We are all familiar with the language of citizenship. As citizens of a certain country or state, we have certain rights and responsibilities that govern our lives. Citizenship, however, is deeper than just the country in which we reside.
Our citizenship conveys the values and ideals we hold as inhabitants of that country. Citizenship may even influence the words we use, and how we speak. Our citizenship, therefore, is another way to describe our “way of life.”
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul uses the language of citizenship to speak about our Christian lives. Our “citizenship,” he writes, is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). This isn’t simply a statement about where we go when we die.
Rather, our heavenly citizenship describes the unique way that Christians live in the world. Just as one's civic identity influences certain acts, behaviors, and speech patterns, our allegiance to Jesus influences our lives.
To live as citizens of heaven is to embrace the cross and allow it to transform us. Paul contrasts our heavenly citizenship with those who “live as an enemy of the cross of Christ” (3:18). As Christian people, we live out our allegiance to Jesus in three important ways.
1. Worshiping Jesus
Our citizenship testifies to who we worship and obey. Living as an enemy of the cross is to live as if the cross has no influence upon our lives. Enemies of the cross live for themselves. To be an enemy of the cross does not mean that one is antagonistic, or hostile, towards the cross.
Rather, it is to live as if the cross did not happen. Sadly, even those who belong to the church can succumb to this temptation.
This was precisely the case in Philippi. Paul writes that many in Philippi were living out the same ravenous gluttony that surrounded pagan worship. Paul writes that “their destiny is destruction, their god is in their stomach, and they glory in their shame” (Philippians 3:19).
In other words, they engaged in the excessive delights of the flesh. To live only for the pleasure of the flesh is to make the satisfaction of our appetites the primary principle of our life.
In essence, we make our stomachs the god we follow. In doing so, we step away from a life lived in true faith. Living in such a way leads only to shame and destruction.
When we live for the mere pursuit of our own glories and pleasures, we leave little room for Jesus. As Christian people, our lives are to be centered on the Lord. A life lived in vain pursuits of the flesh, or in ravenous obedience to pagan worship practices, is completely antithetical to the way of Christ.
Scripture calls us to live as “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11). To be a citizen of heaven is to live a life of faithful obedience to the Lord.
As Christian people, we bow before Jesus as Lord and King. Because Christ is our Savior, our way of life necessarily points to him.
No other person or pursuit is placed above him. If Christ is not expressed in our very way of life, we must question if we have truly embraced him, and his sacrifice on the cross.
2. Embodying the Life of Jesus
To be a citizen of heaven is to be formed by Jesus. His words and example influence how we speak and act in this world. As much as we are able, we attempt to live our lives like Jesus. This may seem like a tall order, but the power of the Holy Spirit makes this a reality for each of us.
As Christians, we open ourselves to Christ’s spirit living in, and through, us. Paul says that our attitude should be the “same as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). As Jesus gave himself in service and lived in faithful obedience to God the Father, so ought we.
How might we live like Jesus? We can look at Jesus on the cross to see some practical implications. The cross is a place of forgiveness and grace; it is not an instrument of shame or condemnation, but a way of freedom from our spiritual baggage.
On the cross, Jesus offers words of forgiveness, not hate. “Father, forgive them, he says, “they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). If Christ offers us radical forgiveness, despite our own unworthiness, how can we possibly withhold forgiveness from someone else?
How can we, as followers of Jesus, hold a grudge toward another when Christ holds no grudge against those who crucified him?
Similarly, the cross heralds Christ’s unyielding love, flowing down to the darkest of places. Scripture testifies that “God demonstrates his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
The cross testifies that there is no place that Jesus will not go to redeem the hurting and the vulnerable. If Christ embodies love on the cross, does this does not show that we must embody love in our lives?
Being a citizen of heaven isn’t simply a point of meditation, it is a way of life. A refusal to embody the life as modeled by Jesus, therefore, is to live as an enemy of Christ’s cross; it suggests that Jesus' death and resurrection have no impact on our lives.
3. Looking to and for Jesus
Paul writes that those who live as enemies of the cross do not concern themselves with eternity. They live only for the now, for the moment.
With “minds set on earthly things” (3:19), the transitory pleasures of earthly life are pursued above all else. Such people fail to cultivate a transformative relationship with Jesus simply because their attention is drawn elsewhere.
Christian people, however, are to embrace Jesus as the reference point of all of life. Followers of Jesus live their lives with a constant gaze heavenward. Christians recognize that true life is found in the abiding presence of Jesus.
As Jesus says, “I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The maximization of earthly pleasure does not compare to the eternal glory found in Jesus Christ.
It is Jesus alone who can “transform our lowly bodies so they will become like his glorious body” (3:21). Citizens of heaven, therefore, pursue an interactive relationship with the Lord; they continually look to Jesus.
Of course, even as Christian people, we recognize that we live in a fallen world, and can never live the faithful life perfectly.
Thus, citizens of heaven also look for Jesus’ invitation to confess our sin and return to him in a spirit of repentance. Looking to Jesus means we open ourselves to his guidance, we place ourselves before his word.
What Does This Mean?
To be a citizen of heaven is to see our connection with Jesus as the most important part of our lives. We do not subordinate our allegiance with Jesus to another person, country, or belief. Of course, this does not mean we cannot take pride in our country, our city, or our province.
We do not separate ourselves from the world around us. Jesus calls us to live faithfully in this world. To do so, we must “rend to Caesar that which is Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21); we to submit to governing authorities (Romans 13:1).
Such allegiance and pride, however, are always placed under our ultimate allegiance to the Lordship of Christ. We serve the Lord above all else. Any earthly citizenship we may enjoy is understood only through the lens of our primary, heavenly, citizenship.
For further reading:
What Does it Mean That Our Citizenship Is in Heaven?
What Does it Mean That the 'Gift of God Is Eternal Life'?
How Do We Seek First the Kingdom of God?
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