Defining Our Citizenship In Heaven

In Philippians 3:20, Apostle Paul shares with us that "our citizenship is in heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior."

We have a citizenship in heaven!

Britannica defines citizenship as a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection. Citizenship implies the status of freedom with accompanying responsibilities."

Let us explore this definition of "Citizenship" in relation to our citizenship in the heavenly realm.

First, citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance." Our heavenly citizenship is a relationship between us and God to whom we give our faithful allegiance. As Jesus tells us in John 17:16 that we are not of this world, just as He is not of it.

We read in Ephesians 2:1-6,

[1] Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. [2] You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world...

[4] But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead... [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

God has seated us in the heavenly realm with Christ!

We read in 1 John 3:1,

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him."

Through Christ, we are God's children and as His children, we automatically have a relationship with Him as He dwells with us and in us through the Holy Spirit.

Because we are God's children and are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm, we call ourselves Christians. That title tells this world where our allegiance lies...with our Lord who saved us by his mercy and grace.

This brings us to the next part of the definition of "citizenship": that the individual is entitled to protection by the state. We read in 1 John 5:18,

"the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them."

And the Lord tells us in Psalms 91:14-15,

[14] “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. [15] He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

And He promises us in Isaiah 54:17,

"no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord."

Protection is our heritage from God. Because we are born of God, He has guaranteed us eternal protection from the evil one.

Apostle Paul reassures us of this promise in Philippians 1:6,

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The next description of "citizenship" is that it implies the status of freedom WITH accompanying responsibilities. Through Christ, we have been given freedom, but with it comes responsibilities. Apostle Paul teaches us in Galatians 5:13,

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

And we read in 1 Peter 2:16-17,

[16] Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. [17] Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, respect the king.

As citizens of the heavenly realm, we are free from the law of sin and death, and because of this, we have a higher responsibility as we are now representatives of heaven. Just as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:20, we are ambassadors of Christ.

Because of God's great love, mercy and grace, He has given us citizenship in heaven with Christ.

Now that we have dissected the definition of "citizenship", let us revisit the definition with a perspective of a "citizenship in heaven", which is...

A relationship between an individual and God to whom the individual owes faithful allegiance and in turn is entitled to His eternal protection. Citizenship guarantees freedom from the law of sin and death. With this freedom, comes accompanying responsibilities to serve one another in love, show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, and to love & honor God.

That is a citizenship for which we can be eternally grateful!
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