Rom 13:1

“As therefore the devil lied at the beginning, so did he also in the end, when he said, "All these are delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give them." For it is not he who has appointed the kingdoms of this world, but God; for "the heart of the king is in the hand of God." And the Word also says by Solomon, "By me kings do reign, and princes administer justice. By me chiefs are raised up, and by me kings rule the earth." Paul the apostle also says upon this same subject: "Be ye subject to all the higher powers; for there is no power but of God: now those which are have been ordained of God." And again, in reference to them he says, "For he beareth not the sword in vain; for he is the minister of God, the avenger for wrath to him who does evil." Now, that he spake these words, not in regard to angelical powers, nor of invisible rulers-as some venture to expound the passage-but of those of actual human authorities, [he shows when] he says, "For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, doing service for this very thing." This also the Lord confirmed, when He did not do what He was tempted to by the devil; but He gave directions that tribute should be paid to the tax-gatherers for Himself and Peter; because "they are the ministers of God, serving for this very thing."”

“Therefore, as to what relates to the honours due to kings or emperors, we have a prescript sufficient, that it behoves us to be in all obedience, according to the apostle's precept, "subject to magistrates, and princes, and powers; " but within the limits of discipline, so long as we keep ourselves separate from idolatry.”

“No doubt the apostle admonishes the Romans to be subject to all power, because there is no power but of God, and because (the ruler) does not carry the sword without reason, and is the servant of God, nay also, says he, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

“What does Paul mean when he says that "there is no authority except from God?" Is an authority which persecutes the children of God, which attacks the faith and which undermines our religion, from God? We shall answer this briefly. Nobody will deny that our senses—sight, sound and thought—are given to us by God. But although we get them from God, what we do with them is up to us.… God will judge us righteously for having abused what he gave us to use for good. Likewise, God's judgment against the authorities will be just, if they have used the powers they have received according to their own ungodliness and not according to the laws of God.”

“The ruler is saved not through much power but through divine grace.”

“"Judas the Galilean revolted in the days of the census," says Gamaliel in the Acts of the Apostles, and "drew away some of the people after him," refusing to obey the order of the Romans and register their goods, for which reason Quirinius had been sent to Syria.… But as Judas's decision was the cause of domestic murders and of a rebellion against the authorities which did much harm to the people, it seems to me that here the apostle is condemning any attempt to imitate him based on the illusion that it is a godly thing to disobey rulers. He has a good deal to say about this, condemning it as a mistaken way of thinking.”

“The book of Proverbs teaches us that kings do not come to rule apart from the dispensation and will of God: "Through me kings reign and princes decree justice."”

