Church reform solved some of the problems behind the civil war in Denmark. There were others. State finances were inadequate, and they remained so throughout the reign of Christian III. Confiscation of episcopal holdings increased state resources enormously, but did not end the difficulties. Wolfgang von Utenhof predicted that Christian III, like his father, would be a poor beggar king, and so he was.

Given the kingdom's precarious situation at home and abroad, and the constraints under which he ruled, Christian III relied heavily on his chancellors, Johan Friis and Wolfgang von Utenhof, and on the marshal of Holstein, Melchior Rantzau. The king did not interfere unduly in matters that did not involve dynastic questions, the church, the navy, or foreign affairs. That is not to say that Christian III was a royal cipher, but he was surrounded by power hungry and capable advisors, who made sure that their concerns were not neglected.

The authority that Chancellor Friis had accumulated by the time of his death in 1570 rested on his firmness as a negotiator, his willingness to consolidate state power, and his ability to attract talent. Young nobles accepted poorly paid positions in his chancery because the positions led to the administration of fiefs. The Danish chancery had originally come into being to process decisions by king and council, and the office gave final form to policy, recesses, ordinances, and grants. In the hands of Johan Friis the chancery became far more than a business office.