Our Citizenship

A citizen is a person who legally belongs to a country and has the rights and protections of that country. to be a citizen means to adopt the culture and the practices of the nation.

What Did It Mean to be a Citizen of Philippi?

Acts 16:12: “And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.”

Philippi’s history was rich for “It was the site of the defeat of Julius Caesar’s murderers, Brutus and Cassius, by Antony and Octavian in 42 BC.”

Philippi was a Roman Colony and had three special benefits:

libertas/self-government

in a personal sense, libertas was “first of all the guarantee of a just application of the law to all”

immunias/freedom from paying taxes

ius Italicum/Italian right

Denoted the closest possible tie to Rome...

Ius Italicum was a privilege granted to certain communities in the Roman provinces whereby their land was treated in law as if it were in Italy. It was thus exempted from the rule that land in the provinces belonged to the state and could not be fully owned by private individuals; and the land and its inhabitants were free from taxes (tributum soli and tributum capitis).

IT WAS AS IF YOU WERE IN ITALY WHILE YOU WERE IN PHILIPPI.

Augustus created the colony expressly for the purpose of making homes for his military veterans. He was also motivated by a desire to establish a military presence in this strategic area and to further the cultural and political Romanization of Macedonia. Philippi had a sizebale population of Latin-speaking Roman citizens…around 3-5,000 men.

In the times of Paul it was used as a settlement for veterans who had served their time in Roman military exploits.

ROMANS DIVIDED ALL MANKIND INTO CITIZENS AND STRANGERS.

What Does It Mean to be a Citizen of Heaven?

Philippians 3:19-20: “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:”

The Greek word here is politeuma. We are citizens of Heaven!

Ephesians 2:19: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;” The word here is sumpolitas- it means to be a native of the same town

Hebrews 12:22-24: “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

This text is important because we are standing on the shoulders of giants!

William Tyndale- October 6, 1536- “Open the eyes of the King of England!”

II Corinthians 4:4: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

We were born into the customs and practices of a kingdom— a kingdom which is against God and His law.

OF THIS NATURAL KINGDOM:

Romans 6:16: slavery -“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Ephesians 2:1-4: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,”

Colossians 1:13: darkness- “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

This darkness is emblematic of-

sin

error

misery and death

DARKNESS:

there is a fellowship of this darkness: Ephesians 5:11: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

there is a sphere of darkness: II Peter 2:17: “These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.”

there is a world of darkness: Matthew 25:30: “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

this fellowship will be shocked by the coming of Jesus: I Thessalonians 5:4: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

But all of a sudden, a light came!

Isaiah 9:1-2: “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, When at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, Beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

I John 1:5: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

John 14:30: “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”

This Jesus came into this sphere of darkness and let His light shine…His light conquered the darkness....and He suffered man’s darkness! Matthew 27:45: “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.”

THE DARKNESS COULD NOT SNUFF OUT THE LIGHT!

What did the world do with this light?

Rejected him-

John 1:11: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

John 3:19-20: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

But

John 1:12: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

Colossians 1:13: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

delivered- to save one’s life; to preserve

translated- to relocate; to transfer

It means to be freed

It means to have new desires

it means to be an ambassador- II Corinthians 5:20: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

it means to look for and long for Jesus’ appearing

What Does It Mean to be a Citizen of Both?

Philippians 1:20-24: “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”