CHRIST'S KINGDOM NOT OF THIS WORLD (2)
CHRIST’S KINGDOM NOT OF THIS WORLD (2)
Romans 12: 9 - 21; Romans 13: 1 - 10; Romans 16: 25 - 27
JT Reverting to John 18, the Lord, as we noted this morning, asserted that His kingdom is not of this world. He said, “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants had fought”. That is, there would be combat as of old, as in David’s day, and there will be such combat again, according to Revelation, in view of the establishment of Christ’s earthly kingdom. What He alludes to in ‘my kingdom’ has to be understood from His own service, and that of His apostles; and the precepts of it would come from Himself.
It is thought that Romans should be taken up to pursue this thought, that we may learn what is becoming to Christ’s kingdom, it being not of this world. Similar instructions and exhortations to those in Romans are found in Matthew and Luke. In stressing the Lord’s authority as over against the authority of the world — what was said ‘to the ancients’ — the simile in the end of Matthew 7 of a man who hears the Lord’s words and does them is of great practical importance. The Lord likens him to one who; built his house on a rock, which stood in spite of adverse elements. It would be instruction especially for the Jewish remnant. But Romans contemplates an upward trend, beginning with basic conditions here below, unfolded through the great servant of the dispensation, the apostle Paul. Contemplating the mystery as seen in the last passage read, the gospel is unfolded in the epistle up to the end of chapter 8 in a most striking manner, finishing with the triumph that belongs to those who receive the gospel as divinely presented. It begins in verse 35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? According as it is [p. 27] written, For thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we have been reckoned as sheep for slaughter. But in all these things we more than conquer through him that has loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 35 - 39).
That is victory that accrues from the gospel; God known in love. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, and who shall separate us from the love of Christ? The position is immutable. And then we have three chapters which account for the promises made to God’s ancient people. By this section we are taught that the gentiles as a testimony on the earth shall be set aside and all Israel shall be saved and set up here as a nation. Then in chapter 12 the apostle resumes his direct instruction to christians, and the principles intended to govern them are plainly stated. The kingdom the Lord alludes to in John 18 is worked out in the state of those who have part in the fruit of the gospel. The gospels of Matthew and Luke link on with the Jewish state of things as it then was, the remnant on right principles, in view of their part in the assembly; but Paul starts in this book, which is the great gospel epistle, in view of the mystery mentioned in the last paragraph. So that we have an up line in this epistle which is pursued in later ministry, particularly in Colossians and Ephesians, all tending to bring out the heavenly condition and setting of the present dispensation.
RRT The connection between what you are saying and what we had this morning would link Romans 8: 36 with John 18: 11: “According as it is written, For thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we have been reckoned as sheep for slaughter;”
and, “Jesus therefore said to Peter, Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” Would that be the working out in us of what is seen in its perfection in the Lord in John 18?
JT That is what the Lord has in mind; we are to be conformed to what He was Himself here. He would set Peter right as to the sword — it should be put into its sheath. He does not say, Destroy it. The time will come when all military implements will be destroyed; but the Lord did not direct Peter to destroy the sword, but to put it into its sheath, because it will be used again in regard to the earth. In the meantime christians come into something not known before, hid in God, according to the end of the epistle to the Romans.
DR Is that the difference between the kingdom now — the kingdom in mystery — and the kingdom existing outwardly and dispensationally in a coming day, when the sword will again be used as alluded to this morning?
JT That is what I understand. The Lord said, ‘my kingdom’, not David’s kingdom. But later He shall have “the throne of David his father; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for the ages” (Luke 1: 32, 33).
DR So the statement that “The kingdom of the world of our Lord and of his Christ is come” (Revelation 11: 15) implies that war will be resumed.
JT Quite so. It is Christ’s kingdom as generally presented in prophetic scriptures. It fits in down here; but the Lord said to Pilate, “my kingdom”, and “my servants;” it is largely a question now of attachment to Christ, and of being governed, not only by His commandments, but by His ways. In truth you can hardly make it intelligible to men, and that in itself involves suffering. That is what Romans 8: 36 provides for. “For thy sake we are put to death all the day long”. It is a question of love for Christ. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” That, I think, we might connect with “my kingdom” and “my servants” in John 18. The characteristic believer is devoted to Him and on His side as to what He says and what He does; to him Christ is “everything, and in all” (Colossians 3: 11).
