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Clarifying the Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms

Clarifying the Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms

Last updated on: July 23, 2026 at 6:00 am by Gene Veith

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Clarifying the Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms 2026-07-18T17:56:50-04:00 Gene Veith

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Part IV of our series on the Lutheran doctrine of the Two Kingdoms:

So, to sum up the misconceptions and clarify what the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms means. . .

(1) The Two Kingdoms are not just church and state, but the spiritual realm and the temporal realm. Every facet of our lives on earth falls under God’s temporal rule, both His providential care and His moral Law. But God works through human beings. According to Luther’s doctrine of the Estates, He has established various institutions for human flourishing: the family, the church, and the state. And in each of these estates, God calls us to multiple vocations. All of the estates and all of the vocations are subject to God’s Law: that is, the Ten Commandments and the love of neighbor.

(2) Insofar as the church is a temporal estate, it is subject to the laws of God and the laws of the state. But the church manifests God’s spiritual kingdom, so that its task is to bring the Gospel to sinners through Word and Sacrament, thereby saving them for eternal life. Churches should conduct themselves in accord with the Ten Commandments and Christians should treat one another with love. But the Law convicts people of their sin, which awakens them to their need of forgiveness through the cross of Jesus Christ. Churches should submit to the civil laws of the secular authorities as long as they can do so without sin. And they should promote the temporal welfare by helping those in need and condemning social sins. But they will be skeptical of political utopias, proclaiming instead Christ crucified, the forgiveness of sins, and an eternal perspective.

(3) The Two Kingdoms do not establish a dualism; rather, they unify the two realms. The doctrine does not mean that the temporal and the spiritual kingdoms have nothing to do with each other. God is the King of both kingdoms. He simply operates differently in His two realms.

A common metaphor to describe this doctrine is to say the spiritual kingdom is God’s right hand, and the temporal kingdom is His left hand. Just as our two hands work together, so do God’s. As Joel Biermann, the theologian who has written extensively on the topic, has said,

The idea of God’s two hands vividly conveys the truth that both realms belong to God and that He is the active presence and force at work in each. The two hands imagery also reinforces the compatibility and cooperation that exists as each hand of God works with the other to accomplish God’s purposes both presently and ultimately.[1]

Biermann rejects the metaphor of a “wall of separation” between church and state. These two realms should not be confused with each other, he says, but they should co-operate with each other. The church should support the state. And also the state should support the church.[2]

(4) The Temporal Realm is not to be despised just because it is not “spiritual.” “There is nothing inherently negative about the temporal realm,” says Biermann. “In fact, the physical creation or temporal realm is the object of God’s activity in the spiritual realm.”[3] Christians should not “separate themselves from the world” in the sense that the monastics do, rejecting earthly vocations such as marriage and parenthood, nor in the sense that the Anabaptists do, rejecting civic obligations, such as military service and holding government offices. In the words of the Augsburg Confession, Article XVI,

Our churches teach that lawful civil regulations are good works of God. They teach that it is right for Christians to hold political office, to serve as judges, to judge matters by imperial laws and other existing laws, to impose just punishments, to engage in just wars, to serve as soldiers, to make legal contracts, to hold property, to take oaths when required by the magistrates, for a man to marry a wife, or a woman to be given in marriage.[4]

All of these temporal estates and vocations are conducive for Christian service.

(5) The Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms does not teach Christians to be quietists but rather frees them to be activists. Some Christians have misinterpreted this teaching to require “quietism”; that is, the passive acceptance of whatever the government does or whatever happens in the temporal world. On the contrary, this teaching should inspire Christians to do what they can to bring the righteousness of God into a sinful world.

They do this by carrying out their vocations in which they actively love and serve the neighbors that each vocation brings into their lives. This includes the vocation of citizenship in the state. Thus, for example, it is perfectly appropriate for Christians and the estate of the church to promote the pro-life cause and fight against legalized abortion, even as Christians and the church bring Christ’s forgiveness to women who have had an abortion.

(6) We are to submit to the governing authorities, but this does not always mean obeying them. That God works through the secular government does not mean that secular government always obeys God. But Christians are always obliged to obey God. As the Augsburg Confession says, “it is necessary for Christians to be obedient to their rulers and laws. The only exception is when they are commanded to sin. Then they ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).”[5]

While we should submit to the governing authorities (Romans 13), when we must obey God rather than men, we should avoid overt rebellion. “There is a marked difference,” observes Biermann, “between rebellion and vocal and visible but nonviolent resistance.”[6] Submission can also include accepting the consequences of our civil disobedience, whether informal sanctions, civil penalties, exile, imprisonment, or even martyrdom.

In extreme cases, as when the Smalcald League defended Lutheranism against the Emperor’s attempts to eradicate the gospel by military force, the Magdeburg Confession develops the principle of submitting to the “lesser magistrate.”[7] That is, individual citizens should submit to the most immediate authority in the governmental hierarchy, such the regional princes–who believed the law was on their side–rather than the more remote authority of the Emperor. In the American Revolution, this would mean submitting to the Continental Congress rather than the King.

Next up: The Two Kingdoms in a Democratic, Constitutional Republic

Notes

[1] Joel Biermann, The Two Realms and the Separation of Church and State (St. Louis: CPH, 2025), p. 35. See also his book Wholly Citizens: God’s Two Realms and Christian Engagement with the World (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017).

[2] The Two Realms, pp. 52-53.

[3] Ibid., p. 35.

[4] “Article XVI. Civil Government,” ¶1-2, Augsburg Confession, Concordia, https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_xvi/

[5] Ibid., ¶6-7.

[6] Biermann, p. 31.

[7] See The Magdeburg Confession, trans. Christian Preus (St. Louis: CPH, 2025).

Illustration via Freepik.

Christian engagement in the world

Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms

Law and Gospel

lesser magistrates

Magdeburg Confession

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July 22, 2026

Protecting the Church from the State

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July 24, 2026 The Two Kingdoms in a Democratic, Constitutional Republic

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