1 Corinthians 14:36-38

“Or, indeed, came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? 37. If any man think himself to be a prophet, or inspired, let him acknowledge that what I write unto you is from the Lord. 38. But if any man be ignorant of it, let him be ignorant.”

The ἤ, or (1 Corinthians 14:36), signifies, as usual with Paul at the beginning of a question: “Or, indeed, if you will not admit what I say.” For the two following questions, the apostle returns to the idea with which he had introduced the subject of the speaking of women: As in all the Churches...(1 Corinthians 14:33 b). “Or are you the mother Church in which the preaching of the gospel took its rise, and from which it spread through the world?” In that case one could understand how the Corinthians could affect complete independence. “Or are you the only Church among the Gentiles to which it has come?” In that case the claim to follow a course alone, and at their own pleasure, would also be intelligible. These two questions are somewhat sarcastic, as happens when one wishes to bring down presumption. The same is the case with the following verses. The apostle knows that there are leaders on the spot, who, in rivalry with him, claim to derive authority only from the Lord and from the immediate inspiration of the Spirit. Hence 1 Corinthians 14:37.