Thomas Aquinas — on Rom 13:1 (Commentary on Romans)

“After showing how man should behave toward God by using the gifts of his grace, the Apostle now shows how man could comport himself toward his neighbor. First, in regard to superiors; second, toward all, at owe no man any thing (Rom 13:8). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he urges men to the subjection owed to superiors; second, to show the sign of subjection, at wherefore be subject of necessity. In regard to the first he does three things: first, he proposes his teaching; second, he assigns a reason, at for there is no power but from God; third, he draws the conclusion, at therefore. In regard to the first it should be noted that in the early Church some believers said that they should not be subject to earthly powers on account of the freedom they received from Christ, since it says in John: if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36). But the freedom granted by Christ is a freedom of the spirit, by which we are set free of sin and death, as was said above: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2). The flesh, however, remains subject to slavery, as was stated above (Rom 7:14). Therefore, the time when a man freed by Christ will not be liable to any subjection, either spiritual or carnal, will be when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power (1 Cor 15:24). In the meantime, as long as we live in the flesh, we are subject to temporal rulers; hence it says in Ephesians: servants, obey your masters in the flesh (Eph 6:5). And that is what the Apostle says here: let every soul be subject to the higher powers. What he calls higher powers are men established in power, to whom we owe subjection according to the order of justice: be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him (1 Pet 2:13). And he says indefinitely higher powers so that we may subject ourselves to them by reason of the sublimity of their office, even if they are wicked: be submissive to your masters, not only to the kind and gentle, but also to the overbearing (1 Pet 2:18). The words every soul are to be taken as a synecdoche for every man, as we find in Genesis, that soul shall be destroyed from among his people (Gen 17:14). And he uses this figure of speech because we owe subjection to the authorities from the soul, i.e., from a pure will: not serving to the eye, as though pleasing men, but from the soul with a good will (Eph 6:6). Then when he says, for there is no power, he presents the reason for this admonition: first, because subjection is honorable; second, because it is necessary, at he who resists. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he presents two principles; second, he concludes from them, at therefore, he who resists. First, therefore, he speaks about the source of power, saying: there is no power except from God. For whatever is said in common of God and creatures, comes to creatures from God, as in the case of wisdom: all wisdom comes from God (Sir 1:1). But power is said of God and of men: God does not abandon the powers, since he is powerful (Job 35:5). Hence, it follows that all human power is from God: the most high rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will (Dan 4:17); you would have no power over me, unless it had been given you from above (John 19:11). But a passage in Hosea seems to be against this: they made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but without my knowledge (Hos 8:4). The answer is that royal power or the power associated with any other dignity can be considered from three aspects. First, in regard to the power itself, which is from God through whom kings reign (Prov 8:15). Second, in regard to the way in which power is obtained: from this aspect, power is from God sometimes, namely, when a person obtains it rightfully, as it says in Hebrews: one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, as Aaron was (Heb 5:4). But sometimes it is not from God but from a perverse desire of a man, who obtains power through ambition or some other unlawful manner: have we not by our own strength taken horns for ourselves? (Amos 6:13). Third, it can be considered in regard to its use, and then it is from God sometimes, as when a person observes the precepts of divine justice in using the power granted him: by me kings rule (Prov 8:15). But sometimes it is not from God, as when a person uses power given to him to act against divine justice: the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed (Ps 2:2). The question arises whether the power to sin is from God. The answer is that the power by which one sins is from God. For it is the same power that is employed in sinning and in doing right: but that it is directed to good is from God; that it is directed to sin is due to a defect of the creature, inasmuch as it springs from nothingness. Second, he states that those that exist have been instituted by God, the reason being that God made all things through his wisdom, for it says in a psalm: in wisdom have you made all (Ps 104:24). But it is the function of wisdom to dispose of things in order: she reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well (Wis 8:1). Therefore, divine effects must be orderly: do you know the ordinances of the heavens? (Job 38:33). But God has established a twofold order in his effects: one, whereby all things are ordained to him: the Lord has made everything for himself (Prov 16:4); the other is that whereby divine effects are ordained one to another, as Deuteronomy says of the sun and the moon and the stars, that he made them to serve all nations (Deut 4:19).”