Who’s really Sovereign in Aotearoa?

Well, we’ve had some beautiful weather in the last couple of days, it’s almost easy to forget the tragic events over the last few weeks. But now that the floodwaters have begun to recede and even as the silt dries on floorboards of homes that were underwater, we’re left with more than the cleanup of damaged properties, there is a deeper grief for families who have suffered the loss of their loved ones.

We hear of the investigations that have begun, the questions asked by the communities, seeking answers from the local councils and governing authorities. And looking on from afar it’s hard enough, but for those personally affected? I’m sure they are trying to find some semblance of peace and comfort, but I imagine they might also be looking to the heavens for a reason this happened, asking why were their loved ones taken?

Questions are asked of God and of our governing authorities and this is another tension we Christians have to deal with when thinking about the sovereignty of God, because we have to live in a world that doesn’t acknowledge the sovereignty of God. So we sometimes fall into the trap of being 'Sunday Christians' and more subject to the authority of the world every other day of the week. Taxes come out first before we even give to the house of God, but I wonder what else in the world is given precedence over the things of God.

For Christians, who’s in charge on Monday? In our hearts, which authority comes first, the civil authority or the heavenly authority? In our passage this week, Matthew 22:15-22, a passage you’ve all read before, this tension arises. And the doctrine in reformed theology that we will explore is ‘The Two Kingdoms’ doctrine, or as it’s known in Latin, Duplex Regnum. Both John Calvin and Martin Luther explored the idea of there being a Spiritual Kingdom and a Civil Kingdom and how we as Christians might navigate the authority of these two spheres in our lives.

We’ll be exploring this on Sunday so please take a moment this weekend to meditate on this passage. Hopefully we might have a better understanding of who’s really sovereign in Aotearoa.

Many blessings

Josh