Some Key Words (12/19/00-12/20/02)

Subjection (hupotasso [5293]):

to place in orderly fashion under, submission, dependent position, one's relation to superiors; to arrange under, to put in subjection, to subject oneself, obey, submit to control, yield to advice, to arrange troop divisions in military fashion under a leader, a voluntary attitude of cooperating and carrying a burden; to subordinate

Governing (huperecho [5242]):

to have hold over one, to stand out, rise above, to be of superior rank, authority, or power, to excel, be better than, surpass; to hold oneself above, superior, superiority

Authorities (exousia [1849]):

permission, right, power to do, the capability or the right to do, the executive power vs. the authority granting the power; the power of choice, the ability or strength one possesses or exercises, the power of authority and right, the power of rule, one who possesses authority, a magistrate, the more powerful among created beings, a sign of authority - such as a crown; capacity, competency, mastery, delegated influence

Established (tasso [5021]):

to set, appoint, order, to set in order, to properly dispose or adapt; to station, to assign a place, to appoint a thing to one, to ordain, order, to appoint on one's own authority;

Resists (antitassomai [498]):

to range in battle against, to oppose oneself;

Opposed (anthistemi [436]):

to set oneself against, withstand, resist; to stand against

Condemnation (krima [2917]):

the result of judgment, a solemn judgment, a judicial sentence, sentenced to punishment, damnation; a decree, judgments, condemnation of wrong, the sentence of a judge, the punishment to which one is sentenced, penal judgment; a decision or its effect

Rulers (archon [758]):

a chief, prince, magistrate; a commander, a leader; first in rank or power

Fear (phobos [5401]):

godly fear, reverence, fearfulness, timidity, shrinking for fear; dread, terror, that which causes terror, reverence for one's husband; alarm, fright

Good (agathos [18]):

benevolent, profitable, useful; of good constitution or nature, agreeable, pleasant, excellent, distinguished, honorable;

Behavior (ergon [2041]):

work, the result or object of employment, any object one may have to do or attain, the result of doing and working, calling or occupation, labor done for Christ, moral conduct; what one is occupied with or undertakes to do, an enterprise, any product accomplished by hand, mind, art, or industry, an act or deed; toil

Evil (kakos [2556]):

wicked, one that is evil and puts others in trouble; of a bad nature, not as it ought to be, thinking, feeling or acting wrongly, troublesome, injurious, pernicious, destructive; worthless, depraved

Fear (phobeo [5399]):

to cause to run away, terrify, frighten, to be terrified, afraid, to fear revenge; to put to flight, scare away, to be seized with alarm, to be startled by a strange sight, to be struck with amazement, to hesitate to do something for fear of harm, to venerate, treat with deference or reverential obedience; to be alarmed, to be in awe of

Minister (diakonos [1249]):

a servant - emphasizing the service rendered, a deacon; one who executes another's commands, an attendant, the servant of a king, an officer of the church charged with the care of the poor, a waiter; a Christian teacher or pastor

Wrath (orge [3709]):

anger as a state of mind, the desire to punish one who has hurt, the effect of anger; temper, agitation of the soul, a violent emotion, indignation, the punishment inflicted by magistrates; an excitement of the mind, a violent passion, abhorrence

Practices (prasso [4238]):

to make, perform, do good or evil, prasso tends to indicate the doing of evil whereas poieo [4160] indicates the doing of good; to exercise, be busy with, undertake, to accomplish, commit, perpetrate, to manage public affairs, exact tribute or debts, to act; to perform repeatedly and habitually (whereas poieo [4160] refers to a singular action), to execute, accomplish, to collect dues

Necessary (anagke [318]):

to constrict, bind hard, compress, necessity, compelling force, moral necessity, spiritual necessity, distress, affliction; necessity imposed by circumstance or by law of duty, calamity, distress; constraint, distress

Conscience (suneidesis [4893]):

to know together with oneself, to be one's own witness, self-consciousness, consciousness towards God and His requirements, that which confirms divine truth within us, man's awareness of God and self; the consciousness of anything, the soul distinguishing between the morally good and bad - commending one and condemning the other; moral consciousness

Servants (leitourgos [3011]):

a servant of the state, a minister, a military laborer, a priest, or one who works with the holy things of the temple, a king's servant; a public servant, a temple functionary, a worshipper of God

Devoting (proskartereo [4342]):

to endure, tarry, remain somewhere, to continue steadfastly with someone or something, to continually insist on staying close to someone or something, steadfastness, faithfulness; to adhere to one, to be steadfastly attentive to, to give unremitting care to, to persevere, to show oneself courageous for, to be in constant readiness for, wait on constantly; to be constantly diligent, to attend to all the exercises

Render (apodidomi [591]):

to deliver, give away for profit, sell, to pay off, discharge a debt, to render account, to give back, restore, to recompense; to give away, give up, give back

Due (opheile [3782]):

a debt which must be paid, obligation, a service owed; what is owed; a sum owed, an obligation

Custom (telos [5056]):

end, goal, the limit at which something ceases, the goal reached, the completion of a matter, consummation, toil, tax; the limit, the end of some act or state, the last in a succession, eternal, the finish of a thing, purpose, an indirect tax on goods; the point aimed at, the conclusion or result, an impost or levy

Honor (time [5092]):

a valuing, a fixing of price, the price paid or received, the honor belonging to one, the honor shown to one, the honor had by reason of rank or office, deference, reverence; esteem, dignity

 

Paraphrase: (12/19/00)

1 Since God establishes all authorities, subject yourselves to them. 2 For in resisting earthly authorities, you oppose God to your own condemnation. 3 If your behavior is good, you have nothing to fear from any authority. Indeed you have their praise, 4 for their office is a ministry appointed by God for good. If your behavior is evil, you ought fear greatly, for God has armed His ministers of authority to avenge His wrath upon the evildoer. 5 Not only for fear of punishment, but for a clear conscience, it is needful to be subject to authority. 6 It is because they are God's servants, devoted to their appointed vocation, that we are obedient in paying taxes. 7 Each should receive his due from us: taxes to whom they are due, custom to whom it is due, fear and honor to those whose due it is.