DR That helps as to the present working out of Christ’s kingdom, involving suffering and reproach, with glory resting upon it.
JT It is a question of what works out from heaven. We may say of any kingdom that it is a question of what develops naturally. Christ’s kingdom works according to His present circumstances. In His most trusted servant He brings it out peculiarly. All the apostolic epistles work out this great thought of His kingdom, but the Lord speaks of Paul as “an elect vessel unto me”, and I think the trend of Paul’s ministry as to Christ’s kingdom is in accord with John 18.
JAW Is one right in thinking that what works out in “my kingdom” is what you get defined as the kingdom of God? “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14: 17).
JT Yes. It includes the features of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the Son of man, etc. I think the moral power lies in our attachment to Christ, and in following up what He is and what He says.
ADS The book of Acts closes with the statement that the apostle “remained two whole years in his own hired lodging, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, with all freedom unhinderedly” (Acts 28: 31).
JT Well, that is a formal declaration of the kingdom for public testimony. He preached the kingdom of God. It is what God is morally. The kingdom of God stands related to the Holy Spirit down here. What [p. 30] we are dealing with includes all that, but we are considering Christ’s kingdom, which for the saints involves attachment and devotedness to Him in the period of His rejection. It works out in loyalty and correspondence to Him. Romans 8 brings out the love of Christ. It enters into what Paul is speaking of; but it is on the line of suffering, running into the thought of the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. “It is Christ who has died, but rather has been also raised up; who is also at the right hand of God; who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? According as it is written, For thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we have been reckoned as sheep for slaughter. But in all these things we more than conquer through him that has loved us” (Romans 8: 34 - 37). So the position is invulnerable.
Then we have the matter of the promises to Israel, which is a deposit among those classified in chapter 8 as the subjects of the love of Christ. Romans 9, Romans 10 and Romans 11 are a sort of trust — His earthly people held in the affections of those who love Christ. So that the whole testimony of God is carried down with us, as sharers of this personal love of Christ, and of the love of God in Christ, from which nothing can separate us. It is a question whether we can take in the whole scope of the testimony and carry it down. This parenthesis in the epistle is in full keeping with what is worked out in us in a practical way in relation to the gospel. Chapter 12 resumes this subject.
ADS You say the position in invulnerable?
JT Quite so. It cannot be overcome; therefore things can be entrusted to us.
CHH There is a contrast in Psalm 44, from which the quotation in verse 36 is made: the psalmist speaks of pushing down the adversaries of Israel, but [p. 31] we are to accept persecution, and to become more than conquerors through Him who has loved us; it is the character of this dispensation in contrast to that of the old.
JT Yes, we are fixed in an invulnerable position in chapter 8. It is a question of the love of God and the love of Christ, and instructions as to a state in us working out to the mystery as in chapter 16, with an upward or heavenly trend.
RRT In 2 Samuel 23 we have in David a contrast to Christ as seen in John 18. In the former the mighty men used the sword, being attached to David; but now there is attachment to Christ and His kingdom, and the sword is not to be used; this feature represents Christ in suffering.
JT That is the idea. “For thy sake we are put to death all the day long”. The Lord’s followers have no swords; it is a question of accepting the will of God and whatever it involves.
RRT His servants take character from the King.
JT Quite so. I would like the brethren to grasp the position of those three chapters, because they refer to earlier testimonies that are to be carried down with us, held as it were in abeyance, not put into a pigeon-hole, but held in love. So that Paul says, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great grief and uninterrupted pain in my heart, for I have wished, I myself, to be a curse from the Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to flesh; who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the lawgiving, and the service, and the promises; whose are the fathers; and of whom, as according to flesh, is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 9: 1 - 5).
This passage shows how this testimony of God is [p. 32] kept in love. Paul goes so far as to say he had wished to be a curse from Christ for those who once had it and will have it again — the Jews.
CAM Would you say that the doxology at the end of the three chapters would show that they form part of “all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge” that are put into that great depository at the close of the epistle?
