A couple of times in the last week this verse has come up: "There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God" (Rom 13:1). I started giving that some thought.
Of course, the primary topic -- the context -- is submission to governments. Paul describes government as "what God has appointed" and warns us not to resist, but to serve. Indeed, Paul commends paying taxes, "for the authorities are ministers of God" (Rom 13:6). Didn't know taxation was biblical, did you? In an election year when we're faced with "Look at how bad our current president is!" contrasted with "Is there anyone better running?", this is a good thing to recall. "There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." While we indeed must serve by performing our civic duty to vote and must do so according to conscience and all that, the outcome, pleasant or otherwise, is in the hands of the Lord. Whether blessing or judgment, "There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." And in all cases we are to pray, intercede, and give thanks "for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way" (1 Tim 2:2). Note, of course, that our "kings" are now "presidents". Are you praying for them?
The language of the verse, however, goes far beyond the election-year politics or the government of America. "There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Thus, all authority is delegated authority, and everyone is under some authority. In a culture where personal freedom is the god of choice and "Question authority" is the mantra, this doesn't sit well with many. It is, however, the clear presentation of Scripture. Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me" (Matt 28:18). "All" includes ... all. The only authority that the president has is delegated authority. The only authority that your boss has is delegated authority. The only authority that your pastor has is delegated authority. The only authority that anyone has (and that would include Satan) is delegated authority. And everyone is under authority. As such, it should come as no surprise that Paul would write, "I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor 11:3). And yet I cannot tell you how many Christian women have said, "Me ... submit to him? Not a chance!" I cannot tell you how many Christians I know who have denied the biblical command for wives to submit to their husbands as to the Lord or have discarded the biblical command to submit to the leadership of the church (Heb 13:17). We seem to make an art of finding ways to worm out of submission to authority delegated by God. If we are not avoiding submitting to the God-given authority over us, we are failing to exercise the God-given authority delegated to us. That's why we live in this upside-down world where children rule their parents, wives rule their husbands, workers rule their employers, and no one willingly submits to authority.
Of course I'm exaggerating. It's called "hyperbole", an overstatement to make a point. The point is that "There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Do you recognize those in authority over you? Are you accepting the responsibility of the authority God has invested in you? All authority is delegated authority. All of us are under authority. Each of us has responsibility both to submit to the authority God has placed over us and to exercise the authority God as assigned to us. It's part of being a creation of God. The alternative, of course, has a name. It is missing the mark. It is sin. Not a good alternative.
4 comments:
How do you distinguish this from free will? Does God surrender sovereignty when He delegates any authority?
Well, since I don't believe in Human Free Will in the sense that so many people use the term (libertine free will, that absolutely unfettered unaffected unassailable will in which anyone can do anything at all -- the Sovereign Free Will of Man), I don't distinguish. Man, I believe, has the ability to make choices without coercion. God allows those choices for reasons of His own. That is "delegated authority". We have some measure of authority over our own lives. But "delegated authority" means that the authority still resides at the top.
Think of a CEO who delegates to his various department heads tasks over which they have authority. Their authority is genuine, only covers their delegated departments, and can be superseded by the CEO at any time. So, do they have "free will" in those jobs?
Yes, they do. And they do in the same manner that we have free will in relation to God and His sovereignty. As nothing happens without God's knowledge or ultimately, His approval, He can allow any level of free will without giving up sovereignty. As He is the Supreme Being, there's no way He can give up sovereignty regardless of how much freedom He allows us. He can always step in at any time He wants because He IS God.
Somewhere, I believe, is a way not yet found that will explain this aspect of the faith in manner that thus far fails me. Again, I don't see it as detrimental to salvation, though I do wish to resolve this sticking point in my mind. Have patience.
I'm patient. I have to be. I don't have it all figured out. There are by definition things that we just won't get. In the vernacular, "it's a god thing." In logic, the finite cannot grasp the infinite. The Trinity, the Incarnation, these are things that we get ... but don't. The meshing of God's Sovereignty (with a capital "S") and Man's free will (with lowercase letters) I can see to some extent and believe finally because the Bible expresses it, but ultimately I won't get it, at least not this side of heaven.
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