Resident Aliens

Meditations for Ragamuffins 

February 28, 2024

Resident Aliens

But our citizenship is in heaven.

And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

Philippians 3:20

Philippians 3: 17 - 4:1

In the closing verses of Chapter 3, Paul again refers to his vision of the future which kept Paul fighting the good fight: the victorious return of Christ Jesus the King. This vision was particularly conspicuous in Philippi which was a Roman colony and where citizenship in Rome was their paramount cultural value. In the first two chapters, Paul modeled how his allegiance to Christ Jesus called him to value the ways of Christ over and above his Roman citizenship. In today’s passage, Paul powerfully asserts this point: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21).

When Paul says we are citizens of heaven, he is not saying heaven is our home. He is saying our churches are colonies of our King, Christ Jesus. As we are taught to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, the mission of our churches is to build for the Kingdom of God so that God’s will is fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. As resident aliens, we are laboring for our Master here until he comes in Final Victory to fully establish his reign on earth.

Many Christians, when reciting the Apostles’ Creed, are unsure of the meaning of the phrase, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” and assume it must be referring to the resurrection of Jesus. Paul’s assertion in verse 21 should clear up any confusion. Paul firmly believed that all the followers of Jesus who have died will be resurrected and receive glorious bodies like Jesus’ own when our Savior returns in glory.

My Takeaway: Recently I attended a dinner with a Christian group. Those in attendance were very diverse: politically, socially, and economically. They laughed and thoroughly enjoyed their table fellowship. They worshipped together and shared in Holy Communion. How is this possible for such a diverse group? They know their citizenship is in heaven! 

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.