January ‘Witness’: The two kingdoms

Lutherans join other pro-life advocates in marching for life in Springfield, Ill., on March 21, 2023. The intersection of church and state is the theme of the January 2025 issue of The Lutheran Witness. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

In only a few days, a new United States president will be inaugurated. Some will celebrate this inauguration; others will bemoan it. But whatever the next four years bring, one thing is for certain: God is on His throne. And He is reigning not just over heaven, but over the earth — not just through the church, but also through the government. The Lutheran theology of the two kingdoms teaches us, as Scripture testifies, that church and state are not at odds; rather, God rules in both the earthly realm (through the government) and in the heavenly realm (through the church).

No matter how things look to us, by faith we know that God is in control. As the Rev. Dr. Jason Lane writes in the January issue of The Lutheran Witness (LW), “The 2024 election may serve as God’s blessing for our nation or His just judgment against it. We are unaware how the history will unfold, but we are commanded to trust that God is giving us this government.”

This issue of LW, “God’s Two Kingdoms,” also notes the 500-year anniversary of the end of the German Peasants’ War, with a reflection from the Rev. Dr. Cameron MacKenzie on what Luther’s response to that revolt can teach us today.

Dr. Kevin Armbrust addresses the age-old question: Is America the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, a shining “city on a hill”? (Spoiler: God’s promises to His people are fulfilled in Jesus, not in America.)

After answering the question, Armbrust continues in his article: “Yet those of us who live in America thank God for this country, for it is the place He has provided for us to live. As Luther teaches us in the First Article of the Creed, we thank God for all He has given to us out of His ‘fatherly divine goodness and mercy.’ And that includes the country in which we live.”

Pick up this issue to read about these topics and more related to church and state. Pray for our elected leaders, even those you didn’t vote for. And take heart: God is on His throne.

To subscribe to the print LW, and to read select print content and additional web-exclusive articles, visit witness.lcms.org.

Posted Jan. 17, 2025