--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He [Peter after the resurrection] now…" description: "\"He [Peter after the resurrection] now understood that he and the church were to exercise a transcendent power that did not depend upon having a kingdom..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/dallas-willard-819_church_he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-unde_716577.png" --- # He \[Peter after the resurrection\] now understood that he… ![“He [Peter after the resurrection] now understood that he and the church were to exercise a transcendent power that did not depend upon having a kingdom or government in any human sense, for it was literally a "God government" in which they were participants (Acts 1:6-8).” quote by Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/dallas-willard-819_church_he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-unde_716577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/dallas-willard-819_church_he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-unde_716577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/dallas-willard-819_church_he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-unde_716577.png) > “He \[Peter after the resurrection\] now understood that he and the church were to exercise a transcendent power that did not depend upon having a kingdom or government in any human sense, for it was literally a "God government" in which they were participants (Acts 1:6-8).” [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage suggests that after resurrection, believers exercise a spiritual authority independent of earthly political structures, forming a divine governance. **In simple terms:** Believers have a spiritual authority beyond governments. Key Takeaway Embrace spiritual authority over worldly power. Themes faith spiritual authority politics community theology Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - church leadership - social activism - faith‑based community building - political engagement Key Concepts transcendent power kingdom of God participatory governance Questions to Reflect On - What does a “God government” look like today? - How can faith communities balance spiritual and civic duties? A Different Perspective Relying solely on spiritual authority may neglect practical societal responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Kingdoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdoms/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Resurrection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resurrection/) [Transcendent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendent/) ## Related quotes > [I understood that the Church had a Heart, and that this Heart was burning with love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/i-understood-that-the-church-had-a-heart-and-that-this-heart-was/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [We, the women and men of the Church, we are in the middle of a love story: each of us is a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/we-the-women-and-men-of-the-church-we-are-in-the-middle-of-a-love/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [No matter who is president, God is still the king. Whatever human governments may do, as we live under God's rule, careful to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-matter-who-is-president-god-is-still-the-king-whatever-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All this anti-Christian rhetoric that you see coming from the government, all this anti-Christian push, is not really an attack on Christianity. It's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-cruz/all-this-anti-christian-rhetoric-that-you-see-coming-from-the/) [Rafael Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-cruz/) > [“There is a big difference between separation of church and state, and separation of God and state. There is a rightful separation of church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-overman/there-is-a-big-difference-between-separation-of-church-and-state-and/) [Christian Overman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-overman/) > [The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration. I am rather tired of hearing about our rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/the-choice-before-us-is-plain-christ-or-chaos-conviction-or/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [There's never been a nation like the United States, ever. It begins with the principles of our founding documents, principles that recognize that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/there-s-never-been-a-nation-like-the-united-states-ever-it-begins-2/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Our rights come from God, not the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-yoho/our-rights-come-from-god-not-the-government/) [Ted Yoho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-yoho/) > [God is the foundation of liberty. Because if God is not, who is? The government?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/god-is-the-foundation-of-liberty-because-if-god-is-not-who-is-the/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [This issue is whether or not our government should be infusing religion into the public schools. Our churches are very strong in this nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-newdow/this-issue-is-whether-or-not-our-government-should-be-infusing/) [Michael Newdow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-newdow/) > [It can have a secular purpose and have a relationship to God because God was presumed to be both over the state and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-moore/it-can-have-a-secular-purpose-and-have-a-relationship-to-god-because/) [Roy Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-moore/) > [These systems attempt to box God into a government confined within the perspective of man. Yet when humanity is used as the starting point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/these-systems-attempt-to-box-god-into-a-government-confined-within/) [Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/) > [Separation of church and state was never meant to separate God and government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-moore/separation-of-church-and-state-was-never-meant-to-separate-god-and/) [Roy Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-moore/) > [What's so cool about God and our government is that you can make a mistake, and they will forgive you if you just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lister-jr/what-s-so-cool-about-god-and-our-government-is-that-you-can-make-a/) [Tom Lister, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lister-jr/) > [Sometimes, even presidents need reminding, that our rights come from nature and God, and not from government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/sometimes-even-presidents-need-reminding-that-our-rights-come-from/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) ## More by Dallas Willard > [Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/today-it-is-the-skeptics-who-are-the-social-conformists-though/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [“Sabbath is a way of life (Heb 4:3; 9-11). It is simply "casting all your anxiety on Him," to find that in actual fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/sabbath-is-a-way-of-life-heb-4-3-9-11-it-is-simply-casting-all-your/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [In many cases, our need to wonder about or be told what God wants in a certain situation is nothing short of a clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/in-many-cases-our-need-to-wonder-about-or-be-told-what-god-wants-in-a/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Discipline, strictly speaking, is activity carried on to prepare us indirectly for some activity other than itself. We do not practice the piano to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/discipline-strictly-speaking-is-activity-carried-on-to-prepare-us/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [“The Spirit makes Christ present to us and draws us toward his likeness. It is as we thus behold the “glory of the Lord”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/the-spirit-makes-christ-present-to-us-and-draws-us-toward-his/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [We are unceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in God's great universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/we-are-unceasing-spiritual-beings-with-an-eternal-destiny-in-god-s/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [We must understand that God does not "love" us without liking us - through gritted teeth - as "Christian" love is sometimes thought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/we-must-understand-that-god-does-not-love-us-without-liking-us/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [We know we can't be spiritually transformed by just focusing on the will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/we-know-we-can-t-be-spiritually-transformed-by-just-focusing-on-the/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [To allow lust (or strong desires) to govern our life is to exalt our will over God's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/to-allow-lust-or-strong-desires-to-govern-our-life-is-to-exalt-our/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [My central claim is that we become like Christ by doing one thing-by following Him in the overall style of life He chose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/my-central-claim-is-that-we-become-like-christ-by-doing-one-thing-by/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [“The aim of God in history is the creation of an all-inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself included in that community as its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/the-aim-of-god-in-history-is-the-creation-of-an-all-inclusive/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/the-greatest-issue-facing-the-world-today-with-all-its-heartbreaking/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [What we can do with these means (our own unassisted strength) is still very small compared to what we could do in acting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/what-we-can-do-with-these-means-our-own-unassisted-strength-is-still/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) [Explore all 357 Dallas Willard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He [Peter after the resurrection] now understood that he and the church were to exercise a transcendent power that did not depend upon having a kingdom or government in any human sense, for it was literally a \"God government\" in which they were participants (Acts 1:6-8).", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dallas Willard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-understood-that-he-and-the-church/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Church" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-understood-that-he-and-the-church/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/dallas-willard-819_church_he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-unde_716577.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/dallas-willard-819_church_he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-unde_716577.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac7/dallas-willard-819_church_he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-unde_716577.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He [Peter after the resurrection] now understood that he and the church were to exercise a transcendent…” — Dallas Willard", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dallas Willard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He [Peter after the resurrection] now...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-understood-that-he-and-the-church/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/he-peter-after-the-resurrection-now-understood-that-he-and-the-church/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```