"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." Romans 13:1-4

Our forefathers made us all kings over our own actions; accountable to God -- not man. We are subject to no other or higher power than God.

Now listen to me. God created man, man created the Constitution, the Constitution provided for or created government to be a servant of man, and government, of necessity, must have bureaucrats. The power structure is obvious.

1. God
2. Man
3. Constitution
4. Government
5. Bureaucrats

But we have failed to keep things in their proper order and non the pecking order is upside down with the Bureaucrats at the top of the list and God at the bottom.

In this country "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers" meant that every man is subject to God -- not all governmental authority. Our government was created for only one purpose -- to serve -- not to rule over man. And the sole function of government, as it pertains to the people, is to PROTECT our God given rights to life, liberty, and property. It has no other reason for its existance.

In ancient Rome this was not the case; Caesar was god unto himself and also the final authority or Law over the people. Caesar was considered god and his word was considered as the law of a god (Caesar).

In this country it was intended that the word of God, as exercised by and through the People (through the jury), would be the Law -- not the word or laws of government (Caesar or the legislature).

We must also remember that Paul said in Romans 13, that rulers are to reward good and punish evil. He did not say that rulers were to determine what law was, that is, what was good and evil. Only God can determine what is good and evil and He has done so and recorded it for our use and benefit in His Word. Besides that, when was the last time you heard about a ruler who "rewarded good." Oh, they are quick to punish but fail to reward good.

You want to know why we have such an ungodly and oppressive system of government strongly resembling the system of Christ's day? Well it is largely because of the false doctrine of twentieth century preachers on Romans 13 and other verses, influencing the people to obey all the "precepts of men" and none of the laws of God. We would never had a revolution against England if people in those days believed as people believe today. I have been told many times that the people of those days made a mistake and should have remained under the authority of the higher powers. What they do not understand is that those people did place themselves under the higher powers -- the power of God and God's system of justice -- not man's power and system of justice.

Let's look at God's Purpose In Power (authority). Paul went on to define power or authority. He said it was to protect good, and he who does good will receive the praise of same, because the ruler is God's servant for the people's good. Romans 13:1 continues: "For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."

However, what about a Godless authority? In Romans 13:3, Paul again makes it clear that the task of authority is to protect the good and punish the evil. It is to insure that we have religious liberty so that we can fulfill the laws of God, for if we do not have civil/religious liberty we cannot fulfill the laws of God.

Our forefathers understood this concept and the proper role of power as it pertains to government, and so did the clergy of the day. A sermon preached by Charles Turner in 1773 on Romans 13 had this to say:

"....when the civil rights of a country receive a shock, it may justly render the ministers of God deeply thoughtful for the safety of sacred privileges -- for religious liberty is so blended with civil, that if one falls, it is not expected that the other will continue."
Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution, by J. T. Headley, page 5.

Many years ago, a Russian Christian was arrested and spent 6 1/2 years in jail for passing out religious materials in violation of man's law. After his release he escaped to the free world. One of the questions he was asked pertained to Romans 13. Everyone wants to know how a Russian can pass out literature in violation of the civil government's laws. He said it was a simple matter:

"Governments are ordained of God to carry out His will, but when governments turn away from God or do not carry out God's will, then that government is no longer ordained of God, and anything decreed by that government in violation of God's laws need not be obeyed."

My goodness, someone who can read and understand what he read. In other words, if any government limits the body of Christ in its activity, and curbs the witness of Christians, regulates churches, jails ministers, stops home schools, denies the right of liberty (locomotion), legislates usury etc., then we are no longer under any obligation to honor or be obedient to that government.

Notwithstanding the above, Romans 13 is not directed at government but the Church or the body of Christ. A plain reading of Romans 12 along with 13, 14, AND 15 will reveal this to be true. Paul states in chapter 12: verses 4-6:

"For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
"So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;" Romans 12:4-6

Paul does a like thing in Ephesians 4:11-16 where he addresses the different gifts of the members of the body.

It should be obvious that a "shepherd," "teacher," "deacon," or "elders," etc. would have some power and authority and be over or in charge of the people within a congregation. In the days of Moses it was one over ten, one over etc.

