste and sentiment. It is net a distant and impracticable ideal. It is not the possibility of a few. But it is simply a cultivated sense of decency and order, and as such within the reach of all. L.

A God, not of confusion, but of peace.

True religion teaches us to refer all questions to the highest tribunal, and to ask, not merely What is agreeable and expedient? but What is the will of God? At Corinth many disorders had arisen; men spake with tongues and without interpreters, two or three prophesied at the same time, women appeared unveiled and spoke in the assemblies. Now, there were many reasons why such things should not be. But in this verse St. Paul adduces the highest of all reasons. Christians are the servants of God, and God is the God, not of confusion, but of peace; his people, therefore, should banish from their assemblies all that conflicts with the nature and the ways of their supreme Lord.

I THAT GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION, BUT OF PEACE, IS APPARENT FROM HIS WORK AS A CREATOR. The more nature is studied the more does it become apparent that it is the workmanship of an Intelligence proceeding according to order. "Order is Heaven"s first law." Indeed, men of science affirm the universal presence of law through the whole realm of nature. By law they mean uniformity; and to those who believe in a Lawgiver the regularity with which the processes of nature are conducted is an evidence of the working of mind, and mind acting in accordance with the highest reason.

II AND FROM HIS METHOD IN REVELATION. He who studies the Scriptures as a whole is struck with this that they unfold a plan, unfold it gradually and regularly, according to a scheme of which the profound wisdom is apparent, although not fully apparent to a creature mind. The truth was revealed first to a family, then to a nation, then to a race. "The Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The Bible is a marvellously organic whole; in its diversity is discernible a unity and harmony which only a Divine mind could impart.

III AND FROM THE WORK OF REDEMPTION. The whole motive of the economy of grace was to avert the confusion which had invaded, and threatened to overwhelm, this sinful humanity. To hush the moral discord, to introduce peace on earth, such was the lofty purpose contemplated and fulfilled in the incarnation and the sacrifice of the Son of God.

IV AND FROM THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY. It is observable that social and political life are in the New Testament frequently attributed to God, the Author and Giver of all good. Jesus himself bade his disciples "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar"s." And Paul taught that "the powers that be are ordained of God," enjoining loyalty and submission as a Christian duty.