JT Yes. The apostle, you can see, advances in a worshipful spirit as he proceeds with this great subject of the promises to the fathers.
JAW Is it the thought that when the Lord was here and was rejected by His own, His kingdom was rejected too; but that now His kingdom is finding a practical expression in the hearts, minds and lives of the saints who form the assembly; and that what comes out in the three chapters you refer to is cherished in the assembly now?
JT That is the truth exactly. So that we come out in the character of Christ as sufferers, that which marked Him from the outset. Nothing is lost sight of; all is in keeping with the light of the kingdom of Christ, according to what He said to Pilate, “my kingdom is not of this world”. It is a new thing altogether; the natural mind of man does not grasp it, but it is the character and qualities of Christ worked out in those that are true to Him as formed in the light of the gospel.
JAW Is that why we have such an extended list of worthies in chapter 16, persons in whom those features were being demonstrated? “In the Lord”, and “in Christ”, are said of several.
JT The apostle does not mention specifically every saint at Rome. There was evidently a large number, but he mentions about twenty. They represent the community that he had in mind; they are to [p. 33] be saluted.
ADS You remarked that all the dispensations have come down to us. Will you say a little more about that?
JT It is in 1 Corinthians 10: 11, “Now all these things happened to them as types, and have been written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come”. “For our admonition” — that fits in with what is before us in Romans 12 and 13; quality in us is in mind, the saints involving trustworthiness, those who hold and cherish what is of God.
JAW I understood you to say that the doxology at the end of chapter 11 suggests that nothing of God is lost, that all is treasured in the assembly now.
JT Well, that would imply the last paragraph in the book — which treats of the mystery. Chapter 12 resumes the instruction directly for christians. It is to develop quality in us, fitting us for Christ’s kingdom. Chapter 12 works out the qualities of Christ in us, so that “my kingdom”, as He calls it, is seen in its features. We begin with love, verse 9, which I think is appropriate. “Let love be unfeigned”. In Romans 13: 10 we have “love therefore is the whole law;” so that love is the great basic thought. From this point we may be able to touch the mystery.
CSP So the kingdom now is the kingdom of the Son of His love?
JT That is a touching designation of it. By it you are directed to the book of Proverbs, where you get subject matter for contemplation for your whole life. Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs; we have about 300, but they are sufficient to give us an inlet into wisdom as known in Christ, so that we should become wisdom’s children.
CAM Do you think that love has such a great place because all returns to God? That would be the suitable result of all these wonderful ways.
JT “For of him, and through him, and [p. 34] for him are all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11: 36).
DR Is the Father or God in mind here?
JT It is God. The verses we have before us give the working out of love in the most practical way.
JSC When the kingdom is delivered up to God it is still the same kingdom?
JT You are alluding to 1 Corinthians 15: 24 - 28, “Then the end, when he gives up the kingdom to him who is God and Father; when he shall have annulled all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that is annulled is death. For he has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he says that all things are put in subjection, it is evident that it is except him who put all things in subjection to him. But when all things shall have been brought into subjection to him, then the Son also himself shall be placed in subjection to him who put all things in subjection to him, that God may be all in all”. The divine kingdom has various phases, as we have been noting: this is what it is at “the end”. There will, no doubt, be certain eliminations as of features which had a provisional character; we have in the passage quoted the abiding kingdom, what subsists in the eternal state of things. What the Lord calls “my kingdom” will, I suppose, merge in this. The Son uses the kingdom to subdue everything to Himself; then He delivers it up “to him who is God and Father”. The Son Himself is placed in subjection. All is perfect and yet the principle of kingdom remains — “that God may be all in all”.
CHH The apostle makes a distinction between “love” and “brotherly love”, verses 9, 10. Peter does the same: “in brotherly love love” (2 Peter 1: 7).
JT That would save us from personal preferences. Love is of God; brotherly love is the form it takes [p. 35] among brethren, but there is what checks it so that we should not love certain persons unduly. You are to have brotherly love, but have love in it.
RB Reproach and suffering would be marks that identify with the testimony.
