Dr. Henry Waiters

Rebellion exist in many ways in most churches today, some willfull, some ignorant. The Lord’s will and way for His church have become antiquated and irrelevant because of a lack of modernity. Our academic accomplishment, our scientific development, our technological advancement, our powerful human spirit, prompts us to reject and revise the Lord’s way and substitute man’s way for the church, forgetting that the Lord’s way is ancient, medieval, and modern from the beginning to the end, because He is all-wise.
Man’s way is desired so that man can be glorified. If the Holy Spirit is present and has His Way, He will maintain a service that will glorify God from the first moment until the last. Jesus’ will and way will always have the pre-eminence, because the Holy Spirit is in the world to glorify Jesus Christ, and not to glorify Himself. In Jesus we have our fullness, completeness, and our sufficiency. There is no room left for the glory of man (1 Cor. 1:30, 31).
The perpetuation of one particular act of rebellion should be noted, for it has become a tradition and believed by too many to be directed and approved by the Holy Scriptures, which actually says: “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church” (1 Cor. 14:34,35); and “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But, I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (1 Tim.2:11, 12).
These verses are considered by too many to be controversial so some attempt to use the original Greek words to make them mean what they want them to mean in order to keep their beliefs concerning the woman in the church. I have a warm spot in my heart for born-again women, and I would not intentionally hurt any one of them. But I cannot omit or revise these verses to make them say what they do not say.
Holy Ghost-indwelt, directed, empowered believers will never knowingly take any words out of context nor force them to mean what they want them to mean in order to prove their viewpoint. The Word of God was not given to prove points.
The meaning of “let your women keep silent in the church” is very plain: — it is unscriptural for a woman to speak in the position of a minister over the assembly in a church house. Women are to refrain from preaching or addressing the assembly gathered for worship and are not to take part in the oral ministry of the church.
For those who hold other interpretations, I ask: If it is divinely ordered of God for women to pastor churches and direct the affairs of local assemblies, why did Jesus call 12 men to be His apostles; also, why is there not one single book in the New Testament authored by a woman? 1st. Cor. Epistle; P470; Dr. O.B.Greene
Great Christian women are names in the New Testament, but not one received the dictation of an epistle from the Almighty God. Born-again women have a definite and essential place in God’s church and His program, but they are never to usurp authority over the men.
“But they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.”
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Eph.5:22-24)
The Scripture allows women to teach women and youth in Church School or other settings, but it is unscriptural for them to teach the men or exercise the duties of a pastor over men in the assembly. These may seem to be hard sayings, but they are God’s words.
Paul says: “The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Cor. 14:37). Paul was God’s mouthpiece, ordained of and sent by God to give the Corinthians the truth. The instructions given by God through Paul to the church at Corinth stands for the churches today, in so far as order of service and conduct of believers in concerned (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33).
Paul, being God’s mouthpiece, also said that there are only two scriptural offices in the Lord’s church (pastors and deacons), and he was given the qualifications for both, qualifications which clearly state they must be men (1 Tim. 3:1-13). These qualifications are to be highly regarded, even esteemed until the Rapture, when Jesus Himself will direct the order of His Church.
Since witnessing to the lost, which every believer is commanded to do, is called preaching (Acts 8:3,4), too many believe that it also means that they should be free to do likewise inside the sanctuary, becoming a bishop, pastor, overseer, undershepherd, evangelist, or whatever title they choose to use.
The cure for division, misunderstanding and ills that exist in local assemblies can be summed up in one simple statement — let God’s Holy Spirit completely control every thought, motive and action of a God-called, Holy Spirit-filled pastor, and let that pastor teach from the Word of God after he has studied diligently and rightly divided the Word of Truth.
No minister has any right to wrongly divide the Word of God or avoid the Word of God in order to prove his denomination points or religious opinions. There is one God, one Church, one Holy Spirit, one Mediator, one Word of God. If God’s true ministers would allow the Holy Spirit, instead of the human spirit, to lead them, then the differences and confusion would vanish and we would have a glorious church right here upon this earth, and have a foretaste of the heavenly experience.
“But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” (1 Cor. 14:38). If anyone refused to acknowledge the divine authority of Paul’s teachings through lack of knowledge of the facts, the deplorable condition of that person must continue. Unwillingness to submit prevents the possibility of being instructed.
There are too many dear people whom even the Lord God cannot help because their minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed and permanently set, and they are not willing to listen to reason and will not allow their hearts and minds to be opened by the Word of God through the Holy Spirit. Peter speaks of such people as being “willingly ignorant” (2 Pet.3:5).
Paul was God’s anointed apostle; through him God spoke to the believers in Corinth, and through his writing God speaks to you and me, and to all who will hear the Word.
Everything in the church should be done according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, according to divine arrangement, and not the human spirit and arrangement. All activities of the church should be carried on in humility, in an orderly manner, and to the ultimate glory of God.
“Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor.14:40).

Dr. Waiters can be reached at 704-636-3369.

 

Paul says: “The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Cor. 14:37). Paul was God’s mouthpiece. He was ordained of God and sent by God to give the Corinthians the truth and the instructions given by God through Paul to the church at Corinth stands for the churches today, in so far as order of service and conduct of believers in concerned (1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33). Paul being God’s mouthpiece also said: there are only two scriptural offices in the Lord’s church (Pastors and Deacons), and I have been given the qualifications for both, which very clearly states they must be men (1 Tim. 3:1-13). These qualifications are to be highly regarded, even esteemed until the Rapture, when Jesus Himself will direct the order of His Church.

Since witnessing to the lost, which every believer is commanded to do is called preaching (Acts 8:3,4), too many believe that is also means that they as witnessing, preaching believers outside the Lord’s house, the Sanctuary, should be free to do likewise inside the Sanctuary, and become a Bishop, Pastor, Overseer, Undershepherd, Evangelist, or whatever title they choose to use.

The cure for all division, all misunderstanding, and all ills that exist in local assemblies can be summed up in one simple statement: Let God’s Holy Spirit completely control every thought, motive and action of a God-called, Holy Spirit-filled Pastor, and let that pastor teach from the Word of God after he has studied diligently and rightly divided the Word of Truth. No minister has any right to wrongly divide the Word of God or avoid the Word of God in order to prove his denomination points or religious ideas or opinions. There is one God, one Church, one Holy Spirit, one Mediator, one Word of God. If God’s true ministers would allow the Holy Spirit instead of the human spirit to lead them, then, the differences and confusion would vanish and we would have a glorious church right here upon this earth, and have a fore taste of the heavenly experience.

“But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Cor. 14:38). If anyone refused to acknowledge the divine authority of Paul’s teachings through professed lack of knowledge of the facts, the deplorable condition of that person must continue. Unwillingness to submit prevents the possibility of being instructed. There are too many dear people whom even the Lord God cannot help because their minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed and permanently set, and they are not willing to listen to reason, they will not allow their hearts and minds to be opened by the Word of God through the Holy Spirit. Peter speaks of such people as being “willingly Ignorant” (2 Pet.3:5). Paul was God’s anointed apostle; through him God spoke to the believers in Corinth, and through his writing God speaks to you and me, and to all who will hear the Word.

Everything in the church should be done according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, according to divine arrangement, and not the human spirit and arrangement. All activities of the church should be carried on in humility, in an orderly manner, and to the ultimate glory of God. “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor.14:40).

Dr. Waiters can be reached at 704-636-3369.