Key Verse: (12/19/00)

13:2 - To resist authority is to resist God. To disobey God is cause for condemnation. Nothing here limits the authority by its quality. Good or bad, they are God's appointees, and are to be obeyed.

People Mentioned: (12/19/00)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (12/20/00)

13:1

Ac 2:41 - Three thousand souls were baptized into the church at Peter's preaching. Ti 3:1 - We are to be obedient subjects to our rulers, doing good at every opportunity. 1Pe 2:13-14 - We are to subject ourselves to all human authorities for the Lord's sake. Dan 2:21 - It is God who establishes rulers, and God who removes them. Dan 4:17 - He rules over all mankind, and gives authority to whom He wishes. Jn 19:11 - Pilate's authority was his only because God declared it so.

13:2
13:3

1Pe 2:14 - God appoints authorities to punish evildoers and praise doers of good.

13:4

1Th 4:6 - Even so, it is the Lord who is the avenger of wrongs through these agents.

13:5

Ecc 8:1-17 - In spite of appearances, it is always best to obey authorities and to do good. Evil will be repaid in time, we don't know the full counsel of God's plan. 1Pe 2:13 - For the sake of the Lord who appoints them, we ought to obey authority, 1Pe 2:19 - even if unjust, for the bearing of unjust sorrow with a clear conscience pleases God.

13:6
13:7

Mt 22:21, Mk 12:17, Lk 20:25 - Give the world's due to the world, and God's due to God. Lk 20:22 - The question was whether it was lawful to pay Caesar's tax, Lk 23:2 - yet the accusation brought to Pilate was that Christ forbade the paying of taxes. Mt 17:25 - But Christ had pointed out that taxes and tariffs are paid by strangers, not by family. [And we are the family of God, not of the government.]

 

New Thoughts (12/21/00)

Where is the line? When is 'civil disobedience' acceptable? There were points where the Apostles found it necessary to reject the rulings of the authorities of their time. It's interesting to note, however, that these were mostly authorities within the church, whereas civil authorities were generally respected even to the giving up of life. And this is the instruction reiterated in other portions of Scripture. The obeying of those authorities perceived as good is an easy thing for the good person, which one hopes the Christian is. This takes about as much moral fortitude as blessing the one who blesses you. The exercising of our spiritual muscles comes in more uncomfortable situations. Back up in 12:14, Paul told us to bless those who curse us. This is the challenge. This is the thing that differentiates us from the general populace. As with the personal affront, so with the unjust amongst civil authorities. It is not for us to take unlawful actions of rebellion. It is not for us to participate in acts of disobedience. This does not mean that we must appear to agree with the unjust, but it does indicate that we are to remain in submission to them, even if it costs us our lives. One can stand for truth in the face of injustice, without standing in rebellion. One can declare truth without standing afoul of God's command. But when it comes to dealing with those who so misuse their God-given authority, we must allow for God-given punishment, rather than trying to take revenge for ourselves.

As I noted above, the Scriptural record seems to indicate a much greater incidence of 'rebellion' against Church authorities, and it seems clear that the current passage is geared toward the civil. So, when is it not rebellion to cast off the authority of the Church? This is certainly not a thing to be done lightly. Peter and John set the standard, I think, when they declared that they had to follow God's directions rather than the Church's. This is not a judgment we can make on the spur of the moment. It requires that we be students of the Word. It requires that we be accustomed to the voice of our Shepherd. It requires more prayer and fasting of us than it does to cast out demons. But Scripture also makes it very clear that such misleaders will indeed exist within the Church in all ages. But what are we to do when we find them? Are we to stand and declare their falsehood? Jesus' teaching seems to indicate that we ought not to do so, for He declared that it was not our task to separate the false from the real, for fear that we might harm the real in the process. Rather, His instruction was to leave that to God. On the other hand, the Apostles seem fairly uniform in warning us to be informed enough to separate ourselves and our loved ones from those who would teach false doctrine. I'm unclear as to how one balances these things, other than to depart from their company with all alacrity. What one does about other friends who are in that fold, I don't know, other than to teach them true doctrine in gentleness and humility, allowing them to come to the truth by the Truth.

One final thing. While I feel this passage of Scripture is speaking of civil authority, the description it offers for such authorities presents a lot that certainly ought to be said of Church authority. Certainly, those whom God has placed in authority over His chosen people ought to be devoted to their calling. I really liked that definition: to be steadfastly attentive to, to give unremitting care to, to show oneself courageous for the office God has ordained, and the duties thereof. That's a strong demand. The office demands reverence and honor for the simple fact that it is God ordained. Even the worst of those who fill the office still require our reverence and honor - even if we find it necessary to depart from them due to falsehoods. But those who are called to these offices ought to make it their goal and standard to deserve the reverence and honor that the office demands. From civil authorities, we can only hope and pray that this be the case, and pray the harder when it isn't. From Church authorities, we ought almost to demand so. The requirements placed upon the selection of Church government by Scripture are stringent, and designed to assure that this be the case. But it will only be so when the body that affects the selecting is prayerfully assiduous in hearing the Holy Spirit advising, and in applying the standards offered.