JT “For thy sake we are put to death all the day long”. You can see what it is for sheep to be herded in a market or a slaughter-house, about to be killed — that is the figure. The Lord “was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and was as a sheep dumb before her shearers, and he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53: 7). That is the position; thus we do not take the sword and defend ourselves but take up the idea of suffering in the path of the will of God.
CSP Would that come out with the little maid in 2 Kings 5? Naaman was a conqueror, but she was more than a conqueror.
JT Yes, she was more than a conqueror because she, as a captive, overcame resentment of her captor; she was possessed of evangelical sentiment toward Naaman. There is deep feeling in the wish, “Would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria!” (2 Kings 5: 3).
CAM There was an impression made upon the Ethiopian eunuch through reading Isaiah 53. It must have impressed him that there is something greater than war with the sword. His baptism was in the light of Christ’s suffering as presented by Isaiah; and, no doubt, he would work this out in returning; the sufferings of Christ would remain before him.
JT He went away rejoicing; he was left, Philip being caught away by the Spirit; and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. What happened when he went back to Ethiopia we are not told, but you would expect that christianity would be represented there, for Christ’s life was taken from the earth — that is what was presented to him. That is the basis really of the life [p. 36] of the saints of the heavenly kingdom of which the Lord speaks.
ADS In Isaiah 53: 7 it says, “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and was as a sheep dumb before her shearers, and he opened not his mouth”. In Acts 8: 32, when Philip comes to the eunuch the scripture which he read was, “He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb is dumb in presence of him that shears him, thus he opens not his mouth”. There is a difference in the wording.
JT It is because the quotation is from the Septuagint; but it conveys the sense of the truth. The quotations in the New Testament are generally from that version.
CHH In a practical way do not these principles come into our circumstances constantly? For instance, we may be defrauded; it is not a question of the sword, but in our circumstances would it not be right to accept the loss instead of contending?
JT That is the spirit of the truth which we are considering now. We shall see how the Spirit of God goes into detail, and it begins with love. “Let love be unfeigned; abhorring evil; cleaving to good: as to brotherly love, kindly affectioned towards one another: as to honour, each taking the lead in paying it to the other: as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord. As regards hope, rejoicing: as regards tribulation, enduring: as regards prayer, persevering: distributing to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality. Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. Rejoice with those that rejoice, weep with those that weep. Have the same respect one for another, not minding high things, but going along with the lowly; be not wise in your own eyes: recompensing to no one evil for evil: providing things honest before all men: if possible, as far as depends on you, living in peace with all men; not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written,
[p. 37] Vengeance belongs to me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. If therefore thine enemy should hunger, feed him; if he should thirst, give him drink; for, so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12: 9 - 21).
These verses represent the truth or law governing Christ’s kingdom. It does not fit in at all with what the nations have to do, as the next chapter shows. They must have swords and other military weapons, but the kingdom in which we are precludes that altogether. “If thine enemy ... thirst, give him drink”. The real test for us is the working out of this in present conditions, because it seems to most to be foolish and this in itself is reproach. But we have to accept it; to be truly His disciples we must follow what the Lord speaks of as His kingdom, what He is working out. It is a provisional kingdom that will come to an end as the assembly is translated, but in the meantime it is carried out and worked out in suffering. This is not intelligible to the natural mind, and this fact in itself causes persecution.
RRT Looking at these features that you are speaking of as principles of “my kingdom”, we come to understand in a better way what the Lord means in saying, “My kingdom is not of this world”. They are not features which pertain to any kingdom of this world.
JT So that as you come before the tribunals with this in your heart you are governed by another thing altogether from what men are going on with. We are foolish in their eyes, and we have to depend on God to enable us to bear the reproach and to make ourselves commendable to all.
WF Paul’s ministry in Corinth sets out the same principles that are seen here. He says, “Why do ye not rather suffer wrong? why are ye not rather defrauded?” (1 Corinthians 6: 7).
JLF So that the principles that belong to the Lord’s kingdom would affect us in relation to one another as brethren, in relation to all men, and in relation to our enemies.
JT With that in your heart when you go before the tribunals, and they say you must have a sword at least for an emergency — you say, No, and they cannot understand it. It is a hard thing to be misunderstood and ridiculed publicly, but that attaches to the position. This is morally the greatest thing in the universe, and it is being worked out in the saints now. Are we great enough to take it on?
