Heavenly Citizenship

Scripture:

^{Phil. 3:20} But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

Observation:

Paul brings the conversation to a climax for those who have the “mind of Christ,” are now citizens of heaven. Writing to people who would have highly valued their Roman citizenship, this was a challenging thought. “In the Roman world, citizenship defined both a person’s ethical behavior (Acts 16:21) and one’s true allegiance (Oakes 2001, 138).” Paul was telling them that heavenly citizenship was of far greater value than Roman citizenship. John Wesley said that as citizens of heaven, “our thoughts, our affections, are already in heaven.” (Wesley’s Notes) In the commonwealth of heaven, every believer, whether slave or free, Roman citizen or not, could be united and find a new identity. This brings clarity to Paul’s earlier comments in Chapter 2 where he writes that those who pattern their lives after the Christ of the Christological hymn will “shine like stars in the world.” They shine like starts because they live as citizens of heaven. 

We don’t just anticipate going to heaven to be with the Savior, but we wait in expectation that the Savior will to come to us. Heaven will come to earth and in this way there will be an expansion of the heavenly kingdom. Our bodies will be transformed, just as his was transformed, revealing the power of creation that is within the hands of Christ. He has the power to make all things subject to him: all creation and earthly powers and authorities. It is as “citizens of Christ’s heavenly kingdom now, [that] they will share in his final victory to come” (Flemming, NBBC, 265). The invitation remains open for those who may find themselves “in Christ” to live out the pattern of Christ and participate in this world as citizens of heaven. 

Application:

Earthly citizenship brings with it certain rights and a sense of identity. You belong to a particular nation, you carry the passport, and that either opens or closes doors for you around the world. For Paul the entire focus of this conversation is on Christ, and it cannot be seen in any other way. In the terminology of my tribe, when one has the “mind of Christ,” one is entirely sanctified. To live the sanctified life, is to live as a citizen of heaven with our thoughts, desires, and actions oriented toward that goal. 

My mother’s family came to the US and Canada from Russia, however, they were not Russians. They were a unique group of people known as “Russian Germans,” or “Volga Germans.” Near the end of the late 18th century life was extremely difficult for the poor peasantry of the German lands. Years of war had ravaged their lives and the prospects for prosperity were but a distant dream. Catherine the Great was ruling Russia, and while she had married the Czar, she herself was German. She saw an opportunity that might be mutually beneficial and therefore she invited German citizens to come and colonize the Volga river region of Russia. What she really needed was a human barrier between the Mongols and the more urbanized areas of Russia. The Germans would serve this purpose well and therefore she offered them land along the river where they could establish German-speaking colonies where they could live as Germans in Russia. They had special tax privileges and they did not have to serve in the Russian army. Their passports documented that their nationality was “German” — although they were technically Russian citizens. 

For 100 years the Volga Germans lived as Germans, while on Russian soil. They had German schools, worshipped in German churches, and embraced their German identity, all the while surrounded by Russian society. After 100 years the original contract expired and, without Catherine around the protect them, the Germans began losing their rights. It was at this time that many decided they would need to go elsewhere, and what ensued was a mass migration to the United States and Canada. Having been accustomed to this life in a colony, they simply reestablished their colonies in their new land. My mother was born in Canada, in a German colony. She grew up speaking German and didn’t learn English until she began attending public school. Her identity, throughout her lifetime, was that of a “Russian German.” 

What’s our identity? It doesn’t matter what country we live in, as sanctified followers of Christ, our citizenship is now in heaven. We are not to become consumed with the politics of this world, but we are to live as citizens of heaven. That means that Christ defines who we are, how we act and react in this world. The Volga Germans could not change the Russian government and so they lived as Volga Germans. They were radically different from the world in which they existed, but they clung to their identity, just as Christians are to be radically different, and cling to their identity as citizens of heaven. 

We live in a world that wants to know whether we lean left or lean right politically. For a follower of Christ, that should not be the question. Some might say that we are to be somewhere in the middle, but for a citizen of heaven, that is not the case. It’s not about being, left, right, or in the middle, it’s about being entirely different. Just as the Volga Germans were radically different from the world in which they lived, so too are God’s people to be different. This is how we shine like stars in this world. We are not influenced by the world, but by Christ alone. We are “in” Christ, and therefore he becomes the pattern for everything that we do. 

Embracing our heavenly citizenship changes how we do everything. This was a radical way of thinking, and it’s exactly what Paul had in mind. 

Prayer:

Lord, the gift of citizenship is greater than we can image. Help us to live now in an embrace of that which you have already provided for us. Don’t let the world tell us how we are supposed to live, but may that direction be found in you alone. Amen.