This article was previously published in Study Bible magazine, volume 11, number 4 (June 2018). (reading time 7 minutes)

In this contribution we want to examine the extent to which believers in the time of Jesus and the apostles engaged in political activities. Before we can say anything about this, we must first be clear about what we mean by "politics. When we speak of politics, what do we mean by it? And does the word or a derivative of it appear in the NT? And what is the meaning then? Then we want to look at two well-known Scriptures, which are often quoted, and we conclude with a practical guide.

Definitions of "politics

Three definitions of politics are broadly given.

• Politics is the pursuit of a good society. This definition goes back to ancient Greece (Plato, Aristotle). 
• Politics as the struggle for power. In Europe, it was primarily the Italian historian Machiavelli (1469-1527) who elaborated on being political in this direction. 
• Politics as the creation and effect of public policy. Government and administration play a key role here because they turn wishes, demands, interests, etc. from society into binding decisions through a process of selection, aggregation and choice.

Politeuō in the NT

The second definition is the mostly popular idea. The third is common among politicians and administrators. But the first has the oldest papers, fits best with the word politeuo in the NT (behave as citizens) and corresponds to the way the apostles speak about it. Politics, at its core, is how people interact with each other and how decisions are made in a community.

Derived from politēs "citizen; fellow citizen," the verb politeuō occurs in the NT only in the broader sense "to behave (as a citizen)," where the element of behaving in relation to others, as part of a community, is still recognizable. In Acts 23:1, Paul, in his interrogation by the Sanhedrin, says the following: "Brethren, all my life to this day I have behaved as a citizen (pepoliteumai) with a perfectly clear conscience before God. This refers to good "conduct in public. And in Phil. 1:27 Paul says "But you must live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Literally, "Conduct yourselves (politeuesthe) as citizens, worthy of the Gospel of Christ. One might say that this is about behaving worthily as befits someone with a heavenly citizenship. I will return to that heavenly citizenship later.

Rom.13 'Government in the service of God'

When it comes to politics, Romans 13 is undoubtedly the most frequently cited scripture. It is a standard text for Protestants and Catholics alike. People then speak from this text about the Christian duty 5 to obey the government and make a responsible contribution to this "servant of God. But is that really the core of the message Paul was passing on to the congregation in Rome? 

If we look for the meaning of the biblical text for the first hearers, in this case the Jewish Christians in Rome in the middle of the first century, the message does take on a different focus. We are talking about the autocratic rule of the Roman emperor, who also allowed himself to be worshipped as a god. So that Paul would call for contributions to this government cannot be the case. But important comments must also be made about the common call from this text to obey the government. When we consider the historical context, we get a better picture of what Paul wants to say. He is writing his letter during the reign of Emperor Nero. This infamous emperor actually began his tenure very well. He came to power in 54 A.D. and the early years of his reign were characterized by tranquility, peace and prosperity.

This compared to the reign of his predecessor Claudius. Claudius had banned Jews and Jewish Christians from Rome. Nero had undone this edict immediately upon taking office. The beginning of his reign was thus a kind of mini golden age (from 54-59 AD, also called quinquennium Neronis), the most beautiful and peaceful time since Emperor Augustus. Only then did Nero emerge as a power-hungry and cruel persecutor of Christians (1). During this first period of relative peace, Paul wrote the letter to the Romans (between 56-58 AD). Christians possessed a fair amount of freedom, but of course you had to watch your step. Rebellion would jeopardize stability! 

And this is precisely Paul's message: do not join in rebellion and revolt. He chooses his words very carefully 2. He uses the word hupotassō, which means submit in the sense of conforming to, fitting in. The Greek has its own word for obeying governments (peith-archeō "to obey or obey the government," e.g. Tit.3:1), but Paul does not use it here. The balance of the new age is fragile, and so he calls upon believers to submit, to conform, to comply. The core meaning of this word is "order," arrangement. This is not the same as a call to obedience. A Christian who refuses to worship the emperor, but accepts the death penalty, is submitting but not obeying3. 

The atmosphere in the Roman Empire changes completely in 64 AD when Nero blames Christians for the massive fire that struck Rome. It is the time when Nero emerges as a ruler who acts as a nothing-and-nothing beast. In the book of Revelation, probably written during the tyrannical period of Nero's reign,4 the situation has deteriorated to the point where there is no call to comply and the government is characterized as a tool of Satan (Rev. 13). 

So we cannot hear in Paul's words in Rom. 13 a direct message that Christians should participate in government as the servant of God. On the other hand, we can hear a critical note in Paul's words when he says that government is instituted by God. Arie Zwiep expressed this beautifully. "The emperor of Rome who saw himself as the divine autocrat is subordinate to the tribal god of one of the conquered peoples in one of the far corners of the Empire," to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob5. So we must look further for how believers are expected to be meritorious in a political sense (politeuō).

Phil.3:20 Heavenly colony on earth

 A text that has received much attention in the last 25 years is Phil. 3:206. "For we are citizens of a kingdom in the heavens, from which we also expect the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior" (NBG) or as the NBV says "But we have our citizenship in heaven, and from there we expect our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul talks in Phil. 3:18-20 about errorists who live as god in France and are totally and exclusively earthly-oriented (vs. 19). In contrast, believers behave completely differently. After all, they do not belong to the earthly, he says, but have a "citizenship" in heaven. The word politeuma "citizenship, (politically independent) community, colony" was a familiar concept to the Philippians. The city of Philippi was a Roman colony (Acts 16:12) and even a very privileged one. The city could boast in the ius italicum, the "Italian law," the highest privilege a Roman colony outside Italy could be granted. This status meant, among other things, that the citizens of Philippi possessed Roman citizenship, and they were proud of it. 

