Romans 13:1-14

Paul continues from the end of chapter 12 teaching how holy-people (Christians) are to behave ourselves during the everyday living of our lives, so that we would live in agreement with what God has given to be believed (refer to Romans 10:8-10).

Romans 13:1-3(a):

^13:1You must subject-yourselves to all authorities being-superior for there is not an authority except by God, and the (authorities) being (authorities) are (those) having been arranged² by God, ^.2so-that the (person) arranging-himself-against the authority has stood-against² the arrangement of God, and the (people) having stood-against² will receive judgment to themselves, ^.3(a)for the rulers are not a fear for the good work but for the bad (work).

You must subject yourselves (cause yourselves to be in submission, to be arranged in the position of being underneath, under authority, submissive in the walk/behavior category by the freedom of your will [papyrus P46 reads as translated above, but some Greek texts read "every soul must be subject / subject-himself"])...

• to all authorities being-superior (all positions of authoritative power, every one of those who have the permitted right to exercise authority in accordance with God and the Lord Jesus Christ, those who are holding a position or rank of authority over you, who are being superior for the purpose of protecting you, like a rock projection jutting-out above and beyond what is under it and thereby sheltering what is underneath from rain or anything else coming downwards)
  • for there is no authority (authoritative power, permitted right)
    • except or unless by God (by the power of, from under the hand of, the instrumental and efficient agent being the only true God),
  • and the authorities who are presently and actively existing being authorities are those who have been arranged (put in order, set in rank as the military sense) and continue being arranged by God,

...with the consequence and result that...

• the person who is arranging himself against (putting himself in ordered opposition to) the authoritative power that God has put in order
  • has stood against/anti (withstood, resisted) and continues to stand against
  • the arrangement of God (God's ordered placement of that authority, how He put it fully in order, as arranging troops in the midst of battle so that God's people would overcome any enemies),
• and the people who have stood against God's arrangement and continue to resist it
  • will receive judgment to themselves (they will be given a pronounced decision, a sentence passed to/for themselves, they will take the consequences of their wrong behavior),
• for the rulers (the ones whom God arranged to be chiefs among His people, those in the first-place or dignified-hierarchical positions whether they be people or spirits in this arrangement)
  • are not a fear (a cause for fright, for being afraid)
    • for the good work (relative to the performance of work that issues from God Who is good and sets the standard for what is good, the good thing wrought, good deed, the effect-produced having acted expending energy in accordance with what is perfectly admirable from God's viewpoint, work that is according to His words and intention because He is the source of all true goodness)
  • but on the contrary, they are a fear
    • for the bad work (relative to the performance of work that does not issue from God and therefore there will be consequences for that wrong behavior).

The people who are authorities must carry-out their practice (function, duty) in accordance with the measure of belief that God gives to them because they also are limbs (members) in the one body of Christ, Christ himself being the head (refer to Romans 12:3-5; Ephesians 1:19-23, 4:15 and 16; Colossians 1:18, 2:10 and 19).

Only Godly leadership and authority have true reality since God raised Christ up giving him his spiritual body. All other leadership and authority have no effect spiritually to/with/against Christ, the head, and his body of holy-people (refer to Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:19-23; Colossians 1:13-19 and 27, and 2:9-12; Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:7; I Peter 3:22). However, as we await the coming of Christ to gather us together, all holy-people ought to behave ourselves in accordance with God our Father and with our Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what adverse things may come against us from the devil/satan via whatever means or method.

[Reference: Deuteronomy 17:15; Mathew 7:29, 9:6 and 8, 10:1, 28:18; Acts 4:18-20, 7:35 and 53; I Corinthians 2:6-10; II Corinthians 10:8, 13:10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 1:15-17; Titus 3:1; I Peter 2:13-17, 3:22; Jude 1:25; Revelation 1:5.]

Verses 3(b) and 4:

^.3(b)But do you intend not to be fearful (towards) the authority? You must do the good-thing and you will have praise from it, ^.4for he is a minister of God to you into the good-thing; but if-ever you may do the bad-thing you must be fearful, for he does not yieldingly carry the sword, for he is a minister of God, an avenger into wrath to the (person) practicing the bad-thing.

