In his letter to the Philippians, Paul says that the people of God are the citizens of heaven and it is from there, they are expecting a Saviour to come who is the Lord Jesus Christ who can transform the mortal bodies into glorious bodies (Phil. 3:20). Many times Christians try to give it a meaning as “the earth is not our home but heaven is. We are staying here on earth, but for a temporary period. Our ultimate destination is heaven.” Well, that might be true but this is not what the text means to the Philippian audience. Let us make a brief analysis of this text, although not a very detailed exegetical interpretation, to understand the meaning of it and see how that fits the overall picture of the biblical narrative.
Philippi was a city that was a Roman colony in Paul’s day (Acts 16:12). While the civil wars of Roman Republican culminated in the emergence of the Roman Empire in 31 BC, many Roman soldiers and veterans found their home in the city of Philippi which was originally a Greek city. Because of the overpopulation in the city of Rome, there was a large deficiency of resources to meet the needs of the people which made Caesar send out people into different cities in the Empire. One of such cities was Philippi. Although it was inhabited by Romans soldiers already, there was an influx of new people from Rome who came and settled in the city of Philippi as many of them lost the lands due to the reforms in Rome.
As the Roman soldiers and veterans began to settle in Philippi, the city was made a Roman colony and considered as the extension of Rome. Therefore the city had received many benefits in the Empire as it was operated by Roman law. As the city was a Roman colony, it was exempted from many of the taxes. Thus this Greek city was brought under the influence of a foreign culture – the Roman culture. Although it had become a foreign colony, the citizens of Philippi did not express their animosity towards Romans as they were proud of it to be called the extension of the centre of the Empire. Nobody would have attempted to drive out Romans from the city. Therefore, the citizens of Philippi were proud of the status and dignity of their city and they were also proud of themselves to be called citizens of Rome.
Those who have settled in a Roman colony such as Philippi never hoped that they would return to their city of origin. Instead, they lived by the principles and laws of Rome. Now, whenever these citizens in a Roman colony face a crisis or a threat from the outside, Caesar would come to save them. These citizens do not need escaping into Rome because the colonies were also part of the centre of the Empire. Therefore, these citizens would eagerly wait for their lord and saviour Caesar not with an intention that he would take them back to Rome but rescue them from all the serious dangers. When Caesar comes to a Roman colony, it is like the emperor reclaiming his territory for himself and not leaving it to the enemy states.
Keeping this setting of the city of Philippi, let us reread the text that was addressed to the church in this city. When Paul says that the members of the church at Philippi are the citizens of heaven, he is paralleling it with what the city has been enjoying right now. While the citizens of Philippi are proud of Roman citizenship and living in the city not by the laws formulated by themselves but by the law of Rome, the church in this city told them to be having citizenship in heaven. Citizenship does not, in the Philippian context, refer to origin and destination but refers to belongingness. The church is, therefore, a colony of heaven on earth. They are to abide by the rules that are set forth by God.
The Church is expecting their Saviour Lord Jesus Messiah from heaven to come, rescue them and transform their bodies to reflect His glory. The language used here is a kind of imperial language. While the citizens of Philippi are in confidence that when they happen to be in trouble their lord and saviour comes from Rome, the church is confident that its Lord and Saviour come from heaven to rescue them. The titles Lord, Saviour and Liberator are the titles of the Roman Emperor but Paul revolutionarily attributes these elite and imperial titles to Jesus which makes it clearer that the church of Philippi must bear the citizenship of a heavenly reign that is inaugurated and established by Jesus the Messiah. Expecting a Saviour from heaven does not mean that the church will be taken into heaven because that is not what it means when the citizens of the Roman colony expect Caesar to come and rescue them. It is a point of time when the Lord Jesus Christ saves His citizens by reclaiming the world to Himself. The Parousia (coming of the Lord) of Jesus is told in contrast with the parousia of Caesar.
This point is further explained that the Lord will transform our mortal bodies into glorious ones by his power that conquers everything (Phil. 3:21). It is not destroying the earthly bodies rather transforming them into heavenly bodies. This power of resurrection shows, once again, that the earth is not to be abandoned and left behind but the power of God’s faithfulness results in the transformation of the world. What is mortal will be absorbed by what is immortal. What is perishable will be absorbed by that which is imperishable. What is temporal will be absorbed by the eternal.
This picture of citizenship fits the overall picture of the Bible. It is a call for the Church to demonstrate life as if it belongs to heaven. Christians ought to colonize the earth with heavenly life. It is not in waiting for us to leave this world and go to another world rather it is in hope for the Lord Jesus Christ to come to the earth to reclaim everything to himself which marks an ultimate end to the powers of this world and the inaugurated Kingdom of God will be consummated. Being citizens of heaven is becoming revolutionarily a representatives of different politics, of different economics, and of different society that is set in contrast with the politics, economics and society of this world. When we become representatives of the politics of heaven, we do not necessarily wage a military war against the existing politics of oppression and domination instead it is disagreeing with the selfish and greedy motifs of this world and form an alternative society where the heavenly life is demonstrated.
Source: Unmuting the Bible: Recovering the Depopularized Vision of God
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