Bible Study Series: The Book of Philippians
Bible Study Philippians 3.15-21 Walking as a Citizen of Heaven
By Fraser Gordon
Last time we were in Philippians Chapter 3 verses 12-14. Paul talked about forgetting the past and reaching forward to the things that lie ahead. In the present he talked about pressing toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We looked at how the upward call of God is actually the prize itself. God himself calls us to enter a relationship with Him and that itself is the great prize. Heaven is the reward, but the prize is that God himself has called us to this upward call.
Walk this way
Php 3:15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
Paul writes about our Christian walk and Paul is our pattern as are the other apostles and those who are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to follow their example and walk the same way. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they walk. Because I work at a golf course I see this on a daily basis and I've become a connoisseur of how people walk! I can tell who a person is from hundreds of metres away. Some stride like they're going off to war. Some shuffle along, hardly even moving their feet. Some stoop as they walk, some drag their hands. Others swing their arms to and fro and if they go any faster they’ll take off the ground. Some dawdle along with their head down as though they've got a burden on their back while others are as stiff as a board. For some it's a race and they can't wait to get to the destination. Everyone has a different way of walking and carrying themselves.
In the spiritual sense our walk as Christians in the world should be different from those around us. People should notice that our lives are marked by a certain type of conduct and holiness. Our speech, conduct and interests are different. We are called to walk worthy of an upward call. Yes, we all walk physically but when it comes to spiritually our walk should be very different. The Scriptures actually say quite a bit about our walk. I'll just read you a few.
Eph 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
We are to walk worthy of the calling for which we are called. The upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Eph 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Remember what Jesus said in John 9:4, I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. We also have to work while there is time. Darkness will come on this earth when you won't be able to do what you can now. So walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.
1Th 4:11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
I bet not many Christians have those verses underlined! We are to walk properly toward those that are in the world. They should notice something different about us. We are to act appropriately toward those who are perishing.
1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
We are called to walk in the light, to walk in close communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing so we will have fellowship with one another and all sins are cleansed by the blood of Christ.
The cross of Christ
Php 3:18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Many people walk a different way and these people we should not follow. We are to follow Paul in the way he followed Christ. There's many who walk as an enemy of the cross. Jesus said in Mat 7:13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. The cross is central to Christianity but any are walking as enemies of it.
One of the enemies of the cross that Paul came across would have been Judaizers. To them righteous living was to follow the law but the cross of Christ cut right across that. The cross brought freedom and grace as opposed to man's effort to please God through the law. In 1st Corinthians 1.18 we see the same thought, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Some look at the cross and think what is the point of all that? But the cross is central to the Christian faith. The natural man is opposed to the cross because it is a means of punishment and death. However, it's the way God chose to free the world from sin and death in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who are perishing look at it and think it's foolishness. They don't see the wisdom in it or understand that God was reconciling the world to Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ as He was made sin for you and I. The just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous. Christ was made sin and judged as the sin offering on the cross. They do not understand how anyone could put their hope in a person who hung for three hours on a cross and died for the sins of the world. To them the cross is foolishness but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Jesus recognised that the revelation of who the Son of God was had been given to Peter by the Father.
Mat 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus did that to the disciples? He would quite often say, “don't tell anyone who I am”. Why did He do that? Well the disciples were as thick as 2 short planks. They had no understanding whatsoever and if they had said anything it would have been wrong. You see they didn't understand God's plan of salvation. They didn't understand the first coming nor the second coming of the Messiah. Even though Peter recognised Christ as the Son of God he would have been completely wrong if he’d said anything because he didn't understand that Jesus was going to die for the sins of the world. He didn’t know that this man would go to the cross and be crucified. So Jesus told them to be quiet and not tell anyone about the revelations they had because they didn't have anything to say that would benefit the Father in heaven. It wasn't until the resurrection that their message had understanding and they were able to tell the truth of why the Messiah came into the world.
Mat 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Can you imagine the scene? The apostle Peter takes the Lord Jesus Christ aside with no understanding whatsoever. The apostles had other plans for Christ and it didn't include going to the cross. Here you have the natural man trying to bypass the plans of an eternal God and Jesus saw right through it. He saw who was behind the thinking of Peter and Jesus addressed Satan immediately. Peter had no idea. The natural man is opposed to the cross of Christ because it is an instrument of death. You and I also take our place on that cross united with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the end of the flesh life for all those that have died there with Him. The natural man wants to preserve his self life, he has other plans.
Another example of an enemy of the cross is the prosperity gospel. The natural man is all about self. The idea that you are crucified with Christ and the self life may not rule evades them. They just can't see it. Within some Christian circles it's all about prosperity and living in wealth. You are God's child so you should receive earthly benefits. The cross is an enemy to them because on the cross we died so that the self life may be put to death. Some see Jesus still on the cross and don't rest on the work that He's done nor the resurrection which places the believer on solid ground. Many only recognise Jesus as a good teacher and a good example to be followed but they are opposed to the cross as a means of death and punishment for sin. Paul gloried in the cross because he saw that he was crucified, joined in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. The world was crucified to him but others and unfortunately some within the Christian realm are opposed to the cross and cling to the self life. They want the benefit of Christ's death but not the shame of being identified with it.
I found this quote by AW Tozer:
The old cross slew men, the new cross entertains men
The old cross condemned, the new cross amuses
The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh and the new cross encourages it.
The Romans perfected the cross as a means of punishment and violent death. Torture and death is what the cross stands for and Tozer understood this. Many people wear a cross around their neck and that's fine but remember what the cross stands for. That is how the God of eternity chose to deal with the sin issue so He could restore life back to mankind in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. “The old cross slew men” - we were joined in union with Christ so that the self life may not rule in us. We were crucified with Christ, buried with Him and we are risen in Him a new creation so that our old life may not rule. It doesn't need to rule and dominate over us any longer because we have been crucified with the Lord Jesus Christ. Tozer goes on to say that “the new cross entertains men”. In other words it leaves the self life on the throne. There's a lot to think about in that quote.
