Paul is showing believers how to live without dread of the governing authorities. The Greek behind "Wilt thou" is theleis, "do you desire," so the question asks: do you want to be free from fear of the authority? Barnes reads it as a warning to the wrongdoer: "If you do evil by resisting the laws, and in any other manner, will you not fear the power of the government?" Either way, the question leads to the same answer Paul gives at once: do good.

Paul answers in the same breath: "do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same" (Romans 13:3). He explains why: "For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain" (Romans 13:4). He concludes that believers should be subject "not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake" (Romans 13:5).

"Power" here is exousia, authority or the right to act, the same idea as "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1). "Terror" is phobos, fear or the cause of fear, and "praise" is epainos, commendation or approval. Barnes notes that Paul speaks of rulers "in general," and admits this is not always true, "for many of them have persecuted the good." Gill explains "praise" as being "commended as a good neighbour, a good citizen."

This question shows that God has ordered human society, and He means authority to serve good. Paul calls the ruler "the minister of God to thee for good" (Romans 13:4). Matthew Henry says that in the general course of human affairs, rulers "are not a terror to honest, quiet, and good subjects, but to evil-doers," and that "the godly in the land will always be found the quiet and the peaceable in the land."

Paul's answer to fear is not resistance or flight but doing good. Barnes puts it practically: "Be a virtuous and peaceable citizen; abstain from crime, and yield obedience to all the just laws of the land." His word "just" matters. Paul is describing what authority is for, not promising that every ruler will live up to it.