The View Statesmen Hold of Government and Their Responsibilities

The reality is that the Statesman operates on a foundation that goes against our human instincts. Hence, it is worth examining that foundation carefully.

The starting point is there is a Designer who created the universe with a purpose. He declared:

I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself (Isaiah 44:24).

The truth we must acknowledge is:

All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created (John 1:3).

God, the Designer, actively reigns over His creation. God continually tells us: “I actively superintend My creation to achieve its intended purpose”:

…God is King of all the earth. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne. The nobles of the peoples have assembled with the people of the God of Abraham. For the leaders of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted (Psalms 47:7-9).

The Designer has a plan that He actively superintends. Our Creator has made clear:

I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will (Isaiah 46:10).

Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass… (Isaiah 37:26).

As I have purposed, so it will be; as I have planned it, so it will happen….This is the plan prepared for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all the nations. The Lord of Hosts Himself has planned it; therefore, who can stand in its way? It is His hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back? (Isaiah 14:24-27)

His plan is for well-being and a quality of life we have not yet fully achieved. God makes clear: “My plan is to bring the best possible well-being for My creation”:

For I know the plans I have for you…plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

God tells us about the quality of life He intends for every human in these words:

…a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:2).

Jesus, as God, described it this way:

My purpose is to give life in all its fullness (John 10:10).

God assures us: “I have created the world for My own purposes and I will insure that My purposes are implemented”:

I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will. I call a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it (Isaiah 46:9-11).

His plans for well-being can only be achieved when we depend upon His guidance and His help.

The Role of Government. As a part of His plan, the Creator/Master Designer vested Government with great authority for the purpose of meeting needs of the people that are beyond their capacity to meet for themselves. He established this institution intending to use human beings, with their flaws, operating as His instruments in accomplishing the purposes for this institution. If there is any confusion that the authority of this institution comes from God, listen to Jesus’ exchange with the governing official who had authority over His life:

Pilate said to Him, “Don’t You know that I have the authority to release You and the authority to crucify You?” “You would have no authority over Me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above” (John 19:10-11).

God, through Jesus, made clear that government is even authorized to take life in the exercise of justice – God’s justice.

Government is a God-ordained institution. God created and designed Government to play a critical role in promoting a healthy society. God has instructed us:

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.... For government is God’s servant to you for good…. the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks (Romans 13:1,4,6).

When God tells us that the quality of life He intends for every human is:

…a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:2),

He makes it very clear that Government has responsibility for this, looking at this statement in context:

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we [those governed] may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Those who operate in this institution, Government, are intended to do so as His hands and feet. They are to be His instruments operating under direction from Him.

President Abraham Lincoln expressed this truth correctly when he said:

In the very responsible position in which I happen to be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am.

And:

I hold myself in my present position and with the authority vested in me as an instrument of Providence.

The truth is that we are in reality a servant of God and a servant of the people. We are a servant of God for the purpose of serving the people.

The application to our lives is this: If you had a subordinate who never communicated with you, how confident would you be that the subordinate was doing what you wanted? Likewise, we cannot hope to fulfil the expectations of our Master unless we are continually seeking His mind. God’s plans involve governing officials as His instruments in carrying out His plans. Hence, we must make sure we are listening to God, the Creator and active Overseer, as He communicates to us in His instruction book and through His Holy Spirit within us. The starting point is that we must make sure that His presence is with us, literally, within us, and that we have a heart to obey and implement His instructions. This relies on making sure the channel between God and us has been opened by our taking advantage of Jesus’ death for our sinful nature, and His resurrection. Jesus made this clear when He said:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

The reality is that Jesus’ crucifixion accomplished payment for our disobedience to our Creator that blocked the access channel to Him. And Jesus’ resurrection from death confirmed that He accomplished what He promised through His crucifixion. We must make sure we have taken this step in appropriating our Creator’s forgiveness as we seek His help and His power necessary to truly be His instrument in the lives we are called to serve. It is essential that we make sure the Spirit of God is within us in order to experience His guidance and to invoke His miraculous power. This unbelievable achievement is summarized:

He made the One [Jesus] who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Let us make sure that we have:

…become the righteousness of God in Him [Jesus] (2 Corinthians 5:21).

CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE STATESMAN:

Have I taken advantage of Jesus’ work on my behalf so that I might become the righteousness of God in Him?

Can I see myself as a servant of God for the purpose of doing His will to fulfill His plan?

If I understood myself to be a servant of God, what would I do differently?