Worldly Power ...

Thursday, Feb 16, 2017. How does Christian faith relate to the state, to the political system? What is the goal of Christians in the state? We come to a text today which has been widely misunderstood, it has been misused and misinterpreted. Let us read the text first, and then try to understand … We look into 1 Peter 2:

Role of the State …

13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (from 1 Peter 2)

To be subject to every human institution is quite a challenging command, here written by the leader of the first church. To understand the relationship of faith and state, we need to go back to the Gospels, back to the understanding of Jesus of human institutions. Clearly, we live in this world, but it is not everything!

What Submission means…

In John 18, Jesus tells his disciples: my kingdom is not of this world. Jesus explains that if his kingdom would be of this world, he would fight for it. But it is not. Jesus explains that he is a king indeed, but he is king of the truth - a truth which is holding the world, but being much more than the world. His kingdom is far beyond our worldly power. It is much more!

Jesus asks his people to be submissive to the worldly authorities - as far as this is possible without violating the truth. Living in submission does not mean to cover up evil! It means to live good, to do good, to be reliable and full of trustworthiness. The role of worldly authority is to provide a framework of justice. It is to provide a framework where security is given and trust can grow!

My understanding of these commands is that we should be fully loyal to the institutions and leaders and emperors of this world, but also practice a critical solidarity in the sense that we cannot give up the standards of God's truth, his mercy and love. As believers we live in his kingdom, which is beyond any worldly kingdom, with his clear command to work and live within the worldly structures and lines of power, organization and administration. We are free, and loyal. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts