Inside: Our Founders wrote the Constitution to make every effort to ensure they were in line with God’s proper line of authority.

The smoke from the battlefield wafted through the air above the scorched ground which had recently been so hotly contested.  Yes, the battle was now complete – the final stronghold of the enemy had been taken.  The General of the victor’s army brought the crown and presented it to his King, “Sir, I believe this is yours”.  “Thank you, General…  Your loyal service will be rewarded”, the noble King replied.  As one of the little boys passed the dirty cardboard crown to the other, they heard the call from the house…  “You boys need to wash up for dinner!”  The General and the new King replied in unison, “Yes Ma’am”, as they ran for the house… 

No, there was no legitimate coronation here today.  This was neither a real King, nor a real General.  There was no scorched ground and the battle itself existed only in the imagination of the two brothers who had just recently concluded their argument over who got to be the King in today’s activities!  No, there was no authority changing hands here – we would say the boys were pretending.  Unfortunately, pretending to have legitimate claim to a government is not a game that is limited to young boys in the backyard.  Sometimes, adults play a very similar game – with much higher stakes. 

A Biblical Example

One such day, in Jerusalem, King David was old and nearing death.  Adonijah, one of David’s sons, wasn’t waiting around for the official change of command ceremony.  We see in 1 Kings Chapter 1 how Adonijah set himself up as King in the place of his father.  He secured the support of key officials like Joab, his father’s General, and Abiathar the Priest (1 Kings 1:7).  So, although he may not have had 100% support, he did have significant support in his claim to be King of Israel, and he was enjoying a nice gathering with the officials of his new kingdom.  Of course, he failed to invite a few of David’s closest advisers, or David’s son Solomon, or King David, to the gathering, but those around Adonijah were partying it up and saying, “God save King Adonijah!” (1 Kings 1:25)

Should They Obey the Nazis?

Many Christians claim Romans 13:1-2 requires unquestioned submission to higher powers.  I know Romans 13 was far from being written at this point in Israel’s history, but it makes me think…  I mean, at what point do higher powers become higher powers?  Is there any kind of discretion we are expected to have?  Is there any test we are to perform to determine the legitimacy of the government officials?  I mean, if not, then how is it any different than the boys’ backyard kingdom in our opening story?  What makes a government legitimate?  What makes one illegitimate?  I sometimes wonder this in the context of Nazi Germany taking over countries in the late 1930s, sometimes without firing a shot.  Did these governments then deserve immediate submission from the people? 

I’m sorry…  maybe I’m getting a little sidetracked bringing the Nazis into my King David story!  But, as Americans, we have had stable government for so long that we have not had to ask ourselves what makes a government legitimate.  In our article called Little Johnny’s Dollars, we talked about what makes a law legitimate – and that’s a good question – but what about a government?  Oddly enough, we can get a very significant clue from Adonijah himself if we follow the Biblical account a little further… 

As you continue 1 Kings Chapter 1, you will see that Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, and Nathan the Prophet tell King David what is going on.  Bathsheba’s description to David in verse 18 tells us how serious the situation is…  she said, “Adonijah reigneth…”  This sounds like a done deal!  King David tells them what to do in order to present Solomon to the people as David’s official successor, and the procession ends up with Solomon taking his new, rightful place on David’s throne.  Wow!  (You guys really gotta go read this whole story…)  

Fake fears authentic

It is interesting in verses 49 & 50, we get to see the reaction of Adonijah and his followers who had been celebrating.  Their reaction is… FEAR!!  You see, illegitimate government fears being found out…  illegitimate government fears legitimate government…  Fake fears authentic.  (Hmmm, I wonder why the bad guys in our own government hate truth so badly all of a sudden…?  Oops – sorry, getting ahead of myself again…) 

An ironic confession

 In the last couple verses of chapter 1, we see the new King Solomon extend mercy to Adonijah and he basically says if Adonijah will behave himself, then he will be permitted to live.  However, in Chapter 2, we see him come to make a petition of King Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba.  His petition proves he is not behaving himself and it ends up costing him his life, but before he dies, we get to see how he expertly describes the situation in verse 15.  Adonijah, speaking to Bathsheba says:

“Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s: for it was his from the LORD.”

-1 Kings 2:15

BOOM!  It was Solomon’s from the Lord!  I find it really interesting he does NOT say here, “It was his from King David…”  No, it was his from the Lord!   You see, God has all authority – all of it, everywhere.  No human has any legitimate authority if not given from God.  Even Jesus, the very Son of God, did not go around showcasing authority he possessed in Himself, but he always reflected the authority of God the Father.  Consider these words of Jesus from the Great Commission:

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…”

-Matthew 28:18-19

God gave jesus authority

So, it is because God the Father has given all authority to Jesus that we go out into the world in Jesus’ name and in His power.  We know Jesus is perfectly in line with His Father’s authority, and our job is to stay in line with Him.  If we are doing God’s work, in line with God’s authority, there is nothing we can’t do.  Remember Jesus’ discussion with the Roman Centurion in our article, Officials Under Authority.  That Centurion understood that since Jesus was “under authority”, he was in line with the God of heaven and therefore wielded all the power of God and there was no need to have Jesus come all the way to his house to heal the servant. 

In the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, our founders clearly state that they were entitled to form a new government because of the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”.  We discussed this in the article The Declaration and the 10 Commandments.  This was the framework God gave us to determine right and wrong.  In the second paragraph, they pointed out there is a Creator and He gave us unalienable rights.  We established government in order to secure the rights God had already given us.  They go on in the document to show how King George had violated his role and was “unfit to be the ruler of a free people”, and their appeal to God was that what they were doing was right.  Our Founders made every effort to ensure they were in line with God’s proper line of authority.  They wrote other documents to explain this. The Constitution was written to define the structure of government that was legitimate – that is, in line with God’s purpose and power.  They required every official to take an oath to support and defend the Constitution, the form of government described in these documents, in order for them to take office.  They wanted to ensure our government was always “From the Lord” and always legitimate.  Our legitimate officials in line with this authority will be faithful to our founding documents.  We must hold them all accountable to keep their oath to the proper and legitimate form of government described in our Constitution. 

So what is the answer to the question about the source of authentic authority? Authentic authority is in line with the legitimate and true authority that flows down from God. If someone has real authority, like Adonijah taught us, it is his from God. If they don’t have authentic authority, then they are no authority at all.