Submission to Civil Authorities
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:1-4, ESV).
What Paul says in these verses is parallel to what he teaches elsewhere (1 Tim. 2:1-2; Tit. 3:1-2) and comparable to Peter’s instructions (1 Pet. 2:13-17) and what Jesus himself taught (Matt. 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26). Throughout his evangelistic career Paul had many opportunities to implement these guidelines.3
The “authorities” [ἐξουσίαις] and “rulers” [ἄρχοντες] alluded to here are not angelic or demonic or cosmic forces (8:28)4 but contextually the civil “governing authorities,”5 and “the ones [presently] existing” [αἱ οὖσαι] (v. 1) are, to Paul’s immediate readership, the ruling powers of Rome. In a broader sense they would include the Roman emperor,6 local monarchs,7 military leaders,8 and other governing officials like the asiarchs in Ephesus (Acts 19:31), the magistrates in Philippi (Acts 16:20-38), the politarchs in Thessalonica (Acts 17:6), the proconsuls in Cyprus and Achaia (Acts 13:7; 18:12), and the legates of Judea (Luke 20:20; Acts 23:24). A number of these Paul faced in the course of his ministry, including the emperor Nero (Acts 25:12; 27:24).
Divine Sovereignty
Note the heavy emphasis in these opening verses on what God purposes and accomplishes. The genitival θεοῦ occurs six times in vv. 1-6 (“from God,” “by God,” “of God”). Civil government, whose very existence derives from the Supreme Ruler of the universe, is “instituted” (perfect participial form of τάσσω – in the past and continuing in the present), according to divine decree,9 to function as God’s “servant” [διάκονος], although nothing is said here about the moral character of any particular authority figure or type of government.10 To defiantly “resist” or “oppose” [ἀντιτάσσω]11 civil governing authorities is to “withstand” or “oppose” [ἀνθίστημι] (cf. 9:19)12 a divine “ordinance” [διαταγή]13 (“what God has appointed”) and incur “judgment” [κρίμα], not only that of secular rulers (vv. 3-4)14 but of God (v. 2a; cf. 2:2, 3; 5:16; 11:33).15
Submit or Obey?
The charge is to “be subject” or “submit” [ὑποτάσσω] (vv. 1, 5), i.e., willingly sub-order oneself in deference to another.16 Paul does not explicitly say here to “obey” [ὑπακούω] (as in 6:12, 16, 17; 10:16), perhaps because secular governments may issue laws that violate biblical principles, with which Christians cannot comply (cf. 12:2, 9). Nevertheless, we humbly strive to “live peaceably with all” and “overcome evil with good” (12:14-21).17 This is the opposite of how others have rebelled and attempted to resist governing powers, often with devastating consequences unfavorable to the Lord’s cause.18 As a general rule, therefore, God expects his people to submit to the laws of the land in which they live. The obvious exceptions are when governments prohibit what is right, enjoin what is wrong, or try to compel believers to compromise or disobey God’s word (cf. Acts 4:18-20; 5:29; Rev. 14:6-13). Otherwise, we prayerfully live in subjection to civil government so that the spread and impact of the Christian faith is unhindered (cf. 1 Thess. 4:11-12; 1 Tim. 2:1-4).
The issues here apply to “every person,” presumably both Christian and non-Christian, seeing that everyone is accountable to civil authority and the stated expectations are from the One who is Lord of all (10:12; cf. 1:5, 18-20), albeit currently addressed to a Christian audience. It is interesting to note that reference to “the Lord Jesus Christ” is absent from this chapter until the final verse. While followers of Jesus are not of the world and our true citizenship is heavenly, we still live in the world with accompanying civic responsibilities.19 “Paul seems to envisage two distinct spheres of service to God: the civil and the spiritual; one deals with the preservation of law and order in society, the other with the salvation and sanctification of individuals in the church.”20
Punitive Actions
The case that “rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad” is general rather than absolute (cf. 1 Pet. 3:13-17).21 Whether a secular government is favorable, tolerant, or hostile towards Christianity, in the end the faithful ones of God have the advantage (cf. 8:28), which is the essential message of the book of Revelation. Nevertheless, at the time of writing the brethren in Rome were yet to experience the brutal hostilities that would occur later in Nero’s reign. To “bear the sword” (v. 4), as a deterrent to wrongdoing, is an apparent allusion to capital punishment (cf. Tacitus, Histories 3.68),22 which Paul himself was willing to undergo if found guilty (Acts 25:10-11). The government’s punitive actions against evildoers serve as an extension of divine “wrath” [ὀργή] (cf. 1:18; 2:5, 8; 3:5; 9:22).
