Romans 13:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

After all this, he offers instruction concerning obedience to authorities. Indeed, if we must repay wrongdoers with the opposite, then all the more must we obey those who do good.

But the Apostle postpones this motive to the end of his exhortation. For the moment he does not present the proofs I have mentioned, but calls us to do this from consciousness of duty.

Wishing to show that this is commanded to all, not only to lay people, but also to priests and monks, he declares it at the beginning, saying: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities."

Even if you are an apostle or evangelist, even if you are a prophet or anyone else, subjection to authority does not undermine piety.

The Apostle did not simply say, "Let him be obedient," but, "Let him be subject."

The first foundation of this legislation, satisfying sound rational arguments as well, is that authorities are established by God. "For there is no authority except from God," says the Apostle.

How is this? Is every ruler appointed by God? That is not what I say, the Apostle answers. I am now speaking not about each ruler separately, but about authority itself.

The existence of authorities, whereby some rule and others are subject, and the fact that everything does not occur by chance and arbitrariness, so that nations are carried here and there like waves, all this I call the work of God's wisdom.

Therefore the Apostle did not say that there is no ruler who has not been appointed by God. Rather, he reasons generally about the essence of authority and says: "There is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God."

So also the Wise One, when he says that "a wife is joined to a husband by the Lord" (Prov 19:14), means that marriage was established by God.

He does not mean that God joins every person who enters marriage. We see many enter marriage with a bad intention and not according to the law of marriage, and this, of course, we cannot impute to God.

But what Christ said, "He who made them from the beginning made them male and female," and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife" (Mt 19:4-5), is what the Wise One also meant.

Since equality often leads to quarrels, God established many forms of authority and subjection. These include husband and wife, son and father, elder and youth, slave and free man, ruler and subject, teacher and disciple.

Why do you marvel at this with regard to men, when God arranged the same thing in the body? There also He did not make all the members equal in honor, but made one lesser, another more important, some for governing and others for subjection.

The same thing can be observed among irrational creatures: among bees, cranes, and herds of wild sheep. Even the sea is not deprived of such good order.

There, too, many kinds of fish are governed by one, which leads the rest. Under its command they set out on distant journeys. Lack of authority, however, is everywhere an evil and becomes the cause of disorder.

How then does Paul say that "there is no authority except from God"? This means that God established it for our benefit. Sin made authority necessary, and God used it for our benefit.

As medicines are needed for wounds, while the use of medicines depends on the wisdom of physicians, so the need for slavery, that is, subjection, was caused by sin. Its proper fulfillment, however, is the work of God's wisdom.

“I am not now speaking about each individual ruler, but about authority itself.” That there are authorities, that some rule and others are subject, and that there is no confusion between higher and lower, this I call the work of God’s wisdom. For he did not say, “There is no ruler,” but, “There is no authority except from God.” Therefore, I say, he is speaking about the thing 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 joins each person who enters marriage. He means that marriage was established by God. Thus all authorities, whatever you consider, whether a father over a son, a husband over a wife, or all the rest, even those that exist among animals, such as among bees, cranes, and fish, have been established by God.

He does not say that this or that particular man should rule. By God’s ordinance there is not the authority of oppressors, but the very divine economy of rule. If God wills favorably, He gives rulers who honor justice. For it is said, “I will give you shepherds according to My heart, and they shall shepherd you with understanding” (Jer 3:15). Again: “I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning” (Is 1:26). But to bring sinners to understanding, God permits evil rulers also to rule. For it is said, “I will give youths as their princes, and mockers shall rule over them” (Is 3:4). Nevertheless, it is time to return to the interpretation of what follows in order.

