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Tuesday 8 December 2015

Philippians 3:20,21 - Citizens of heaven

3:20
Our citizenship is in heaven. Paul is drawing a parallel with Roman citizenship, a much prized possession and something that people were proud of if they had it, and sought to attain if they didn't. As Christians we are citizens of heaven, so we should seek to live by God's standards, and these have been supremely demonstrated in Christ. When we think of heaven we tend to think of "the place you go when you die", that is not the thought here, rather it is of the place of God's rule, His kingdom. We live as citizens of heaven, but in a world that is often hostile to God's kingdom. In this world we are waiting for Christ's return. He is our saviour and He will come as Lord of All. This waiting is not passive, but active. We live as God's people now, knowing that no matter how much the world detests us we will be vindicated.

3:21
Jesus is Lord of All, He has supreme power and this will enable Him to bring everything under His control. Christ will use this same power to transform our lowly bodies so that we will be like Him in His resurrected state. Remember that in Eph 1:19,20 Paul says the power that God exerted in raising Christ is the same power that is at work in us. We can be frustrated by our current state, by our weaknesses and sinfulness, but one day all this will be gone, and gone forever.

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