Romans VerseQuest Commentary Essay 87: The Powers That Be Are Ordained of God

Key Passage: Romans 13:1–4

Introduction

Romans 13:1–4 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Paul has just told the believer not to avenge himself, because vengeance belongs unto the Lord. Now, before some soft-headed anarchist decides that means there is no earthly order and every man may do that which is right in his own eyes, Paul immediately addresses civil authority. God forbids personal revenge, but He ordains temporal government to restrain evil, punish wrongdoing, and maintain outward order among men.

This passage is badly needed because the flesh has two favorite errors about government. One error worships government as though Caesar were God with a flag, a seal, a uniform, and a tax office. It bows before power, excuses tyranny, sanctifies every decree, and acts like Romans 13 means rulers may command anything and saints must obey like cattle in a chute. The other error despises all authority and treats every inconvenience, every tax, every regulation, every unpleasant ruler, and every irritating civic duty as a divine invitation to rebellion. Both errors are flesh wearing different hats. Romans 13 does not make government God, and it does not make rebellion a spiritual gift. It places civil power under God’s ordination for a defined temporal purpose.

The Bible believer must handle this passage with the whole Bible open. Romans 13 teaches subjection to higher powers because God ordained civil authority. But Acts 5:29 still says, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Daniel did not stop praying because the king signed a decree. The Hebrew children did not bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s image because the music played. The apostles did not stop preaching Christ because rulers commanded silence. Scripture sets the boundary: obey civil authority in its lawful temporal sphere, but never obey man when man commands what God forbids or forbids what God commands. Government is God’s minister for temporal order, not God’s replacement on the throne. Caesar may carry a sword, but he does not wear the crown of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Let Every Soul Be Subject

Paul begins, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.” That is plain language, and it is addressed broadly. “Every soul” does not give the proud man a loophole because he dislikes the ruler, the system, the tax, the law, the courthouse, the officer, or the inconvenience. Subjection means a willing recognition of ordained authority and an orderly posture under it. The Christian is not called to be a lawless troublemaker looking for religious excuses to despise every restraint. Grace does not produce civic anarchy. The believer whose body is on the altar and whose mind is renewed should not behave like a rebel looking for a verse to baptize his temper.

This command follows Romans 12 for a reason. The believer has already been told not to recompense evil for evil, to provide things honest in the sight of all men, and to live peaceably with all men as much as lieth in him. Romans 13 continues that practical order. A Christian testimony is damaged when believers act crooked, dishonest, needlessly defiant, or proud under ordinary civil order. The gospel does not need saints pretending that every traffic law is Pharaoh’s bondage and every civic duty is Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. There is a difference between persecution and inconvenience. The flesh loves to confuse them because rebellion sounds nobler when it borrows martyr language.

Subjection does not mean blind worship. The Christian’s highest allegiance is always to God. But unless civil authority commands sin or forbids obedience to God, the believer is to live orderly, honestly, and peaceably under higher powers. He may appeal lawfully. He may speak truth. He may use proper legal means. Paul himself appealed unto Caesar. But the default Christian posture is not rebellion for sport. “Let every soul be subject” is a command that puts a bridle on the old man’s love of defiance.

2. No Power But of God

Paul gives the reason: “For there is no power but of God.” That does not mean every ruler is righteous, every law is just, every government action is holy, or every civil command reflects God’s moral approval. Pharaoh had power. Nebuchadnezzar had power. Pilate had power. Herod had power. Some of them were wicked men, and Scripture does not flatter them. But their power existed under God’s sovereign government. The Lord Jesus told Pilate, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.” That one sentence humbles every throne on earth.

Civil authority is not an accident produced by human cleverness. After the flood, God established the principle of human government in Genesis 9 when He declared, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” That is temporal justice in the earth. Men are sinners, and sinners left without restraint turn society into a junkyard with knives. Government is ordained because fallen man needs external restraint. Anyone who thinks humanity can run peacefully without authority has not read Genesis, Judges, Kings, or this morning’s news with both eyes open. The old Adam does not become harmless because somebody writes a slogan about freedom.

