Our Spiritual Home

INTRODUCTION

I’d invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Psalms. Last week we looked at Psalm 117, the shortest psalm in the Psalter. This week we’re going to look at one of the most obscure psalms. Not many pay much careful attention to this psalm, and that’s a unfortunate mistake, because this psalm is a theological goldmine.

Now, by way of introduction to this psalm, let me start by saying this. I’m asked every so often where I’m from. I’m sure you’re asked that on occasion as well. Alaska is a very transient place, and there’s about a 50/50 chance that when you meet someone new, they’re either going to be a life-long Alaskan or a transplant from somewhere else.

Sometimes I have difficulty answering that question—where am I from? On the one hand, I was born in southern California, in a town called El Centro near the border of Mexico, right near the town of Mexicali. I lived there a short time before I moved with my family to an even-more obscure town on the border of California and Nevada called Needles. I lived there until I was about five years old and then my family and I moved to Manassas, VA which is right outside of Washington, DC. Then after that, when I was nine, we moved to a little town in northwestern Colorado called Craig and we lived there for seven years. Then, when I was sixteen, my family and I moved to Fairbanks, AK and that’s where I finished high school and college and met my wife. We lived in Los Angeles for several years while I went to seminary, and now we’ve lived in Anchorage for coming on ten years.

So when someone asks me, “Where are you from,” sometimes I can’t help but say, “I don’t know.” Is Fairbanks home? Is Craig home? In some sense, I could say with firmer confidence, at least I know that Alaska is home. I’m a resident of Alaska and have been for the past 22 years. And of course, broadening the scope even further, I know without a doubt that I am a citizen of the Unites States of America. That’s at least clear. I was born here. I’ve been a citizen from birth. I have a passport that authenticates my citizenship.

But I’m a Christian. And that means that as much as I’m a citizen of this country, I’m also a sojourner. I’m a traveler in a land that isn’t my own. That’s how the Bible describes us:

1 Pet 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

So, as a Christian I find myself living in two realities. I’m a citizen of this country—a nation in this world. And yet I’m a sojourner in this world and I belong to another country, another world, another kingdom.

So which is it? Where do I belong? Which place do I have citizenship? The answer may surprise you: I have citizenship in both.

A Christian is a dual-citizen. On the one hand, he lives in the world. He is a citizen of this world by pure, physical birth. There’s no getting around that fact. And yet he is simultaneously a citizen of another world—another kingdom that is not of this world.

ILLUSTRATION: Augustine was one of the most important theologians in the history of Christianity, and a leading figure in the church in North Africa, which was part of the Roman Empire, and he lived during the time when the Roman Empire was falling. There was a cultural emergency going on because of that decline, and Augustine sought to think through all the issues going on, including the meaning of culture and the responsibility of Christians within the culture.

What Augustine ended up doing was referring to two cities. He referred to the city of man and the city of God. And surprisingly, he said that Christians are actually citizens of both of those cities. And God, in his wisdom and divine plan chose to leave Christians in this world as part of the city of man, which is a fallen world. And what he reminded us was that while man was a citizen of this world, he must not forget that he is also a citizen of another world.

We see this same dual citizenship come out in the life of the apostle Paul. Remember in Acts 22, when he was witnessing to the people, he was arrested and about to be flogged by Roman soldiers until he revealed that he was a Roman citizen and that such a flogging would be illegal. So he claimed Roman citizenship and all the rights bound up in it.

But at the same, it was Paul himself who wrote to the believers in Philippi and said, “But our citizenship is in heaven…” (Phil. 3:20).

So what does this dual citizenship reveal? It tells us that it’s possible for a person to have two places of birth.

Proposition: And what you have to understand is that your spiritual birthplace is FAR more important than your physicalbirthplace.

And that’s what we discover in the psalm before us this morning. Psalm 87 is a psalm about dual citizenship. And it’s a psalm that proclaims and celebrates that God’s sovereign plan involves taking those who are citizens of the city of man and making them citizens of the city of God.

So now with that introduction, let’s read our psalm, and I’m going read from a slight modification to the ESV translation we usually use:

1 A psalm by the sons of Korah. A song. His foundation is on the holy mountains.

2 Yahweh loves the gates of Zion, more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.

4 I will mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there.”

5 And to Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; And the Most High himself will establish her.

6 Yahweh will record when he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah.

7 And the singers like the dancers will say, “All my springs are in you.”

A song. A psalm by the sons of Korah. To the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth.

