1 Corinthians 14:36

What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(36) What?—The church at Corinth had on some of these points acted at variance with the practice of the other churches, and in a manner which assumed an independence of St. Paul’s apostolic authority. He therefore asks them, with something of sarcastic indignation, whether they are the source from whence the word of God has come, or whether they think themselves its sole recipients, that they should set themselves above the other churches, and above him?

Benson Commentary

1 Corinthians 14:36-38. What! came the word of God out from you? — Are ye of Corinth, the first church in the world, by whose example all others should be modelled? Or came it unto you only? — Are you the only Christian society that has received the true gospel? If not, conform herein to the custom of all the churches. These questions the apostle asks, to cut off every pretence for women’s teaching in the church. If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual — Endowed with any extraordinary gift of the Spirit; let him acknowledge, &c. — Let him prove that he is indeed under the influence of the Divine Spirit, by his submission and obedience to these determinations, and confess that the things that I now write unto you are the commandments of the Lord — Dictated by inspiration from him. But if any man be ignorant — Or affect to appear uncertain about the truth of what I write; let him be ignorant — Let him remain so, and abide the consequences of his ignorance, whether real or affected.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:34-40 When the apostle exhorts Christian women to seek information on religious subjects from their husbands at home, it shows that believing families ought to assemble for promoting spiritual knowledge. The Spirit of Christ can never contradict itself; and if their revelations are against those of the apostle, they do not come from the same Spirit. The way to keep peace, truth, and order in the church, is to seek that which is good for it, to bear with that which is not hurtful to its welfare, and to keep up good behaviour, order, and decency.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What! came the word of God out from you? - The meaning of this is, "Is the church at Corinth the "mother church?" Was it first established; or has it been alone in sending forth the Word of God? You have adopted customs which are unusual. You have permitted women to speak in a manner unknown to other churches; see 1 Corinthians 11:16. You have admitted irregularity and confusion unknown in all the others. You have allowed many to speak at the same time, and have tolerated confusion and disorder. Have you any "right" thus to differ from others? Have you any authority, as it were, to dictate to them, to teach them, contrary to their uniform custom, to allow these disorders? Should you not rather be conformed to them, and observe the rules of the churches which are older than yours?" The "argument" here is, that the church at Corinth was "not" the first that was established; that it was one of the "last" that had been founded; and that it could, therefore, claim no right to differ from others, or to prescribe to them. The same argument is employed in 1 Corinthians 11:16; see Note.

Or came it unto you only? - As you are not the first of those who believed, neither are you the only ones. God has sent the same gospel to others, and it is traveling over the world. Others, therefore, have the same right as you to originate customs and special habits; and as this would be attended with confusion and disorder, you should all follow the same rule, and the customs which do not prevail in other churches should not be allowed in yours.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

36. What!—Greek, "Or." Are you about to obey me? Or, if you set up your judgment above that of other churches. I wish to know, do you pretend that your church is the first church FROM which the gospel word came, that you should give the law to all others? Or are you the only persons In, fro whom it has come?

Matthew Poole's Commentary

These words look like a smart reflection upon divers members of this church of Corinth, who thought themselves wiser than all the world besides; and the apostle might foresee, that out of the high opinion they had of themselves they would much contemn and slight his directions. He therefore asks them, what they thought of themselves? Whether they thought themselves the only churches in the world, or were the first that believed in Christ, so that the gospel went out from them, and they might give law to all churches? There were churches at Jerusalem, and in several other places, before there was any church at Corinth, so as the gospel came unto them from other churches, and did not go out from them to other churches.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

