Cheryl Schatz

I don’t have time to reply to everything that has been said here. My time has been taken up much more than I had expected so I was off line a lot while you folks were giving your thoughtful opinions. Gengwall, Sue, Kristen, Kay, TL, pinklight, Carig and Susanna have all contributed here with clarity. (Hope I didn’t miss anyone. If so please accept my deepest apologies.) Mark also has popped in from time to time to stir up the water, but that’s a good thing for the most part. As long as we keep our eyes on the subject at hand and not attribute motives that we can’t see to our opponents. Mark has also had some good challenging questions that have kept us going but there is much that he hasn’t answered. I will assume that it is due to a lack of time rather than an inability to even consider the questions.

Sue has been pushed on the Greek and for the most part that is good. Sue is an excellent Greek scholar, but I don’t think that she claims to be an experienced exegete. She just knows that the words mean and then tries hard to apply that to the text. I give her a lot of credit for that.

What I would like to do is remind everyone that this issue of authority and submission to authority instead of submission because of our Christian duty and our love of Christ is an important one. The reason is because we are told as Christians that we are not to have lord over others.

Paul said:

2 Corinthians 1:24 (NAS)
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.

The Greek term here is kyrieuo and it means to rule. Paul said that even the apostles are not ruling over every one’s faith but are workers with them.

Peter says the same thing:

1 Peter 5:2–3 (NAS)
2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

Those who were to protect the flock were to “exercise oversight” which means they were to “care for” the flock. They were not to “lord over” the flock. The Greek term here means to rule over.

The last witness or the required two or three witnesses has been used several times here already. It is the witness of Jesus.

Luke 22:25–26 (NAS)
25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’
26 “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.

What is it that they were not to do? Look at the word used by Jesus:

They were not to exercise dominion or have authoritative rule over the church. Instead they were to be servants working for the good of the church instead of acting as rulers who took an authoritative stand with the church.