heavenly citizenship — Faves of Dave - Bible Study

Phil. 3:17 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.

Phil. 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

It would be so easy to read the first half of verse 17 and think, “Wow! Paul sure thinks highly of himself.” The only problem is that we would be wrong. Why am I so certain of that? The first reason is that Paul has already told us about his past credentials that he used to his benefit prior to his conversion experience with the Lord. He had authority and “the stage,” to use a contemporary expression, as a means by which to command attention to himself and gain a following. But he threw it all away upon coming to Christ. He knew that none of those credentials put him in a right-standing position with God. Only relying on the righteousness of Christ was sufficient.

The second reason is that Paul preempts his readers' understanding that he has arrived at sinless perfection. He makes it very clear that he hasn’t and it will not happen until he receives a glorified body in the resurrection. Paul has been attempting to minimize any elevated thoughts the Philippians might have toward him. So, he is not backtracking on that now.

The third reason is that Paul is incarcerated and suffering persecution for his faith. In exhorting these believers to “imitate me” (v. 17), Paul encourages them to be strong in their faith, even if it leads to persecution. There is no ego in Paul’s exhortation. In fact, the words that follow “imitate me” expand the point that they are to follow the model of anyone who has walked in the same way.

Paul then quickly juxtaposes those who walk in a way modeled for them with spiritual impostors, and the Philippian believers should be able to identify them. In verse 19, he says of these others, “their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Paul says that those people are on a path to destruction. He is telling the Philippians, “Don’t act like that because nothing good will come from it.” (My paraphrase) The manner in which Paul and others who live in a similar way are thinking about eternity and ultimate presence with the Lord.

Those who stand firm in their faith in Jesus Christ have a “citizenship in heaven,” and we look forward to Christ’s return, when we will receive a different, eternal body designed for eternity with him.

In our culture and age, image is everything. Gaining attention and a following is a popular trend in our society. It could be through a YouTube channel, TikTok, or some other social media platform. People spend a lot of money attempting to live a little longer and look a little younger at the same time. But they cannot escape the fact that the end of that is death and destruction. The material things and the attention we often seek in this life are all fragile and limited. We all need Jesus to give us hope for what lies ahead in eternity with God.