The Politics of Paul
remember that you were at one time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, Ephesians 2:12
Commonwealth – Perhaps the NIV gives us a better understanding of this word, politeia, by translating it as “citizenship in.” But either way, “commonwealth” or “citizenship” still carry contemporary political meanings. In other words, we think in terms of our view of government when we think of commonwealth or citizenship. In democracies, we think of citizenship as more or less voluntary. Sure, we have to live by the rules, but we get to vote on those rules if we don’t really agree. Of course, none of these types of governments existed in Paul’s day, nor in any time in the history of Israel. So, from the biblical perspective, God has never advocated a democracy. That means we have to think of this verse in terms of the way it would have been understood by the first listeners who heard it. They lived under a king, a Caesar, whose word was law and whose citizens were subject to his whim. The only difference in government between Caesar and God is this: God loves His people. Caesar loved his power. From the biblical perspective, God is the only true King, but He is nevertheless a King. To belong to His kingdom is to be ruled completely and exclusively by Him. What He determines to be true is true. What He decides to be the correct action is the correct action. There is absolutely no vote on the matter.
Paul does not contrast one form of government with another. Paul contrasts one king with another. Those who belong to the kingdom of God, who are ruled by their voluntary submission to God’s sovereignty over every part of their lives, enjoy God’s covenants of promise. Those who are outside God’s kingdom are still ruled, but they are ruled by despots whose power-hungry egos make them subjects of a world without hope. Theognis said, “Better that man should never be born.” He knew what was in store for any man separated from the grace of a benevolent God.
At one time, every believer, whether Jew or Gentile, was separated from God’s final hope, the Messiah. That separation meant exclusion from the benevolence of God – and inclusion in the world without hope. We all came from that hideous place. We have all been rescued from hopelessness. Remembering that, we can embrace our unity – a unity not of our own making but of the grace of God. Now we are citizens of another kingdom where there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, slave and free.
This is not the kind of government we find in the world today. No, not a single form of human social structure is a substitute for this kingdom. In fact, this Greek word has no exact Hebrew equivalent in Scripture. But we know what Paul means. He means the household of the Holy One, those who are called according to His purpose, the elect chosen to bring about God’s plan of restoration. How do we know this? Because the entire political structure of the Old Testament is written around the idea of a holy nation, a kingdom of priests whom God calls His own. “You will be my people and I will be your God.” Paul’s politics is rooted in the concept of the covenant. The covenant is rooted in a promise – a promise that will never change. If you aren’t in that kingdom, you are as good as dead.
Topical Index: Government
