I am sorry I spoke so confidently about a concept called "authority" that I couldn't precisely define easily.
OK, as for my word study, I first went to Strong's and was told it was the Greek word "authenteo" which means the English word "authority." According to the dictionary the word "authority" means:
1. the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
2. the right to act in a specified way, delegated from one person or organization to another.
3. official permission; sanction.
I decided this was not enough by a long shot, so I next went to Kittel's theological dictionary of the New Testament. It didn't even have the word "authenteo" in it.
Finally, I turned to the internet and through Bible Tools and Bible Study Tools I found the following:
(
Strongs's #831: authenteo - Greek/Hebrew Definitions - Bible Tools)
(
Authenteo - New Testament Greek Lexicon - New American Standard)
1. One who with his own hands kills another or himself
2. One who acts on his own authority, autocratic
3. An absolute master
4. To govern, exercise dominion over one
The word "authenteo" is also only found once in the bible. This complicates things considerably to me.
So I will try to figure this out by usage of the definitions found on the internet bible study websites. Before I do this I need to understand that this passage refers not to the world but the church, as seems to be made clear by 1 Timothy 3:14-15 as context for its preceding verses.
1. It cannot be killing someone.
2. It is very confusing to use this to mean a husband or a man acting on their own authority as an autocrat.
3. Absolute master seems close to the biblical passage 1 Peter 3:1-6. Such authority in marriage never belongs to the woman in the marriage relationship and never should according to the bible. So perhaps this means that women should always obey men as masters when in the context of God's household, except of course if they are told to do something wrong. This may make sense when combined with all the verses on what makes a godly woman.
4. Govern and "spiritual" dominion are what we typically think with authority in the church. The word "govern" means:
1. conduct the policy, actions, and affairs of (a state, organization, or people).
2. control, influence, or regulate (a person, action, or course of events).
3. conduct oneself, especially with regard to controlling one's emotions.
4. serve to decide (a legal case).
The word "dominion" means:
1. sovereignty; control.
2. the territory of a sovereign or government.
I am left with figuring out whether it is #3 and #4. Either way it means considerably more than when I started, and it may be very hard to understand for many people in baptist churches.
Number 3 means that we have overwhelmingly missed the mark on what it means to be a godly woman in God's household.
Number 4 means that women should have no governing authority at all in the context of the church, that women should have no control over men at all in the context of the church, and that women should never speak for or represent a congregation in any way.
It may even be both, but I kind of doubt that.
I want to start a thread on this now that will do a study on what it means to be a godly woman. With a biblical model of godly womanhood, I hope to interpret this all a lot better.