BACKGROUND

A few things to mention before we dig into this psalm. As the superscription and the musical subscript at the end reveal, this is a psalm written by the sons of Korah. Now, the sons of Korah, or the Korahites, as some translations might refer to them, are descendants of Kolath of the tribe of Levi (1 Chron. 6:22-28; 9:12-32). They were Levites, then, who were assigned certain responsibilities by David in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.

One of their responsibilities was to write and perform music (1 Chron. 6:31-43; 2 Chron. 20:19), and there are a number of psalms written by these sons of Korah (Pss 42; 44-49; 84-85; 87-88).

But they get their name from the fact that they are also descendants of a man named Korah. Now Korah, if you remember, led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron during Israel’s wandering in the wilderness. You can read about it in Numbers 16. He essentially challenged Moses and Aaron as to whether God had really chosen them to lead the people. And God answered that challenge by causing the ground to open up and swallow Korah and those who had joined in the insurrection, along with their families. There was a total of 250 people who disappeared into the earth at that event.

What we find out later in Numbers 26:11 is that Korah’s sons did not die with him. Apparently, his sons refused to participate in their father’s rebellion, and God graciously spared them. Decades and even centuries later, the descendants of Korah still referred to themselves as “the sons of Korah” as a testimony that they were recipients of the grace of God. So every time you read a psalm and see that it’s “by the sons of Korah,” there’s a reminder of the grace of God, and that there is a remnant of God’s grace.

Now, another thing I want to point out about Psalm 87 is that it is actually an interpretation of two other psalms by the sons of Korah—Psalms 46 and 48. Psalm 46 is, of course, that great psalm which inspired the words to Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress.” And in this psalm, it says in verse 10 that God will be exalted among the nations. Then in Psalm 48, it opens with the declaration that Zion is the city of the Great King, the city of the Lord of hosts, the city of our God.

These themes are all picked up by Psalm 87 and developed into a beautiful tapestry of grace and divine sovereignty. It’s placed right after Psalm 86 because in verse 9 of that psalm, there is a prophetic vision given of all the nations coming to worship God and glorify his name. And so our psalm, then, immediately follows and explains just how and why that is going to happen.

Proposition: So once again, this psalms is about dual citizenship reveal? It tells us that it’s possible for a person to have two places of birth. But it also reminds us that your spiritualbirthplace is WAY more important than your physicalbirthplace.

So with that said, let’s dig in. The outline we’re going to use for this psalm comes in three parts: (1) Zion’s Selection, (2) Zion’s Citizens, and (3) Zion’s Celebration.

1. ZION’S SELECTION (vv. 1-3)

Ps 87:1-3 1 His foundation is on the holy mountains. 2 Yahweh loves the gates of Zion, more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.

The opening three verses of this psalm all highlight one thing—God’s delight in and sovereign selection of Zion. In other words, Zion is a special city, and it is special for three reasons.

(a) It is divinely founded (v. 1)

For one, it is divinely founded. We see that in verse 1: “His foundation is on the holy mountains.” Now, you could argue that the city of Zion is an ancient city. It goes back to the time of David when it was a Jebusite fortress. And in 2 Samuel 5:7, we learn that David conquered that city, enfolding it into the kingdom where it was first identified with what was called “the city of David,” and later David brough the ark of the covenant into the city. Then, after the establishment of the Temple complex, Zion slowly began to be identified with the temple mount, since it was the place where God dwelt amongst his people, and then later it became synonymous with the whole city of Jerusalem.

So, from a human perspective, Zion is a human founded city. But from God’s perspective, God is the one who founded it.

Isa 14:32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? Yahweh has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.

It is divinely founded. It is a holy city—founded “on the holy mountains,” referring to the range of mountains where Jerusalem sits.

(b) It is divinely loved (v. 2)

Second, it is divinely loved. Look at verse 2: “Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.”

The dwelling places of Jacob could refer to all the other cities and villages of Israel, but I think it probably refers to all the other locations where the ark of the covenant had rested before it found its permanent home in Zion. Remember that before David moved the ark into Zion, it had been in a number of other locations—Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, Gibeon, and Beth Shemesh.

All those places were set apart by the sheer presence of the ark. But Zion is different. It’s different because God chose that place to be the permanent dwelling place of his presence. In the writings of the ancient Jewish rabbis is found this statement: “The king has a palace in every province, but which palace is best loved by him? The palace which is in his own province.”