“No power but of God” also means rulers themselves are accountable. If authority comes from God, authority is not autonomous. Government is not the creator of right and wrong. It is responsible under the God who ordained it. When rulers punish good and praise evil, they are not using authority as God designed. They are abusing a delegated office. A borrowed sword does not make the borrower the owner of justice. The Lord who ordained the office remains Judge over the officeholder.

3. Ordained of God

Paul says, “the powers that be are ordained of God.” Ordained means appointed, ordered, set in place under divine government. Civil authority exists because God established order in a fallen world. Without authority, every man becomes his own law, every grievance becomes a court case with no judge, every strong man becomes a tyrant, and every weak man becomes prey. Judges 21:25 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” That is not liberty. That is chaos with a patriotic speech.

Government, in its ordained purpose, restrains outward evil. It cannot regenerate the heart, justify the sinner, preach the gospel, or make men holy. The state is not the Church. The courthouse is not Calvary. The jail is not the new birth. Civil authority can punish theft, murder, assault, fraud, and public wickedness, but it cannot create righteousness in the soul. When government tries to become saviour, church, parent, conscience, and god, it grows horns fast. Romans 13 gives government a sword, not a pulpit for replacing Christ.

The believer must therefore avoid both idolatry and anarchy. Because powers are ordained of God, he should not despise authority as a concept. Because powers are only ordained under God, he should not worship authority as absolute. The office has legitimacy; God has supremacy. The sword has a place; Scripture has the final authority. Civil order is real; divine lordship is higher. A Christian who cannot keep those truths together will either bow too low before man or stand too proudly against God’s ordinance.

4. Resisting the Ordinance of God

Paul says, “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God.” Resistance here is not every lawful appeal, every refusal to obey sinful commands, or every prophetic rebuke of wicked rulers. Scripture records faithful men standing against unlawful demands. The midwives in Egypt feared God and did not obey Pharaoh’s command to kill the male children. Daniel kept praying. Peter and the apostles kept preaching. But ordinary rebellion against rightful civil order is another matter. To resist authority merely because authority restrains you is to resist an ordinance God established for temporal order.

This verse should make the careless rebel tremble. Some men love to act like all resistance is courage. It is not. Sometimes it is pride, anger, laziness, selfishness, lawlessness, or plain stupidity wearing boots. A man who refuses honest obligations, defies lawful order, cheats taxes, ignores debts, breaks just laws, and then calls himself a freedom fighter has mistaken his flesh for a founding document. Paul says resistance to ordained power can be resistance to God’s ordinance. That is serious ground, not a playground for loud mouths.

Yet the limit remains clear from Scripture. When authority commands disobedience to God, the believer must obey God rather than men. That is not lawless resistance but higher obedience. The Christian does not rebel because man annoyed him; he refuses when man commands sin. He does not disobey because he dislikes consequences; he disobeys man only when obedience to man would be disobedience to God. The distinction matters. Martyrdom is not stubbornness with better lighting. True obedience to God stands on Scripture, not personal irritation.

5. Rulers and Evil Works

Paul says, “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil.” This describes the ordained purpose of rulers. Civil authority is meant to terrorize evil works, not good ones. The thief, murderer, violent man, fraud, abuser, and public evildoer should fear the law. A society where evildoers have no fear and the righteous must hide is a society turning the sword backward. God ordained government to restrain evil in the earth, not to decorate evil with legal approval and then punish righteousness for refusing applause.

This statement does not claim every ruler always fulfills the purpose. Many rulers in Scripture did not. Ahab persecuted Elijah. Nebuchadnezzar demanded worship of an image. Herod killed James. Pilate condemned the innocent Christ while knowing He was innocent. When rulers become a terror to good works and a protector of evil, they are abusing the office God ordained. The office remains ordained; the abuse remains wicked. God will judge rulers for how they used authority. A man does not become righteous by sitting in a government chair. Sometimes the chair only gives his wickedness a louder microphone.

The believer’s ordinary conduct, however, should be such that he need not fear rulers as a criminal. Paul asks, “Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.” The Christian should not be known as a cheat, thief, brawler, liar, fraud, vandal, or troublemaker. If he suffers, let it be for righteousness’ sake, not because he acted like a fool and then wrapped the consequences in religious language. First Peter 4:15 says, “let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer.” That verse has ruined many fake persecution stories.

