Introduction

The relationship between the church and the state is a controversial subject in the current climate. It was also a controversial subject during the Reformation. Joel Biermann has written a book setting the record straight on Martin Luther’s two kingdom view, Wholly Citizens: God’s Two Realms and Christian Engagement with the World.[1] If you are unfamiliar with Professor Biermann, he is a professor of systematic theology at Concordia Seminary and has also written, A Case for Character: Towards a Lutheran Virtue Ethics.

Wholly Citizens

Why does the record need to be set straight?

Luther’s two-kingdom view has metastasized into a new form altogether. What Luther intended as duality has been reduced to polarity. Duality is when two things hang together and work in coordination to accomplish a purpose while preserving critical tensions. Polarity is when either/or becomes the controlling idea in how the two things relate. Luther’s two realms were never meant to describe two mutually exclusive things.[2]

What are the two realms?

Luther calls them the left-hand domain of God’s work and the right-hand domain of God’s work. The left hand is the temporal realm. The right hand is the spiritual realm. In more familiar terms, this refers to the church and the state, though Luther’s two realms are not the same as the post-Enlightenment separation of church and state. “The temporal realm focuses on the preservation of this world and the promotion of peace and justice within it. The spiritual realm centers on the proclamation of the gospel and delivery of justifying grace” (34).

How is Luther’s teaching distorted?

The radical two-kingdom view (R2K) distorted Luther’s actual position. R2K is “the rigorous and radical separation of church and state” (38). It teaches that Christians should tolerate the temporal realm as necessary, but otherwise steer clear of cultural, societal, economic, and political affairs. The church is faithful when it merely preaches the gospel and administers the sacraments. God runs the church and the rest can be surrendered (47). If you look out the window, you see the result of R2K, you see the result when the church retreats, you see the result when the church surrenders. The result is chaos. R2K has a truncated doctrine of creation. It forsakes the idea that God is the Creator and Lord of both church and state and that his will is law in both realms (48). It fails to see that a secular liberal order is not a sure foundation upon which to build a society. The purely secular world—let’s call it secular nationalism—will always misunderstand the place of the spiritual realm (78f).

What did Luther actually teach about the two realms?

Martin Luther’s actual two-realm teaching is something very different. Luther said, “The temporal estate is an ordinance of God which everyone ought to obey and honor” (5). Biermann explains that “The realms—both the spiritual and the temporal—belong to God and are directed by him for specific and distinct, but equally God-pleasing work … God’s two hands work differently but always in concert, to accomplish God’s will” (5). The temporal estate is God’s agent and God has plans for it (6). Temporal rulers are expected to obey God. The pastor’s job is to guide, correct, and rebuke rulers. Rulers are accountable to God’s word. How will they hear without a preacher (21-26)? The church is the only institution in society that has the authority to teach the wider culture about God’s law, sharpen the conscience of individuals, and guard the different roles of church and state. Christians should use the means of both realms to carry out God’s will. When they do so, they function as a unity (55). There is a relationship between the gospel and the order of God’s world (60). Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued that evasion from the world is surrender (83). If the church fails to testify (91), witness (92), confront (92), and rebuke (92), how will the scales of justice ever conform to the intention of the Creator?

What is Biermann’s application of Luther’s teaching?

Chapters 1 – 3 establish the principles of Luther’s two kingdom teaching. These chapters are a fine piece of historical theology, capably argued in a way that is up to date with the latest academic literature on the subject. Chapters 4 – 6 are Biermann’s application of those principles to concrete realities. He wants to “provide some concrete and unambiguous assertions about how it would look if this teaching were faithfully applied in the contemporary … American context” (37).

At times, Biermann shines as he faithfully applies Luther’s teaching. For example, he says the “single greatest contribution” the church can make to the temporal realm is “by being the church unabashedly in practices of worship and community formation that are decidedly at odds with the assumptions and norms of the surrounding culture” (118). Biermann helpfully draws out Stanley Hauerwas’ point that “the church is a social ethic,” which is defined by kindness, family formation, and worship (117). On another note, Biermann warns of the danger when the church fails to speak about social, cultural, and political issues. Congregants are going to seek direction somewhere and that should be the church, with the church’s book, the church’s leaders, and the church’s worship (127). When vetting politicians, Christians should see that they “conform to God’s will for his creation, that is, the law” (139). Biermann clarifies the purpose of work in the temporal realm, arguing that work done for the sake of creation is its own end (152) and that our works are done for the benefit of our neighbors (153f). Also, his chart that defines God’s sovereign rule over the temporal and spiritual realm, with assigned responsibilities, is helpful (110).

Elsewhere the reader is left puzzled. Consider three questions. First, Biermann argues that the best we can hope for is a “just America,” but “not a Christian America” (139). One wonders, what is the difference? How do you have a just America that is not based on Scripture and Christian principles? He is wary of the effort to restore America’s “godly heritage” and encourages ministers to instead “speak God’s word of truth to those who will listen, and earnestly leads his church to engage the world with God’s standard of right” (139). But if ministers effectively engage the world with God’s standards, what are they establishing if not a “godly heritage”?

