citizenship
July 4, 2009
We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives (v.20).
READ: Philippians 3:12-21
Where is your citizenship? No, I am not asking if you are a naturalized citizen of your country. I am not asking if you are African, French, German. According to the Bible, there are only two citizenships—that of the world, and that of heaven; the kingdom of darkness, and the kingdom of light. In which of these do you hold citizenship? To which one of these do you belong?” So go the questions posed by Reverend Carl Haak in his 1997 sermon, rhetorically titled, “Our Citizenship Is in Heaven.”
The apostle Paul authoritatively proclaims that all true believers “are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own” (Philippians 3:20-21). “For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
As one commentator has said: “The Bible looks upon the church as an outpost on the earth of the kingdom of God in heaven.” And the Reverend Charles Spurgeon illustrated the meaning of heavenly citizenship through the example of an English citizen living in America. “Though he lives in America and trades there, yet he is an alien and does not belong to that afflicted nation.”
As citizens of heaven and “temporary residents and foreigners” on earth (1 Peter 2:11), we have privileges and responsibilities. We also have an obligation to shine for Christ while remembering that we are reflecting the very kingdom of heaven.
—Roxanne Robbins
What does citizenship in heaven mean to you? How can you better reflect the kingdom of heaven to others?
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