From Philippians 3:12-4:1. Due to technical difficulties, this message is only available in text version.
It was September of the year 1787. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is where it happened. Specifically, right outside of Independence Hall. It was there, after the Constitutional Convention had finished, that a woman asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin this question:
“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”
And it was in that moment that Franklin responded with these wise and insightful words… “A Republic, if you can keep it.”
The fragility of a Nation
Ben Franklin understood something about the experiment that they were beginning here in America. And even more than that, he seemed to understand something about all nations here on this earth: they are fragile.
Yes. A government of the people, by the people. A largely self-governed people. This was new. This was different. It was unique. And, largely, it still is.
But its identity and its survival are fragile. In order for it to thrive, its citizens must exercise their responsibility, their virtue, their influence for good. They must be active participants in the political process. They must take into account how laws and votes influence the whole rather than just themselves.
America, along with every other nation on this earth is fragile.
And just like the identity of a nation is fragile, the identity of people is, oftentimes, fragile.
Connect Citizenship to Identity
If you think back to last week’s text that Eric preached on, you’ll remember that Paul explained how everything that gave him confidence “in the flesh” as he called it—his citizenship as a Jew, his religiosity as a Pharisee—he counted all that as a loss because of Jesus.
In other words, all the things he was used to stacking his identity upon, he let all that come tumbling down because he realized that it was all insufficient when he stacked it next to Christ.
Paul Saw His Citizenship in a New Way
And what we’re going to see today is him leaning into this even more.
We’re going to see how Paul didn’t see his faith as just about Jesus saving him so he could go to heaven one day. No. He saw it as much more than that.
In fact, he’s going to talk about the key thing that anchors his identity to Christ and informs him of what he is supposed to do in this life.
And that key thing is his citizenship.
Paul saw following Jesus as such a radical, life-altering endeavor that not only did his eternal destiny change, but his right-now citizenship had changed.
Philippians 3:12-4:1
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.
4 So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.
For Paul, his identity in Christ fuels his pursuit of Christ.
He sees himself as so loved by God that he has made his life mission to pursue Him. He sees Christ as everything. He hungers to know Him more deeply. He desires to grab hold of the promise that God has given to him in Christ.
He has experienced a transformation.
He used to stack his identity upon his nationality and his ethnicity. He used to stack his identity upon his religiosity. He used to think those things were everything. He used to believe that those things were what opened the door for him to be favored by God.
Have you ever been there?
Have you ever thought your goodness, your righteousness, your stack of good deeds, your lack of really bad offenses, your nation of origin, your ethnicity, have you ever thought that you could stack the good side of the scale in your favor so that God would favor you?
Paul used to. But then he met Christ Jesus and everything changed. He began to work out his salvation with fear and trembling. He began to let the Holy Spirit heal the deep crevices of emotional trauma in his life. He began to let the Holy Spirit purge out the lies he used to believe about God’s love being dependent on him being born in a certain genealogy. He began to question everything and put those questions on Christ and live out of those answers instead of the answers he grew up hearing.
He could finally see that without Christ, He was nothing.
But with Christ, He was a child of God, a freed prisoner, a citizen of heaven.
So he gave up everything that he thought was an advantage, everything he thought counted for something, and everything he thought was worth something for Christ alone.
Philippians 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
GW Hansen commented on this passage and said:
“He is running hard after Christ with his heart wide open to receive Christ because Christ has already received him and arrested him by his love. Divine grace is the source and goal of the human pursuit.”
Our Pursuit — What do you need to forget?
Paul had some things he needed to forget in order to pursue Christ.
He went from seeing himself as someone who had arrived—he was a Jew, he was a Pharisee, he was faultless before the law. He had arrived. That’s what he believed about himself.
But then everything changed.
Not only does he not see the value of any of his past measuring standards, he seems to now even realize that while Christ has ahold of him, he still hasn’t arrived. He is still pursuing, he is still walking, he is still contending for the faith of the gospel, he is still working out his salvation with fear and trembling.
That’s good news for us, amen?!
You ever felt like you should have reached the pinnacle of your walk with God by now? You ever felt like you should be further along by now? You ever felt like you following Jesus shouldn’t be as hard now since you’ve been following for decades?
