Living as Citizens

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved (Philippians 3:17-4:1).

There are two groups of people highlighted in this passage: enemies of the cross and citizens of heaven. There doesn’t appear to be a third category.

At the time the New Testament was written, most of the people living in the Roman empire were not citizens of Rome, merely subjects. But the people of the city of Philippi, to whom this letter was addressed, were citizens. They had a privilege that most others in the empire did not have; a privilege that came with both rights and duties.

And what was true for them politically was also true spiritually; they were citizens of heaven, but they lived alongside a great many people who were not. That’s still true today, for those of us who are followers of Jesus. We are citizens of a kingdom, and we are supposed to be preparing our neighborhoods, our cities, and our world for the arrival of our king. What’s more, we expect that when he arrives, he will also “transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.”

Paul didn’t just put that last bit in for no reason. The promise of our transformation, and the resurrection of those believers who have already fallen asleep in the Lord, is the basis for our hope. And our hope is what gives us the courage to “stand firm in the Lord.”

Stand firm in what way? We don’t have to look any further than the beginning of the paragraph to see. Paul is encouraging the Philippians to “walk according to the example you have in us.” That is, to live as a citizen of heaven ought to live, and not follow the example of those who are enemies of God.

In his book Maximized Manhood, Edwin Louis Cole wrote:

The Bible says that everywhere Abraham went, he built his altar and pitched his tents. Today, too many men are building their tents and pitching their altars. They spend too much time on the temporal and not enough on the eternal.

Abraham knew what kingdom he was a citizen of, and he lived his life accordingly. Paul is calling the Philippians, and us, to do the same.

Living as a child of God and a citizen of heaven does not mean adopting an alien way of life. Just the opposite; it’s exactly what I was created for! It’s the world’s pattern that is alien. And yet, paradoxically, living as a citizen of heaven does not come naturally or easily to any of us. It does not happen at all, in fact, apart from God’s Spirit. But Jesus never said that following him would be easy; he said it would be worth it. So let us follow Jesus and live our lives for eternity. Let us live as citizens.