What? came the word of God out from you?.... That you must give laws to other churches, and introduce new customs and practices never known or used before? No; the word of the Lord came out of Zion, and the law or doctrine of the Lord, the word of the Gospel, the doctrine of the grace of God, came out of Jerusalem. The apostles that first preached it were Jews, and they preached it first in their own land, and planted churches there, before it came to the Gentiles; and therefore the apostle suggests it would be right to consider what was the practice of the churches in Judea, the first Gospel churches, concerning women's speaking in the church, and to conform thereunto; when they would be able to observe, that these first churches from whence the word of God came to them, disallowed of any such practice, but in this point agreed with the old synagogue:

or came it unto you only? no, it came to many other nations, and people, and towns, and cities besides them; and many churches were formed among the Gentiles, who had no such custom, did not permit their women to speak in the church; and therefore why should they be singular and different from all others? other churches had the word of God, had gifts, and prophesying as well as they, and yet had introduced no such custom; and therefore it became them to pay a deference to the judgment and practice of others, especially since these were under, and acted according to the direction of the apostle, which they ought to have been subject to.

Geneva Study Bible

{16} What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

(16) A general conclusion of the treatise of the right use of spiritual gifts in assemblies. And this is with a sharp reprehension, lest the Corinthians might seem to themselves to be the only ones who are wise.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Corinthians 14:36. The ἤ joins on to what is immediately before prescribed, not to the previous directions in general (de Wette, Osiander, et al.). “It is disgraceful for a woman to speak in public, unless, perhaps, you were the first or the only Christian church, in which cases then, doubtless, your custom would show that disgracefulness to be a mistake, and would authorize as becoming the speaking of women by way of an example for other churches!” μὴ τοίνυν τοῖς οἰκείοις ἀρκείσθε, ἀλλὰ ταῖς τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν νομοθεσίαις ἀκολουθεῖτε, Theodoret; but the point of the expression, as against the Corinthian haughtiness, is very palpabl.

αἰσχρόν] ἐπειδὴ καλλωπίζεσθαι ἐντεῦθεν ἐνόμιζον ἐκ τοῦ φθέγγεσθαι δημοσίᾳ, πάλιν εἰς τὸ ἐναντίον περιάγει τὸν λόγον, Chrysostom. Comp. 1 Corinthians 11:5 f. Paul is decided against all undue exaltation and assumption on the part of women in religious things, and it has been the occasion of much evil in the church.

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Corinthians 14:36. The Ap. adds the authority of Christian usage to that of natural instinct (cf. the connexion of 1 Corinthians 10:14; 1 Corinthians 10:16), in a tone of indignant protest: “Or (is it) from you (that) the word of God went out? or to you only did it reach?”—i.e., “Neque primi, neque soli estis Christiani” (Est.). The Cor[2204] acted without thinking of any but themselves, as though they were the one Church in the world, or might set the fashion to all the rest (see note on 1 Corinthians 1:2 b; also 33 above, and 1 Corinthians 11:16). For the self-sufficiency of this church, cf. 1 Corinthians 4:6 ff., 1 Corinthians 5:2. On καταντάω εἰς, see 1 Corinthians 10:11.—ἢ links this ver. with the foregoing, “Or (if what I have said is not sufficient), etc.”

[2204] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

36. What? came the word of God out from you?] The self-assertion of the Corinthians was so great that they needed to be reminded that they had received the doctrine of Christ through the ministry of St Paul, and that it had not originated among themselves.

or came it unto you only?] i.e. to you alone. They owed a duty, not only to those who had preached the gospel to them, but to other Churches, whose example could not be safely neglected. See note on 1 Corinthians 14:33.

Bengel's Gnomen

1 Corinthians 14:36. ἢ, ἢ) Latin an—an? [which is used in the second part of a disjunctive interrogation] You, Corinthians, (likewise you, Romans) are neither first nor alone. But women are also elsewhere silent.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 36-40. - Appeal and summary. Verse 36. - What? An indignant exclamation. Came the word of God out from you? Are you the authors of the Christian system, that you are to lay down rules about it? No rebuke was too strong for the pretensions of these Corinthians. Or came it unto you only? Is no one to be considered but yourselves? Have you no respect for Christian custom? end that when you were by no means the first Gentile Church in Europe (1 Thessalonians 1:8)? 1 Corinthians 14:36