PH So that generally sheep have no horns.
JT That involves the principle. Sheep are characteristically passive.
HG Thus they represent the kingdom of Christ as He witnessed before Pilate; He was there the exemplification of these features, and He demonstrates this truth in His people now — is that what we are to understand?
JT That is exactly the point.
The next thing in this section of Romans is that the ruling powers represented in Pilate are brought in again in chapter 13. “Let every soul be subject to the authorities that are above him”, verse 1. Pilate is brought in again to show how the government of the world is recognised by christians as it was by Christ. He said to Pilate, “Thou hadst no authority whatever against me if it were not give to thee from above” (John 19: 11). Therefore the Lord submitted to him, and now we should submit to the authorities that are above us. We take a lowly place, they are above us. But this of course implies, as said elsewhere, that God is above them, and hence that we must obey Him in all circumstances.
JAW They are above us in so far as they do not interfere with the rights of Christ over us. What I had in mind was that the government says, You are a [p. 39] citizen, then you must take a sword. But you say, I cannot, because I am under a higher authority, under the lordship of Christ.
JT Well, that is what you have in your heart. You can answer in a very seemly way, as the Lord did. You recognise them in their own department; they are not mere politicians, they are set up by God. You can tell them, I pray for you, but I have something else, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is not of this world, and I belong to that. It is almost impossible to get an unconverted man to grasp it. Therefore, you are ridiculed; he may be a ‘gentleman’, and would not say much to you, but that is what is in his mind — that you are to be pitied, as foolish. That is the suffering side; and of course it may extend to severe treatment.
HG What bearing has the word of Paul to the Colossians that Christ is Head of all principality and authority?
JT That belongs to the mystery seen in Colossians and Ephesians. That is going to come out presently. Meantime He is on His Father’s throne; He is not on His own throne yet. It is a provisional state of things, it is only for a time. The Lord is on the Father’s throne instead of His own. His operations are in connection with the assembly and the gospel. The Father governs the universe. He “is over all, and through all, and in us all” (Ephesians 4: 6).
HG So that the light governing the present situation is what we are considering this afternoon?
JT Yes; it is the suffering side; “we are put to death all the day long”. When Christ takes up His rights in government His disciples will not be killed all the day long.
RRT What the Lord said to Pilate governs the present position: “Thou hadst no authority whatever against me if it were not given to thee from above”.
JT That is enlarged for us in Romans 13. So that the word is, “Let every soul be subject to the authorities”. Christians belong to heaven; but in the government of God we are down here, as Jesus was down here doing the will of God. And He said to His disciples, “I am in the midst of you as the one that serves” (Luke 22: 27). Although He was above all, He took a bondman’s form, taking His place in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself and He suffered. But when He comes again He will have crowns on His head, and be sitting on a white horse; and He will be “clothed with a garment dipped in blood” (Revelation 19: 13). “And the armies which are in the heaven followed him upon white horses, clad in white, pure, fine linen”.
JAW In taking a stand for Christ now in the manner in which you have been indicating, the authorities are for you: “For rulers are not a terror to a good work, but to an evil one”, verse 3. You can count on the authorities to support you in the stand you take.
JT Yes; the government being ordained of God, “is God’s minister to thee for good”, verse 4. It is remarkable that Pilate at the outset was favourable to Christ. The government of this country is favourable to the saints; that surely is of God, and we thank Him for it.
CAM Paul, according to Acts 26, stood before Festus and Agrippa; hard things were said to him, but he answered in meekness and had liberty to present the gospel, rendering a powerful testimony.
JT Quite so. He was what he wished them to be. He said, “I would to God, both in little and in much, that not only thou, but all who have heard me this day, should become such as I also am, except these bonds” (Acts 26: 29).
JLF Peter connects the will of God with the believer putting “to silence the ignorance of senseless men” (1 Peter 2: 15), meeting conditions in such a way that an opposer is put to silence.
