We are the Citizens of Heaven

Philippians 3:17-21

Christians are Citizens of Heaven

There is a tendency in us to be affiliated to a specific community. Basically, there is nothing wrong about it. In a way, our sense of security can be enhanced, and we can act corporately and achieve something we cannot achieve alone. The identification with one’s community could heighten to ethnic-national level.

Christians are admitted to the community of the Kingdom of God when we accept Jesus as our Savior. As people of God, we must understand the significance of our identity—the role, ethics and mission.

God’s people must be set apart from the world

Firstly, as people of God, we are set apart from the non-believer’s population. It denotes more than worshipping the Christian Triune God. We also observe the unique ethical standards in our walk with God and with others. We also have a value of life that is different from the world.

In the Old Testament, God chose the people of Israel and made them to be different. “I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations.” (Numbers 23:9)

Peter described Christians of the New Testament time as, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

We should be separated from the world and be different from them. That means, as children of God, we cannot be swayed by the winds of this world like grass. We are not to dance along with the popular trends of the world.

Instead, we should be grounded in the Biblical truth and hold steadfastly our stand. In this respect, we are to be critical to the popular ‘ism’ currently, e.g.: consumerism, cultural trends, racism, and nationalism.

We are also to say “no” to social injustice and those evil schemes that are harmful to human lives and freedom. We have to say “no” when we need to say so.

Thus, we need to be discerning, to possess wisdom in knowing right and wrong, and to be strong and courageous without any fear. May God have mercy on us, and grant us wisdom and courage to be the mainstay in the midst of overwhelming fake news and atrocities.

Christ Redeemed Sinners with Great Price

Yes! God chose us to be his own people, but it is Jesus Christ who has paid a heavy price to purchase us and made us His. The Bible describes this way, “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14)

We were totally depraved in sin, but Christ has redeemed us with His own precious blood. The Bible says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

God has made His son’s death our redeeming price, to purchase us and cleanse us from all sins. Our salvation is indeed a free grace. We can do nothing to be worthy for the salvation. So, we ought to be grateful to Christ, and honor him as Lord and savior.

Now, we do not belong to ourselves and we are not to be used by sin and evil. Instead we are the people of God, and our rights and ownership belong to Christ, our Lord.

We can understand this in terms of a battle in the ancient world:

The party that was defeated would have all their children captured by their overcomers. They would become the slaves of their enemy.

It is the same when we are in sin. We are defeated and captured by devil, and we become slaves to sin. We are not free to do whatever we want and we need to serve the devil.

Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ died for us on the Cross. He bore our sin and died our death. And after three days, He was risen. “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” (Ephesians 4:8) He delivers us so that we no longer live under the slavery of sin.

By doing so, we belong to the new kingdom. It is Christ’s kingdom.  We are no longer slaves but freeman in the Christ’s kingdom. Christ is our Lord and king. We belong to Christ. We are to be obedient to Christ’s commands.

The Purpose of the Redemption of God’s people

The redeemed ones are those who “turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.” (Acts 26:18) They will have new dimension and purpose for their lives.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

It is like the Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world and obeyed to do the will of the heavenly Father in all ways. Whatever He did was good. Christians do that too. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10）

“doing good works” is not doing charity per se. Doing good works here is doing the ministry of God which is fulfilling the will of God. Doing good works will not cause us to be saved, because we are justified by faith and we are not saved through our good works. Doing good works is the fruit produced by our salvation. God is good, and it is impossible for those who belong to God to bear the fruit of good works.

We do not live our lives aimlessly in the world. Unlike the world who “walks in the dark and does not know where they are going”, we live to obey the will of God and to shine for Him.

Citizens of Heaven Colonize the Earth

In Philippians 3:19-21, Paul said, “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

Here, Paul flayed those believers who are self-indulging. They professed themselves to be Christians, but they did not live the way Christ lived, i.e., to be servants and self-sacrificial. They cared only of meeting their own earthly needs and paid no attention to the needs of others. Freedom in Christ does not mean selfishness. Instead we should seek opportunities to serve others and do our best with our utmost effort.

All Christians are heavenly citizens and currently we are here on earth waiting for Christ’s return. Our identity speaks about our belonging to the heavenly kingdom and not the earthly kingdom.

Nevertheless, we do pledge our loyalty to a specific earthly country for which we would obey the laws and pay the required tax. However, we must be cautious against racism or nationalism which may be harnessed for an evil purpose.

All these “ism” is conveniently used by the unscrupulous politicians to harness supports, and in the process, could trigger hatred, violence and unjust war between men and countries.

Our mission is to colonize the earth with Kingdom values so as to make the world right with God. In this way, the earth shall reveal the righteousness and glory of God, and be transformed into God’s original creation.

We are to be children of light and children of peace on earth. Satan will definitely rise against us and attack us in this process, because his purpose is to destroy the world and cause the world to go astray from God. We are fighting a spiritual warfare with Satan!

The Bible tells us that it is impossible for light to have fellowship with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). However, light shall overcome darkness. So, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to move forward courageously and continue to fight over evil with our Gospel proclamation and good works.

The objectives of our missions are to see lives changed and environment transformed, so that God’s will prevails on earth and all glory goes to Him.

At present, though Christian communities are heavenly citizens, we experience a state of lowliness and powerlessness, and some of us even lose our lives as martyrs. It appears that Satan is prevailing as the king of this world!

Let us face the reality—who will remain living forever on earth and not die? Most of us die below hundred years old. Everyone anyhow must die and there is judgment after death.

So, do not be afraid of confronting the devil which may cost our life. We have hope in Christ. The power of Christ shall raise us from death. And we shall receive the glory, the glory that is similar to His. This is the right we are entitled to as heavenly citizens.

Hence, do not betray our identity as citizens of heaven when we are entangled by worries, and confronting temptations and threats in this life, lest we are found guilty when we face Christ upon His return. Let’s pray together, “Lord! May Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”