Man & Government
Who Is King?
Revelation 19:16
And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written,
“KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
NASB
Government is appointed by God to keep society organized. Men, as individuals, are appointed by God to witness, evangelize, and spread the Gospel. We are not called upon to run society, except by changes of the heart. Nations via their organized governments are called upon to be the policemen of society.
Some desire to draw a distinction between "submission" and "obedience." Look, they will argue, Paul uses submit rather than obey. This, they suggest, leaves latitude to disobey. Yet, such is not found in either the words of this chapter nor in the examples of Scripture. David would not harm Saul even though he had at least two opportunities to kill the disobedient king (1 Samuel 24:4-5; 26:8-11). The Christians of the early church fled persecution rather than fight back. This was clearly within God's Plan, for this was one of the major mechanisms for the spread of Christianity (Acts 8:1-2). One has to believe that this "distinction" does not exist. To submit in a biblical sense is to be obedient.
For example, we are taught to be submissive to spiritual leaders (1 Cor 16:16; each other (Eph 5:21), prophets are to be submissive to other prophets (1 Cor 14:32), and wives are to be submissive to husbands (Eph 5:24; Col 3:18; Tit 2:5). The Word does not teach that submission does not mean obedience. And, verse 7 could be written about all of these situations. It is entirely possible that a Christian should fear an evil ruler and give honor to a wise ruler, but he must be submissive to both as far as normal affairs of life are concerned. Disobedience only comes about when it involves evangelism and the spreading of God's Word. Society is immoral and, therefore, we must expect government to be immoral. This is because most of society is unsaved. Our directive is to be Christ-like in all circumstances.
Perhaps, this would be easier to picture if we keep in mind the following set of logical steps:
- Jesus is King of All.
- Jesus is God
- Nothing could be more evil that a claim by someone else to be king or god or both.
- All of the Roman Caesars claimed to be the ultimate king. Some claimed to be god.
- This claim by Caesar was beyond the bounds of an acceptable view of the role of government, for it exceeded their power.
- Jesus did not contest their rights. He merely asserted God have more rights.
- Jesus did not disobey government!
Should we?
