1. The Word and the Spirit go together. The Spirit, the breath of God, illumines and makes alive through the Word of God; both written and external, that is, preached and sacramented.
  2. Paul is talking about military-level allegiance here, the strongest kind of allegiance sworn to a king.
  3. This ministry of the Gospel, this standing in the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, is demanding business and is entirely unsuitable for the weak-willed or those who compromise with the zeitgeist of the day.
  4. Certainly, Jesus’ parable provides a dire warning for where, not wealth, per se, but obsession with it, will lead.
  5. The reign of God in Christ compels us to pray for all in authority, while at the same time our praying for them calls into the question all the idolatries that arise from the exercise of this authority.

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