Our Citizenship is in Heaven
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36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.
35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
Jesus was the son sent by his Father to gather what rightfully belonged to him
He was rejected and killed. His followers are to continue to preach a message of spiritual reconciliation - to repent and believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Philippians
Paul is the stated author of Philippians, and few have questioned his authorship. It was written to the Christians in the Roman colony of Philippi.
Scholars have debated Paul’s location when he wrote Philippians. Caesarea, Ephesus, and Rome have been the three most commonly proposed locations. On balance, it seems most likely that the letter was written from Rome, c. A.D. 62. This also fits most naturally with the mention of the praetorium and “Caesar’s household” (1:13 and 4:22).
The chief theme of Philippians is encouragement: Paul wants to encourage the Philippians to live out their lives as citizens of a heavenly colony, as evidenced by a growing commitment to service to God and to one another.
The church at Philippi had a special significance for Paul, since it was the first church he founded in Europe (see Acts 16:6–40). The first convert was Lydia, a seller of purple goods, and women continued to have a prominent role in the Philippian church (e.g., Phil. 4:2). Paul and Silas were imprisoned there for exorcising a demon from a fortune-telling slave girl, but God miraculously delivered them, and they proclaimed the gospel to the Philippian jailer. Paul likely visited the Philippians a few times after his initial departure, and they maintained active support for his ministry (4:15–16).
Paul himself also wanted to encourage the Philippians in their faith, and his imprisonment meant he could do that only through a letter. He was also eager to thank them for their continued support: imprisonment carried with it a social stigma, and it would have been easy for the Philippians to turn their back on Paul at this point. But they had remained faithful to him.
Yet Paul’s purpose in writing goes even further. He is above all concerned that the Philippians continue to make progress in their faith (1:25).
Paul explains what spiritual progress will look like.
Chapter 1 - to live is Christ, to die is gain. Walk worthy of the gospel
Chapter 2 - live in unity of faith and serve one another
Look to Christ the humble servant who emptied himself
Live as lights in the world
Be encouraged by the examples of Timothy and Epaphroditus who live lives of Christ centered service to others.
Chapter 3
Rejoice in the Lord
Know the difference between the opponents of the gospel and the true people of God
Knowing Christ is the greatest thing you can do
Grow through Christ and not external religion
Follow Paul’s example of commitment to Jesus the Lord
(1) Rejoice in the Lord! (Philippians 3:1)
(1) Rejoice in the Lord! (Philippians 3:1)
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
to enjoy a state of happiness and well-being—‘to rejoice, to be glad.’ χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ‘I rejoice as I suffer for you’ Col 1:24; ὡς λυπούμενοι ἀεὶ δὲ χαίροντες ‘although saddened, we are always rejoicing’ 2 Cor 6:10.
Present Active Imperative 2nd person plural
The verb tense where the writer portrays an action in process or a state of being with no assessment of the action’s completion.
The grammatical voice that signifies that the subject is performing the verbal action or is in the state described by the verb.
The mood that normally expresses a command, intention, exhortation, or polite request. The imperative mood is therefore not an expression of reality but possibility and volition.
2nd person plural - all of you
(2) Understand the true gospel makes you God’s child (Philippians 3:2-3)
(2) Understand the true gospel makes you God’s child (Philippians 3:2-3)
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—
12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
worship by the Spirit of God
glory in Christ Jesus
put no confidence in the flesh
(3) Confidence is not the same as Certainty (Philippians 3:4-11)
(3) Confidence is not the same as Certainty (Philippians 3:4-11)
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. 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 Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
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
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Paul describes his outward, religious qualifications (4-6)
He acknowledges the worthlessness of external righteousness or works righteousness (7)
He describes true salvation as “knowing Christ”, “gaining Christ”, “found in him”, “not having a righteousness of my own”, “that which comes through faith in Christ”, “the righteousness from God”
Paul describes the goal of the Christian life - to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, become like Christ in his full obedience and servanthood - in his death
v11 - the sovereign plan of God leads us through various sufferings - Paul is saying, I trust you Lord to do whatever is necessary to purify me and to make me like Christ because I know that to live is Christ and to die is gain. And I want to be with you at the resurrection.
We are justified v9, sanctified v10, and glorified v11 in Christ.
(4) You need to do more than run, you need to make it to the finish line (Philippians 3:12-16)
(4) You need to do more than run, you need to make it to the finish line (Philippians 3:12-16)
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
This requires:
v12 - pressing
v13 - forgetting
v13 - straining
v14 - press on toward the goal - the upward call of God
v15 - let the perfect realize they are not perfect
if you are mature you will not be living in the current moment
v16 - do you know your position in Christ?
v12 - you are not perfect but Christ has made you his own
v13 - forget and forgive - it’s in the past, keep it there
v13 - what lies ahead is the sovereign plan that God has for you as you are constantly under his care
v14 - someday Jesus will call you upward and he will welcome you and embrace you
You have attained so much - why would you quit the race at this point in the journey?
Why would you walk away from the Lord, your job, your family, why would you settle for sin that is only a momentary pleasure when you can keep striving toward the awesomeness of life in Christ?
(5) You need a soul buddy: you can’t do it alone (Philippians 3:17-21)
(5) You need a soul buddy: you can’t do it alone (Philippians 3:17-21)
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.
It’s all about Jesus, it’s definitely not all about you, that’s why you need to make it all about the fellowship.
Personal autonomy has gotten out of control
What does it mean to you? What do I get out of this? Unless you do exactly what I want I don’t plan to participate.
The worse kinds of believers. The most selfish kinds of believers?
Philippians is about rejoicing and unity and living in Christ.
Watch out for false teachers
Do they not teach the whole counsel of God? Do they live lives that are contrary to what Jesus and the apostles taught and even what they teach?
Are they even saved?
Do they live for physical pleasure?
Do they joke about their sinfulness?
Are they living their best life now?
BUT
We fix our eyes on Jesus
we have a citizenship in heaven
we await a Savior - this changes your perspective
we will be transformed from lowly to glorious, we won’t just be carnal or unsaved false professors who have have wrapped ourselves in the things of the world.