In these verses, Paul addresses "you" singular, as an individual - not anybody in particular from-among the Godly-loved people in Rome, but his usage of the singular "you" causes the listener or reader of this letter to think of him/herself in relation to these questions and answers.

Do you intend (will, with active volition and desire) not to be fearful towards the authority (not to have fright, not to be afraid at the consequences of your performance of any wrong behavior, and therefore you do not manifest the awe and respect that is rightfully due and ought to be shown towards and pertaining-to the authoritative-power within God's arrangement)?

You must do (perform) that-which is good and you will have praise (applause) from the authority...

• in truth, the one who has the authority is a minister of God to/for you (a holy-person who serves to benefit others, not 'being-subject' to them but doing work to bring others profit, one who carries-out his day-by-day ministerial duties, his duties of service pertaining to God and the things of God)
  • into the good-thing (with a view to, directed to, for that-which issues from God, for what is good in God's viewpoint; God is the One Who issues His goodness and He sets the standard to be conformed to by you);

...but if it should ever happen that you would do (perform) the bad-thing during the everyday living of your life, you must be fearful (have fright, be afraid at the consequences of your performance of bad/wrong behavior)...

• in truth, the one who has the authority does not yieldingly carry the sword (he does not bear, bring and support the sword in a relinquishing manner, without purpose, referring to the sword of the spirit which is the spoken-matter of/from God, the offensive weapon, as the knife used for slaughter, cutting or slicing its way through obstacles; refer to Ephesians 6:17),
• for he is a minister of God (as described above),
  • an avenger (the one who executes righteous judgment and maintains what is right/just)
    • into wrath (with a view to, directed to, or resulting-in wrath, which is a lasting angry vengeance, like the heat of a burning fire which is not a spur-of-the-moment thing on the God’s part)
    • to/for the person practicing the bad-thing (habitually doing that-which does not issue from God).

The context in these verses pertains to an individual's attitude towards those who are placed in authority within the one body of Christ, and how God's minister must behave at certain times towards others. God's minister within his authoritative position must carry-out God's instructions to him, which at times also includes to avenge the bad-thing done by a holy-person against other holy-people, and so he gives that person the opportunity to change his thinking and actions to line-up with God's Word, and thereby to walk as a child of God ought to walk.

[Reference: Matthew 28:18; Acts 7:24, 20:24; Romans 12:7 and 19, 16:1; I Corinthians 3:5, 12:5; II Corinthians 3:6, 4:1, 5:9-11, 6:4, 10:6 and 8, 13:10; Ephesians 1:19-23, 3:7, 6:17; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:25, 2:9 and 10; I Thessalonians 4:6; II Thessalonians 1:8; I Timothy 3:8 and 12, 4:6; Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:7, 17 and 24; I Peter 3:22; III John 1:11.]

Verses 5-7:

^.5On-which-account also you must subject-yourselves not only because-of the wrath but also because-of the conscience, ^.6for because-of-this you must complete also personal-tributes for they are official-servants of God being strong into this same-thing. ^.7You must give-away the debts to all-people, to the (person you owe) the personal-tribute the personal-tribute, to the (person you owe) the tax the tax, to the (person you owe) the fear the fear, to the (person you owe) the honor the honor.

Wherefore (on account of what is written in verses 1-4 above) also you must subject yourselves (cause yourselves to be in submission [some Greek texts read "there is a constraint to be subject"])...

• not alone on account of the wrath (which God's minister carries-out on His behalf during the everyday living of your lives)
• but on the contrary, also on account of the conscience (a person’s knowing-awareness, the perception of what is right which he put together for himself in his mind as a result of all that he has already been taught and learned in relation to the one whom he recognizes as his ruler, the one who has authority, ultimately this authority should be the only true God),

...for on account of this you must complete also personal-tributes (bring personal allowances or taxes to the ending issue, accomplishing them by carrying them to the authorities within God's arrangement to support them, thereby indicating your subjection, as paying the taxes usually levied on persons and their property on a yearly basis to the ruler).

