Chapter # 13 Paragraph # 1 Study # 2
August 23, 2020
Humble, Texas
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Thesis: Defining "Life", in methodological terms, as "the outcome of the ability to exercise authority" is a major, and critical, error.
Introduction: As we began our studies in
Romans 13, our focus was upon Paul's specific use of "soul" as the main object of his instruction. That use is predominate because the issue, for Paul, was his understanding of the fact that "Life" is most fundamentally experienced by the "soul", not the body, nor the spirit.
Given that understanding, we can more readily see why Paul turned, in this paragraph, to an issue that is never absent from the experiences of men. All men, at all times, and in all circumstances, are constantly faced with decisions to be made and consequent actions to be taken with the results that are actually built into the actions taken in a cause/effect universe: if we sow it, we will reap it. Thus, at issue in this paragraph is the question of "How do I deal with 'authority' as a consideration in my decision-making?"
This is a complex issue, as we have already briefly seen, but it is also an inescapable issue: no one can live "Life" without properly relating to "authority" especially when it resides in someone else, though even when it resides in oneself, it is no simple matter.
Therefore, our study this evening will focus upon "what is involved", "what is at stake", and "how a 'soul' is supposed to respond to these factors".
- I. What Is "Authority"?
- A. On the face of it, "authority", as Paul addresses it in this paragraph, is the ability to make both the "agenda" decisions, the "methodology" decisions, and the "enforcement" decisions for others.
- 1. These are the "logical" elements of "authority".
- a. "Agenda" decisions are at the very root of "authority" simply because without an agenda, no decisions can be made (this is, in the reality of all of the experiences of men, inescapable).
- b. "Methodology" decisions are the next most crucial element simply because without a "way" to pursue an "agenda", the "agenda" of itself is a vain thing.
- c. "Enforcement" decisions are the next inevitable necessity: without the ability to enforce compliance to the agenda and method, we run smack dab into another vanity.
- 2. These are the "revealed" elements of authority in our text/context.
- a. The "authorities" actually exist because God has made them to exist (13:2).
- b. The existence of these "authorities" is for the purpose of "doing" (13:3-4).
- c. The "doing" will always be rooted in some goal and some method because God has created the world with "ministers" who respond to the "doings" (13:3-4).
- d. The "doing" will be "accountable" in terms of "praise" or "vengeance" (13:3-4).
- B. The bottom line of "authority" is the God-decreed ability to make decisions that affect others without their objections or permissions (1 Corinthians 9:3-23).
- 1. This is the bottom line because "responding to this ability" is what the paragraph is all about.
- 2. The caveat in the concept of "God-given" is in 1 Corinthians 9:19: God's over-arching principle for the exercise of "authority" is His "Kingdom of Slaves" principle; the goal of all of human/ angelic history.
- a. God is, essentially, a "Slave" to the "Life" needs of others.
- b. God's eventual Kingdom will be a realm of dominion in which "righteousness, peace, and joy" are the characteristics of everyone in it, from The God to the meanest of His sentient creatures, and those characteristics can only exist when everyone is a "slave" to everyone else.
- c. Jesus' declaration that every kingdom divided against itself will fall is rooted in this "slave-kingdom" reality: Self-less sacrifice for the sake of others is the principle of an undivided kingdom.
- ii. What Is At Stake?
- A. According to Paul, the first matter of "consequence" is the issue of a positive/negative reaction by God to creatures who were created for "relationship interaction" (13:2).
- 1. Paul's strong assumption is "resistance" brings this "relationship interaction" to the fore in negative terms.
- 2. The dominant thesis of this "creation purpose" met with "resistance" is that it will be met by God with "judgment" (13:2 and 4).
- B. When God is the initial, and fundamental, Person involved in meeting out "consequence", the actual issue at stake is "Life" itself.
- 1. By "Life itself" I mean that quality of experience that only exists when a person is in a harmonious relationship with the God of Life.
- a. No one can produce "Life" but God (He alone has the power to impart "Joy").
- b. No one can destroy "Life" but God (He alone has the power to withdraw "Joy").
- c. So that no other person, or circumstance, can over-rule God's exercise of authority.
- 2. It is for this reason that Paul declared that his foremost interest was "having a conscience toward God that was without an awareness of failure" (Acts 24:16).
- a. God rewards an uncorrupted conscience with "Joy".
- b. God penalizes a corrupted conscience with "Grief".
- III. How Does A "Soul" Respond To "Life's" Demand Regarding "Authority"?
- A. Primarily, with acquiescence through Love and Faith.
- B. Secondarily, with confession of failure when/if it occurs.
