UNDERSTANDING THIS ONE WORD UNDERMINES THE SBC'S ARGUMENT AGAINST WOMEN PASTORS

The Southern Baptist Convention focuses on one passage of Scripture as the basis for banning women from carrying the title of pastor, which is I Timothy 2:12. However, they completely misconstrue the key word in this passage, which is the Greek word that is translated as “authority.”

In a document called “Southern Baptists and Women Pastors,” the executive staff of the SBC quote Paul’s words in Timothy 2:12 that, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have “authority” over a man, and then say of Paul,

He concludes women cannot have a pastoral position, or perform the pastoral function, for that puts them in authority over men in the life of the church.

The problem with their interpretation of this passage is that the Greek word translated “authority” is authentein and is not the normal word for “authority.” It is found only here in the entire New Testament, indicating that Paul is not addressing the normal exercise of authority in the Church.

The normal Greek word for "authority" is exousia, and it is found 102 times in the Greek New Testament, and numerous other times in its verb and other cognate forms. It refers to the right or authority to speak or act. Not once in the entire New Testament is a woman told she cannot exercise exousia.

If Paul were addressing the normal exercise of “authority” in the Church, we would expect him to use this word that he and every other New Testament writer uses. By using authentien, a word that neither he nor any New Testament writer ever uses, it seems obvious that he is addressing a unique and different situation.

Remember that I Timothy is a not a letter to a church. It is a personal letter to Paul’s young protégé, Timothy, who is in Ephesus confronting false teaching (see verse three of chapter one). By using this strange Greek word, it is obvious that Paul is addressing the unique situation of Timothy in Ephesus, and he never meant for it to be applied to all women everywhere.

It is also worth noting that the word "pastor" is nowhere to be found in this passage or anywhere in the letter.

For a thorough discussion of the passage in question and the Greek word authentein, see Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s latest book, Who Says Women Can’t Pastor? available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.