This same principle is being illustrated in Romans 12. In verse 1 Paul says "I beseech you therefore brethren. Thereifore he is talking to the Brethren. Actually Paul begins this discourse in Romans 12:3 and it continues through Romans 15:7. And I am going to outline this for you:

Paul in addressing the Brethren will talk about the social relationships among the Brethren, the civil relationships among the Brethen and more on the Social relationships among the Brethren. And if you will read all of the verses you will see that he is talking about relationships among the Brethren not relationships between the Roman authorities and the Brethren. Clearly, Paul is talking about the Brethren in the church in verses 3-8 and I want to read verses 5-8:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Here he plainly talks about "one body in Christ and gifts given to them "according to the grace that is given to us." So there is not question about who we are talking about -- it is the brethren in Christ. In verse 8 we read of more qifts within the brethren:

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with heerfulness.

The word ruleth cannot possibly refer to the Roman rulers as they are certainly not a part of the brethren nor are they the receiver of the gifts spoken of here. The Greek word for ruler means " (1.a) to set over; (1.b) to be over; to superintend, preside over; (1.c) to be a protector or guardian; (1.c.1) to give aid"

This does not sound like the rulers we have been dealing with all our lives. And rightly so, because here we are talking about relationships among the Brethren and in verse 8, specifically those who preside over the brethren. In our day and age we would be talking about pastors, edeacons and elders. In verses 9-21 Paul deals with social relationships within the brethren and will do so again in chapter 13:8-14, closing in verse 15. In In between the social relationships among the brethren we find Romans 13:1-7 which addresses the civil relationships among the Brethren.

And so, in verse 1 of Romans 13, he addresses the problem of how to interact with the rulers among the Brethren in the body of Christ saying: "Let every soul (person who is not in a position of authority) be subject unto the higher powers (persons having authority within the body). For there is no power (authority in them) but of God: the powers that be (authority of those who rule in the body) are ordained of God."

Verses 2 through 7 simply address this relationship between those Brethren not in authority within the body of Christ and those Brethren in authority within the body of Christ.

Paul briefly addressed this situation in Romans 12:3 saying: "not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think," but to think "soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Again, we are dealing with the Brethren in Christ -- not with the Roman authorities who would have "no measure of faith."

In Romans 13:1, is it so hard to understand that the Brethern need to be "subject to the higher powers" among the Brethren? Isn't it obvious in verse 2, that the powers of the presiding Brethren would be "ordained of God? Wouldn't it be obvious that if one of the Brethren "resiseth the power (of the presiding Brethren, he), resiseth also the ordinances of God.

Isn't it obvious in verse 3, that the ruling Brethren among the body "are not a terror to good works? And wouldn't it be obvious in verse 4 that the ruler among the Brethren "is the minister of God to thee? I cannot imagine anyone in the Roman army being a "minister of God to thee."

I could go on but this should suffice to show that Romans 12:1 to Romans 15:7 deals with the Brethren and the relationships among the brethren. Again it should be obvious that a state civil government as we think of it, is not included in the above verses. It should also be noted that the word "government" does not appear in these verses.

The word "government(s)" only appears in the New Testament two times. Once from Strong's 2941 which means to steer; pilotage, i.e. (fig) directorship (in the church): -government." This word is used in the sense of authority or directorship in the church -- not the civil government of a state. This word is used in Corinthians as follows:

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues." I Cor 12:28

The second appearance of the word "government" is from Strong's 2962 meaning "(supreme in authority), mastery, rulers, dominion, government."

This word appears in II Peter 2:10. However, this dissertation is about the wicked and begins with verse 1 and ends with verse 22.

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
"But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities." II Pet 2:9-10 KJV Authorized

From reading chapter 2:1, we can see that this chapter is basically discussing false prophets and their actions. In this regard the use of the word "government" is inappropriate if applied the the Brethren in Christ. Actually, verses 9-10 above are part of verses 3-17 which address the judgment of these false prophets. And so the verses pertain to false prophets who denied the faith and kept themselves from the authority of those in the body of Christ.

It should be rendered "dominion" and the meaning follows the same principle outlined in Ephesians 4 and Romans 13. We are to be subject to the Brethren within the body of Christ who are in positions of authority over us.

In the case of the false prophets they refuse to be a part of the body and therefore separate themselves from authority. These false prophets "walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government (dominion and authority of the rulers in the body of Christ)." An so we see that neither usage of the word government is to be applied to any civil government of any state.

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