THE LEGITIMACY OF THE NATIONAL ENTITY AND THE CHAIN OF AUTHORITY

God sovereignly instituted the national entity as a divine institution immediately after the global flood as a means of preserving the human race (Genesis 9:6; 10:5). As a creation of God and a product of the confusion of tongues, multiple nations exist to prevent humanity from destroying itself. All nations exist because God allows them to exist. No nation exists except by the permissive will of God. If a nation exists, then God has a purpose for it. A nation exists because God has ordained it. What God has ordained, no other authority has a right to abolish (Romans 13:1). The national entity as a divine institution will continue to exist throughout the remaining dispensations (Genesis 35:11; Deuteronomy 4:27; Daniel 4:1; Luke 21:25; 24:47; Revelation 7:9; 20:3, 8), even for all eternity in the eternal state (Revelation 21:24, 26; 22:2, 5).

National entities exist to prevent the world from degenerating into chaos. God sanctions nations to restrain man’s sin nature. They provide a deterrent against the tyranny Satan seeks to perpetrate on the human race and the lethal tendencies of mankind. God also sanctions government as the authority within a national entity to restrain the unbridled evil that man without boundaries will commit. Government is designed to protect individual volition, safeguard privacy and property, and maintain internal tranquility through law enforcement and external security through military preparedness. (1 Peter 2:13-14)

“Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers [government] are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword [capital punishment] for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger [arbiter of justice] who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil. Wherefore it is necessary to be in subjection [to the authority], not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” (Romans 13:1-7, NASB, emphasis added)

Authority in a nation may be vested in one person, a small group, or a large segment of the nation’s population. Any of these governmental systems can be good or evil, depending on the integrity or arrogance of those in authority. Monarchy, aristocracy, and republic are positive forms of government; tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy are negative forms. Arrogance converts any legitimate governmental organization into a system of evil. Under the distortions of arrogance, monarchy, which is the rule of one man for the common good, is transformed into tyranny, the rule of one man for his own benefit. Through arrogance, aristocracy, which is the rule of a small elite for the common good, becomes an oligarchy, the rule of a small group for its own benefit. And through arrogance a republic, which is rule by the best of the population for the common good, degenerates into a democracy, rule by the worst of the population for their own benefit.

God ordained that “rulers” should obey and defend the laws of divine establishment. Likewise, every inhabitant of a nation, whether believer or unbeliever, is exhorted to obey the authority of the ruler. Significantly, Romans 13:1-7 was penned during the reign of the emperor Nero, one of the most tyrannical and unjust regimes in the history of the Roman Empire. The Scripture does not condone the practices of any tyrant, but neither does oppressive governance negate the principle of obedience to authority (Titus 2:15—3:1). Regardless of the character of a ruler, his office represents the divinely delegated authority in that nation. The office, if not the man, should always be respected. Though Romans 13:1-7 commands obedience to the authority of government in a national entity, the principle of obedience to authority applies to the authorities of other divine institutions.

For the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible is the supreme authority. The authority of the Bible supersedes all other authorities. When rightly divided and correctly interpreted, the Bible is the chief source of absolute truth; therefore, the Bible holds the highest authority. In the chain of authority, the Bible is preeminent. The Bible is the canon or measuring stick whereby all other authorities are gauged. Whenever there is a discrepancy between what the Bible says and what another authority says pertaining to a particular subject matter, the Bible is always right. The absolute authority of the Bible is final on any matter of conflict. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Any individual living anywhere on the earth—whether believer or unbeliever, whether knowingly or unknowingly—is subjected to only one governing authority at any given moment in time: either from sovereign God and His Word [the Bible] (Psalms 47:2; 103:19; 115:3; Daniel 4:34) or from one of the four divine institutions (Galatians 6:7; Ephesians 5:22-23; Ephesians 6:1-4; Romans 13:1). At any given moment in time, the individual subjects himself to a particular governing authority through his own volition; in other words, the individual himself chooses his governing authority. No other person or entity has a right to impose his or its authority on the individual without the individual’s consent. The individual has the inherent right to exercise his own volition to detach from his current governing authority to be subjected to a different governing authority through his own choosing. . . . Whenever volition is involved, the law of volitional responsibility applies. The law of volitional responsibility dictates that an individual is directly accountable for his decisions. The law of volitional responsibility recognizes that an individual’s decision have natural and logical consequences. In most but not all cases, suffering results from bad decisions [decisions that are contrary to the will of God]; blessing results from good decisions [decisions that are in line with the will of God]. Suffering that is not caused by bad decisions is rooted in the cross-examination by Satan as part of the Angelic Appeal Trial (Job 1:12). Blessing that is not caused by good decisions is rooted in the grace of God (Proverbs 10:22). . . . By implication from the law of volitional responsibility, the individual himself is responsible for any ramifications that may result from his choice of governing authority (Galatians 6:7; James 4:17).

With respect to the four divine institutions—i.e., the individual, marriage, family, and the national entity—government is the lowest authority in the chain of authority because the national entity is the last of the four divine institutions ordained by God. For any individual living anywhere on the earth at any given moment in time, the laws of divine establishment dictates that the chain of authority from top to bottom flows accordingly: volition (Galatians 6:7), husband (Ephesians 5:22-23), parents (Ephesians 6:1-4), government (Romans 13:1). For the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the chain of authority flows first from God (1 Corinthians 11:3) and His word [the Bible] (Psalms 138:2b), then through the pastor-teacher (1 Peter 5:1-3, 5; Jeremiah 3:15; Hebrews 13:17; Acts 20:28), and finally through the four authorities governing the four divine institutions (Galatians 6:7; Ephesians 5:22-23; Ephesians 6:1-4; Romans 13:1).

Chain of Authority for the Believer in Jesus Christ: Bible > pastor-teacher > volition > husband > parents > government

Chain of Authority for the Unbeliever in Jesus Christ: volition > husband > parents > government