Let Every Soul Be Subject

Romans 13:1 declares “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” According to the Word of God, a soul must be subject to authorities in his or her life in order to prosper. 

Now before you stop reading, allow me to explain. First of all, I want you to know my wife and I served as pastors for twenty-seven years. Twenty-four of those years were in one place, and we have seen and heard of terrible instances of abuse by dozens of our church members at the hands of some authorities in their lives. 

Some of the things we heard our precious people had experienced were just plain evil. In one such instance my wife and I met with a couple experiencing problems in their marriage. The wife refused to follow her husband’s leadership and was an unwilling partner in their physical relationship. After a few questions the Spirit led us to ask, we discovered she had experienced sexual abuse by a close family member from the time she was seven-year-old. This abuse lasted until she was a teenager. 

Our hearts went out to her. Yet because of her past she reasoned she could not trust anyone in authority and remained very much in control of every decision and relationship in her life, including her husband and children. This was now causing major problems in her relationship with a loving husband who was anything but abusive and controlling. It also caused resentment and rebellion in her children. Her soul was definitely not prospering. 

In another almost identical experience by a leader in a ministry we were in relationship with, the results were very different. While at dinner one night with these friends in leadership, the husband shared with us how his wife had been sexually abused as a young girl by a close relative. He went on to tell us how she told one of her parents about it and they did not believe it or stop this relative from coming around.

He went on to say how both he and his wife had found grace to forgive her abuser and her passive parents and look to the Lord to heal both of their hearts. Both of their souls were now prospering as a result. 

I share these two stories with you to make a point. I do not believe for a moment that Romans 13:1 means you and I should submit to abusive authorities in our lives or be doormats of some kind. Though God has instituted all authority in this life, He certainly does not endorse the way some people in authority hurt, abuse, neglect, or use people they are called to serve. At the same time, I do not believe if someone in authority abuses or misuses their position that it somehow gives you and me the right to rebel against all authority, function in anarchy, or become an authority to ourselves. 

The truth is most of us have, at some time in our lives, experienced some form of abuse, neglect, or control by someone in authority. Yet it is important to understand how that authority is exercised will be the accounting of the one in authority to the One who gave it.

Here is an important truth that must be applied to our lives: the soul cannot prosper outside of authorities God set over him/her. Adam and Eve gave authority to their souls and the result was death to their spirit man. The divine order for the soul: be subject to, not usurp authority. 

Authority was established by God for edification, not destruction. This does not mean the way all authority is carried out is from God. The decisions made by those in positions of authority affect other people. I ask the Lord often to help me in this area in my own life. Even if it is a difficult situation where I must confront a person’s wrongdoing or inappropriate treatment of others, I ask the Lord to help me leave them with hope.

Some examples of authority set in place by God include absolute authority, which is God and His Word (Colossians 1:15-18), authority in the home (Ephesians 6:1-3; I Peter 3:1, 7-9), spiritual authority in the church (Hebrews 13:17), civil authorities (Romans 13:1-4), and authority in the workplace (Ephesians 6:5-8). Each time you submit to authority there is a corresponding blessing that goes with it. Favor, fruitfulness, a long and peaceful life, promotion, and rewards are just a few. Likewise, there are consequences for rebellion against authority. 

In the workplace, some of these consequences may be failure to receive promotion or leave a significant legacy. With civil authorities it may be tickets, fines, judgments, or jail time. In the home it may be lack of peace and harmony. These and other negative consequences for rebellion against authority are not judgments from God. These consequences are a result of sowing to the flesh and reaping the corresponding consequences in this life. 

I am not suggesting you attempt to live a perfect life and never make a mistake in responding to someone in authority in your life. But when you do miss it with someone in authority, apologize to them and take ownership for your disrespect or rebellion.

Also, if you are having chronic problems in an area of your life, check your heart and attitude toward the authorities in your life. Why is that important? The reason is consistent rebellion gives place to the devil in your life.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

It is not possible to submit to God without submitting to authorities He has placed in your life. Whether it is conscious or not, when you rebel against the authority God has established in your life, you abdicate your own authority. Your authority over the enemy is actually diminished because you are operating as he operates: in rebellion and contempt of authority established by the Lord.

Submission does not mean you must agree with everyone in authority all the time. In fact, you have not begun to walk in submission until someone in authority asks you to do something you don’t want to do. Now, I don’t mean follow someone into sin. I am talking about someone asking you to do something that is not your preference or desire. Instead, submission is a choice to maintain a willing and obedient attitude even when you don’t agree. 

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19).

A prosperous soul is one that is in right relationship with authorities in his or her life. That means yielding your will and your actions in following authority. Rolling of the eyes, folding of the arms, huffing and puffing, or murmuring under your breath is not being willing and obedient. Obedience while holding on to these attitudes and actions of contempt is not submission. 

Submission is essentially a “trust issue” as the following verse reveals to us: 

For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands (I Peter 3:5).  

And the One Whom each of us must place our trust in is God. In the absence of trusting God, you will do things out of character with who you really are as a son of God. When authorities in your life make decisions contrary to what you believe is God’s best and highest will for you, apart from your trust in God you have no other option than to yield to some form of manipulation and control to accomplish what you think is best.

One example of this is with Isaac’s wife, Rebekah. She had received a promise from God recorded in Genesis chapter 25 that the oldest of her twins would serve the younger and the younger, Jacob, would receive the greater blessing. Yet in Genesis chapter 27 we see her husband, Isaac, was planning to bestow this blessing on their eldest son, Esau. 

Instead of trusting God to bring His promise to pass in spite of her husband’s intention, Rebekah decided she needed to help God out. She devised a plan of deception and manipulation by exploiting her husband’s poor eyesight. So he blessed Jacob instead of Esau.

Rebekah failed to trust the Lord to fulfill His promise to her without her manipulation, deception, and control. She lost the respect and trust of her husband, affection and love from Esau, and she never saw Jacob again. She took things into her own hands and the outcome was not the blessing God desired for her. 

We see in the life of David an entirely different picture. Saul was after his life and stood in the way of his promotion. He could have easily justified taking Saul’s life because of the abuse and victimization he endured at his hands. David did not choose the most expedient way to the throne. Instead he chose to trust God completely for his promotion rather than taking vengeance into his own hands. 

Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. (I Samuel 24:11-12)  

I believe this is one reason the Word of God says David possessed a heart after God. He had a prosperous soul because of his trust in God.

Instead of making submission to authority a priority, some Christians look for justification to rebel. They have been deceived into believing God’s will for them may never come to pass if they do not take charge of the situation themselves.

No man can stand in the way of God’s plan, purpose, or promise for your life. All He requires is your trust, not your manipulation skills. God can heal your heart and paint a new picture of godly authority inside you. Forgive every person in authority who has hurt you or failed you in some way. Place your trust in the Lord again in this area. Remember, a submitted soul is a healthy and prosperous soul.