Citizens Of Heaven

Live as Citizens of Heaven

Can you remember the last time you received a letter? A letter, not an email but a letter? And not a letter from the CRA or your bank, but a personal letter. A letter from a friend, delivered in an envelope, with a stamp by Canada Post?

Seriously, have you ever received a personal letter? They seem to be coming a thing of the past.

We are in the fourth week of our study in Philippians, and so you are probably aware that what we think of as a small book of the bible is actually a letter written by Paul to friends of his in the city of Philippi. And it wasn’t just a form letter. It was a personal letter—a letter that addressed their particular stage in life, a letter that contained words of encouragement.

I remember when Cornerstone was going through a difficult stage in its life as a church, and I wasn’t sure what the future held, either for the church or for the Guptills. And at just the right time, Angela and I received a letter from Karen Wickwire.

A letter telling us how much she appreciated us as her pastoral couple, but also encouraging us in the midst of the difficulties and reminding us that she believed in the vision we had for Cornerstone.

It is not a stretch to say that Cornerstone being where and what it is today, may very well owe its very existence to that one-page letter.

That’s what the book of Philippians is. A letter of encouragement that was written during a difficult time, not only in the life of the church but in Paul’s life as well. Paul is in prison, facing a very uncertain future, but he takes time to write a letter of encouragement to his friends.

The scripture that was read for us earlier begins with these words, Philippians 1:27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, . . .

However, if you are following along in a different translation, you might be scratching your head. In the New International Version it reads, Philippians 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. And in the New Revised Version it reads, Philippians 1:27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. . .

And without getting too deep in the weeds of the original language, the essence of this passage hinges on an obscure word in the original Greek, which was the language that Paul used to write this letter.

In the NIV, the word is translated as “conduct yourself,” and in the NRSV, the word is translated as “live your life,” and while those are adequate translations, they don’t convey all the meaning of the original word.

Are you still with me?

According to William Barclay in the Daily Study Bible, “The word he (Paul) would normally use for to conduct oneself in the ordinary affairs of life is peripatein, which literally means to walk about; here he uses politeuesthai, which means to be a citizen.” Perry-pa-tain, pol·it·yoo·om·ahee

And while that word might not mean much to us, we must remember that we are reading somebody else’s mail, and it would have meant a great deal to those it was originally intended for.

So, bear with me for a little political science lesson. Paul is writing from the very centre of the Roman Empire, the city of Rome, where he is under arrest, and Philippi is situated 1300 kms away in a distant part of the empire, what we now call Greece.

But Philippi wasn’t just any city. It was one of 400 Roman Colonies, and Roman colonies were like little islands of Rome, and the residents of those colonies were Roman citizens with all the rights and responsibilities that Roman citizenship brought.

Regardless of what was happening around them, those who lived in Philippi never forgot they were Romans. They dressed as Romans; they spoke Latin, and they considered themselves to be Romans in every way. And regardless of how others around them might behave, they were expected to behave as Romans and to obey the laws of Rome.

A modern example of that would be a foreign embassy. While we were travelling in Europe last year, our tour guides would often point out the Canadian Embassy.

And while those who live and work in those embassies might be living in Germany, Sweden or Estonia, their citizenship and loyalty is to their home country.

And so, Paul tells the believers in Philippi that in much the same way as their colony was a little piece of Rome, they were to consider themselves a little island of heaven on earth. That as Christ followers, they might be living in Philippi, but their ultimate citizenship is in heaven.