This chapter and the one before it are all about how to use God's gifts sacrificially in love. Every culture has a different way of doing things and it is usually wise to share the gospel within those limits – at least initially. For example, Paul who was a Jewish Rabbi would usually start his ministry in the synagogue of each town he visited (even though he was often later expelled); he circumcised Timothy, and on Paul's final visit to Jerusalem instructed four men in his team to undergo purification rites (Acts 21:20-26). All that was to remove cultural objection to the gospel.
 
Corinth culture expected that public teaching and debating groups would be led by men. So Paul instructed the women to be silent in the meetings. He did not want to stifle their spiritual appetite to learn and gave that responsibility to their husbands. It was also a mark of their headship in the homes (Ephesians 5:22; 1 Timothy 2:1-12). Paul was not against women participating and assumed that they would pray and prophesy in the church (1 Corinthians 11:5). He clearly respected Lydia who ran the prayer group in Philippi (Acts 16:13-15); and worked with fellow Christian tentmakers, Priscilla and Aquilla, the lady's name unusually being placed before her husband's (Acts 18:18-19). Unlike any other culture of its day, Paul taught that the gospel liberated women to be equally children of God as the men (Galatians 3:28).
 
But in the same way that tongues-speaking needed to be curbed for the sake of the unsaved (1 Corinthians 14:23), and well off people needed to restrain themselves at the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20-22), so did the participation of women in that male dominated society. After all, the church was not there to indulge its freedoms but to sacrifice them for the sake of unbelievers who God was calling. The Corinthian church who rejoiced in their new life needed to ensure that their behaviour did not culturally alienate the unbeliever from hearing the Good News.
 
In many areas it is a necessary discipline to be assured of our privileged position as a child of God but also to restrain our freedoms - so that the gospel may be heard clearly by unbelievers (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Paul said, "… we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:12). It can be a hard call; but it is the missionary call to all believers … some into another culture, most into the workplace and all into the world. That willingness to forsake valued blessings in order for unbelievers to hear God's call and be saved, is precious to the Lord; and He will reward such gospel faithfulness (Matthew 19:29).