Our Citizenship
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Would you ever want to live in another country?
Many of us probably wouldn’t. We live in, what many consider to be, the greatest country in the world and there are many benefits to living in a country like this.
It is stable. We don’t have to worry about internal conflicts breaking out.
The people get a voice. The idea behind our country is that this is not a dictatorship. The people, in some way, get a voice.
We have Texas!
I don’t think that I would prefer living anywhere else. Compared to the rest of the world. This is a good place to live, and most people, like myself, are proud to be American Citizens.
With that in mind, let’s look at.... Philippians 3:17-4:1.
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Paul tells the Philippian church that their citizenship is in Heaven. This is important because he was attacking this city’s underlying worldview.
This city was a Roman Colony. Acts 16:11-12.
11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.
This was also a retirement city. When Roman soldiers retired, they would often retire to this city.
This was a city full of Roman citizens who were proud of their citizenship. Acts 16:19-21.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”
Notice how they call themselves “Romans.”
Rather than being “Romans,” Paul is telling the Philippians that their true citizenship is in the Kingdom of Christ. This is the point of the entire book. Philippians 3:20 could be called the key verse of the book. Paul is trying to teach the Philippians what it means to be citizens in heaven.
In this lesson, we are going to learn what it means to have citizenship in Heaven.
Christ is our Purpose
Christ is our Purpose
What I mean by this is that the work of Christ and His Kingdom needs to be our focus. This is what we see in chapter 1. One thing that is immediately noticeable when reading Philippians, is that Paul is focused on Christ.
Paul is focused on both the people and work of Christ.
At the beginning of the book we see Paul’s love for the people of God. Philippians 1:1-11.
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
His love for them is evident from the language used.
Prayer for you
I hold you in my heart
I yearn for you all with the affection of Jesus
Love may abound...
We also see that Paul care’s deeply for the work of the Kingdom. Philippians 1:12-18.
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will rejoice,
Even though Paul’s specific situation was a bad one, he is still able to rejoice. Why?
He is able to rejoice in prison because as a citizen of the kingdom, he is still accomplishing his purpose.
This focus on his true purpose (the work of Christ) kept him from the potential distractions around him.
We are also citizens so Christ is also our purpose. It is important that we understand this.
…because i when Christ isn’t our purpose, it’s easy for us to become distracted,
It reminds me of Peter when he walks on the water with Jesus. Matthew 14:25-32
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
It also reminds me of the Israelites as they are about to enter the land.
We are citizens of the Kingdom, so our focus needs to be on Jesus. If our focus is not on Jesus, then we can find ourselves becoming distracted like peter and the Israelites.
There are many things that pull our attention away from Jesus.
Some people are distracted by:
Work
Economy
Current Events
Etc.
These things can steal our attention away from what’s truly important. This is why we must recognize that Christ is our true purpose.
The citizenship that we have in Heaven means that Christ is our purpose.
Christ is our Pattern
Christ is our Pattern
If Christ is truly our purpose, then we will also understand that Christ is our pattern. We see this in chapter 2
Paul begins this chapter by encouraging the Philippians to be united. This church apparently had a problem with unity so Paul tells them to put others first. They needed to be unified so that they could help one another during the persecution. Philippians 1:29-2:4.
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Paul then points to the example of Jesus. He tells the Philippians that they need to put others first because Jesus did it first. Philippians 2:5-8.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
This is how Paul lived his life. Philippians 1:21-26.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
We also need to understand that Christ is our pattern.
This makes sense because Christ is God in the flesh. If we want to know how God himself would live, then all we need to do is look at the life of Christ.
John talks about this in his gospel. John 1:14-18.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Here, we learn that the word became flesh and dwelt among us… The language is literally that Jesus tabernacled among us, and we were able to see his glory.
It’s interesting that when Moses asked to see God’s glory, Moses didn’t really get to see anything. Instead of getting to see God, he was only allowed to hear about God. Exodus 34:6.
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
Moses only got to hear about God. Through Jesus, humanity was able to see God as he tabernacled among us.
As a matter of fact, John tells us that Jesus makes the father known to us.
Why do I bring this up?
If we are truly going to live like God wants us to live, then we need to live like Jesus.
Christ is our Prize
Christ is our Prize
If we live like Christ is our purpose and pattern, then life with Christ will be our prize. Paul talks about this in chapter 3.
At the beginning of the chapter, Paul talks about his Jewish heritage; something that is very important to a Jew. Philippians 3:5-6
5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
He then goes on to say that he would sacrifice it all for Christ.
The reason Paul is able to say this is because he understands that Christ is his purpose and pattern. Paul also understands that his prize is life with Christ. Philippians 3:14.
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
This is something that we also need to understand.
This makes it all worth it.
Living with Christ as our purpose and pattern is not always easy. In the same way that Christ made sacrifices in his life, we are going to have to make sacrifices in our lives.
This is what Paul had to do. Philippians 3:8.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Paul isn’t the only Christian who has had to make sacrifices.
There are Christians who have sacrificed family.
There are Christians who have sacrificed unlawful marriages.
But this is what Christianity is about. Matthew 16:24-26.
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Why do we sacrifice? It’s because Christ is the prize, and there is nothing that this earth can give us that is worth more than a life with Christ.
We need to understand that Christ is our prize.
Conclusion: Christ is in Power
Conclusion: Christ is in Power
Finally, what we see at the end of chapter 3 and in chapter 4 is that Christ is in power. Philippians 3:20-4:1.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Christ has the power over death because he defeated death. He has not only promised us a prize if we follow Him, but He also has to power to fulfill that promise.
Not only this, but Jesus also has the power to punish those who don’t follow him. Philippians 3:18-19.
18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
Jesus has the power to offer life to those who who are with him and destruction to his enemies… Are you with Jesus, or are you an enemy?