Lord / Principalities and Powers - Titles of Authority

Lord

The entire question of the relationship between Paul’s presentation of Jesus and Rome’s imperial cult is often summed up in a simple contrast: “Jesus is Lord” vs. “Caesar is lord.”

Emperors as “Lord”

Plutarch refers to Julius multiple times as “Lord of all Italy” (Caesar 35.4; Pompey 63.2). Josephus calls Augustus “Lord of all that [Herod] had appointed” (Jewish Wars 1.669). Caligula was addressed as “Lord Gaius” (Philo On the Embassy to Gaius 356). In Acts 25.26, Festus refers to Nero as “my lord.” Epictetus refers to Vespasian as “the lord of all: Caesar.”

Up to Vespasian (who became caesar a few years after Paul’s death), “lord” was not used directly as a personal title, however. Rather, it was a word to describe a particular function of the emperor’s office: exercising authority. So contrary to a number of authors who want to set “Jesus is Lord” as words of political revolution against the imperial slogan “Caesar is lord,” lord wasn’t commonly used as an actual title in Paul’s day. In fact the first recorded instance of Romans forcing someone to swear that “Caesar is lord” to prove loyalty is from The Martyrdom of Polycarp from early church history, but this didn’t take place till the end of the 2nd century: over 100 years after Paul’s death.

Jesus as Lord

The primary meaning of the title lord is “one who has authority.”

Gal 4.1: “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.”

Paul’s primary background for his use of “Lord” is the Old Testament.

Ability to Deliver

Rom 4.8: “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” || Ps 32.1-2: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

Rom 10.13: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” || Joel 2.32: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Omniscience and Wisdom

1Co 2.16: “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” || Isa 40.13: “Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel?”

1Co 3.20-21: “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. So let no one boast in men.” || Ps 94.11: “The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.”

Moral Authority

2Ti 2.19: “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.’” || Num 16.5: “The Lord knows those who are his”

Sovereignty

Phil 2.9-11: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” || Isa 45.22-23: “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”

1Co 10.26: “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” || Ps 24.1: “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”

Fame

Rom 15.8, 11: "For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness … “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” || Ps 117.1: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”

1Co 1.30-31: “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” || Jer 9.24: “But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Comparison

Both Paul & the imperial cult build off of the normal meaning of “Lord”: someone who exercises authority. In the imperial cult this grew into a proper title in the second century. In Paul’s letters, it pulls in a great deal of additional information from the Old Testament image of YHWH.

Principalities & Powers

Rom 8.38-39: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Eph 1.21: “Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

Col 1.16: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

Paul uses “principalities and powers” language with reference to two types of authorities: human and supernatural. Some passages speak exclusively of human rulers (Rom. 13.1; Tit. 3.1) and enjoin Christians to submit to them because their authority is derived from God. There is no doubt that these words include the emperor, as well as officials who led and participated in the imperial cult. Other passages refer exclusively to spiritual powers, namely angels and demons. These powers see God’s glory in the church and are subject to Christ. The remaining passages are broad enough to include both human and supernatural powers. These passages emphasize an “already, not yet” tension regarding powers (especially hostile ones): they have already been disarmed (Col. 2.15) and are unable to separate believers from Christ (Rom. 8.39) who created them (Col. 1.16) and is far above them (Eph. 1.21), but their ability to act and exert power has not yet been destroyed (I Cor. 15.24). Thus, hostile forces (both human and spiritual) can pose an actual danger to believers. Believers are given a two‑fold response: obey human powers because their authority is derived from God, and do not despair under hostile treatment because Christ has authority over all earthly and spiritual forces.

By using the same words for the emperor and other human leaders as he uses for angelic powers, Paul is not elevating the emperor above other men. Rather, his primary referent in these passages appears to be supernatural powers. Paul is framing an a fortiori argument here: if Jesus is superior to supernatural beings, it stands to reason that he is superior to mere humans as well. Thus, Paul views imperial authority as merely human. This stands in marked contrast to the imperial cult’s view of the emperor. As noted in previous chapters, the divine honors given to the emperor placed him in a class above normal citizens. Paul does not directly contradict this assumption; rather, he implies that it does not matter. Even if the emperor were as powerful as an angel, he would not be divine.

Application