Paula

Good catch. It’s always fun and educational to take the made-up meanings people use and see how they work in various places.

But I’d also ask for a precise definition of “teaching with authority”. Where does scripture stipulate exactly when teaching is “authoritative” and when it is not? Some invent an imaginary “office” such as “the pastorate” or “the pulpit”, but of course neither of those terms are even hinted at in scripture.

In fact, I think the ONLY people in this age who could ever claim authority in their teachings are Jesus and the NT writers. It is those teachings that the early church devoted itself to, and those teachings that are the Word of God. Nobody else has any authority beyond that. There are no “levels” of authority beyond that.

There are mature believers who are to train the immature until they “grow up”, and there are SERVANTS who warn against falsehood. But no “authorities”. Does anyone know of an instance in the NT where either exousion or archon is used to show authority of one non-NT writing believer over another?