Welcome back to Part 3 of the Sphere Sovereignty Series. This is the Final Part, and we discussed the role of government under the Lordship of Christ. This one could have gone on twice as long and we could have taken it multiple directions. I think it landed in a good spot though. Summary: The role of the government, rightly understood, is to uphold and reward good and to punish evil. The government was ordained by God to wield the sword. But, we also talk about what happens when they no longer understand their role.
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1. God and Government: The Setting
Civil government isn’t a human invention. It isn’t the result of social evolution or competing tribes deciding to pick a leader once they grew tired of chaos. Scripture teaches that the State exists because God ordained it.
“There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”Romans 13:1
The magistrate is not a savior. Not a messiah. Not a father. Not the spiritual head of a nation. He is a minister of God, a servant with a sword.
The symbol of the Church is the cross. The symbol of the State is the sword.One gives grace. The other restrains evil.
And when the State forgets this distinction, it drifts into idolatry. It punishes righteousness. It rewards wickedness. It imagines itself as ultimate.
The problem isn’t politics itself. It’s political idolatry.
2. When the Sword Turns on the Saints
Every generation has witnessed the disaster of a government that forgets God’s law. When the State exalts itself, it begins promising salvation through policy. It replaces providence with bureaucracy. It demands worship by demanding absolute loyalty.
And the Church is always tempted to bow: To stay quiet for safety, to soften truth for subsidies, and to trade prophetic clarity for political approval. This temptation is not new.
Augustine once wrote, “Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but great robberies?” Calvin called the magistrate “the guardian of both tables of the law.” Kuyper warned that “when the State ignores God, freedom becomes a mask for tyranny.”
A government untethered from God’s justice will always drift toward cruelty.
3. The King Under a King: The Doctrine Beneath
Here is the controlling truth: every ruler serves a higher Ruler. Earthly crowns sit beneath a greater Crown.
Scripture never lets kings forget this.
“By Me kings reign…” (Prov. 8:15–16)“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord.” (Prov. 21:1)“A throne is established by righteousness.” (Prov. 16:12)“By justice the king builds up the land.” (Prov. 29:4)“Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king.” (Prov. 20:28)“Kingship belongs to the Lord.” (Ps. 22:28)
Even Israel’s kings were commanded to copy the Law by hand and read it daily, “that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers.” (Deut. 17:18–20)
The message is clear:
A king is not sovereign. A king is supervised. A king is accountable.
Christ said it plainly to Pilate:
“You would have no authority at all unless it had been given you from above.”John 19:11
The State’s authority is real, but it is never absolute.It is delegated.Borrowed.Limited.And answerable to Christ, the King of kings.
When a ruler forgets he is a servant, he becomes a tyrant. When he remembers he serves a higher King, he becomes a blessing.
4. Faithful Resistance: Empires, Exile, and the People of God
What do Christians do when the State becomes unjust?
Scripture gives us a pattern.
* Daniel served Babylon faithfully, but would not bow to idols.
* Peter and John refused unlawful commands: “We must obey God rather than men.”
* Paul appealed to Caesar while preaching Christ to Caesar’s guards.
Faithful Christians obey lawful authority and reject unlawful decrees that violate God’s Word. That is not rebellion. That is obedience to the King above all kings.
A Christian nation is not built through political dominance. It is built through a people who fear God more than they fear Caesar. And, those same people have a role to.
5. The Charge: Governed by God
So how should Christians live in a world with corrupt governments, fragile freedoms, and loud political idols?
The Scriptures give simple marching orders:
Pay your taxes. Pray for your leaders. Preach the truth.But do not worship the State, and do not despair when the State disappoints you.
Your citizenship is in heaven. You belong to a King whose throne doesn’t tremble.
Let the State do the job God gave it, restrain evil, uphold justice, protect life.Let the Church do the job God gave it, proclaim Christ, disciple the nations.Let the Family do the job God gave it, raise children in the fear of the Lord.
When each sphere stays in its lane under Christ’s rule, justice and peace can flourish.
Soon, we’re beginning a new series on the foundations of marriage:its purpose, its roles, its threats, and how to build one that lasts.
But first, we will have a special episode next week, honoring a Pastor/Friend of the podcast who recently passed away after battling cancer for months.Until then:
Stand firm. Build faithfully. And let your life bear witness that no throne stands forever but His.
