PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

In the New Testament we find Jews suffering under the hands of the Roman Empire, having lost control of their country.... The Jews were ridiculed as men without a country. The Lord was born shortly after the conquest of the Jewish nation. At that time the rulers, like Pontius Pilate, were Gentiles, yet they were still God's appointed authorities. Once the Pharisees tempted the Lord by asking Him, "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" The Lord answered, "Render then the things that are Caesar's to Caesar and the things that are God's to God" (Matthew 22:17, 21). This means that the Lord acknowledged Caesar's authority. He acknowledged the existence of earthly authorities. If the Lord did not know God, He could very well have become a revolutionary leader. But He never gave Himself to any revolutionary movement. He recognized the authority of human government as coming from God....

Some may not be able to swallow these words. Paul said that rulers are only a terror to evil workers. Some may argue that many rulers are evil and that men are punished even when they perform much good. But the truth is that there is still the pretense of justice even with evil and corrupt rulers. They cannot cast aside their confession and blatantly claim that they are punishing men or executing them for doing good. Even when a ruler rewards evil for good, he has to first accuse the good man and make him evil before he can punish him. In the same way, when he befriends the mob and enlists them in his army, he first has to extol them for their patriotism. He has to ascribe good names to them first and then prove to others that he is rewarding the good and punishing the evil. He may be wrong in his conduct, but at least he has to be right in his principle. God says that all authorities are from Him. He has established the authorities. 

Although there are evil rulers and evil laws, these men and institutions still stand for God's authority. The day this world order stops will be the day when all worldly rulers are destroyed and the lawless one appears. It is a good thing that rulers are with us today. A government based on anarchy is one that hastens the coming of Satan's kingdom. Of course, when Satan comes, the kingdom of God will also have drawn near. Satan is the most lawless one. When this lawless one appears, he will annul God's principle of authority. Then there will be no divine authority; evil men will be uplifted, and good men will be destroyed. Then men will call evil those who do good and call good those who commit evil. God's entire principle of authority will be overthrown. This will be the end, and lawlessness will take over completely.

Today we Christians should pay attention to four things with respect to government. First, we should render tax to whom tax is due. Second, we should render custom to whom custom is due. Third, we should render fear to whom fear is due. It is right for us to fear soldiers and policemen. We are those who are under authority. We cannot say that we have nothing to do with policemen since we are good citizens and have not broken any law. Although the policemen may not come after us, we still have to fear them in our heart. Although the nations are now part of Satan's kingdom, God's authority is still with them. Therefore, we must still render fear to whom fear is due. Fourth, we should render honor to whom honor is due. We have to respect the rulers. Titus 3:1 says that we should be "subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every good work." This is the proper attitude towards human government....

God's authority in the universe is being carried out through human government. The same authority is also carried out through family relationships. God's principle of authority has not changed since the creation of the world. Of the sixty-six books of the Bible, Ephesians and Colossians rank the highest in spirituality, but neither of them neglect the importance of upholding God's authority. These two books do not put authority aside. In reading them I marvel at Paul, who, though erudite in the lofty things of the Spirit, was not negligent of the relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and servants. This shows us that from the creation of the world until now, God has not given up on the matter of authority. Paul shows us in Colossians 3 and 4 that God wants believers to uphold His authority in the church and in the family. He speaks similarly in 1 Timothy 6 and Titus 2 and 3. His words to Timothy and Titus are similar. When he wrote to these spiritual sons, he charged them in the same way. It seems as if he was saying, "This is my teaching, and you have to teach the same thing." Paul charged Timothy and Titus to speak the same thing and not to change his teaching. These four books are very special. While Ephesians and Colossians are on high truths, 1 Timothy and Titus are on the work. On the one hand, Paul spoke on the subject of authority in the highest books on spirituality. On the other hand, he spoke on the same subject in his Epistles related to the work....

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