Further explanation as to why holy-people are to pay personal tributes in this context is...

• for they are official-servants of God (the truth is that they are holy-people who have/hold an office of service, they carry-out their work, performing an official-duty pertaining to public service attending to their superior - God)
  • being strong (attending constantly, persevering, continuing or occupying themselves)
    • with a view to carrying-out this same service that God has requested of them within the one body of Christ (refer to Romans 12:5).

You must give-away the debts to all-people (pay-back the things that are rightfully due, owed or obligated by you, your indebtedness to everyone, not only those in authority within the one body of Christ - but to others also) ...

• to the person you owe the personal-tribute (personal allowances or taxes)
  • you must give-away the personal-tribute,
• to the person you owe the tax (the complete custom due, the public tax or allowance)
  • you must give-away the tax,
• to the person you owe the fear (the fright, being afraid at the consequences of your performance of any wrong behavior, and therefore you should be manifesting the appropriate awe and respect that ought to be shown towards him/her relative to God and the Lord Jesus Christ)
  • you must give-away the fear,
• to the person you owe the honor (the appropriate estimated value, esteemed worth or price)
  • you must give-away the honor.

[Reference: Matthew 17:24-27, 22:15-22; Luke 20:22-26; Acts 2:42 and 46, 4:31-5:11; Romans 9:1, 12:5, 10 and 17; 15:16; I Corinthians 16:1-4; II Corinthians 8:11-15; Philippians 2:25; I Timothy 2:1-4; Hebrews 1:7, 2:7, 8:1 and 2, 9:11-15, 10:22; I Peter 2:13-25.]

Verses 8-10:

^.8You must owe nothing to not-one-person except to love¹ one-another, for the (person) loving¹ the different-person has fulfilled² law, ^.9for, "You will not commit-adultery, you will not murder, you will not steal, you will not intensely-yearn," and if (there is) some different commandment it is headed-up in this word, "You will love¹ your neighbor as yourself" - ^.10love¹ does not work a bad-thing to the neighbor, therefore love¹ (is the) fullness of law.

You must be indebted in nothing (not one thing) to nobody (no-one; this figure of speech of double negatives gives great emphasis to what Paul is writing - don't owe anything to anybody)...

• except (unless) to love¹ one-another,
  • [The word "love¹" or the verb "to love¹" comes from the Greek word agape which is God's kind of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments, His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love.]

...in truth (you owe-it to Godly-love each other because) the person who is loving¹ the different person (someone of a different kind, another sort of person, not exactly the same as you) has fulfilled (filled the full-contents, filled-up, accomplished) and continues to have fulfilled law (all of God's law, which includes the law that God gave to Moses)....

This is referring to the walk (behavior, conduct) category because Paul has already taught us that every holy-person has the spirit of Christ within, and that Christ has completed the law - therefore all holy-people have spiritually completed the law. It has been fulfilled and cannot be filled-up with anything else in the holy spirit category (Romans 8:4 and 10:4).

Paul next explains the truth of verse 8 relative to the walk/behavior category:

In truth (for example: the old covenant commandments included the following to/for each individual)...

• "You will not commit adultery,
• you will not murder (not wrongfully kill someone),
• you will not steal (not take something by stealth from another which is not rightfully yours, a kleptomaniac),
• you will not intensely-yearn (you will not attach or fix strong desire upon certain objects other-than God and the things of God, you will not lust in the bad sense),"
• and if there is any other commandment (therefore including all of the things that God enjoined or commanded His people during the old covenant times)
  • it is headed-up (summed up together under one that tops them all)
  • in this word (within this spoken-account of the inner thoughts of God, which contains individual words constituting what is spoken),
    • "You (singular, individual you) will love¹ your neighbor as you are to love¹ yourself (you ought to manifest Godly-love towards that person who is near you from-among God's people, today being the holy-people, as you ought to manifest Godly-love towards yourself; this is how to live interacting with one-another; refer to Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 22:35-40)" -

...love¹ does not work a bad-thing (it does not cause or effect that-which is bad to be operative, it does not produce what is not according to God's intention) to/for the neighbor, therefore love¹ is the fullness of law (the law's fullness, its filling, the result of the action of filling, its full-contents, its fulfillment).

