Coney Hill Baptist Church

Demonstrating God’s Love Together

Citizens of Heaven

Phil. 3:17-4:1

¹⁷Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, 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.

¹Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

Intro:

Some history – Julius Ceasar was assassinated in 44 BC by Brutus and Cassius, that led to a civil war in the Roman empire between them and Ceasar’s heir’s Octavian and Mark Anthony. This came to a decisive point 2 years later at the Battle of Philippi. Anthony and Octavian were victorious and to mark their triumph gave Philippi a special honour. It was colonized by the winning soldiers, all its population were declared to be official Roman citizens and were made exempt from all taxes. The idea was not so that the entire populace might uproot and shift westwards to Italy, but so that they might be equipped and empowered to create a ‘miniature Rome’ right there in Greece.

Philippi was more than just a Roman province. It understood the privileges of citizenship, hence this being an often misunderstood verse. Usually used to suggest that it’s understandable if we feel ill at ease in the world around us because we don’t really belong here, but not to worry, because we wont be here much longer.

The reality, as we’ll see, is almost the exact opposite.

Paul’s image of Heaven as a community of disciples provides a number of different images…

A Pattern to Live By.:

Paul - Church - Cross Calling the Christians of the city to follow his example sounds a bit presumptuous, but then he widens it to talk about emulating any who live according to the way he’s described, the pattern he’s set down, and tried to live out. And then he goes on to say something key. Those who don’t live according to this pattern he calls enemies of the cross of Christ. In other words the pattern is cross-shaped. The values of the crucified Jesus, eloquently laid out in Chapter 2, are the model for a disciples life, individually and collectively.

A City to Build.

This idea of citizenship means that just like Philippi was encouraged to be a ‘little Rome’ so there would be no need for its inhabitants to flee to Rome itself, Christian communities everywhere have a mandate and a calling to turn wherever they are into ‘mini heavens’ emulating something of the glory of the original. Not simply to wish their lives away waiting to arrive at the ‘real thing’.

A King to Await.

If Caesar wasn’t satisfied with what the locals did he would come and do it himself. Paul uses this knowledge, but turns it on its head. Yes King Jesus will come to finally establish ‘Heaven’ in all its fullness, in all places, but he’ll do it not with armies and by force of arms, but humbly, in that cross shaped pattern.

A Promise to Hope For:

So, whatever happens, transformation will happen – on earth as it is in heaven. We begin it, He completes it. It’s a powerful lever not to escape from the world, but to work in it for good, to be pulled towards the future with hope.

Office Address:

Coney Hill Road

West Wickham

Kent

BR4 9BU