Since equality of rule usually kindles war, God did not allow popular rule, but established kingship, and after it many other authorities. Which ones, you ask? Ruler and subject, husband and wife, father and son, elder and youth, master and slave, teacher and student. Even among irrational animals one may see something similar. The witnesses are bees, which are subject to royal authority, as well as cranes and flocks of wild sheep. If you look also at the sea, it too will be found not lacking this good order. There many kinds of fish have one ruler and leader, and therefore they make distant migrations. For anarchy everywhere is most terrible and becomes the cause of confusion and disorder. Therefore even in the body, though it is one thing, not everything has equal dignity. Some members rule, while others are subject. Thus we may rightly say that the very thing, I mean authority, namely rule and royal power, has been established by God, so that society may not fall into disorder. But if some evildoer has seized this authority unlawfully, we do not affirm that he was appointed by God. Rather, we say that he was permitted either to vomit out all his wickedness, as Pharaoh did, and then suffer extreme punishment, or to discipline those for whom even severity was needed. Thus the king of Babylon disciplined the Jews.

It is lawful because it is from God, and because it is appointed to preserve and carry out justice in the state. Reasonings about the lawfulness or unlawfulness of authority lie outside the sphere of the Christian’s rights and belong to the area of civil duty. Obedience to authority, however, belongs within the circle of his obligations. At the same time, the Christian knows no authorities by the favor of the people. For him, all rule “by the mercy of God.” Nor does he allow any revolutions, because “the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” For the Christian, every ruler, whether good or evil, benefactor or tyrant, is appointed by God. Through rulers, as through His instruments, God sometimes rewards a people by sending them good kings. At other times He punishes them by permitting tyrants to reign over them. “The One who gave the kingdom to Constantine the Christian also gave the kingdom to Julian the Apostate,” says Blessed Augustine (De Civ. Dei V, 21).

Consequently, in the family one must seek the beginnings and first pattern of authority and subjection, which later unfolded in the great family, the state.

Specifically, the father, who by the natural gift of God has the power to give life to a son and form his abilities, is the first authority.

The son, who cannot form his abilities or even preserve his own life without obedience to parents and educators, is naturally subject.

But the father's authority was not created by the father himself, nor given to him by the son. It came together with man from Him who created man.

Thus it is revealed that the deepest source and highest beginning of the first authority, and therefore of every subsequent authority among men, is in God, the Creator of man.

"From Him," first, according to the word of God, "every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named" (Eph 3:15).

Then, when the sons of sons multiplied into a people and into nations, and from the family grew the state, too vast for the natural authority of the father, God gave this authority a new, artificial form and a new name in the person of the king.

Thus, by His wisdom, "kings reign" (Prov 8:15). Further, however long nations continue and multiply, and however states may change, the Most High always rules the kingdom of men through His all-acting Providence (Dan 4:22).

In times of ignorance, when men had forgotten their Creator and human societies did not know their Master, God set the mystery of the origin of governing authority before the eyes of the world in a perceptible way, together with His other mysteries.

He did this in the Hebrew people chosen for this purpose. In the patriarch Abraham He wondrously created anew the quality of father, and gradually produced from him a tribe, a people, and a kingdom.

He Himself raised up judges and leaders for this people. He Himself "reigned" over this kingdom (1 Sam 8:7). Finally, He Himself enthroned kings over it, continuing over the kings the wondrous signs of His supreme authority.

Therefore God is called "King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Tim 6:15), by whom "kings reign" (Prov 8:15).

"The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He wills" (Dan 4:22). "The kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations" (Ps 21:29).

"In the hand of the Lord is the authority of the earth, and in due time He will raise up over it the one who is needed" (Sir 10:4).

Perhaps some will say that all this was during the time of theocracy, that is, divine government, and that now times are different.

No one, of course, will dispute that times change, and that the present year is already different from the one that has passed. But do some different times have a different God?

Has God ever renounced His divine rule over the world and the human race? Has He renounced it especially over those kingdoms and nations in which His spiritual kingdom is especially contained and spread, or with which it is especially in contact?

That spiritual kingdom is the true faith and the holy Church.

If people think that divine rule was limited only to Old Testament times and ended with the beginning of Christian times, as though the Christian world no longer needed God's governance, then the opposite must be said.

