Citizens of Heaven
Barbaranne Kelly, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. . . . By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land… For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:8–10).
Up until this point in his letter to the Philippian believers, Paul has been giving them an update of his own activities and welfare. But he’s not simply sharing the latest news. Paul is telling them how he is handling his hardships with the mind of Christ and gently teaching by his example how they can face their own difficulties with the same Spirit-empowered attitude. But in the passage we will consider today, Paul switches gears, going from example to exhortation:
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27).
Paul has been weighing the potential outcomes of his trial before Caesar: freedom or martyrdom. When he opens this next thought with “Only,” he is telling his friends that, regardless of whether he is acquitted or executed, they are to live lives worthy of the gospel of Christ. Paul is reminding them that their lived-out faith doesn’t depend on whether he lives or dies but upon their Savior, who died and rose again!
In his other epistles, Paul often uses the phrase:
Walk in a manner worthy of the calling… of the Lord… of God (Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:12).
Yet here alone he urges his readers to “let their manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” This English phrase is translated from a single Greek word which in noun form refers to citizenship and in verb form means “to conduct oneself worthily as a citizen of the city.”[1]
By evoking images of citizenship, Paul is drawing from the history and culture of Philippi. Set on the outer fringes of the Empire, Philippi enjoyed special favor with Rome, and its citizens, many of whom were retired members of the Roman Army, were granted Roman citizenship with all its rights and responsibilities. Philippi proudly cultivated and jealously guarded its identity as a Roman colony, building temples and shrines dedicated to the Caesars as well as worshipping Greek, Asian, and local deities, modeling their fair city after Rome in all her pagan splendor. The citizens of Philippi were Roman through and through.
I live near San Antonio, Texas, which is affectionately known as “Military City, USA” because of the numerous military bases located here. Besides being home to actively serving members of the military, there is also a large population of retired military folks living in the area. Patriotism runs high here. We’re not only Americans, but we’re also proudly serving our country, loyally-flag-waving Americans—and on top of that, we’re Texans (and we’ve got a flag for that too). This identity that runs deep here in the heart of Texas is similar to the identity that ran deep in the citizens of Philippi.
In this patriotic summons, Paul calls them and us to redirect our loyalty to a higher citizenship. As Christians, we are citizens of no mere earthly city but of the Church, the heavenly Jerusalem, and as such we bear all the rights and responsibilities as members of the body of Christ. The citizens of Philippi may have had the right of access to Caesar, but as fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, believers have the right of access to God himself (Eph. 2:18–19). And though Caesar may have wielded a great deal of authority and power over his subjects throughout the Roman Empire, his power paled in comparison to the power of the Living God to whom Christians owe their ultimate allegiance (Phil. 3:20–21).
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Yes, the Philippian believers were proud of their earthly citizenship, as are we here in Texas. “How much more then are we to be proud of our citizenship in heaven! This is the greater citizenship. We are to cherish and live by its laws and customs. Moreover, we are to extend the influence of this commonwealth in the midst of a pagan and spiritually hostile environment.”[2]
Beloved, this is a call to us to remember our higher citizenship and to stand firm in our faith in the midst of our increasingly pagan and hostile spiritual environment. Before all other allegiances, we belong to Christ, and we eagerly await his return. We who are citizens of Heaven are:
…looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10).
PRAYER
Father, would You give me a greater sense of my true citizenship in heaven? Help me to obey You and live by faith in this foreign land. Draw my heart upward and cause me to long for my heavenly home even as I live now in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, firm in my faith, and eagerly awaiting His return.
More free resources for help hope & healing:
Ask Dr. Betters is a topical series of over 400 videos that has reached over 1 ½ million views. Dr. Chuck F. Betters answers questions submitted by our listening audience on suffering and the sovereignty of God. This week’s featured question is: "My wife of 41 years died...Is it wrong for me to pray to die too?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbaranne Kelly and her husband Jim are the parents of five of the neatest people they know, and now Barbaranne is the Grandmommy to THREE grand boys! In October that will change to FOUR! Barbaranne and Jim are members of Christ Presbyterian Church in New Braunfels, Texas, where she leads a Bible study for women in the hope that she and they may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge Enjoy and be inspired by more of Barbaranne’s writing at her blog.
[1] James Montgomery Boice, Philippians, An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1971), 87
[2] Boice, 89, paraphrased.
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Originally published Friday, 05 May 2023.
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