Illustration: I don’t travel very often, but when I do get to get out of the state, I enjoy travelling to see new places. But what I love most about travelling is coming home—returning to my own house with my stuff and my own bed. This is my place. And God feels the same way.

The use of the word love here is important. Yes, God “loves” Zion as a place of special affection for him. But often in the OT, the word love goes beyond affection to indicate sovereign choice.

Deut 7:6-8 Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that Yahweh set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all the peoples., 8 but it is because Yahweh loves you…

It is God’s love here than is synonymous with God’s choice. Jerusalem is not the most beautiful place in Israel, nor is it the strongest, most defensible place. But it’s the place he chose. It is the place he loves.

So what makes Zion so special? It is divinely founded, divinely loved, and third, it is divinely honored.

(c) It is divinely honored (v. 3)

“Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.” So now the psalmist turns and speaks directly to the city as if it were an actual person and says, “Glorious things are spoken of you.” Glorious things—weighty things. Things of honor and majesty and glory. What are these things that are said? It’s not entirely indicated. Perhaps the psalmist’s description in Psalm 48 gives us a clue:

Ps 48:1-2 1Great is Yahweh and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.

In other words, God’s presence in the city and God’s epic plans for the city are honored and eagerly anticipated. You read through the prophets, and you can’t help by notice the “glorious things” God has planned for Jerusalem. By the time you get to John’s Revelation, it finally becomes clear how glorious the city’s future will be.

And who is doing the speaking? Well, that’s a mystery, too, but I think it’s pretty clear from what we’ve seen that it’s God himself who speaks these things. It’s God who has founded this city. It’s God who has shown his sovereign, electing love on this city. And it’s God who honors it with announcements of its glories.

The psalmist refers to it, then, as “the city of God,” which is, incidentally, where Augustine got the title and the theme of his book. It is, according to Psalm 48:2, “the city of the great King.” It is God’s city—founded by him, loved by him, and honored by him.

Now, that theme of God’s divine, electing choice of Zion leads us right into our next point. We’ve seen Zion’s Selection, now let’s look at point 2: Zion’s Citizens.

2. ZION’S CITIZENS (vv. 4-6)

Ps 87:4-6 4I will mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know me; Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Cush—“This one was born there.” And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; And the Most High himself will establish her. 6 Yahweh will record when he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.”

If the first part of the psalm was all about God’s selection of the city, then this section—the heart of the psalm—is all about God’s selection of its citizens. And naturally, if we’re talking about a very special city, then we would expect to find that the citizens of this city are special as well, and that’s exactly what we find.

And just to help us organize our thoughts around this, I’ve broken this part down into three parts, and the first part is Citizens Mentioned.

a. Citizens Mentioned

We’re introduced to these citizens in verse 5, and this would come as quite a shock to your average Jew: “I will mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know me; behold, Philistia and Tyre with Cush.”

These are not what we might expect to find listed as citizens of Zion. A lot like our psalm last week, these are unlikely citizens of a city as special and as holy as Zion. And yet here they are, plain as day.

Rahab was originally the name of a mythical sea monster (Job 9:13; 26:12; Ps. 89:11; Isa 51:9). But in Isaiah 30:7, Rahab becomes a poetic name for Egypt. So we have here first a reference to Egypt, the great power to the south of Israel.

Then we come to the next citizen mentioned: Babylon. This is, of course, the great superpower to the north of Israel that took the nation captive in 586 B.C. And combined, these two nations—Egypt and Babylon—represent the two great superpowers of the ANE.

Then, in the next line, we see two lesser powers. First, there’s Philistia, the great sea peoples who were perennial enemies of Israel to the west of Israel along the coastline. And next, there’s Tyre, the small yet wealthy nation that sat on a small island off the coast of northern Israel just at the northern edge of Israel.

And then finally, there’s Cush. Now, Cush is usually associated with the region along the Nile in east Africa. Some associate it with Ethiopia, others with Nubia. But regardless, it represents a nation that’s relatively speaking quite a distance from Israel.

So when we combine all these nations together, the effect is really to suggest that any and all the nations of the world, from great to small, from near to far, are represented among the citizens of Zion. It doesn’t matter that they’re Israel’s enemies. It doesn’t matter that their current posture toward God is hostile. This is a vision of the future, and in this vision the great city of God—Zion—becomes the home of all who come to worship God.

