The Greek word translated “authority” in Titus 2:15 is epitage (ep-ee-tag-ay’); it appears seven times in the New Testament, and in each other instance it is translated as “commandment” (Romans 16:26; 1 Corinthians 7:6, 25; 2 Corinthians 8:8; 1 Timothy 1:1; Titus1:3). Whereas “authority” in Matthew 28:18 ASV is from the Greek exousia (ex-oo-see’-ah) and means “authority” in the sense of the “ability” (Biblesoft’s) to do something, epitage seems to emphasize the assertion of authority or “authoritativeness” (Biblesoft’s). “See 1 Cor 7:6; 2 Cor 8:8. Assertion of authority is sometimes necessary” (Robertson’s). “It is also possible to translate this expression in Tt 2.15 as ‘show that you have every right to command when you rebuke them'” (Louw and Nida).
Especially the apostle Paul (because he walked not with the disciples during the ministry of Jesus Christ and because he had persecuted the church, 1 Corinthians 15:8-9) needed to assert the authority delegated to him by Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1). Likewise, the apostle Paul advised young evangelists not to permit anyone to despise their youthfulness as a means to offset the application of the Word of God that they preached (1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:15). The Holy Spirit’s choice of the word epitage for authority (as in assertion of the authority inherent in the Word of God preached) in Titus 2:15 fittingly complements the admonition, “Let no man despise thee.”
Works Cited
Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, 1994.
Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene A. Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains. CD-ROM. New York: United Bible Societies, 1989.
Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville: Broadman, 1985. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, 1997.
