Genesis 1:28 “God
blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the
earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ ”
Continuing in this study of
earthly civil authority, the next lesson points out that republicanism,
despotism, socialism, democracy, communism, monarchy—these are just a few of
the governing philosophies that have been implemented in human history. All of
them have different understandings of the role of the consent of the governed,
individual freedoms, and other such things. But all governments, no matter the
guiding philosophy, have one thing in common: the legal use of force. Simply
put, a government may exercise force in ways that are often illegal for
individuals. Of course, that does not mean governments are always morally
correct in their use of force. It is possible for something to be permitted in
the laws of fallen people that is actually forbidden by God’s law. We see this
evident in the government attacks on Christian florists, Christian cake bakers and
many other Christian businesses today.
This foundational aspect
actually predates the existence of human governance. God Himself evidences it,
though what is “legal” for God to do and what is morally right for Him to do always
coincide perfectly. The principle of the legal use of force is established by
God’s holy character, for He has the right to deal with unholiness by force. We
see this reflected in the first mention of divine government in relation to
humanity when the Lord threatens to bring death upon Adam and Eve should they
eat the forbidden fruit in Genesis
2:15–17. After the “fall of man”, the prerogative of the legal use of force
by the divine government is also seen in the Lord’s placing the angel with the
flaming sword to protect the garden of Eden. Since the fall, the legal use of
force has also been granted to government for the purpose of punishing
lawbreakers. For instance, the Mosaic law contains prescribed punishments for
those who break the commandments.
Romans 1:28-32 “And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave
them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being
filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they
are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy,
unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous
judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of
death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
The “fall of man” has made
necessary the use of force to deal with those who break the law because of the
presence of sin, but that does not mean there was no human government before
Adam sinned. There is a principle of human government inherent to the created
order, for we read in Genesis 1:28
that human beings have been given the authority to subdue the earth for the
glory of God. Such a task would have required certain rules and guidelines to
be established even apart from the fall so that men and women could cooperate
most effectively to fulfill God’s plan. Government is not merely a necessary
evil introduced to deal with the consequences of sin. It is part of the Lord’s
plan for His original, very good creation.
God intended government to
help us fulfill the task given to all people, so we should not view the
existence of government in itself as a necessary evil. In particular,
government is a blessing as long as it sticks to the tasks that God has given
it and does not try to take additional power for itself. Good citizens work to prevent
the government from doing things it has not been appointed to do.
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