Government Established By God

April 8th, 2025
by Dr. Lance Waldie

Romans 13:1b For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

Two reasons to obey governing authorities can be seen in Romans 13:1. First, the Apostle Paul, speaking for God, commands it. So, to follow a command of God is to worship God—offering oneself as a living sacrifice (12:1). Second, all governing authorities exist by God’s consent and are “established” (Gr. tetagmenoi), or appointed, by God.” As Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar, “That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan. 4:17). So, God has assigned all governments, even the satanically driven ones who hate Jews, Christ, and Christians.

In His sovereign wisdom, God has allowed Satan a vast array of power in His created universe. God gave man authority to rule over His creation, but man handed over it to Satan in Eden (Gen. 3). As a result, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19) who is “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). This may explain why when Jesus did not correct Satan when tempted in the wilderness to bow to him, when Satan offered Him all the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:6). Those kingdoms were Satan’s kingdoms!

It is evident from Daniel 10 that some, if not all, nations are manipulated by wicked spiritual beings. Gabriel, a holy angel who stands in the presence of God Himself, spoke of two demonic spirits, “the prince of Persia” and “the prince of Greece,” the former one who resisted him for 21 days as he tried to make his way to Daniel. Only when Michael, the prince of Israel, rescued Gabriel was he able to break free and make his way to Daniel in person. Prior to Daniel, Isaiah, after prophesying the death of Babylon’s blasphemous king (Isa. 14:4), addressed a being who had “fallen from heaven,” once called the “star of the morning” (or Lucifer) and “son of the dawn” (v. 12). The fact that the human king and the wicked spirit are so closely aligned points toward Satan as the power behind Babylon, the wicked nation that oppressed the Jews from 605 BC to 539 BC. Ezekiel likewise spoke of the “king of Tyre” who had the “seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” who was “in Eden, the garden of God.” Calling him the “anointed cherub” (Ezek. 28:12-14), this can only be a reference to Satan, the devil himself.

With these examples in mind, it is evident that although humans may seem to control governments, most of these civil servants, insofar as they legislate apart from righteousness, are under the influence of Satan and are functioning as mediums to Satan’s rebellion against God. In addition to Babylon, Assyria, and the cruel Roman Caesars, we note the more modern tyrannical and cruel governments of Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Also, some of the so-called “Christian” kingdoms of the Middle Ages were just as cruel and despotic. But these, and all the others, were satanically driven and inspired to oppress, for that is what Satan does—oppress God’s people.

Sadly, man’s sinful ways demand government to enforce laws to keep humanity in check. Not all are evil, though many are. Either way, God demands obedience to civil authorities, for He is the Manipulator of them, opposing anarchy. As Proverbs says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water; He turns it wherever He wants” (21:1). No one should resist what God has instituted unless that institution rebels against God. And when that happens, Christians should obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29; cf. Dan. 3:12-17).

Food For Thought
Obedience to God is worship of God, so if obeying our governing authorities is what God demands, then we should worship Him that way. Although the U.S. government is not Christian, it does belong to God. We must submit to its authority whether it benefits us or not.