Romans 13:1 – Civil Submission
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Truth to Learn
We Christians are to submit to those in authority over us.
Behind the Words
“Authorities” is the Greek word exousia, which refers to “one who has authority, permission, right, or power.”
The word translated “governing” is huperechō, which is made up of huper or hyper, meaning “above” or “higher,” and echō, a verb meaning “to have or hold.” So huperechō means “those who are held over, or who have prominence over, others.”
The verb translated, “be subject to” is hupotassō, which is made up of hupo or hypo, meaning “under” or “beneath” and tassō, meaning “to place in order.” Hence, this means to place under in an orderly fashion. It is a military term referring to the submission of a soldier to one who out-ranks him.
“Appointed” is from the Greek word, tassō, which we just looked at, meaning “to place in order.” It is often translated as “ordained or appointed.” It is expressed here in the perfect tense indicating a past completed action with an ongoing effect, where the emphasis is on the ongoing effect.
Meaning Explained
Paul has just taught Christians how to live in relation to others within the church. He now turns his attention to how we should live in the world. The church members in Rome to whom Paul is writing this letter were predominantly converted Jews, and the Jews had a long history of resisting the rule of any foreign king. They believed that God alone was their king, which is why the Emperor Claudius had previously banned all Jews from Rome (see Acts 18:2).
When Paul wrote this letter, Claudius had already been assassinated, and his son Nero was the Emperor. But, even though Nero had welcomed the Jews back into Rome, he had no love for them. This was particularly true for those whom many of that day considered to be a sect of Judaism, Christians.
In light of these facts, it is amazing that Paul would admonish us all to be subject to higher authorities. The authorities that Paul is talking about can be those in the workplace, where we are to submit to our bosses and upper management, or to civil government, whether local, regional, or national. Whoever they are, we are to place ourselves under the control of those in positions of authority over us. That means that they have the right to tell us what to do, and we are to obey what they tell us. Also notice that those who are in positions of authority over us, whether on the job, in a church, or in civil government, have been put there by God. The only situation in which we are not to submit to them is when that authority commands us to do something contrary to what God has specifically commanded us to do, such as preaching the Gospel. Paul also teaches us in his first letter to Timothy (1Timothy 2:1, 2), not only are we to submit ourselves to all authorities, we are to pray for them as well! And Peter tells us that this applies whether they are good and gentle or harsh (1Peter 2:18).
Application
It doesn’t matter if we don’t like those in authority over us; we are to submit to them nonetheless. In doing so, we are submitting to the will of our Father in Heaven.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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