With the Old Testament there ended only the former, more particular and sensibly figured form of divine rule. At the same time there began a new form, more universal and spiritually figured.

In the Old Testament revelation God the Father said to His incarnate Son: "Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession" (Ps 2:8).

And according to the New Testament revelation, Jesus Christ is "the Prince of the kings of the earth" (Rev 1:5).

He is "Prince of kings," of course, not by a vain and inactive title, but by actual authority and by the activity of this authority.

Therefore he considered it not superfluous to lay down a law concerning this also" (blessed Theodoret).

"The Apostle discusses this at length in other Epistles also, when he speaks about the subjection of servants to masters and of subjects to authorities.

Through this he wishes to show that Christ introduced His laws not to overthrow the common civil order, but to correct and improve it.

At the same time, he wishes to teach us not to undertake unnecessary and useless wars. The plots formed against us for the truth are enough for us. We must not add unnecessary and useless temptations.

Notice how fittingly the Apostle introduced this subject. After he had set before his listeners the various demands of Christian love of wisdom, he disposed them to live in peace with friends and enemies.

He taught them to be useful to the fortunate, to the unfortunate, and to the needy, in short, to all. He planted rules of common life fitting for angels, exhausted anger, cast down pride, and completely softened their hearts.

After all this he offers his exhortations concerning obedience to authorities. He calls us to obedience by presenting duty.

Wishing to show that his commandment extends not only to lay people, but to all, to priests and monks as well, he declares this beforehand, saying: 'Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.'

Even if you are an Apostle, even if an Evangelist, even if a Prophet, or anyone else, be subject. Subjection to authority does not undermine piety.

Here the Apostle means not simple obedience, but subjection, humble and with bowed head.

The first foundation of this ordinance, satisfying the reason of the faithful, is that authorities are established by God. 'For there is no authority except from God,' says the Apostle.

How is this? Is every ruler appointed by God? That is not what I say, the Apostle answers. I am not now speaking about each ruler in particular, but about authority itself.

That authorities exist, that some rule and others are subject to them, and that there is no disorder in which things happen anyhow and without order, so that nations are carried here and there like waves, all this I call the work of God's wisdom.

Therefore the Apostle did not say that there is no ruler who has not been appointed by God. Rather, speaking generally about authority, he says: 'For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.'

In the same way, when the Wise One says that 'a wife is joined to a husband by the Lord' (cf. Prov 19:14), he means that marriage was established by God.

He does not mean that God joins every person who enters marriage. We see many entering marriage with evil intentions and unlawfully, and we cannot possibly impute this to God.

But what Christ said, 'He who made them from the beginning made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife' (cf. Mt 19:4-5), is what the Wise One also meant.

Since equality often leads to quarrels, God established many kinds of authority and subjection. These include husband and wife, son and father, elder and youth, slave and free man, ruler and subject, teacher and disciple.

Why marvel at such an ordinance among men, when God established the same thing in the body? He so arranged it that not all members have equal dignity. One is lower, another more important; some govern, others are governed.

We observe the same thing among irrational animals, among bees, cranes, and herds of wild sheep. Even the sea is not deprived of such good order.

There also, in many kinds of fish, one governs and leads many. Under its command they set out on distant journeys. On the contrary, lack of authority is everywhere an evil and produces confusion" (Saint Chrysostom).

Nevertheless, from other passages of Scripture it is clear that rulers, whether of one kind or another, exist according to God's providential ordering. God appoints good and beneficent rulers, while He permits bad rulers as punishment for human sins.

Thus blessed Theodoret writes: "If God is well pleased, He gives rulers who honor justice. For it is said: 'I will give you shepherds according to My heart, and they will shepherd you with understanding' (cf. Jer 3:15).

And again: 'I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning' (cf. Is 1:26).

But to bring sinners to their senses, God permits evil rulers also to rule. For it is said: 'I will make youths their princes, and mockers shall rule over them'" (cf. Is 3:4).