God's love being evidenced during a person's living of everyday life interacting with others is the fulfilling of law - it cannot be made any fuller! There is nothing else that can fit into this fullness in the walk/behavior category.

As in verse 9 above, the future tense was used by God in commands because people were to obey them from the time that the commands were spoken onwards; it does not mean that the people would be forced to do them and had no control over their own lives, but these are the things that God told them that they should do from that time forward.

[Reference: Exodus 20:13-17; Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 5:17-21; Matthew 19:16-19, 22:35-40; Romans 5:5-9, 8:28-39, 12:9; I Corinthians 13:1-8; Galatians 5:13-25; Ephesians 1:10, 4:25; Colossians 3:14; I Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 8:1; James 2:8; I John 4:11.]

Romans 13:11-14:

^.11And this, having known² the time, that (it is the) hour (for) us to have already been raised-up from sleep, for now salvation (is) nearer us than when we believed; ^.12the night advanced but the day came-near² - therefore let us throw-away-from-ourselves the works of the darkness; therefore let us clothe-ourselves-with the arms of the light; ^.13let us walk decorously as in (the) day, not with revelries and with drunkennesses, not with sexualities and with licentiousnesses, not with strife and with jealousy - ^.14but you must clothe-yourselves-with Jesus Christ our Lord, and you must not make-to-yourselves fore-mindedness of the flesh into intense-yearning.

Additionally this, having known (perceived) and continuing to know the specific time (the opportune or precise period, occasion, season that we currently live in)...

• that it is the hour (the limited period of time)
• for us to have already been raised-up from sleep (by this time all of us should be awakened, aroused out-from sleep [some Greek texts read "you" instead of "us"]; "sleep" in this context refers to the state of not being alert or aware of what is going on from God's viewpoint, and it is not referring to physical sleep nor to physical death),
  • for at the present time salvation (safety, the standing and state of being saved, made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from destruction)
  • is more-near (closer time-wise) to/for us than when we first believed (had faith in, trusted what God has given mankind to believe regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts chapter 2 onwards; refer to Romans 10:8-10);

• the night advanced ("night" figuratively refers to spiritual darkness in opposition to the only true God Who is Light - the nighttime beat or drove forward cutting down everything out of its way so that nothing could impede its progress, its advancement; the night has advanced into its limited duration of time and is coming to its end)
• but the day has actively come near and is still near ("day" figuratively refers to spiritual light which emanates from God Who is the source of true light - the daytime has drawn near, come close, it has approached close-by; as day/light draws near then night/darkness is dispelled).

Each second and minute and hour and day and month and year that goes-by brings all holy-people, every Christian, nearer in time to the event of Christ's coming to gather us all together with him. When we will be gathered-together with Christ we will receive into full-manifestation the salvation which God has promised us in Christ. Currently we only have a token/deposit of it, which is the gift of holy spirit, to assure us that we will definitely receive the fullness of our salvation at a future time.

The day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) is the time when full salvation began to be effective in its approach and we who have received God's gift of holy spirit look forward to the actual arrival of Christ when we will receive the fullness of our salvation.

Also, the fulfillment of all the prophecies regarding the day of the Lord will come to pass following our gathering-together with our Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing or no spirit or no person who can stop Christ's coming to be present, not even the night of spiritual darkness as it beats its way forward in its attempt to be in-front during this present time-period.

Paul continues to encourage the holy-people to walk in agreement with God's Word, and 3 times he uses the verb form translated "let us..." which is a polite command or a very strong suggestion advising those listening or reading to do what is written.