Paul’s saying NO! I’m chasing after Jesus and I’m forgetting what did or didn’t happen in the past, what progress was or wasn’t made, what measurement I used to use to congratulate or ridicule myself with, I’m forgetting what is behind and I’m PURSUING the prize and the hope that is set before me.
What do you need to forget?
Friend, what do you need to forget? What is holding you back?
What’s in your past that is holding you prisoner in the present?
Your view of success?
Your belief about your worth?
That time God didn’t do what you thought He would do?
That time that person hurt you beyond belief and you felt lonely and unloved?
What that person said about you?
The way that person treated you?
What do you need to forget?
Your achievements? Your recognition? Your reputation?
Did you start to believe the headlines about you? Did you start to believe the praise people poured on you?
Deep down do you question whether or not you really need to be saved? After all, you’re a good person and you’re better than most.
What’s holding you prisoner?
Did it start with an innocent glance? Has it snowballed into much more than that? Have you been living a lie just to remain functional?
Has a certain sin hindered you for so long that you’ve lost all hope that you’ll ever overcome it?
Have you said yes to your own desires so many times that you don’t even know what it means to be selfless anymore?
What do you need to forget?
Living with ankle weights — our concerns of this life
When we let the concerns of this life, when we diminish God’s grace and magnify our sin, when we let our identities be stacked on what someone said about us or what we believe about ourselves, we are living with fifty-pound ankle weights and trying to run a race.
No wonder we keep falling. No wonder we stay exhausted.
And yet Christ looks at us as we try to carry all our burdens, all our sins, all our accomplishments, all our pride, and He is saying to us you need to let it all go. He’s got this.
Philippians 3:15-16
15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.
Paul is trusting that the work of the Holy Spirit in them will show them that what he is advocating for them is, indeed, what God wants for them.
And at the same time, he commends them because it seems that he trusts that their knowledge is on the level that would lead them to this place.
A lot of us know a lot of stuff and if we would simply live up to the truth we have attained, we’d be well on our way.
Kenny White, the lead pastor at The Crossing, the church I used to serve at coined a term, at least I think he came up with it… Spiritual Constipation.
How about that for imagery, eh?
Here’s what he means by that. A lot of us know a lot of stuff. And while we know a lot of stuff, we oftentimes don’t do anything with it.
Think about this: You probably don’t need to hear a new insight from God. You need to put into practice the thousands of insights and truths that are already sitting in your heart that have laid dormant for years.
Paul’s saying to live up to whatever truth you have attained. James said it this way, “don’t just be hearers of the word, be doers of the word also. Otherwise, you’re just fooling yourself.”
Paul goes on.
Philippians 3:17-21
17 Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.
Enemies of the cross vs citizens of heaven
The Bible is quite clear that there are two types of people. People of light and people of darkness. You’re either completely for Jesus or you’re not at all. And Paul here is giving us a picture of what it looks like to be light against a backdrop of what it looks like to be darkness.
Someone who follows Jesus? Their citizenship is in heaven. Their focus is not on earthly things, but on heavenly things.
Therefore, they join with Paul in the endeavor of taking hold of the hope they have in Christ because Christ has taken hold of them. They approach this goal with humility, not thinking they’ve grabbed ahold of it. They approach the goal with hunger, forgetting what is behind them and striving and reaching forward to what is ahead. Their goal is the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. They imitate Paul’s goal, his mindset, and his action because they share his identity and his destiny.
What do citizens of heaven do? They focus on the hope that is before them and they make it their life mission to be about Christ alone.
Those who live in darkness are focused on earthly things, on selfish things.
Where is your governing authority
For the Philippian Christians, they had to make a choice. Was their governing authority located in Rome or heaven?
We can’t miss this. Paul is putting these two allegiances on opposing planes.
Like Paul asked them, I think he is asking us the same thing. Where is your governing authority? Is it in the District of Columbia or is it in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Paul was clear: Just like Philippi was a Rome away from Rome, the church ought to be a heaven away from heaven.
But in order for that to be the case, the church, the citizens of heaven, must see that their citizenship CURRENTLY, not when they pass away, not when they stop breathing, but their citizenship NOW is in heaven.
Yes, we are to be good citizens here where we live.
But I’m convinced that the way to be the greatest citizen of America is to be a citizen of Heaven. To be living representatives of heaven on earth. To work for heavenly things.
And we can’t miss the significance of this shift because where you are a citizen of first dictates what you see your purpose to be and your identity to flow from.