This is the great anticipation of the OT.

Isa 2:2-4 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of Yahweh shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Psalm 87 joins in that grand vision picturing the nations not just as sojourners and visitors to Jerusalem, but as full-up citizens.

Trans: And how permanent is this? How sure is this? That brings us to the next part: we go from Citizens mentioned to Citizens Registered.

b. Citizens Registered

Their citizenship is so sure that the people coming from the nations are said to be registered in the official record of Zion’s citizenry. Look at verse 6: “Yahweh will record when he registers the peoples…”

It pictures God behind the desk with the divine registry of Zion’s citizens, recording the official birthplace of these peoples. What it really says is this: there’s a book that exists. It’s made by God. It is recorded by God. And it lists everyone who is allowed to enter through the gates of Zion. Sound familiar?

Dan 12:1 At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

Isa 4:3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem.

There is a book—a book of life—which records those in Israel who belong to Jerusalem. But by the time you get to the NT, it becomes clear that the names recorded in that book include way more than just those of believing Israel. Listen to John’s description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:

Rev 21:22-27 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable for false, but only those who are written in the Lambs book of life.

John’s vision of this New Jerusalem is a city that is completely holy, with God in Christ at its center. It is the nexus of the world—the central metropolis of worship. The nations come to worship God there and they bring all of their cultural contributions—their glory—into it. And they can enter because they are among those whose names are found in the book of life.

Now, how is this going to happen. How can God record these people from all these nations as citizens of Zion? How can they be counted and registered in a city they were never born in?

Trans: Well, that brings us to the third part of this section, and the climax of the psalm. We go from Citizens mentioned to Citizens registered, now to Citizens Reborn.

c. Citizens Reborn

The way this happens is that these foreigners are reborn. This is the entire point of what the psalm is getting at. It’s so important that it’s said three times. These citizens are reborn. Look again at verse 4:

Ps 87:4 4 I will mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know me; behold, Philistia and Tyre with Cush—“This one was born there.” 5 And of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her….” 6 Yahweh will record when he registers the peoples: “This one was born there.”

Three times, there’s this mention of being born in Zion. What’s going on? Simply this: God is going to count Zion as the birthplace of everyone who comes to him in faith. It doesn’t matter where they were born physically. This isn’t physical birth. This is spiritual birth. This isn’t natural birth. This is supernatural birth. It doesn’t matter who your mother was. In God’s eyes, Zion is their mother.

In fact, when it says verse 5, “And of Zion it shall be said,” the ancient Greek translation of the OT translated that phrase as “Mother Zion.” And the apostle Paul picks up on that statement when he wrote in Galatians 4:26,

Gal 4:26-27 26 “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” 27 For it is written, [Isa 54:1] “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”

In other words, Jerusalem, who has sat barren because of Israel’s unbelief, will one day rejoice because not only will she finally receive believing Israel as her children once again, but Gentiles will be counted as her offspring so that she will have more children in the future than she ever had in the past.

And it’s all because these foreigners—long-time enemies of Israel and enemies of God—will be regarded by God himself and registered as native-born citizens in Zion. This is God actually imputing to foreign-born believers that they are the same as the native-born people of Israel.

Now, let’s make one thing clear. This isn’t something that these people accomplish on their own. No one’s capable of deciding where they’re born. That’s true of physical birth, and it’s certainly true of spiritual birth. God is the author of life, and he is the author of new life. So when we keep seeing this phrase, “This one was born there,” there’s only one conclusion we can reach—God is the one who is making these people born again.

And this shouldn’t surprise us. Conversion in the Bible is always a divine act. Yes, the gospel call is to exercise saving faith, but the spiritual work going on inside that leads to saving faith is God sovereignly intervening in that persons heart, turning on the lights, breaking through the hard heart and enabling him to believe.

John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of the will of God.

It is God who brings about this new birth. Just like it’s God who then records our names in the book of life which gives us entrance into this great city.

Illustration: Do you remember a certain encounter Jesus had one night with a key religious leader of Israel? A Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a chief teacher in Israel, came to Jesus during the night to talk with him. He confessed to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2).

But Jesus’ answer wasn’t warm or particularly subtle. He saw right through the flattery to the heart of the matter. So he replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In other words, Jesus was getting to the heart of the matter that had plagued Israel for centuries. Israel had always struggled with the notion that to be Jewish—to be a descendant of Abraham—was enough. And no one exemplified that attitude more than the Pharisees.