Second, Biermann says, “When the church remembers that the final goal is not the restoration or salvation of America, but the re-creation of the entire created realm, it will be better equipped to withstand temptations to become the pliable stalwart of the state or the crusader bent on saving the nation” (140). If the “salvation of America” isn’t the goal, one wonders what Jesus had in mind when he said, “make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28:19)? And what is salvation if it's not, in part, the re-creation of the individual (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15) and the world (Col. 1:20-24; Rom. 8:18-30; 2 Pt. 3:13)?

Third, Biermann strongly disagrees with Constantinianism, which he defines as the harmonious relationship between the church and the state, which began during the Roman Empire in the fourth century (118). It is “an alliance between church and state that is considered by those in positions of authority to be mutually beneficial” (119) His current-day example of Constantinianism is tax-exempt status. He registers rigid opposition because ministers are discouraged from doing their job faithfully out of the fear of losing tax-exempt status. Implicit in his argument is that tax-exempt status creates cowardly ministers. But if a minister fails to teach the truth out of fear of losing tax exemption, won’t he fail to teach the truth for another reason once tax-exempt status is revoked? The qualifications of an elder include being “above reproach” and “not a lover of money” (1 Tim. 3:2-4). If this man is scared off from the truth by the fear of losing tax exemption, he hasn’t met the qualification of an elder. Tax-exempt status only influences unqualified pastors.

Each of the above three instances seems to contradict Biermann’s point that the government should give preferential treatment to Christians (13). John Calvin also agreed that the civil magistrates should give preferential treatment to the church. Calvin said the government shouldn’t only see to the physical oversight of the community, but it also “prevents idolatry, sacrilege against God’s name, blasphemies against his truth, and other public offenses against religion from arising and spreading among the people … in short, it provides that a public manifestation of religion may exist among Christians.”[3]

Conclusion

Even given these questions, Biermann’s book is a helpful retrieval of Luther’s actual teaching, put in a concise and pointed form. Whether you argue for one realm or two, it’s all theologizing. Some people might envision two circles side by side—one belongs to Caesar and the other to God. The mistake here is that it denies, by implication, that all the circles belong to God. Others might envision one big circle that includes other circles within it, one of which is a small Caesar circle. The mistake there is the unclear relationship between the church, Caesar, and the rest of civil society. You can’t say there are two realms if you mean that God has dominion over one but not the other. You can’t say there is one realm if you mean that there aren’t divided differences of roles for the different parts of God’s creation.

The key point is that God has not left any part of his creation up for grabs in a neutral world. Could it be that it doesn’t matter if we call it two realms or one as long as we, first, assert the dominion of Christ over all persons and things; and second, assert the different God-assigned roles? When all the roles are accountable to God, that means the government’s authority is limited with respect to the church. The state does not rule over all of life. In practice, this means the healthiest societies will have a range of mediating institutions[4] such as guilds, fraternities, charities, schools, franchises, and businesses, along with different spheres of government: local, regional, and national. Abraham Kuyper called this sphere sovereignty—society will include several groups that should properly regulate their affairs under the authority of God. The government’s job isn’t to replace those spheres but to create the conditions in which they can thrive in their task of fulfilling God’s will. The church’s job isn’t to run each sphere but to proclaim the reconciling work of God for the individual and the creation (Col. 1:15-23).[5]

In the Winter 2023 issue of National Affairs, Brad Littlejohn argued that the current “lion’s den of moral confusion” arises from a “crisis of authority” that “runs much deeper than most realize. It is not just the product of institutional rot in Congress; of a swamp in Washington, D.C., that needs to be drained; or of inept leadership by grandstanding celebrity politicians. Nor is it simply the result of the radically democratizing effect of digital media, of a world in which likes and retweets matter more than credentials or even elections.” So then, what is the problem? “We no longer know how to recognize an authentic claim to authority.”[6] This explains why the American people view the federal government as increasingly illegitimate. The temporal realm can never establish authority on its own. That’s why Americans can no longer recognize an authentic claim to authority.

[1] Click here to listen to Matt Carpenter’s interview with Professor Biermann.

[2] Joel Biermann, Wholly Citizens: God’s Two Realms and Christian Engagement with the World (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017), xiv-xviii. Henceforth page numbers will be included parenthetically.

[3] John Calvin, Institutes IV.20.3.

[4] Mediating, in that, they resolve the differences between the state and the individual. When the state runs everything—statism—the various elements of society are arbitrarily torn apart.

[5] Glenn S. Sunshine, Slaying Leviathan: Limited Government and Resistance in the Christian Tradition (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2020), 15-16.

[6] https://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/in-search-of-authority