Christ is Lord and King - over all men and every government.

By T.M. Moore - Posted at The Fellowship of Ailbe:

Daniel in the Lions' Den.

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word...”
- Daniel 3.28 

The frail, oppressive, and fleeting glory
of the kings of the present world is laid low by God’s will.
-Columba, Altus Prosator, Irish, 6th century[1]

Scripture speaks of the civil magistrate as a servant of God who is to be obeyed because he wields the sword on behalf of good (Rom. 13.1-4). Civil government is an instrument of God for good, and we must not presume to stand in the way of its fulfilling its calling.

Ours is a qualified obedience, however, as Daniel’s three friends remind us. We must obey government when it is serving the good purposes of God. We are not called to obey the civil magistrate when doing so means we must disobey God or deny our Kingdom duties. The sense of shock in Nebuchadnezzar’s “frustrated the king’s word” is almost palpable in the text. Who would ever dare to stand against a powerful ruler and refuse to abide by his command?

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