“Restoring
the Joy”
Sermon # 9
“Joy Is Found in Remembering Our
Citizenship”
Philippians 3:20-21
I understand human nature enough to
understand that some of you have had enough of being told that you need to have joy. All
this stuff about being positive and maintaining a good attitude may be starting to wear
thin. You want to say, “Listen preacher, you live in a different world
than I do. You don’t work where I work. You don’t live with the people or the
problems that I do! My world is not that great, things are getting worse not better. How
can a Christian have joy and have laughter in their lives when we are surrounded by all
manner of evil and wickedness.” It can get confusing as pointed out by A.W.
Tozer: “A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels
supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to someone he
cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another, empties himself in order to
be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is
strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels
worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees
the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows that which passes all knowledge.”
[A. W. Tozer. The
Root of Righteousness. (Harrisburg, Pa: Christian Publications, 1955) p. 156]
In verse twenty Paul
draws a contrast between the hopeless future of the unsaved and the glorious future of the
believer.
“For
our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ, (21) who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is
able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
First,
We Can Be Joyful Because Of The Assurance Of Our Heavenly Home.
(v. 20a) “For our
citizenship is in heaven.”
In Philippians 1:27
Paul wrote, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of
Christ.” The word translated “conduct”
here (3:27) (politeuma)
is the word we get “politics” from and it means to “behave as a citizen.” Now in verse twenty Paul uses the same word
again only here it is translated “citizenship”
and had to do with one’s behavior as a citizen.
Paul used an analogy of citizenship that would
easily be understood by the Philippians.
Rome settled communities of army
veterans, called colonies, as garrisons in conquered territory. The Emperor Augustus
extended this practice by giving full Roman citizenship not only to settlements of
veterans but to important provincial cities and to men who had distinguished themselves in
public service. These provincial communities held equal rights and privileges with the
citizens of Rome itself. In return they were expected to represent Rome and all things
Roman to their neighbors, so that the Roman way of life might permeate their province….
During New Testament times the
city of Philippi, where Paul founded a church on his second missionary journey, was a
Roman colony. When Paul later wrote to the church at Philippi and underscored the meaning
of church membership, he had at hand an illustration his readers could easily understand.
“Our citizenship,” he wrote, “is in heaven.” James Moffatt translates
the statement even more strikingly: “We are a colony of heaven.”[Christian Theology in Plain Language, B.
Shelly, p. 193. - www.bible.org/illus/nt/nt-640.htm]
The city of Philippi although located
geographically in Macedonia was considered a colony of Rome and thus its citizens; were
considered citizens of Rome. And though they were in fact many miles from Rome, they still
were too live and act as citizens of Rome. Their conduct is regulated by Rome’s laws,
they are loyal to Rome’s cause and they are answerable to Rome’s emperor.
Therefore the believer’s in Philippi
had an even higher calling then being citizens of Rome, they are citizens of the Kingdom
of Heaven. Just as Philippi was a colony of Rome on foreign soil, the church is a “colony
of heaven” on earth. Christians are temporary residents of Earth, but are citizens of
Heaven. As citizens of kingdom of heaven Christians are like residents in a foreign
country. As citizens of Heaven, believer’s actions and attitudes should reflect the
place where their citizenship resides. They are like a colony of heaven on earth. Heaven
is not just a place of future abode, but a place of which the saved are presently
citizens. Their names are enrolled in heaven’s register, their conduct is regulated
by heaven’s laws, they are loyal to heaven’s cause and they are answerable to
heaven’s Lord.
Citizenship is important. When you travel
to another country in is essential that you have a passport that proves your citizen-ship.
According to Luke 10:20 when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior your name is written
down in heaven. The word “written” used there is perfect tense and means “it is once for all time written and stands written.”
Not Only Can We
Be Joyful Because Of The Assurance Of Our Heavenly Home but also...
Secondly, We
Can Be Joyful Because Of Our Anticipation Of Our Lord’s Return
(v. 20b)
The greatest event in
any colony of Rome was a visit from the emperor. The most elaborate of preparations would
be made in anticipation of his arrival. The colony of Heaven looks forward to just such an
imperial visit from the “LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS!” The second part of verse
twenty says, “… from which we also eagerly wait for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Believers
therefore ought to have an eager longing, an earnest expectation, and a fervent desire for
the Lord’s return.
When Jesus went back to heaven from where
he came, it was described for us in Acts 1:9-11, “Now
when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received
Him out of their sight. (10) And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went
up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, (11) who also said, "Men of
Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from
you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
In John 14:2
Jesus promises his followers, "In My Father’s house are
many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
In John 14:3 we read His promise that He will return to receive his follower to
Himself. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
In
Titus 2:11-13 Paul says, “For the grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to all men, (12) teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,(13)
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ.” The Lord’s “blessed hope” of Christ return has, down through
the centuries, brought consolation to those weary of the struggle to live as foreigners in
a strange land. The word “hope” here
is not the anemic “I hope so.” Hope in Scripture is the
confident expectation of a reality. Jesus is coming again in what we call the rapture.
This is where believers will be caught up out of this world and in an instant changed into
his likeness.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 we read
of this great event, “For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the
dead in Christ will rise first. (17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall
always be with the Lord.(18) Therefore comfort one another with these words.” Indeed
for hundreds of years believers greeted each other with the
word “Maranatha” which means “Our Lord Comes!”
We Can Be Joyful Because Of Our Anticipation
Of Our Lord’s Return and…
Third,
We Can Be Joyful Because Of The Awaited Transformation Of Our Earthly Bodies (v. 21)
The completion of the
life-long process of being conformed into the image of Christ will happen when Jesus
returns for His own.
In verse
twenty-one Paul assures the Philippians that at Christ coming, He will “transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,” Paul reminds us that we are
all in the process of dying. Our present human bodies are not suited to function in
eternal state. This body that is subject to sickness and death needs to be changed. We are
told that this body is to be “transformed” (metaschematisei). This
change does not result in Christians becoming “little gods” ; neither does it
result in Christians becoming carbon copies of Jesus in outward appearance, but rather it
means they will have a glorified body that functions like the body of Jesus after the
resurrection. In 1 John 3:2 we are told, “Beloved,
now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know
that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
The second part of verse twenty-one tells
The same power
that enabled Christ to subdue death and the grave through His resurrection will ultimately
“subdue all things unto Himself” is the same
power that will change the believer’s body. Paul says it eloquently in 1 Corinthians
15:54-57, “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption,
and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (55) "O Death, where is your
sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the
strength of sin is the law. (57) But thanks
be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
We Can Be Joyful Because Of The Awaited
Transformation Of Our Earthly Bodies and…
Conclusion
We Be Joyful
Because Of The Assurance Of Our Heavenly Home.
We
Can Be Joyful Because Of Our Anticipation Of Our Lord’s Return.
We Can Be Joyful Because Of The Awaited Transformation Of Our Earthly Bodies.