Otis
Q. Sellers (1901-1992) was a prolific ultra-dispensationalist Bible
teacher who believed that since the end of the period recorded in the Book
of Acts, mankind has been living under a "dispensation of grace"
(Ephesians 3:2). During this special administration, according to Sellers, this
planet has not been host to any genuine religious authorities. From
Pentecost until the time marked by Acts 28:28, however, Christ-commissioned
spiritual authorities did rule on earth and, Sellers argues, it
is they, not "civil magistrates," who (according to
tradition) are those whom Roman 13 refers to as "the powers that be."
One day, Sellers believed, God will lift the historical "parenthesis"
in order to resume, and globally extend, his temporal rule on earth and re-appoint
human intermediaries between Christ and Man.
By
posting this expression of hermeneutical revisionism I no more intend to
endorse Sellers' eschatology than he intended to endorse anarchism. Sellers was concerned only to argue that Romans 13 does not teach what "everyone knows" it teaches.
(Eric Voegelin, who fled the Nazis, had little patience for clerics who invoke
it to justify obedience to the State. See his "Theoretical Inquiry into Romans 13" on this blog.) Undermining Received Opinion is
always a recipe for getting my attention and, when it is well done,
respect.
This
is also an opportunity for me to acknowledge gratefully not only Sellers'
influence on my thinking during my intensive study of his writings in the early
'80s, but also his graciousness and generosity during the New York conferences
and dinners I was privileged to attend. -- Tony Flood
“Let every soul be subject unto the
higher powers.” This is Paul’s positive declaration recorded in Romans 13:1, and
there is no verse in Scripture that has been misapplied more than this one. In
all church theology “the higher powers” are made to be the civil authorities,
whoever they may be in any country and at any time. And it needs to be said
that of all the absurd interpretations ever made by theologians, this one takes
first prize. It is unworkable and unbelievable, and it cannot be followed out
through the additional statements that follow this declaration.
The initial declaration of Paul
seems to present no great difficulty, since most law-abiding men are quite
willing to be subject to those who rule over them, so far as the submission
required does not conflict with duties toward God. However, the next statement,
which is actually a part of the sentence, creates impossible difficulties. If
“the higher powers” means the civil authorities, I cannot believe this
statement; and I doubt if any of my readers can believe it unless they are
given to simple-minded credulity.
Paul enforces his first statement by
declaring that “there is no power (authority) but of God.” If this is applied
to civil authorities, then we must believe that their authority comes from God;
but the idea that those who govern derive their just powers from the consent of
those governed, as our Declaration of Independence so majestically
declares, must be rejected. That their authority comes from God, I do not
believe and this I reject.
It would be interesting to know who
first applied these words to civil authorities. One suspects that this happened in the days when
men believed in the divine right of kings, when the civil powers and organized
religion (the church) worked hand in glove to maintain absolute domination of
the lives and thoughts of the people. Whoever it was began a chain of errors
that have been millstones upon the necks of many whose sole desire is to
believe and practice whatever is written in the Word of God. This passage they
cannot believe unless they close their eyes to the most obvious facts and
divorce it from all that follows. The assiduous Bible student knows that Paul
did not intend to convey any such ideas since he had already told the
Corinthians to ignore the civil authorities when one believer had a matter
against another (1 Cor. 6:1-3).
After his initial declaration in
Romans 13:1, Paul goes on to say that “the powers that be are ordained of God.”
The phrase “the powers that be” has become by popular usage a familiar synonym
for the civil authorities, but this cannot be what Paul meant when he first
wrote these words. If this is what it means, then we must believe that all
civil authorities are God ordained men, that anyone who resists them is
resisting the ordinance of God, and that all who do resist shall receive to
themselves condemnation. This I do not believe, and this I cannot believe.
If I believed this, I would have to
believe in the divine right of all who govern. And if these words speak of
civil authorities, then we must admit that some of the heroes of the faith,
whom we now honor, are honored because they did the very thing condemned here.
History is filled with the deeds of faithful and heroic men who defied the
civil powers in order to worship and serve God according to the light they had
received. With them it was even as Peter said to those who ruled in Jerusalem,
‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto
God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard”
(Acts 4: 19, 20).
It would seem that the first two
verses of Romans 13 present enough problems for those who insist that this
passage sets forth the Christian’s duty toward civil authorities, but every
declaration that follows creates another major problem. “For rulers are not a
terror to good works, but to the evil,” Paul continues. These words, if applied
to civil authorities, are in direct contradiction to those spoken by Christ
when He warned the apostles to, “Beware of men: for they shall deliver you up
to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be
brought before governors and kings for My sake” (Matt. 10:17 18).
