Recorded
1 Corinthians 7; 11:3–12; 14:26–35; 1 Timothy 2:11–12; Ephesians 5:21–22; Titus 2:3–5
Understand the questions Paul was answering
First Corinthians moves from correcting problems in the church to answering specific questions. Chapter seven addresses questions about marriage; it is not a complete treatment of every part of married life. The message first reviews the earlier chapters, then prepares listeners to study those answers alongside the rest of Scripture.
Read the whole passage
A phrase taken by itself can give a very different impression from the passage around it. The lesson stresses the importance of asking who wrote a letter, whom it addressed, and what situation it confronted. Pastor Drew applies that approach to statements about women speaking, teaching, and submitting, rather than treating isolated phrases as the whole of Paul’s instruction.
Order, teaching, and service in the church
The message reads the instructions in 1 Corinthians 14 in the context of orderly, edifying worship. It then considers 1 Timothy 2 alongside passages that show women teaching and serving. Titus 2 describes older women teaching younger women, and Acts 18 records Priscilla and Aquila helping Apollos understand the way of God more fully.
Different responsibilities do not mean different worth
In discussing Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11, the sermon distinguishes responsibility from personal value. It emphasizes submission to one another, dependence on one another, and the worth of both men and women before God. The discussion of Titus 2 also considers the work of the woman in Proverbs 31 and the examples of Priscilla, Phoebe, and Lydia.
Paul’s judgment and the inspiration of Scripture
The final section addresses Paul’s statements about speaking by permission and giving his judgment in 1 Corinthians 7. Pastor Drew explains these as distinctions between matters Jesus had directly addressed during His earthly ministry and questions Paul now answered under the Spirit’s guidance. The series will next consider Jesus’ teaching on marriage before returning to Paul’s answers for married and unmarried believers.