them better men. It is only by accepting the faith in Jesus Christ that they are given the power to become sons of God, and to be better than the pagans. Then the pagan power becomes irrelevant. ] But in reality we do not see that the Christians excel over pagans with their goodness; rather, they excel the pagans in iniquities. Outwardly, with their lips, they confess Jesus Christ, but inwardly they hate faith… Instead of faith they have thin water in which they dip the name of Jesus… They get away from him as if he were a debt they cannot pay. And, since they are in no wise better than the pagans, they cannot be saved by their authority – even though it is sanctioned by God – unless they seek salvation in Christ’s faith, as the Scripture says,
False is the king, and the king cannot be saved by the power of his own authority.[424]
It says that the king is false, even though authority has been divinely bestowed upon him; … he shall not be saved on account of his injustice.
CHAPTER 46
INTERPRETATION OF ROMANS 13:1-2 (CONTINUED)
[ The nominal Christians pervert the words of Paul, giving them a meaning to serve their own interests. Therefore, it is very important for those who want to be true Christians to see the true meaning of those words. ]
For the word of God concerns sometimes (a) the true heavenly and spiritual authorities[425], and (b) the true spiritual authorities that are a little lower than the heavenly[426]: the creaturely … authorities.[427] … I do not intend nor am I able to expound on the spiritual and heavenly authorities that are of God; I shall be concerned only about the human institutions that should be perfect in God’s spiritual order as well as in the lower earthly orders. The latter, which God has established since the beginning of time, has been lost. Having lost that order they dwell now in great disorder. But even though they live in this disorder, they still need some form of order that could – if not improve them – at least keep them in their corporeal life.
[ God established this order by giving man a twofold nature, one perishable, and the other imperishable. One generation dies, but the other generation is born, having its foundation in the union of father and mother. Mankind respects the family institution that maintains stability and order, propriety as well as property. ]
But because these generations are born in sin, filled with iniquities, the devils rule over them. Therefore, Saint Paul says about them that they are princes of the power of the air, who are at work in the sons of disobedience,[428] that is, in the princes of darkness and in the rulers of the world. Through their hatred and iniquity, death was ushered into the whole orbit of the earth.[429]
