What is Sphere Sovereignty?

What authorities are you accountable to, and what are the scope of those authorities?

The following excerpt is found in John Kuyper Liberty, Gospel Theology: God’s Good News for Everything (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2021), 41-42. Used with permission. Pick up the book at Westbow Press or Amazon.

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Throughout his life and ministry, Abraham Kuyper emphasized the biblical truth that Jesus Christ, the ruler of everything, set up different spheres of human authority to provide order and governance in his kingdom. This is referred to as the doctrine of sphere sovereignty. The major spheres include the self, the family, the church, and the state (1 Cor 9:24-27; 10:31; Gal 5:23; 2 Tim 1:7; Tit 1:8; 2:2, 5, 6, 12; 1 Pet 1:14-15; 4:7; 2 Pet 1:6; Rom 6:12; 14:4, 12; Eph 6:5-9; Prov 25:28; 1 Thess 4:4; Gen 3:9; Eph 5:22-33; 6:1-4; Col 3:18-21; 1 Pet 2:13-17; 3:1-7; 5:1-5; Heb 13:17; Matt 18:15-20; 1 Tim 3:1-13; 5:17; Rom 13:1-7; 2 Tim 3:16-17; Ps 2:10-12; Isa 2:2-4; 42:4; Deut 4:5-8; Rev 1:5). Each individual is responsible to live a self-controlled life, joyfully living under Christ the Lord’s “law of liberty,” for God’s glory, in whatever he/she thinks, feels, and does (Jas 1:25; 2:12; cf. 1 Cor 10:31; Rom 14:4, 12; 1 Pet 2:16; 1 Cor 7:23; 1 Tim 2:1-2). The husband is in authority over his wife and his household. Parents are in authority over their children. Church elders/pastors are in a position of authority among Christians in church contexts. The civil government is in authority over its citizenry.

But this raises a key question: what is the scope of the authority of the family, the church, and the state? Do governors in these spheres possess total authority over those under their authority, unless they explicitly command sin? No. Consider an example. Ephesians 5:24 says that wives should “submit in everything to their husbands.” But Romans 13:1 says that Christians must be subject to the civil government, and Hebrews 13:17 says that Christians should be subject to their church elders. So, what if each of these legitimate authorities tell a married Christian woman to use a unique curriculum to educate her children? Which curriculum should she utilize? Or what if a husband tells his wife that she should lead the women’s ministry at church? Should she begin preparing a lesson for the next women’s meeting and assume that role even though the church elders have said differently? Or what if the civil government seeks to limit churches to singing one song each worship service, when the church elders want to sing three songs? Or what if church elders seek to make all of the children at the church they pastor go to a particular pediatrician, against the desire of the parents? Human authorities can (and often do) contradict one another. We must interpret Scripture with Scripture. Nowhere does Scripture give ultimate or exhaustive authority to a governor of a certain sphere. The only one who has exhaustive authority is Christ the Lord. In addition to not commanding a person under his/her/its authority to sin, a human authority must also refrain from stepping outside of its sphere as defined by Scripture, and encroaching on a person’s self-government and liberty of conscience under Christ, and/or the sphere that has proper authority under Christ.

Husbands are in authority over their households and wives in matters pertaining to their household and marriage (Gen 3:9; 7:1; 24:2; 31:14; 47:12; Exod 1:1; Eph 5:22-33; 1 Pet 3:1-7; Col 3:18-19; 1 Cor 11:3; 1 Sam 3:13; Josh 24:15; 2 Tim. 1:16). Parents are responsible for their children’s physical care and comprehensive discipleship (Eph 6:1-4; Col 3:20-21; Deut 6:4-9; 1 Tim 5:8; 1 Thess 2:7; John 4:47). Pastors are called to care for and be an example to  Christians, and make decisions in matters related to the local church organization, like corporate worship liturgy and content, and use of church finances (Acts 6:4; 20:28; 1 Pet 5:2; 1 Tim 3:1; 5:17).[1] Civil government officials are in authority over their citizens in matters pertaining to the administration of justice for criminals (Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:14; 1 Tim 2:1-2; Deut 4:5-8; Isa 2:2-4; 42:4; Acts 25:11; Exod 21:24; Gen 9:6). Christ is ruling over all of these spheres, and he defines the responsibilities and limits of each sphere in his Word. If an authority steps outside of its sphere into an area it does not belong, it has become tyrannical and abusive. In these cases, depending on the situation, the authority either does not need to be obeyed, or it must not be obeyed.

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[1] Local church pastors must never set themselves up as wiser than God by presuming they can require things of Christians that God has left up to liberty of conscience, or to a different sphere of authority (1 Cor 4:6; 7:23; Prov 30:5-6; Matt 15:9; Col 2:20-23; Rom 14:1-4; 2 Cor 1:24).