Philippians 3:20,21
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
“For our citizenship is in heaven”, what an amazing concept. A nonbeliever would think this odd. I get that. It’s like someone stating something as fact that seems different from reality. But it’s true.
How is this so? This happens when one accepts Christ. God draws all to Himself. As this happens we learn of our sin and His offer of forgiveness. Part of the deal is to accept Christ as lord. That means we do what He says. If it were any one other than Him, it would be concerning. To hand over the reigns of our lives is a big deal.
Part of this is His adoption of us. He becomes our Father and we become His sons and daughters. If this were mid evil times we are part of His realm or citizens of His kingdom.
We become His children. This again would seem odd to a nonbeliever. Reciting something other than reality. This again is true. 2 Corinthians 6:18 says, ‘And “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”’ That’s not just a metaphor. Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” That’s a rebirth. One that has His Heart in us. We are in His family.
Just to illustrate that more, Galatians 5 says we have the fruit of His Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control”. Those become our traits as we walk with Him. Part of it is we feel them and other times we don’t feel them, but know we should. In those times we ask Him for help. We have to put aside our anger or selfishness and pray for His love. He gives it. We are acting like Him. We are in His family, we are citizens of heaven.
We are not of this world. I Peter 2:11 says, “Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.” While we were at home in the world, we no longer are. The vibe of the world promotes fleshly lust, power and the accumulation of things. Colossians 3:5-8 expounds on this, “Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, rid yourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth.”
The citizens of this world engage in sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry. The citizens of heaven emit the fruit of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” The differences are stark. We each are behaving according to our destination.
Jesus said we are the light of the world, (Matthew 5:14). I feel like it. His joy and presence lifts me as if a light is in me. It really is. He is light (I John 1:5) and if we accept Him and His forgiveness He is in us. This is what it’s like to be a citizen of heaven.
Our walk in Christ is upward. We get better and better. We are becoming closer to our heavenly self. When we die it will just be a step into the actual heaven. Solomon said it this way in Proverbs 4:18, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.”
Thank You, Lord, for adopting us and making us citizens of Your kingdom. Thank You for Your presence, Your joy and Your guidance. What a privilege.