Conferred Power

Any first year seminary student knows that the most prominent Greek word translated "power" is dunamis, which literally refers to force. However, there is another word that is often translated "power" in the KJV, but is most often translated as "authority" in more modern versions. This word is exousia, which is power by virtue of authority, competency, or mastery rather than strength or force.

Jesus conferred exousia upon believers and thus gave them mastery over of the dunamis, or the force of "the enemy" (Lk. 10:19). A hardened steel worker may have more force or physical strength than a manager who has grown soft in the office, but the manager has the authority that has been conferred upon him by virtue of his office.

In a conflict situation, both types of power may come into play. The manager is in a position of authoritative power to hire and fire, to enact policies, to determine distribution of resources and so forth, but in a heated confrontation where passions surpass reason, the worker may use physical force make his point. The challenge for the manager is utilize his or her authority in such a way that the conflict does not escalate to that point, but takes on a more cooperative form of exchange.

In a church, the pastor must learn to build trusting relationships where it is not an issue of confrontation with members over competing concerns, but a spirit of cooperation where shared concerns, framed by the Great Commission, lead to solutions where the real winner is the body of believers and not one man, clique, or interest group.