The Home of Biblical Concept Ministries

Let’s take a look at the three institutions God created, and then we’ll look closer into the third institution of civil government.

It is vital that Christians understand these three institutions and the role they should play in our government today.

The Family:

Genesis 1:26-28: “God created male and female.”

Genesis 2:24: “The two shall be one flesh.” (i.e., marriage)

The Church:

Matthew 16:18: “Upon this Rock I will build my Church.”

Civil Government:

Genesis 1:26: “Let them have dominion over...all the earth.”

Exodus 18:19-26: “Thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws...thou shalt provide out of

the people able men such as fear God, men of truth...and place such over them to be rulers...”

Exodus 20:1-17: The Ten Commandments

Romans 13:1-7: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers...for he is the minister

of God...”

I Peter 2:13-17: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s

sake...whether it be to the kings...or unto governors...for so is the will of God.”

After God established that mankind will be over the affairs of the earth, He then gave us the formula for setting up our government and the Biblical qualifications and requirements for those in leadership. The eighteenth chapter of Exodus provides the key to discovering where our founding fathers uncovered the formula to set up our constitutional republican form of government and why they created the exact system we have today. Exodus 18:20 tells us that we need government and laws to live by: “And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt teach them the way wherein they must walk and the work that they must do.”

Notice that there are three principles or lessons listed in this verse. The first one is the idea of elections by and from the people—“Thou shalt provide out of all the people”.

The second idea is the four qualifications for judges and elected leaders. They must be able men, fear God, be men of truth, and hate covetousness.

The third idea involves the system and structure. It explains how to divide the people into groups and form the governing bodies, “…to be rulers over thousands (federal government), rulers over hundreds (state government), rulers of fifties (county government), and rulers of tens (city government).”

This is only a short summary but it is clear to me that government and the role of Christians in government and the role of Christians as citizens are not only highly important to God but are also but very clear in the scriptures. We as American Christians simply just need to study, learn and apply biblical principles of government.