A new direction
Php 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things.
These are the people we should not follow; their end is destruction. The word destruction means perdition. Everything they live for will end in ruin and loss and they will spend eternity separated from God. They are ruled by their senses and are led by their appetite. They soothe their belly and everything is about feasts, parties, gluttony and giving the body whatever it desires. In that regard the human body becomes their god because that's what they’re serving. FB Meyer had this saying about them, “There is no chapel in their life; there's only kitchen”. There's nothing about God in their life, it's all about what the body desires: the food, the senses, and the entertainment.
Next Paul writes that their glory is in their shame. I got saved at around 22 and unfortunately my teenage years were horrendous. I would like to do it all again if I could. After the weekend some would glory in the shame of their wicked wretched living and all the bad things they’d done. Unfortunately that's very true of non Christians they set their mind on earthly things and everything is about their senses, desires and ambition.
Col 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Therefore in light of Col 3, that we have been raised with Christ, this is the way we should walk because we've been crucified with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Col 3:5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him
This is the wonderful thing about repentance. Repentance means to turn and walk in the other direction. Many are enemies of the cross because they haven't truly repented. They are walking in one direction and haven't come to the Lord Jesus Christ and turned to walk in a completely different direction. Put to death your members - you once walked this way but you walk this way no more. You have been joined with Christ and raised from the dead so put on the new man, don't let the old man rule. The new man has a completely different way of living in a completely new direction, which is the upward call of God. We are not to walk as those who are governed by their senses.
A citizen of heaven
Php 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
We are all citizens of at least one country and many are citizens of multiple countries. For the believer we are to act as a citizen of heaven governed by its rules. Philippi was a colony of Rome so those who lived there were under Roman rule. We are citizens of a country on earth or even multiple countries but our true calling is as citizens of heaven. This world is not our home, we are just passing through so we should be governed and ruled by heaven. We are to allow the life of the Lord Jesus and His word to rule and guide us.
The word eagerly means to thrust the head forward in expectation. It's almost like being in a race and thrusting your head forward over the line. Jesus spoke about His second coming in John 14.3 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. He's promised that He will come again and receive His body back to himself. I got saved in the 90s and back then everyone was talking about the second coming of Christ. I thought I'd got in in the nick of time. I couldn't believe I'd just come to the Lord and He was going to return any minute. That was 30 odd years ago now and it's all gone very quiet. People don't talk about the second coming of Christ like back then. But we should eagerly wait for the Saviour because He will return as promised. Watch and expect His return at any moment.
Php 3:21 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.
Paul writes about two bodies here, a lowly body and a glorious body. We are born in sin and our bodies are subject to decay so we have a lowly body. You might have muscles on your kneecaps and an incredible figure and think you don't really need a transformation. Well just wait a few years until you’ve got a few aches and pains, a few diseases, your eyesight and hearing is going and things are falling apart. Then you'll be looking forward to the transformation. What a transformation it will be.
1Jn 3:2 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. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
We will have a body like His. John writes that we don't know exactly what change is coming but we will be like Him. So what happened when the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected? He still had a body and was recognisable, He could converse and He ate with his disciples. He also had a body that wasn't limited to time or space as He would suddenly appear through walls. We too will have a resurrected body. Our spiritual body will be completely different but we will still retain who we are; it will just be completely new. It will be free of sin, sickness and decay. I quite often wonder if I will be in my prime but that is such an earthly way to think. We won't even think the same. Our minds will be 100% renewed and there will be no contamination of sin or decay. We will be free of it all and have a body like our Lord Jesus Christ. There will be a transformation and we will be conformed to His glorious body according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. There is only One who can transform us, only One that can conform us into the image of His body - the Lord Jesus Christ.
In 1899 there were two famous men who died. One was the agnostic, Colonel Ingersoll, a man of great intellect. He was a lecturer at Harvard University and used all his time to deny the resurrection. He died suddenly and his departure was a tragedy to his friends and family. He lived his whole life as an enemy of the cross of Christ. In that same year another famous man, the evangelist Dwight L Moody also died. His death was a triumph for himself, his friends and his family. Moody had been declining for some time and in his last days his family was taking turns to be with him. On the morning of his death his son heard him claim that earth was receding and heaven opening and that God was calling him. His son said to him that he was dreaming but Moody said, “This is no dream I've been within the gate, I've seen the children's faces”. Then as Moody began to slip away again he said, “This death is not bad, there is no valley, this is bliss. It is glorious”. His daughter began to pray for his recovery but Moody said, “No Emma don't pray for that, God is calling. This is my coronation day and I've been looking forward to it”. So Moody died and was received into heaven. At his funeral they sang hymns of rejoicing, “O death where is thy sting?”
There's no hope for us except in our Lord's resurrection. Because He was transformed we also will be transformed. Our Lord's body was recognisable and we also will have a glorified body. But Christ is the object of it all.
So this whole chapter is about how we should and shouldn’t walk. Our hope is that not only are we a citizen of heaven but we should also look for the return of Christ and in His goodness and grace He will transform us.
Father, we thank you for your word and for the life that comes from it. We ask that we would walk worthy of the great upward call you've placed on our life. Father let it be according to Your will and Your word. We ask for grace and for the life of the Lord Jesus Christ to enable us to walk worthy of the call. Father, let us not be enemies of the cross. You placed us here on earth not for the self life to rule but that we should be ruled by the resurrection of Christ. Father we thank you for your promise that you will come again. Lord may it be today - return soon in Jesus name. Amen.