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 E. F. Harrison, “Romans,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 10:136.
2 J. A. T. Robinson, Wrestling with Romans 135.
3 Acts 13:6-12; 16:19-40; 17:22-34; 18:12-16; 19:30-31; 21:31–26:32; 28:16, 30-31; Phil. 1:12-13; 4:22.
4 Eph. 2:2; 6:12; Col. 1:16; 2:10, 15; cf. Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 1 Pet. 3:22.
5 As in Luke 12:11; Acts 3:17; Tit. 3:1.
6 Matt. 22:17-21; Luke 2:1-3; Acts 25:8-12; 27:23-24; 1 Pet. 2:13, 17.
7 Matt. 2:1-9; 10:18; 14:1, 9; 17:25; Acts 12:1; 2 Cor. 11:32.
8 Matt. 8:5-13; Acts 10:1-33; 21:37-40; 22:24-30; 23:17-33; 27:1–28:15.
9 Cf. 2 Sam. 12:8; Prov. 8:15-16; Dan. 2:21; 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21.
10 Note, e.g., Ex. 9:16; Isa. 45:1; Jer. 25:9; 27:6; 43:10; Dan. 2:37; John 19:10-11.
11 In the NT this verb is also used to describe God’s righteous opposition against human pride (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5), and human resistance to good (Acts 18:6) or evil (Jas. 5:6).
12 Elsewhere in the NT Matt. 5:39; Luke 21:15; Acts 6:10; 13:8; Gal. 2:11; Eph. 6:13; 2 Tim. 3:8; 4:16; Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9.
13 Elsewhere in the NT only Acts 7:53. On Paul’s use of the verbal διατάσσω (to “arrange” or “order”), see 1 Cor. 7:17; 9:14; 11:34; 16:1; Gal. 3:19; Tit. 1:5.
14 See also 1 Cor. 6:7; cf. Luke 23:39-41; 24:20.
15 See C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans 2:664, suggesting that “the reference is not to be limited to the final judgment” (n.1).
16 Compare Rom. 8:7, 20; 10:3; cf. Luke 2:51; 10:17, 20; 1 Cor. 14:32, 34; 15:27-28; 16:16; Eph. 1:22; 5:21, 24; Phil. 3:21; Col. 3:18; Tit. 2:5, 9; 3:1; Heb. 2:5, 8, 9; Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 2:13, 18; 3:1, 5, 22; 5:5. “To submit is to recognize one’s subordinate place in a hierarchy, to acknowledge as a general rule that certain people or institutions have ‘authority’ over us” (D. J. Moo, Romans 797).
17 Cf. Matt. 5:25-26, 38-48; 22:21; 26:52; 27:12-14; John 18:36.
18 Cf. Matt. 11:12; Mark 15:7; Luke 21:20; 23:1-2, 18-25; John 19:12-15; Acts 5:36-37. The Lord’s followers are “not to identify with any revolutionary movement advocating rebellion against Rome” (E. F. Harrison, “Romans,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 10:136).
19 John 14:1-6; 15:19; 17:14-16; 1 Cor. 5:9-10; Phil. 3:20.
20 R. Mohrlang, Romans 196.
21 While Jesus was condemned and executed by governing authorities, God used this to accomplish his good purpose (Rom. 3:25; 5:6-11, 18; 6:3-10).
22 This may also include “military power” (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans 2:677).
Related Posts: Rom 12:9-21, Duty to Gov't (Rom 13:1-7): Part 2
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