6. The Minister of God to Thee for Good

Paul says of the ruler, “For he is the minister of God to thee for good.” That is a remarkable statement. Civil authority is called God’s minister, not in the sense of preaching the gospel or administering church ordinances, but in the sense of serving God’s temporal purpose in public order. The ruler is God’s servant for civil good when he restrains evil, protects the innocent, punishes wrongdoing, and maintains outward justice. The badge, bench, law, and sword have a God-ordained place when used within their proper sphere.

This does not make every ruler personally godly. A man may hold an ordained office and still be wicked in his soul. Judas held an apostleship and was a devil. Balaam spoke true words and loved wages of unrighteousness. A ruler may be God’s minister in the temporal order while having no saving knowledge of Christ. Office does not equal regeneration. Function does not equal holiness. That is why Christians must not confuse civic authority with spiritual authority. The state can preserve order, but it cannot preach the blood of Christ with saving power unless men within it personally speak the gospel as believers.

“For good” also defines the purpose. Government is not ordained for tyranny, self-glory, control, persecution of righteousness, or replacing the family and church. It is for good in temporal order. When civil authority protects life, punishes violence, restrains theft, upholds honest dealing, and maintains peace, it serves God’s ordained purpose. That good is limited but real. A stop sign cannot save your soul, but it can keep a fool from turning an intersection into a metal salad. Temporal order is not redemption, but it is a mercy in a world full of sinners.

7. He Beareth Not the Sword in Vain

Paul says, “But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain.” The sword represents coercive authority, including the power to punish evil with real consequences. Government is not merely an advice column. It bears a sword. That means civil authority has power to execute wrath upon wrongdoing in the temporal realm. Modern sentiment may prefer a world where evil receives endless explanations and no punishment, but Scripture is not that foolish. Evil must be restrained, and punishment is part of that restraint.

“He beareth not the sword in vain” also shows that punishment is not inherently unchristian when administered by lawful authority in its proper sphere. Romans 12 forbids personal vengeance. Romans 13 allows civil punishment. The private believer may not take revenge into his own hands, but God has ordained public authority to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Confuse those two chapters and you will either become personally vengeful or publicly lawless. God forbids the Christian from playing vigilante, then immediately explains that civil authority has a sword for a reason. The Lord knows the difference even when sentimental religion does not.

Paul ends the section by saying the ruler is “the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” That is the divine purpose of civil justice. It is not perfect in human hands, because sinners administer it and sinners can corrupt anything from a throne to a offering plate. But the purpose stands. God uses temporal authority as a revenger against evil in society. The evildoer should fear. The righteous should live honestly. The believer should submit where he can, obey God when man commands sin, and remember that the Lord overrules every sword beneath His own throne.

Conclusion

Romans 13:1–4 teaches that civil authority is ordained of God. Every soul is commanded to be subject unto the higher powers because there is no power but of God. This does not make government divine, infallible, or absolute. It does mean civil order is not a human accident to be despised by lawless flesh. God ordained authority in a fallen world to restrain evil, punish wrongdoing, and maintain temporal order. The believer should not treat ordinary subjection as bondage or every inconvenience as persecution. Grace produces orderly saints, not professional rebels with Bible slogans.

The passage also defines the proper purpose of government. Rulers are to be a terror to evil works, not good works. The ruler is called the minister of God to thee for good. He bears not the sword in vain, but serves as a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. That authority is real, limited, and accountable to God. Civil government is not the Church, not the Saviour, not the conscience, and not the final authority over truth. It cannot justify sinners, regenerate hearts, or replace the word of God. Its ordained work is temporal justice and public order.

The whole Bible sets the boundaries. When civil authority operates within its God-ordained sphere, the believer is to live subject, honest, peaceable, and obedient. When man commands what God forbids or forbids what God commands, the answer is still Acts 5:29: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” That is not rebellion for inconvenience; it is obedience to the highest authority. Romans 13 does not worship government, and it does not baptize anarchy. It places the powers that be under the God who ordained them, gives the sword its place, warns the evildoer to fear, and reminds the believer to walk as a living sacrifice even in the public order of a fallen world.