These words applied to civil
authorities would make perfect saints out of all who govern, but we know from
experience that this is not the case. Too numerous to mention are the rulers
who have persecuted those who have done good and have favored those who have
done evil. God’s Word does not teach ridiculous things; therefore, it cannot be
that the “higher powers” or “the powers that be” in Romans 13 has any reference
to civil authorities.
This becomes still more evident when
the balance of Paul’s words is considered. We will go over this in a more
accurate and literal translation.
You desire, do you not, to have no reason to be afraid of the authority? Well, do the thing that is right, and you will have praise from the same. For the authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword for no purpose: it is God’s servant, an avenger to inflict punishment on evildoers. Wherefore, it is necessary to be in subjection; not only be-cause of wrath, but also because of con-science. For because of this you are paying taxes also; for they are God’s servants, constantly attending to this very thing. Rom. 13:3-6.
After reading these words, the
reader should ask himself if he believes that tax collectors are God’s servants
who are doing His work in imposing and collecting the taxes laid upon us.
Through the years I have consulted
many commentaries on this passage, commentaries from my own library, in other
libraries, and from the shelves of bookstores. All of these have agreed that
Paul speaks here of civil authorities, but all problems are ignored and all
difficulties are glossed over. One expositor sums up his comments by saying:
“Since there are no spiritual authorities among men today to whom these words
refer, then, in spite of the great difficulties created, we must apply them to
civil authorities.” This commentator stumbled upon the solution when he
said, “no spiritual authorities today.” This is the key to the whole matter.
But what about the day when these words were written, the time period to which
they should be applied? Will anyone dare to say that there were no such
authorities in the thirty-three years of which the book of Acts is the history?
There were men of God on earth then of whom every word spoken here was true,
and to whom every statement could be applied without modification or
alteration. These words belong to that New Testament time period, “The Acts
Period” (see Issue No. 23).
The chief characteristic of this
time was the presence upon earth of God-commissioned, God-empowered, and
God-authorized men called Apostles. We first read of this great authority in
Matthew 10:1 where we are told that Jesus Christ gave them power (exousia-authority) over unclean
spirits and over all manner of sickness and disease. This authority was in no
way based upon their faith, devotion, or holiness. It was given even to Judas
Iscariot (Matt. 10:4). This authority was renewed and extended in Matt. 16:19;
John 20:22, 23; and Luke 24:49. These words made these men the “higher powers”
(Gk., superior authorities) of the Acts period.
We see this authority exercised in
Acts 3:6 when Peter used it to bring complete healing to a man over forty years
of age who had never walked. We see it from another standpoint in Acts 5 when
he pronounced a sentence of death upon Ananias and Sapphira. He spoke and their
death followed. He did not wear the sword as an empty symbol. We see it in the
life of Paul in Acts 13 when he spoke the words that brought total blindness on
Elymas the sorcerer. We see it again in Acts 14 when Paul commanded the
impotent cripple to “Stand upright on thy feet.”
The superior authority that was
given to men in the Acts period was not limited to the twelve apostles. In Rom.
12:8 Paul exhorts those who rule to do it with diligence. He instructed the
Thessalonians to recognize those who “are over you in the Lord” (1 Thess.
5:12). There were gifts of government (1 Cor. 12:28), and some were set among
the out-called ones for this specific purpose. All who possessed this gift
qualified as “higher powers,” or superior authorities to whom all believers
were to be subject.
When we read Romans 13:1-7 in the
light of these positive truths, all questions are answered and all difficulties
disappear. The apostles and other divinely appointed rulers of the Acts period
were the “higher powers” to whom every soul was to be subject. They had their
authority from God and they were ordained of God. If anyone resisted their
authority, he resisted God’s arrangement; and such actions were sure to result
in divine punishment. These authorities were never a terror to good works, only
to the evil.
If any complained of the power of
these men (the words of Rom. 13:3 would indicate that some did), they were told
to do good and they would have no cause for fear, and would be sure to receive
praise. But if they did evil, they would have every cause to fear; for these
men did not bear in vain the power to exact the most severe penalties. They
were God’s servants, His avengers to execute wrath upon those who did evil.
Thus, we find in Romans 13:1-7 a
most powerful argument for rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15),
and the necessity for recognizing to the fullest extent the unique position of
some men in the Acts period and the unique character of God’s dealings with men
at that time.
In regard to the believer’s present
relationship and responsibility toward human government, I have said nothing.
This is not the subject of this study, and with this Romans 13:1-7 has nothing
to do.