Romans 13:3-6: What is Government?

Romans 13:4.. "[The one who is in authority] is God's servant for your good..."

Yesterday we took a look at a Christian's responsibility to government. However, in order to responsible to government, we have to know what government is. In Romans 13:3-6, Paul is addressing this very question. All in all, we learn from these verses that the government is in fact God's servant, God's avenger, and God's minister.

The Government as God's Servant. The first way in which Paul describes government is as God's servant (see verses 3-4). A servant is most directly one who obeys his master because he is ruled by him. Government, at its core, is just that: a body of people who are obedient to and ruled by God. The telos (or "ultimate purpose") of government is therefore to obey the will of God and to enforce the will of God by the means of being his servant. What does this look like? 1 Peter 2:14 puts it this way: the purpose of governement is to "punish those who do evil and praise those who do good" (1 Peter 2:14). In other words, the government has the responsibility to praise righteousness and punish unrighteousness. This is exactly what Paul is talking about here in Romans 13 as the government being a "servant" of God. The government as God's servant is the means by which God keeps order within a society, through the punishing of evil and praising of good.

The Government as God's Avenger. The second way in which Paul describes government is as God's avenger (Romans 13:4). With great thanks to modern-day superhero movies, most of us have a pretty good idea of what an "avenger" is. An "avenger" is one who "carries out wrath on the wrongdoer" (Romans 13:4). Government is in fact this very thing. In the process of being God's servant, government also is God's avenger as they punish unrighteousness. The government puts criminals in jail, fines us for disobeying traffic laws, and initiates wars. The government is God's avenger against evil.

The Government as God's Minister. The third way in which Paul describes governent is as God's minister (Romans 13:6). What does this look like? Let us look at the verse directly. "For because of this, you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing." Yup...you got it! The government is a minister of God by the means of enforcing taxes that enable it to carry out its purposes. Taxation, therefore, is just as much a duty of the government as taxpaying is a duty of the citizen. And amidst the entirety of this verse, Paul even refers to government as a minister of God in the way that it demands taxes. The government thereby is doing the Lord's work by taxing you [I'll surely be thinking of this next time I drive down to Louisville and have to pay $9.20 in tolls].

BUT WAIT! This does not look like the government we have today. Surely, it might not. Let us note that this is the biblical picture of what government is supposed to look like. This is the created order of government, the way in which God has designed it to be. However, let us also note that just because a government is not fulfilling its God-given design to perfection does not warrant us to disobey it. This is the entire theme of 1 Peter 1-2, and it is surely a biblical concept that we must grasp.

The government is God's servant, avenger, and minister. Therefore, be subject to it, for by being subject to it you are being subject to God.