V AND FROM THE CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. Is it credible that the God in all whose ways order is so apparent, who, in the several spheres accessible to our observation, proceeds upon methods of regularity, and harmonizes all forces to fulfil his commands, should reverse his procedure in that realm which is the highest and noblest of all? Is Divine order to be confined to the physical and political spheres, and banished from the Church? It cannot be, and it is not so. Christ appointed and authorized apostles; apostles constituted Churches, ordained officers of various kinds and grades, and gave instructions for the conduct of worship, of business, of charity. If then, there be confusion, in any professedly Christian community, that confusion is traceable, not to Divine wisdom, but to human folly. In proportion as the Spirit of Christ lives and works in any society, in that proportion will subordination, cooperation, peace, and unity prosper and prevail. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” I have frequently seen great demonstrations, especially in the early period of the Holiness Movement, when God used my humble instrumentality to pioneer the work from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mexican border. Then it was new and impetuous, like a river leaping from his mountain source with awful roar, foam and demonstration; but after rolling on hundreds of miles, joined by many tributaries, he deepens and broadens into a mighty arm of the sea, bearing on his heaving bosom the commerce of many nations. So the Holiness Movement, at first impetuous and uproarious, is now broadening over the whole world, and exploring the deep mysteries of God’s Word and Spirit in the latent experiences wrought by the silent lightning in the deep interior of the subterranean regions of the fallen human spirit; thus moving on in silent majesty to conquer the world for Christ and bring back the King of Glory. Twenty years ago I frequently found it necessary to bring on the incorrigible people in my revivals these wholesome Pauline restrictions, otherwise they would shout so that my voice could not be heard, acquiescing in the conclusion that they could not help it. Under these circumstances I have frequently quoted this verse, “The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” “So now please keep your hallelujahs on the inside till I preach to these people, then you can turn loose again if you want to.” So gospel history repeats itself. I have frequently known the showers fall so copiously during the introductory service that when the time arrived for me to preach the roar of fifty people preaching at once without stopping simply forced me to utilize this Scripture, telling them that God’s order required them to be silent while I preached to the multitude who had been attracted thither by the Pentecostal uproar and were going fast down to death, the Lord in mercy giving us and them that precious opportunity to save them from Hell. “So in all the churches of the saints, let the women be silent in the churches; for it is not permitted them to gabble, but let them be subordinate, as truly the law says.” This is simply a continuation of the Pauline strictures on the disorders prevalent in the Corinthian church, resultant from this incorrigible enthusiasm after the deep things of God, which certainly was highly commendable within itself, but by no means out of harmony with the order necessary to mutual edification. It is a well- known fact that the heathens never did, neither do they now, educate their women. While the Greeks were at the very top of the world’s learning, it was confined to the men. The gospel, new and strange to those people so recently converted out of heathenism, and especially when so wonderfully augmented and intensified by those powerful spiritual gifts, filling the women as well as the men with a flaming zeal to catch and remember every word as enunciated by the speaker, we are not surprised that the wives, sitting by their husbands, ever and anon spoke to them, asking information about what the preacher was saying. The Greek word here used justifies this conclusion. Legein means “to deliver a discourse,” eipen “to speak in conversation,” while lalein, the word here used, is from the Greek root lal which means “baby-talk,” as the baby in his first efforts says, “lal,” “lal.” Hence the first meaning of this word given by the dictionary is “to gabble,” i. e., speak in an undertone.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace . [Since those who spoke with tongues were not understood, they could all speak at once without any loss. Thus confusion was fostered and encouraged, and those who came with other contributions to the service, such, as psalms, teachings, revelations, etc., were prevented from conferring any benefit upon the congregation. The apostle, therefore, orders the babel of tongues to be suppressed, that the congregation might be edified by these other contributions. Those who spoke with tongues were not to monopolize the meeting. In a large church like Corinth, where there would be plenty to take part in the exercises with psalms, teachings, interpretations of what had been said in tongues, etc., there was the opportunity for great variety. Hence Paul forbids more than three to speak with tongues in one exercise, and these must not speak all at once, but in turn, and they must pause and let some one gifted as interpreter translate what they had said for the edification of the church. If there was no such interpreter present, then the man gifted with tongues must keep silence, and worship within himself for the edification and benefit of his own soul. Moreover, not more than three prophets must speak in a meeting, and the others present must give heed, especially those competent to discern between true and false prophecies ( 1Th_5:20-21 ; 1Jo_4:1 ; 1Co_14:37 ). If a fresh revelation was given to a prophet while another prophet was speaking, the one speaking was to give place and keep silence, for the reception of a second revelation at such time would indicate authoritatively that the first revelation had been sufficiently explained. Therefore, the one speaking must desist, lest two should speak at a time, which would defeat the ends of instruction and exhortation. To enforce this rule of silence the apostle asserts the truth that prophets can control their spirits while under the prophetic influence. This guarded against the possibility that any speaker should pretend to be so carried away by the prophetic influence as to be unable to stop. God does not so overcome and entrance men as to make them produce confusion and disorder, for he is the God of order and of peace. God has not changed, and hysteria and frenzy, though they may exist in his churches as they may have done in Corinth, are not from him, nor according to his will. Even in the church at Corinth, where men were endowed with the gifts of the Spirit, all disorders were abuses of the spiritual gift and without excuse.] As in all the churches of the saints ,

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. For God is not the author of confusion. Such confusion as more than one speaking at a time is not of God. God demands peace and order “in all the churches of the saints.”

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

33. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀκαταστασίας ὁ θεός. Literally, for God is not (a God) of unsettlement. Cf. Jas 3:16. Also Luk 21:9, where ἀκαταστασία is rendered commotion. As in the natural, so in the moral and spiritual world, God is a God of order. The forces of nature operate by laws which are implicitly obeyed. If it be otherwise in the moral and spiritual world, God is not the author of the confusion, but man, who has opposed himself to His Will.

