Benefits of Heavenly Citizenship
By Matt Watson
Philippians 3:20 -
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…”
Tomorrow we are celebrating Independence Day where many citizens of the United States ignite small explosives in their backyards while making jokes about liking their coffee hot and their tea in the harbor, all in remembrance of the American colonies declaring independence from King George III. But there is more to being a citizen than singing “God Bless America” in between bites of hotdog.
Many citizens genuinely love this country and for good reason. The religious freedoms we’ve enjoyed and the ladder for opportunity and economic growth have inspired and blessed many individuals and families across the country for generations. However, that is not universally experienced and for other citizens they are trying to figure out what it means to live here when it doesn’t feel like freedom.
Citizenship is complicated. It means belonging to a certain city, state, and nation, but it also means owing allegiance to a government and being entitled to certain benefits from that government. I am a citizen of San Antonio, of Texas, and of the United States, and I have certain benefits that I am entitled to and certain rights that must be protected because I am a citizen.
But more importantly, I am a citizen of heaven. I belong, body and soul, to God. My ultimate loyalty must belong to him. Not to the USA, and not even to Texas. My heavenly citizenship supersedes my earthly citizenship because God is the highest authority. Though Christians belong to God above, we are called to live here, deployed in our various capacities as ambassadors to everyday people on behalf of King Jesus.
Therefore, it is important not to confuse Christianity for Civil Religion. We can participate in the things of our nation-state, but we don’t hold it to the same level of honor as worshiping the things of God. We have certain freedoms granted to us that we can enjoy. We can vote, or not. Recite the pledge, or not. Stand and sing the national anthem, or not. But we ought not to confuse these things with being good Christians, or not.
In a day in which many argue the benefits of citizenship in our country are not always distributed equally, we can confidently say that our heavenly citizenship benefits all of us without partiality (Gal 3:26-29). We must live in this tension of our home being with God, but that right now we live here. Here are three reasons why we must be diligent citizens of heaven above any other citizenship here on earth and the benefits that follow:
1) Because all authority belongs to King Jesus.
Presidents, Congress, kings, and emperors of every kind all also answer to God. That means for the American Christian, our “yes” to the state must be a “yes” to God, and our “no” to the state must be a “yes” to God.
John Piper says, “When you know that all is God’s, then anything you render to Caesar you will render for God’s sake. Any authority you ascribe to Caesar you will ascribe to him for the sake of God’s greater authority. Any obedience you render to Caesar you will render for the sake of the obedience you owe first to God. Any claim Caesar makes on you, you test by the infinitely higher claim God has on you. Rendering to Caesar is limited and defined by rendering to God. What is Caesar’s is determined by the fact that everything is God’s first, and only becomes Caesar’s by God’s permission and design. Only God decides what is a rightful, limited rendering to Caesar. The only reason God ordains the rights of a Caesar is for the sake of God.”
We can obey the nation-states we live in for the sake of obeying our ultimate and higher authority, God. We benefit in being a heavenly citizen because all other countries and governments answer to our king.
2) Because the world watches and sees God when we live out our citizenship.
Deuteronomy 4:5-6 says, “See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’”
When we obey God’s will and ways as not only citizens but as his children, we show an unbelieving world the wisdom of God. Being a citizen of heaven means we are always on Jesus’ diplomatic mission to the people of this land, where we share the good news that he is king and has rescued us from our sin.
Citizens of heaven are the salt and light of the world, and as such we show the character of God to the unbelieving world through our words and actions. Our loving and caring reveal a loving and caring Father in heaven. When we fail to love rightly, we fail to image God correctly.
3) Because our only true hope and freedom are in Christ.
1 Peter 1:3b-6 says,
“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials …”
The Bible reminds us that nothing on this earth is promised to us. As Psalm 20:7 puts it, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” It’s easy to put our security in our country, to put our faith in certain political parties, but those can never save us. They were never meant to. God alone is our hope and our salvation. As citizens and children, our inheritance is guarded and protected. It will never depreciate, and it will never lose its value. This gives us hope to deal with everything that happens while living on earth.
This is good news for all of those trying to figure out what freedom means while being restricted from leaving your home. It is good news for anyone trying to figure out how “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” applies when facing racism. And it is good news for any of those worrying about the election in November. Ultimately, our hope is in the reign of a higher governing power, from whom we receive as citizens hope against our sin, and the sin of this world.