“Of this subject he makes much account in other epistles also, setting subjects under their rulers as household servants are under their masters. And this he does to show that it was not for the subversion of the commonwealth that Christ introduced His laws, but for the better ordering of it, and to teach men not to be taking up unnecessary and unprofitable wars. For the plots that are formed against us for the truth's sake are sufficient and we have no need to be adding temptations superfluous and unprofitable. And observe too how well-timed his entering upon this subject is. For when he had demanded that great spirit of heroism, and made men fit to deal either with friends or foes, and rendered them serviceable alike to the prosperous and those in adversity and need, and in fact to all, and had planted a conversation worthy of angels, and had discharged anger, and taken down recklessness, and had in every way made their mind even, he then introduces his exhortation upon these matters also. For if it be right to requite those that injure us with the opposite, much more is it our duty to obey those that are benefactors to us. But this he states toward the end of his exhortation, and hitherto does not enter on these reasonings which I mention, but those only that enjoin one to do this as a matter of debt. And to show that these regulations are for all, even for priests, and monks, and not for men of secular occupations only, he hath made this plan at the outset, by saying as follows: "let every soul be subject unto the higher powers," if thou be an Apostle even, or an Evangelist, or a Prophet, or anything whatsoever, inasmuch as this subjection is not subversive of religion. And he does not say merely "obey," but "be subject." And the first claim such an enactment has upon us, and the reasoning that suiteth the faithful, is, that all this is of God's appointment. "For there is no power," he says, "but of God." What say you? it may be said; is every ruler then elected by God? This I do not say, he answers. Nor am I now speaking about individual rulers, but about the thing in itself. For that there should be rulers, and some rule and others be ruled, and that all things should not just be carried on in one confusion, the people swaying like waves in this direction and that; this, I say, is the work of God's wisdom. Hence he does not say, "for there is no ruler but of God;" but it is the thing he speaks of, and says, "there is no power but of God. And the powers that be, are ordained of God." Thus when a certain wise man saith, "It is by the Lord that a man is matched with a woman" (Prov. xix. 14, LXX.), he means this, God made marriage, and not that it is He that joineth together every man that cometh to be with a woman. For we see many that come to be with one another for evil, even by the law of marriage, and this we should not ascribe to God. But as He said Himself, "He which made them at the beginning, made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall leave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh." (Matt. xix. 4, Matt. xix. 5; Gen. ii. 24.) And this is what that wise man meant to explain. For since equality of honor does many times lead to fightings, He hath made many governments and forms of subjection; as that, for instance, of man and wife, that of son and father, that of old men and young, that of bond and free, that of ruler and ruled, that of master and disciple. And why are you surprised in the case of mankind, when even in the body He hath done the same thing? For even here He hath not made all parts of equal honor, but He hath made one less and another greater, and some of the limbs hath He made to rule and some to be ruled. And among the unreasoning creatures one may notice this same principle, as amongst bees, amongst cranes, amongst herds of wild cattle. And even the sea itself is not without this goodly subordination; for there too many of the clans are ranged under one among the fishes, and are led thus as an army, and make long expeditions from home. For anarchy, be where it may, is an evil, and a cause of confusion. After having said then whence governments come, he proceeds, "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God." See what he has led the subject on to, and how fearful he makes it, and how he shows this to be a matter of debt. For lest the believers should say, You are making us very cheap and despicable, when you put us, who are to enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven, under subjection to rulers, he shows that it is not to rulers, but to God again that he makes them subject in doing this. For it is to Him, that he who subjects himself to authorities is obedient. Yet he does not say this-for instance that it is God to Whom a man who listens to authorities is obedient-but he uses the opposite case to awe them, and gives it a more precise form by saying, that he who listeneth not thereto is fighting with God, Who framed these laws. And this he is in all cases at pains to show, that it is not by way of favor that we obey them, but by way of debt. For in this way he was more likely to draw the governors who were unbelievers to religion, and the believers to obedience. For there was quite a common report in those days, which maligned the Apostles, as guilty of a sedition and revolutionary scheme, and as aiming in all they did and said at the subversion of the received institutions. When then you show our common Master giving this in charge to all His, you will at once stop the mouths of those that malign us as revolutionists, and with great boldness will speak for the doctrines of truth. Be not then ashamed, he says, at such subjection. For God hath laid down this law, and is a strong Avenger of them if they be despised. For it is no common punishment that He will exact of thee, if thou disobey, but the very greatest; and nothing will exempt thee, that thou canst say to the contrary, but both of men thou shalt undergo the most severe vengeance, and there shall be no one to defend thee, and thou wilt also provoke God the more. And all this he intimates when he says...”

“This is an argument against those who thought that they were obliged to use their Christian freedom in such a way that they gave honor or paid taxes to nobody. Paul wants to humble such people in any way he can, so that they will not suffer reproach on account of their pride instead of on account of God.It seems that Paul is speaking of secular authorities, not all of whom will be just, even if they received their authority from God.… The ruler is set up by God to judge with righteousness, so that sinners might have reason to be afraid should they sin.”

“Most rightly, Paul warns against anyone who is puffed up with pride by the fact that he has been called by his Lord into freedom and become a Christian, and therefore thinks that he does not have to keep the status given to him in the course of this life or submit to the higher powers to whom the government of temporal things has been confided for a time. For because we are made of soul and body and as long as we are in this life we make use of temporal things as a means of living this life, it is fitting that, as far as this life is concerned, we be subject to the authorities, i.e., to the people who with some recognition administer human affairs. But as far as the spiritual side is concerned, in which we believe in God and are called into his kingdom, it is not right for us to be subject to any man who seeks to overturn in us the very thing which God has been pleased to grant us so that we might obtain eternal life.So if anyone thinks that because he is a Christian he does not have to pay taxes or tribute nor show the proper respect to the authorities who take care of these things, he is in very great error. Likewise, if anyone thinks that he ought to submit to the point where he accepts that someone who is his superior in temporal affairs should have authority even over his faith, he falls into an even greater error. But the balance which the Lord himself prescribed is to be maintained: "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's but unto God the things which are God's." For although we are called into that kingdom where there will be no power of this world, nevertheless, while we are on the way there and until we have reached that state where every principality and power will be destroyed, let us put up with our condition for the sake of human affairs, doing nothing falsely and in this very thing obeying God, who commands us to do it, rather than men.”