ὡς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ἁγίων. It is a question whether these words belong to what goes before or what follows. If to what goes before, it would seem as though a hint was intended that these disorders were peculiar to the Corinthian Church. If to what follows, it is a repetition of the argument in ch. 1Co 7:17, 1Co 11:16, and it would then appear that the Apostle had especial reason to fear insubordination on the question of the position of woman in the Christian assembly, and that he therefore fortifies his own authority by an appeal to the universal custom of the Church of Christ. The analogy of 1Co 11:16 is strongly in favour of the punctuation in the text.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33.] Reason of the above regulations. The premiss, that the church is God’s church, is suppressed. He is the God of peace, not confusion: therefore those assemblies which are His must be peacefully and orderly conducted. And this character of God is not one dependent for its truth on preconceived views of Him:—we have a proof of it wherever a church of the saints has been gathered together. ‘In all the churches of the saints, God is a God of peace: let Him not among you be supposed to be a God of confusion.’

I am compelled to depart from the majority of modern critics of note, e.g. Lachmann, Tischendorf (Exo_7 [and 8]), Billroth, Meyer, De Wette, and to adhere to the common arrangement of this latter clause. My reason is, that taken as beginning the next paragraph, it is harsh beyond example, and superfluous, as anticipating the reason about to be given οὐ γὰρ κ.τ.λ. Besides which, it is more in accordance with St. Paul’s style, to place the main subject of a new sentence first, see 1Ti 3:8, 1Ti 3:11, 1Ti 3:12; and we have an example of reference to general usage coming in last, in aid of other considerations, ch. 11:16: but it seems unnatural that it should be placed first in the very forefront of a matter on which he has so much to say.

34,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀκαταστασίας ὁ Θεός. Proof that the prophetic gift is under control, and that therefore an inspired speaker can stop and give place to another. The God who gives the inspiration is not on the side of disorder and turbulence, but on that of peace. He cannot be a promoter of tumult, and therefore cannot inspire two people to speak simultaneously to the same audience. The fact of His inspiring a second speaker is proof that the first can stop and ought to do so. Inspiration is no excuse for conflict and confusion, and jealousies and dissensions are not signs of the presence of God (v. 25); ἡ ἀγάπη οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ. The principle here stated justifies us in maintaining that miracles are not violations of law; God is not on the side of violations of law, but is on the side of peace, which results from preserving law: comp. ὁ Θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης (Rom 16:20). For ἀκαταστασία, which is a strong word—dissensio (Vulg.), seditio (Calv.)—compare 2Co 12:20; Jas 3:16; Luk 21:9.*

ὡς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ἁγίων. Added, as in 11:16, as conclusive, and the addition of τῶν ἁγίων is made with some severity. Orderly reverence is a characteristic of all the Churches of the saints, a fact which raises doubts as to whether the Church at Corinth is a Church of saints: comp. 4:17, 7:17. Some editors place these words at the beginning of the next paragraph, where ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις makes them seem somewhat superfluous. Moreover, it is more probable that St Paul would begin the paragraph with the subject of it, αἱ γυναῖκες, as in Eph 5:22, Eph 5:25, Eph 5:6:1, Eph 5:5; Col 3:18-22; 1Pe 3:1, 1Pe 3:7. Chrysostom mixes this clause with 4:17 and 7:17 and quotes οὕτω γὰρ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ἁγίων διδάσκω.† If St Paul had written this, it would of necessity belong to what precedes, and not to v. 34. Assuming that it is best taken with what precedes, to which of the preceding clauses does it belong? Possibly to οὐ γάρ ἐστιν κ.τ.λ. Reverent submission to order is everywhere a note of the Church. Others take it with καὶ πνεύματα προφητῶν κ.τ.λ., making οὐ γάρ ἐστιν parenthetical. WH. make from καὶ πνεύματα to εἰρήνης parenthetical, and take this clause with ἵνα πάντες μανθάνωσιν κ.τ.λ. This makes a very awkward parenthesis, and ὡς ἐν πάσαις τ. ἐκ comes in too late to add much force to ἵνα πάντες μανθάνωσιν. Perhaps the worst punctuation is to, take ὡς ἐν πάσαις τ. ἐκ. with what precedes, and τῶν ἁγίων with αἱ γυναῖκες ἐν ταῖς ἐκ. See Hort, The Chr. Eccl. pp. 117, 120.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Confusion [ακαταστασιας] . See on commotions, Luk 21:9; and unruly, Jas 3:8. Compare 2Co 6:5.

As in all the churches of the saints. Many connect these words with let the women, etc. The old arrangement is retained by Rev. and by Westcott and Hort, though the latter regard the words and the spirits - of peace as parenthetical. I see no good reason for departing from the old arrangement.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.