JT Yes; the passage treats of subjection to divinely ordained authorities, 1 Peter 2: 13 - 15. The present governing system is another order of things from that with which christians are connected, but nevertheless it is, so to speak, a department of God. It is a provisional state of things for our sakes. It is a minister to us for good, so that we are thankful for the policeman on the street and for the jail, because they suppress evil. The assembly could hardly exist without the outward order and protection which, under God, the government affords.
ADS There is a footnote to Romans 13: 1 in the New Translation: “’Let every soul subject itself:’ it is reflexive; ... ‘sets himself in opposition’, verse 2, is in direct contrast”. In the scripture referred to by our brother, Peter says, “Be in subjection, therefore, to every human institution for the Lord’s sake”. What is the distinction between authorities which are above us and human institutions?
JT They convey the same general idea; trade unionism would not be included. It is a question of what is provisionally owned of God, whatever human institution is in this sense owned of God. I think that is what is meant, because you might have the worst things under the head of an institution. But government is of God. ‘Be subject’, as we have noted, is reflexive. And the word ‘soul’ would suggest that you are feeling in the thing, you respect the authority. You say, God put it there for my benefit; you are not resentful of it.
ADS Peter says, “for the Lord’s sake”.
JT In Romans you have, “on account of conscience”, verse 5. It is a good word for the present time. Verse 5 indicates that, if you are not subject, your conscience will be bad; your conscience demands [p. 42] subjection, and therefore you cannot at all support a person who says, I would not do anything for the government. Conscience requires that you do all you can for the government.
JAW Do you not find that confirmed in the apostle’s further word, “Dost thou desire then not to be afraid of the authority? practise what is good, and thou shalt have praise from it; for it is God’s minister to thee for good”? So that those in the services, and all of us, should keep this before us: “practise what is good”.
JT Yes. We have to take this up somewhat abstractly, because in the working out of government there are many very bad things; so that it is the abstract idea of government that is in mind, and which Pilate represents. Left to himself he would have released the Lord, but as influenced by the Jews he scourged the Lord. The point largely for us is to keep the authorities doing right, and hence we pray for them. God would help them to do right.
CHH Would you feel free to form a judgment of the governments and to pray consistently in line with the judgment you form of those governments?
JT Just so. The abstract thought of government was in God’s mind in taking up the gentile monarchies as seen in Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar was brought to it through severe discipline. This has occurred, no doubt, in many cases. Pilate illustrates how God can act in this respect. Zechariah 6: 5 presents the four monarchies in the abstract sense. There they are called “the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth”.
JLF In our chapter it is said, “For there is no authority except from God; and those that exist are set up by God” (Romans 13: 1). That is in effect what the Lord said to Pilate.
JT Therefore we see that what is in mind as to [p. 43] government in this chapter is what is ordained of God. It is not trade unionism or institutions like that that would harm and even murder people; it is what God institutes that we are to submit to.
CHH God may remove certain governments.
JT Just so; you see many examples of that in Scripture, also examples of God influencing rulers to favour His people. Our prayer meetings enter into all this — that the authorities might be favourable towards God’s people; we pray and it comes to pass. In 1 Timothy 2: 1 - 4 the apostle says, “I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men; for kings and all that are in dignity, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity; for this is good and acceptable before our Saviour God, who desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”.
CHH In the scripture in 1 Timothy, “all men” are mentioned first.
JT Quite so; it is a very important matter to keep on praying for them, because otherwise we may suffer; we must, therefore, keep on praying for the authorities. That is the general thought, and then for kings and those in dignity — “that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and gravity”. All this instruction in Romans 13 ends with love in verse 10; and it may be linked with the mystery in the end of the epistle: “Now to him that is able to establish you, according to my glad tidings and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, as to which silence has been kept in the times of the ages, but which has now been made manifest, and by prophetic scriptures, according to commandment of the eternal God, made known for obedience of faith to all the nations — the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 16: 25 - 27).
The truth in Romans works up to this paragraph. It [p. 44] is to prepare us for the teaching of the Colossian and Ephesian epistles. Thus, as already remarked, Romans has an upward trend, leading us in principle and in spirit outside of this world altogether. Those saluted by the apostle, mentioned in chapter 16, would be saints who appreciated the truth and walked in it.