Paul turns to exhortations regarding behavior toward the ruling civic authorities. This is the next logical step after the directions for behavior toward fellow believers (12:9–13) and the directions for behavior toward unbelievers (12:14–21), including those who persecute Christians. Paul gives three commands (13:1, 5, 7). (1) Believers must be “subject” to official government authorities; in other words, believers obey the edicts, rules, and regulations issued by government officials. (2) Believers are faced with the “necessity” to submit to state authorities. (3) Believers must pay taxes; this is a specific example of submission to civic authorities.

In 13:1–5 Paul explains that the basic reason why Christians must submit to the authorities is the biblical truth that God has ordained and appointed all governing authorities (13:1; cf. Prov. 8:15–16; Isa. 45:1–7; Dan. 4:17, 25, 32). It follows that anyone who resists the divinely appointed authorities resists God himself and will incur God’s (and the rulers’) judgment (13:2). The divine institution of governing authorities is reflected in the fact that they promote good conduct and punish bad conduct (13:3–4). When they fulfill this function, they are “God’s servants.” (And when they don’t, such as the Roman emperors who persecuted Christians, they are still accountable to God.) The praise for good behavior (13:3) is the public commendation of people who made extraordinary contributions to the city (e.g., financing of public works). Such commendations were recommended by the city magistrates and then inscribed in stone (honorary inscriptions). The sanction for bad behavior is punishment, meted out by police officials and other governmental powers. (In Egypt police officers are referred to as “sword-bearers.”) Because it is God who institutes the authorities, obedience is a matter of theological principle. It is motivated not only by fear of being punished but also by the concern for a good conscience (13:5).

In antiquity, the vast majority of people were powerless. Paul does not address the possibilities that citizens have in a participatory democracy, and he does not address the problem of secular states that explicitly or implicitly reject any notion of the rulers’ responsibility toward God (which both the Greeks and the pagans recognized). Paul is realistic, which is why he does not mention the Zealot option, which only ten years later led to the Jewish revolt against Roman rule and resulted in untold suffering and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The application of the principle of 13:1 is spelled out in 13:6–7 with regard to the payment of direct and indirect taxes (tribute and custom tax). These taxes must be paid, as they are demanded by the ruling authorities, whom God has instituted. The background of this astonishingly specific example is probably the unrest in the city of Rome at the time, caused by the increase in direct and indirect taxes under Nero. With the last two obligations—respect and honor—Paul returns to his admonition to acknowledge the legitimate jurisdiction of the divinely instituted governing authorities.