Paul and the early church existed in a world where there was one truly power,ful person the Roman emperor. It didn’t really matter who it was - if he held the title Caesar, then that meant the world revolved around him, or so he thought. But not everybody agreed. The followers of this upstart branch of Judaism called “The Way” didn’t think the world revolved around Caesar or any other political figure. They didn’t challenge Caesar for political authority, but they also refused to declare their ultimate allegiance to him, reserving it instead for Jesus. That power struggle forms the backdrop against which all of Paul’s letters are set. This week, we’re looking at what Paul has to say about power, what the church believed about power in the first century and what we can learn from them.