The Two Governments

Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. MATTHEW 22:21

The Institutes ends not with heaven, or with the church, but with the state. Its last chapter (4.20) is on civil government. That may seem an odd place to finish a book about the knowledge of God, but Calvin had reasons. He was writing in a century when Christians were being burned by kings, when some radicals taught that believers should have nothing to do with government, and when others wanted to overthrow all rulers in the name of Christ. He believed that the Christian needed to know how to live under earthly authority, and he gave the question careful thought.

A twofold government

Calvin begins by distinguishing two kinds of government in human life (Institutes 3.19.15; 4.20.1). One is spiritual, by which the conscience is instructed in godliness and the worship of God. The other is political, by which a person is taught the duties of humanity and citizenship that must be kept among men. The first concerns the inner life of the soul and eternal life. The second concerns outward behaviour and the life of this world. They are different, and must not be confused. But they are not opposed.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. ROMANS 13:1

Against those who said that Christians should keep clear of government altogether, Calvin argued that civil authority is a gift of God. Its purpose, as long as we live among men, is to protect outward worship, to defend sound doctrine and the standing of the church, to shape our conduct to the requirements of human society, to promote peace and justice, and to keep common order (Institutes 4.20.2). Without it, he said, human life would be worse than that of beasts. It is as necessary as bread, water, sun and air, and far more excellent.

A holy calling

Calvin’s most striking claim is that the office of magistrate is a calling from God, and not only a lawful one but, he says, the most sacred and by far the most honourable of all callings in the whole life of mortal men (Institutes 4.20.4). He points to the judges and kings of Israel, and to Scripture’s description of rulers as God’s ministers.

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. ROMANS 13:4

This raised the standard for rulers as much as it raised their dignity. If they are God’s ministers, they must answer to Him. They must protect the poor, the widow and the orphan, do justice without partiality, and remember that they will give account. Calvin was no flatterer of princes. His commentaries and sermons are full of warnings to rulers who forget God.

He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 2 SAMUEL 23:3

Obedience and its limits

Calvin taught that Christians must obey their rulers, and not only good ones. Even an unjust ruler, he said, holds his authority from God, and private persons are not to take up arms against him. We should pray for rulers, pay our taxes, obey the laws and bear injustice patiently, remembering that God can judge wicked kings in His own time.

But he placed two important limits on this obedience. The first is that in some constitutions there are lesser magistrates — he mentions the ephors of Sparta and the estates of a realm — whose office it is to restrain the tyranny of kings. If they fail to do so, he says, they betray the liberty of the people, of which they are the appointed guardians (Institutes 4.20.31). This short passage had a long history. Later Reformed thinkers developed it into a doctrine of resistance to tyranny, and it played a part in the growth of constitutional government.

The second limit is absolute. In obedience to rulers we must always make one exception: that it must never lead us away from obedience to God. If rulers command anything against Him, it must count for nothing. The final words of the Institutes quote the apostles.

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. ACTS 5:29

Calvin adds that we were bought at a great price by Christ, so that we should not become slaves to the wicked desires of men, still less to their ungodliness. His own life bears it out. He wrote the Institutes as a defence of believers whom the king of France was persecuting.

The shadow of Servetus

And here, honestly, we must turn back to the darkest page of Calvin’s story. Among the tasks Calvin assigned to civil government was the protection of true religion and the punishment of public blasphemy. It was on that principle that Geneva tried and burned Michael Servetus in 1553, with Calvin as his accuser. Calvin himself refers to it from the pulpit in The Mystery of Godliness, in the Ochorus library, speaking of Servetus as a detestable heretic “who was here put to death.”

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves. 2 TIMOTHY 2:24–25

It is true that almost every government of the time, Catholic and Protestant, punished heresy with death, and that the Swiss churches endorsed the verdict. It is true that Calvin asked for a less cruel form of execution. But it is also true that some of his contemporaries saw more clearly. The humanist Sebastian Castellio, who had once worked with Calvin in Geneva, wrote against the execution; his protest is remembered for the principle that to kill a man is not to defend a doctrine but simply to kill a man. Calvin replied with a defence of the punishment of heretics. On this, Calvin was wrong and his critic was right.

The lesson for Christians is not that Calvin’s teaching on government is worthless; much of it is wise. It is that the confusion he warned against, between the spiritual and the civil government, was in this case the very confusion he fell into. The sword of the magistrate cannot defend the truth of the Trinity. Only the Word and Spirit can do that.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. 2 CORINTHIANS 10:4

FOR REFLECTION AND ACTION

1. Pray this week by name for those who govern your country, your region and your town.

2. Consider whether you honour the calling of public service, or treat all politics with contempt.

3. Ask whether there is any point at which obedience to a law or ruler would lead you away from God. Settle your answer now.

4. Reflect on the death of Servetus. Ask where Christians today are still tempted to use power to enforce belief.

5. If you hold public office or influence of any kind, ask how you are serving as God’s minister for the good of others.

A PRAYER

King of kings, all authority on earth is from You, and all rulers must give account to You.

Give wisdom, justice and mercy to those who govern us, and make us quiet, prayerful and honest citizens.

Where rulers command what You forbid, give us courage to obey You rather than men.

Forgive the church for every time she has used the sword to defend Your truth, and teach us to trust Your Word and Spirit alone. Amen.