A Nation’s way
To be a citizen of Rome, you were a part of an Empire that would conquer others with the sword and to be a good citizen, you must pledge your allegiance to Caesar.
To be a citizen of Israel, you were part of a nation set apart by God and you were to pledge your allegiance to God through the Law.
To be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, you are a part of a set apart nation that conquers the world, not with a sword but with love and you are to pledge and fully place your allegiance to God through Jesus who fulfilled the Law.
My friends, we are to be citizens of heaven far before we are citizens of America. We are to pledge our allegiance to Jesus Christ our King before we are to pledge our allegiance to colored cloth.
And if that makes you uncomfortable, if that makes you angry, then that should tell you where your governing authority might be.
And to drive this home, Paul does something dramatic.
Savior: Caesar vs Jesus
Look again at verse 20 again. The word Savior was often used to refer to Rome’s Emperor, Caesar Augustus.
Consider this from commentator, G. W. Hansen:
“The close connection between Roman colonial language and Paul’s terminology comes into even sharper focus in the next phrase: we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus was acclaimed to be the “savior of the world” because he restored order and peace not only in Italy but also throughout the provinces and regions under his sovereign rule. Paul’s use of the term Savior in his letter to Christians in Roman Philippi “sharply opposes Jesus Christ as Lord to the imperial savior.” By applying the imperial title Savior to Jesus Christ, “Paul explicitly (and we must assume deliberately) speaks of Jesus in language which echoes, and hence deeply subverts, language in common use among Roman imperial subjects to describe Caesar.””
“Paul redirects the focus of his readers from the savior in Rome, Caesar Augustus, to the Savior in heaven, Jesus Christ the Lord. In contrast to the enemies of the cross who set their minds on earthly powers (3:18–19), the Christians in Philippi are called to focus their trust and hope in the Lord and Savior above all earthly powers.”
Paul is intentionally subverting the power structure of the day that beckoned people’s hearts to be in full allegiance to Caesar/Rome.
And he is doing the same thing to us and the power structure of our day.
Questions We Must Ask Ourselves
- Do you have a heavenly hunger?
- Is Jesus enough for you to let go of everything else?
What is holding you prisoner? What is hindering your pursuit of seeing Jesus as everything? What or who is holding your identity hostage? Jesus has set you free. You can forget what is behind and press on to the goal of God’s prize through Jesus Christ.
- Does He have your first allegiance?
We probably all want a better America. The question is, do we want to see Heaven invade earth and for more people to have their citizenship there? Is that more important to us than for this nation to be what we want it to be?
Philippians 4:1
So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.
He can keep it. He can keep you.
Ben Franklin told the lady who asked him if we have a Monarchy or a Republic that we have a Republic, if you can keep it.
My friends, the kingdom of Heaven isn’t up to us to survive. It isn’t up to us in order for it to thrive. It isn’t kept by us or anyone else on this earth.
Paul is telling us that in this matter we can stand firm in the Lord because where He stands is solid ground. We do not stand on shifty sand. We stand on a rock, firm and secure.
We have a kingdom. And He can keep it. And He can keep you.
Allegiance to Jesus
So do you want true freedom? Freedom from guilt from shame from brokenness from sin?
Do you want purpose? Do you want to experience the wholeness of being a child of God? A friend of God?
It’s only through Jesus. He made a way for all to come and experience true freedom. He made a way for all to experience true peace. And that is through His sacrifice.
He paid for your sin. He was punished for your iniquities. The penalty due you He put on Himself. He has defeated the power of sin. He has defeated the power of death. He has conquered the enemy. He has revealed the love God has for you. He has brought glory to His Father.
And when you surrender to Him. When you put your faith and trust in Him, when you confess that He is Lord, when you turn from your own way of things and surrender to His way, when you humble yourself in the waters of baptism, you are receiving the free gift of God, the salvation of your soul.
Is your allegiance with Jesus? If not, that can be changed today.
And if it is… Invite Someone
And if your allegiance is with Jesus, then invite someone to join you next week here at FCC. Invite someone to have an opportunity to hear the greatest news in the Universe that there is a Kingdom whose King didn’t need the peasants to fight the battle, but came out of the palace and fought for the peasants. And not only that, but He is the King who adopted those peasants as His own so that those who used to be peasants are now royalty—members of God’s family.
That’s good news right there.