Later in John 8:38, in an intense interaction with the Pharisees, Jesus said to them, “I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” To which the Pharisees replied to him, “Abraham is our father!”

You remember the apostle Paul, a former Pharisee, described his former life as one of extreme confidence in his physical pedigree. He wrote in Philippians 3:4, “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Phil 3:4-5).

Israel’s problem has always been that they put far too much trust in their physical lineage, and Jesus was exposing that when he told Nicodemus every person who desires to see the kingdom of God cannot enter without being born again.

But for Nicodemus, this doesn’t compute. He says to Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” In other words, Jesus’ words are not making sense to him. He is not understanding where Jesus is coming from. If entering the kingdom requires being born again, how can a man make that happen?

So Jesus says it again: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn 3:5-8).

Now, there’s a lot going on there. But the gist of what Jesus is saying is that entering the kingdom of God is a spiritual issue, not a physical issue. Your physical birth is one thing. But to be born spiritually is something different. And it’s not in the power or the control of the one who’s born. It’s like the wind—you hear it; you know when it’s there; but you have no power over where it goes. And neither does the one being born again. It is a divine, supernatural act of God through the Holy Spirit.

At this point, Nicodemus is incredulous. He says to Jesus, “How can these things be?” This is completely outside of Nicodemus’ theological grid.

And that’s what makes Jesus’ next words sting so badly: “Jesus answered him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” Nicodemus was THE teacher of Israel. He was supposed to be THEpremiere theological mind and instructor of the nation. And yet he didn’t understand.

But he should have. He should have understood…because it’s right here, plain as day, in Psalm 87. Entrance into the kingdom—citizenship in Zion—has nothing to do with your physical birthplace. It has everything to do with your spiritual birthplace.

And so that means that it doesn’t matter where you’re from or who your father is. It doesn’t matter where you were born or what your nationality is. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in church your whole life. There are no physically-born citizens of the city of God—only spiritually-born.

Trans: So if it was up to me, I would never see the kingdom of God. If it was up to me, I would never be a citizen of Zion. I don’t have it in me. I can’t birth myself. I can’t make myself be born again.

But thanks be to God, it’s not up to me. That’s the whole point of the psalm. God does it all. He’s the one who from the beginning has founded Zion and will establish her as the spiritual birthplace of everyone who believes. And that’s something to celebrate.

3. ZION’S CELEBRATION (v. 7)

The psalm ends, surprisingly enough, with a party. The very idea of being born again as spiritual citizens of Zion is reason enough to throw a part.

Ps 87:7 And the singers like the dancers will say, “All my springs are in you.”

What makes you most excited? What’s something that makes you want to celebrate? Maybe it’s a birthday, or an anniversary. Maybe someone graduating from high school, or a friend getting married. All those things are worth celebrating.

For the citizens of Zion, they celebrate the fact that they get to be citizens of the city of God—the city of the great King. They celebrate the fact that their physical birthplace doesn’t have to count against them. They celebrate that God has made them born again, with new life, a new creation in Christ Jesus.

And so they sing and they dance. And the lyrics of their song declare that all of their springs are in Zion. In the ANE, natural springs were places where water flowed out of the ground and provided life-giving sustenance to the people.

And for the citizen of Zion, the city itself is a spring—a source of all that is essential to living I life centered on God, flowing and bubbling over with all the good things that God gives.

CONCLUSION

So, to go back to where we started, every believer is a dual citizen. We are simultaneously citizens of this world, citizens of a nation in this world, citizens of the city of man—and citizens of Zion, the city of God.

We may take pride in being a citizen of the country we live in. I know I do. I’m glad to be a citizen of the United States. Despite all its faults, despite everything that’s going on in this nation, I’d rather be here than anywhere else.

There are others who aren’t so enamored with the nation of their citizenship. They would leave if they could. Some of them can’t afford to leave. Some of them aren’t allowed to leave.

But being a Christian means that, whatever citizenship you have on this earth, you have a far more important citizenship in the kingdom of God, in the city of the great King. And that means that ultimately, our citizenship is in heaven, and our inheritance is in heaven. And we are sojourners her on this earth, passing through, conducting ourselves as ambassadors of the city of God while we live and work in the city of man.