• Following-on logically let us throw away from ourselves (let us cast-off from ourselves [some Greek texts have the verb "put away" instead of "throw away"])
  • the works of the darkness (the deeds, the things wrought belonging-to and proceeding-from the darkness, the complete absence of light; this is figuratively referring to that-which lacks God's light; the devil/satan initiates these works and therefore they are spiritually dark; we should notice that darkness has works – energy must be expended for these works to be worked, perhaps they take years to be worked, and the finished works may look architecturally or literarily like masterpieces, but from God's point of view they are the works of the darkness and we should throw them away from ourselves);
• therefore let us clothe ourselves with (let us put-on as a garment by going inside of it, envelope ourselves with)  
  • the arms of the light (the weapons, tools, implements of war/battle pertaining-to and consisting-of the light - the light that emanates from God Who is the Light);

 ...and as well as that...

• let us walk (literally this means to move the feet around, to go on foot; but figuratively it means to walk around during the everyday living of our lives, to behave ourselves, to conduct ourselves)
  • decorously (with goodly-elegance in outward-figure, with propriety of conduct or deportment, in a well and seemly manner)
  • in comparison to how people ought to conduct themselves properly during the daytime (with the light shining on us and nothing being hidden from view), which is
    • not with/by revelries (as the merrymaking after feasts dedicated to the devil and his devil-spirits, demons, such as the false-god bacchus or Chemosh)
      • and with/by drunkennesses (bubbling or overflowing as the result of the excessive drinking of alcohol),
    • not with/by sexualities (literally the Greek word means lying down in beds, but here referring to having sexual activities in different beds but not with husband/wife)
      • and with/by licentiousnesses (debaucheries),
    • not with/by strife (any form of it, such as rivalry, wrongful-competitiveness, contention or disputing and quarrelling)
      • and with/by jealousy (zeal in the bad sense, wrongfully boiling with passion against someone or something) -
• but contrary to walking with/by any of those,
• you must clothe yourselves with (put-on yourselves as a garment by going inside of it, envelope yourselves with)
  • Jesus Christ our Lord (all of his fullness, all that he is to/for/with/in you; when Paul writes "Jesus Christ" he is emphasizing his obedience and service to God on a horizontal level to benefit people - Jesus Christ is the Lord/Master of all holy-people [some Greek texts read "the Lord Jesus Christ"]),
• and you must not make (do) to/for yourselves
  • fore-mindedness of the flesh (foresight, have your mind set on making provision beforehand, ahead of time pertaining to the flesh category, your body and soul parts excluding your holy spirit-life)
    • with a view to and resulting in intense-yearning (strong desire attached or fixed upon certain objects, in this context referring to lust that is contrary to God's intention for holy-people [some Greek texts have this in the plural form]).

Spiritually, from God's viewpoint, all holy-people (true Christians) are a new creation because of our holy spirit-life (II Corinthians 5:17), and the natural and fleshy part of holy-people is considered dead and it has no bearing in the kingdom of God to which all Christians belong. Holy spirit has replaced the flesh. However, in the "walk" category during the everyday living of our lives we must learn to rely on our new holy spirit-life and take our instruction from it instead of from the flesh as we have been so used-to doing before we received holy spirit (the spirit of Christ in us).

[Reference: Matthew 4:16, 5:14-16, 6:23, 22:11-14; John 3:19; Acts 13:45-47, 26:18 and 23; Romans 1:4 and 29, 2:19, 5:9, 10 and 21, 6:13, 7:5, 18 and 25, chapter 8, 10:10; I Corinthians 1:9-11, 3:3; II Corinthians 1:22, 4:4-6, 5:5, 6:7 and 14, 10:4, 12:20 and 21; Galatians 5:16 and 19-21; Ephesians 1:13, 14, 20-23, 4:19 and 21-25, 5:8-20, 6:10-18; Philippians 4:5; Colossians 1:12-20, 3:9-17; I Thessalonians 4:12-17, 5:4-11; I Timothy 6:4 and 16; Titus 3:9; Hebrews 9:28; James 1:17, 3:14-16, 5:8; I Peter 1:5, 2:9, 4:1-3 and 7; II Peter 2:2 and 18; I John 1:5-7, and 2:8-11; Jude 1:4 and 25. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]