Living as Citizens of Heaven
Where is your citizenship?
For years and years, I led groups down to Mexico, across the border, to do mission work. As we were riding on the bus down to the border preparing to leave the United States I would always give our group the same speech.
When we get to the border I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. They may ask us to get off the bus. They may get on the bus. Either way, they’re going to ask you a question.
They’re going to ask you, “Where is your citizenship?”
When they do, simply say, “The United States of America.”
They ask you that question because your citizenship matters.
A few years ago, my wife and I decided to take our kids to Mexico over Thanksgiving break to visit friends. When you’re not on a big charter bus, you have to cross the border the same way everyone else does. You have to get in this long line to walk across the border. There are officers there who check your passport, scan your bags, ask you a few questions.
As we were waiting in like to cross the border back into the United States I took this picture of my son Will. He was only 5 or 6 years old at the time. But he’s standing right in front of the sign that marks the border between the US and Mexico. He’s got one foot in each country.
One Foot in Each World
I think this is the tension we live in, isn’t it?
When I ask the question, Where is your citizenship? You’re probably quick to answer with the name of the country you were born in.
Our first thought is about our nationality, our birthplace, the place we came from and the place we pledge allegiance to.
So what happens when we think about citizenship not just in physical terms, but spiritual terms?
What happens when we’re striving to live as citizens of Heaven while at the same time living as citizens of the United States of America or the country where your citizenship is from.
And please know, I’m not talking politics today. I’m not talking about one country being better than another country. I’m not talking about anything like that.
What I want to lean into is this tension of living with one foot in this world and the other foot in the Kingdom of Heaven. Can we do that? How do we do that?
Can you be a citizen of a country in this world and simultaneously be a citizen of Heaven?
Can you be both?
If so, which one is primary? Which one has your ultimate allegiance? Which one do you serve above the other?
Identity Matters
The good news is that God has given you one identity to live from and another identity to leverage.
In Philippians 3, Paul is writing to a church he started in the Roman colony of Philippi. This was the first church started in Europe!
Many of the people living in the city and belonging to the church were Roman citizens. When the city of Philippi was set up as a Roman colony it was populated with Roman soldiers. One way to become a Roman citizen was to retire from the Roman army. After having served in the Roman army, no matter your original citizenship, you could now become a Roman citizen. And being a Roman citizen gave you many privileges and benefits.
Not only is Paul writing to a church located in a Roman colony, to a people, many of whom were Roman citizens, but Paul himself was a Roman citizen. One of the things we know about Paul is that he was born a Roman citizen.
Paul knows what it is to be a citizen of an earthly kingdom while living as a citizen of another kingdom. (See Acts 16!)
And I believe he has this in mind when he writes to the church in Philippi and says this in Philippians 3:20-21:
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
As citizens of heaven, the pattern of our lives should be shaped by our primary identity. This is why we are to Live Different. Because we are citizens of heaven.
This is actually the second time Paul has used this phrase in this letter to the Philippians. The first time came in the first chapter, in verse 27:
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.
What is the Good News about Christ?
Paul says it so well in Philippians 2… that Christ Jesus…
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
The good news, the gospel, is all about the grace of God revealed in JESUS.
We conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ NOT so we CAN BE citizens of heaven, but because WE ARE citizens of heaven. Because we have experienced this grace that knows no bounds.
Your citizenship determines your conduct.
Your allegiance defines your behavior.
Your loyalty leads to a certain kind of lifestyle.
Mission + Purpose
As citizens of heaven, we’re living on mission with a purpose.
Paul lived his life as a citizen of Rome, but his mission and his purpose came from his identity as a citizen of Heaven.
He lived his life for the benefit of God’s church, the spread of His gospel and the glory of His great name!
And this was his legacy!
So how do we leave a legacy of faith?
Maybe we take Paul’s words to heart. Maybe we start living from our primary identity as citizens of Heaven. Maybe, like Paul…
We live for the benefit of God’s church, the spread of His gospel and the glory of His great name!
What happens when we live as citizens of Heaven and we leave a legacy of faith?
Paul doesn’t want you to be confused about what happens next. This is what he says,
3.21 He [Jesus] will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
This is what happens when we live for the benefit of God’s church, the spread of His gospel and the glory of His great name!
What a legacy!
May we spend all our days building up God’s church!
May we leverage every opportunity to share and spread the gospel!
And may our lives be lived for His fame, His name, His renown and His glory!
Jesus, may this be true of us!
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