We place our trust in a God, who is THE God above all other gods. He is the ‘unknown God’ whom Paul elaborated on to the Greeks in Acts 17, in whom we live and have our being. He is the Creator of the Universe, and by His word all creation, all that is seen and unseen, came into being.
We place our trust in this God, THE God above all other gods, Creator of time and space who HIMSELF is beyond time and beyond space… We proclaim that His glory is borderless and infinite, and His wisdom is timeless and eternal.
We give this God, THE God above all other gods, our full thanks and trust… For this same infinite and eternal Creator proclaimed to His prophet Jeremiah, that He has also loved us with an everlasting love (31:3).
And as we have been reading, we cannot hope to fully grasp, fully understand and take in His infinite glory and eternal wisdom; Creation can never hope to fully embrace its Creator, but, again, we give thanks and praise to Him, because His love for us is the same way – never fully comprehended, only to be trusted.
Again, Creation can never hope to fully embrace its Creator… but, thanks be to His Son, for through Him we agree, acknowledge, recognize, and appreciate that it is our Creator who fully embraces us.
And as we just read in Romans 12, it’s not up to us to generate the same genuine, merciful and compassionate love, especially here in this world – Only the everlasting God could give everlasting and genuine love into this wretched world and this damned reality, through the body of Christ.
In the final verse, Paul tells us that we are not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good… and I propose that we ourselves have been overcome with good, in and through Christ, God’s demonstration of His everlasting love to the world.
And with all this in mind, let’s keep going with Romans 13:
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.
The Greek word used for ‘subject’ is hupotassō // hoop-ot-as’-so // From G5259 and G5021; to subordinate; reflexively to obey: – be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto.
Paul does not merely call on the body of Christ, but EVERY PERSON to submit and obey the governing authorities, stating that it is through the Authority of authorities, and the only One who gives authority that these entities are where they are.
We’re all to recognize that (1) no matter how much we doubt or disagree, it is with God’s permission that those in authority are where they are, and (2) it is not by their merit, or their cheating, or their systems that they have been instituted – God put them where they are.
Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
The notions of the social media I’m exposed to nowadays would have me thinking that the leaders of the nations we have today are where they are even if they weren’t necessarily voted in by the majority, and/or they are weaker compared to their predecessors…
…so you could imagine how I’m having a hard time with that last verse.
But I suppose it’s all in how we see it. On one hand we could join a significant amount of folks who question the competence and/or legitimacy of their governing authorities… On the other hand, we can give in to the leading and conviction of the Holy Spirit, who reminds us of our righteousness and our right standing with the Authority of authorities, EVEN during these difficult times.
In other words, when we find more reason and cause to resist who God has appointed, we are actually more directed to seek and acknowledge the true authority of our Father.
In the same way that the prodigal son was eventually led back to his father after he had his time and way… so we also run back to our Father when we see our leaders having their own time and way.
Or, it’s not just the consequences of our own actions, but the far-reaching consequences of the actions of others that lead us back to our Father.
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.
First of all, we’re to see that these ‘rulers’ or those placed into authority are not necessarily enforcers of their OWN interpretations of good or bad conduct. Throughout this set of verses I’m led to believe that even if they have their own limited perspectives to right or wrong, it was still God, the only One with any real authority, who placed them where they are.
Therefore, though we see it or not, whether we feel it or not, these authorities are ultimately ‘terrors to bad conduct’… and, see – no matter what they believe in, they are still God’s servants ‘for (our) good’ and avengers who carry out His wrath ‘on the wrongdoer’.
Second, other translations point out ‘good conduct’ instead as ‘good works’; To me this means that though these rulers have their own systems and interpretations, their own definitions of what is good and bad in their own eyes, our basis for good conduct and works is not according to their standard. No, what we do, and how we act still has its basis on what, rather who is truly good:
We conduct ourselves as Christ has conducted Himself to us,
we work as Christ worked in us, through us, and with us.
Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Friends, in this world where we are constantly provoked to rebel against any and all authority figures – Not merely politicians but leaders, down to fathers and mothers – Paul’s call for us is STILL to subject ourselves to them, paying what is owed to them at the very least.
Here he also points out that it’s not merely for us to avoid their wrath (and consequently God’s wrath) but also because, really, it’s part of our conscience to do so. In other words, it’s what we’ve been saved to do, or we’ve been born again to subject to authority, naturally.
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
We’ve been reminded earlier to work as Christ worked in us, and to conduct ourselves as Christ conducted Himself with us; And here, Paul reminds us that the first order, or the first command that precedes the work or the conduct is the love.
We love, and we avoid breaking the law, but more importantly, ‘the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.’
With all this we’re going through, I’m brought back to just focus on our own conduct and the consequences of our own actions, or that which is still within our control.
It’s easy for us to speculate on what our leaders are thinking or the consequences of their actions (within the limitations of our own minds, of course); it’s easy, then, to pass judgment on them and to decide to work or conduct ourselves with a rebellious mindset…
…but in these moments we still give thanks to God, because through Christ we’re always reminded to ‘escalate’ – that is, to look above our direct leaders, to the highest Authority.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
In closing, Paul does not leave it to chance, but reminds us himself, certainly by the power of the same Holy Spirit who convicts us… that we shouldn’t wait to snap out of our rebellion, but to focus on Christ, here and now.
At the end of Romans 12, we’re reminded, not to be overwhelmed by evil, but to overcome evil with good. We’re reminded of Christ, God’s demonstration of His everlasting love to the world.
Here, in the end of Romans 13, we’re reminded that in our appreciation of Christ, we would naturally be led to ‘put (Him) on’; That is, to act beyond what the flesh and the world demands, and to work and conduct ourselves, according to Christ’s work and conduct.
The night is far gone, and the day is at hand.
God bless us all.
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