“Even priests, bishops and monks must obey the commands of secular rulers. Of course, they must do so insofar as obedience is consistent with godliness. If the rulers demand something which is ungodly, then on no account are they allowed to do it.The holy apostle teaches us that both authorities and obedience depend entirely on God's providence, but he does not say that God has specifically appointed one person or another to exercise that authority. For it is not the wickedness of individual rulers which comes from God but the establishment of the ruling power itself.… Since God wants sinners to be punished, he is prepared to tolerate even bad rulers.”

“Let us then be strong in the war against this evil lust which although it be a good thing when coupled with marriage in the world, is accounted a vice if it be wrought by disciples; for not every thing is good for every man, even though it be very fair and good in its nature, for riches in the nature of their creation by their Maker are good, but if solitaries, who are commanded not to have two tunics, and not to take care for the morrow, acquire them, the possession thereof to them is a vice. And the eating of flesh and the drinking of wine is pure unto those who devote themselves unto the life of the world, but for those who of their own will have given themselves unto the maintenance of the election of the discipleship of Christ, it is not right to make use of things, except for necessity's sake. And, moreover, good and fair also are the powers and dominions of this world, for it is written, "There is no dominion which is not from God", but for those who have separated themselves from human habitation, and have promised to do great and sublime things, to desire human grades of honour is a subject for rebuke and reproach. And dwelling in cities and villages, and the habitation in the world, and life and intercourse among the children of men are not blameworthy, but for those who have become destitute for the love of God, and who have once cast off the world of their own free-will, and have gone forth to become solitaries and ascetics outside it, the dwelling among and intercourse with the children of men are unto them subjects for reprehension and blame; and there are many things like these, the doing of which is blameless unto those who have not already bound themselves by a covenant against them, but if they be done by those who have promised to abstain from them they are blameworthy.”

“Having offered his listeners sufficient moral instruction and having taught them to be benevolent even toward enemies, he presents the current exhortation as well, teaching every soul, whether one be a priest, a monk, or an apostle, to submit to the authorities; for this submission does not undermine piety. And the apostle presents this exhortation with the purpose of showing that the Gospel teaches not sedition or disobedience to authority, but a noble way of thinking and obedience. What are you saying? Is every ruler appointed by God? – That is not what I am saying, – he replies. My discourse now is not about each individual ruler, but about rulership itself. That there are authorities, that some rule and others are subject, and that there is no confusion between the higher and the lower – this I call a work of the wisdom of God. For he did not say: there is no ruler, but "there is no authority except from God." Therefore, I say, he reasons about the matter itself, about authority. Similarly, when the wise man says, "a prudent wife is from the Lord" (Prov. 19:14), he does not mean that God unites everyone who enters into marriage, but that marriage was established by God. So then, all authorities, whichever you may consider – whether of a father over a son, or of a husband over a wife, or all the rest, even those that exist among animals, for example among bees, cranes, and fish – all were established by God.”

“Although diverse persons are bound to diverse others by many bonds to the subjection of obedience, according to what the Apostle says: Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, Romans 13, and this according to the diversity of ranks, offices, and powers: nevertheless all this variety must be reduced to one supreme and first person, in whom the universal sovereignty over all principally resides: not only to God himself and Christ, the mediator of God and men, but also to his Vicar; and this not by human statute, but by divine statute, by which Christ established Peter as the prince of the Apostles.”

“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).”

“As Paul has already ordered that the law of heavenly righteousness be followed, he now commends earthly law as well, so as not to appear to be slighting it. For if the earthly law is not kept, the heavenly law will not be kept either. The earthly law is a kind of tutor, who helps little children along so that they can tackle a stronger degree of righteousness. For mercy cannot be imputed to anyone who does not seek righteousness.Therefore, in order to back up the authority and fear of the natural law, Paul bears witness to the fact that God is the author of both and that the ministers of the earthly law have God's permission to act, so that no one should despise it as a merely human construction. In effect, Paul sees the divine law as being delegated to human authorities.”

“But Polycarp said, "To thee I have thought it right to offer an account [of my faith]; for we are taught to give all due honour (which entails no injury upon ourselves) to the powers and authorities which are ordained of God. But as for these, I do not deem them worthy of receiving any account from me."”

“Be subject to all royal power and dominion in things which are pleasing to God, as to the ministers of God, and the punishers of the ungodly. Render all the fear that is due to them, all offerings, all customs, all honour, gifts, and taxes. For this is God's command, that you owe nothing to any one but the pledge of love, which God has commanded by Christ.”