As the inhabitants of Philippi possess the citizenship of Rome, so believers have the citizenship of heaven, where Christ is (cf. Gal. 4:26; Eph. 1:11; 2:6,19: fellow citizens, see also Col. 3:1-4). This does not mean that they should withdraw from the world. No, they form a colony of heavenly citizens on earth and represent the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is also beautifully expressed by Paul in 2 Cor. 5:20 "We are ambassadors of Christ; God makes His call through us. On behalf of Christ we ask: be reconciled to God.' Paul uses the word presbeuō, "to be envoy, ambassador. The word is used for acting as a representative or ambassador of a higher authority, often the government. In the NT it is believers who "act as representatives or ambassadors" for the sake of Christ, and so Paul elsewhere says he is "an ambassador" for the sake of the Gospel (Eph. 6:19-20).

Church in three manifestations

The church as a heavenly colony on earth also offers starting points to say something about the political involvement of Christians. We have already given a definition of "political" above. When we talk about the church, we must also first clarify what we are talking about. Paul (and the New Testament) uses the Greek word ekklesia in reference to the Christian church in three ways. He uses it for the universal Church, the Body of Jesus Christ worldwide, that is, the total of all Christians. For example, in Col. 1:18 `And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church'. Second, he uses the word for the local church, that is, all Christians in a particular hometown or region. For example, in the letter to the Colossians in chapter 4:16 where he says, `Make sure then that he (this letter) is also read in the church at Laodicea.' And thirdly, he uses ekklesia in the sense of the congregation meeting in one place. And that, in the New Testament and roughly the first two centuries A.D., is the house church. We find this meaning, for example, in Col. 4:15 "Nympha with the congregation at her house." The distinction between these three forms is important when we try to imagine how a text like Phil. 3:20 functions in practice. Clearly, we need to think of the third and possibly second meaning here. The second form in the case where the believers in Philippi were also in some way acting together outwardly. We are talking about the believers in the city of Philippi.

Church and politics

 In Greek outside the sphere of the NT, ekklesia is the ordinary word for the convened assembly of all the citizens in a city, for political purposes. We encounter it in this sense in Acts 19, where Luke speaks of the "assembly" of Ephesus (vs. 32,39,40). Thus, if this word is also used in the NT for the "assembly" of believers, the church, we must remember that this use of the word did not have a religious, but a political sound and primarily denotes the actual assembly, the concrete coming together.The first Christians met in ordinary homes, where people lived and worked, and they did not call the gathering the Christian temple or the Christian synagogue, but they designated it with the term ekklesia, a political term. 

Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon7 and since then many after them join Phil. 3:20 in arguing that the Christian community does not have a political or social strategy, but ís. They see the church's main political task not in the personal transformation of individuals or the improvement of society, but in the formation of a model society, a Christian community as the radical alternative. Places where people are faithful in their relationships, love their enemies, tell the truth, support the poor and thus bear witness to the amazing life-changing power of God and the new life through Jesus Christ. This, they say, is the church's most important political contribution to the world. I think this is a wonderful articulation and application of Phil. 3:20. Then I hear someone think and say, shouldn't Christians then try to change society? Shouldn't they then try to take responsibility through political governing positions? Certainly, and fortunately there is that freedom in a democratic country like the Netherlands. We have that freedom as Dutch citizens, but that freedom was not there in the Roman Empire at the time of the apostles. Nor is there that freedom in many countries in our time, such as China or Iran.

Practice

It is not part of the purpose of our magazine to go into this in depth, but I want to outline with a few broad strokes what a Pauline Phil. 3:20 approach can look like in practice. 

• 1. As a church, be an example and be visible in the neighborhood. We are disobeying the Creator if we ignore others. Witnessing Jesus Christ at a safe distance is not possible. Make a sacrifice. As a Christian church, we are expected to "become flesh" like Jesus Christ, to become human with and among people. 
• 2. Show compassion. The great commission to proclaim the Gospel (Mat. 28:18-20) must be accompanied by the great commission to show compassion (Mat. 25:35-36). As a church, let us also take responsibility in a social sense. A human being is spirit, soul and body. Gospel proclamation without practical help is improper. If you know to do good but do not do it, this is sin (James 4:17). Jesus is our Savior and our Example. 
• 3. Demonstrate credibility as a Christian congregation. How one hears depends on what one sees. There is a great need for credible messengers representing credible communities. Only then will there be a credible message.

1. A.W. Zwiep, "Jesus, violence and politics? Theological Debate 4.1, 2007, pg 33-36.

2. John H. Yoder, The Politics of Jesus. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1972, pg 204.

3. This conforming to a certain order is more common in NT, is also required of slaves (1Petr.2:13vv, 19vv), of women and children (Eph.5:2vv, Col.3:18vv). The motivation is that Jesus himself also accepted subordination and humiliation (Phil.2:5vv). Yoder, a.w., 205. 

4. G. van den Brink, "Authorship and dating of Revelation," in SBNT 10, 493-499. 

5. A. Zwiep, a.w., note 9. 6. Since the publication of the high-profile book by S. Hauerwas and W.H. Willimon, Resident Aliens, A provocative Christian assessment of culture and ministry for people who know that something is wrong, (Abingdon Press, Nashville) 1989. 7. Hauerwas and Willimon, a.w.