The Expectations of a Kingdom Citizen
A follower of Christ belongs to another kingdom. This kingdom is the Kingdom of God. As a citizen of this kingdom, the believer holds the responsibility to live in faithfulness and identify with the ways and expectations of this kingdom. This reality means that the believer must surrender entirely to the leading of the Lord in his or her life and fight the urge to lessen the importance of following Christ.
In Philippians 1:27-30, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.”
The Apostle Paul distinguished five truths about the life of the believer in this passage. First, the believer
needs to understand their identity. Paul identified believers as “citizens of heaven.” One enters the kingdom of God through a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This relationship moves the redeemed individual from an outcast to a citizen. One amazing part of an entrance into the kingdom of God is the responsibility that accompanies it. This responsibility is that a citizen of God’s kingdom assumes the role of ambassador of the kingdom upon entry. Thus, the follower of Christ is a citizen and ambassador in the kingdom of God.
Second, the Christian needs to fulfill their expectation. The Lord expects His citizens to live a life “worthy of the gospel.” This gospel worthy life honors Christ in every aspect and pursuit. This honoring of Christ allows the believer to illuminate who Christ is in their life while obeying the Lord. Obedience shows Christ as the Christian lives out the traits and ways that the Lord has called them to even when they counter humanity’s ideas and practices. The Apostle Paul challenges believers here to live out life in a way that fulfills the expectation to honor and show Christ in one’s life.
Third, the follower of Christ must participate in the proclamation of the kingdom. The child of God receives the command to contend for the faith. Believers accomplish this mission when they join with other believers. This working together means that Christians support one another throughout life and serve one another in the name of Christ. At the same time, believers join together to battle for the truth and ensure that the truth is declared. Followers of Christ battle for the lost to hear the gospel’s saving message so that redemption may occur in one’s life.
Fourth, the believer stands in boldness because of their kingdom citizenship. The follower of Christ faces many obstacles throughout his or her life. These obstacles occur in various forms of persecution or challenges that attempt to hinder their witness. As a result, the Apostle Paul challenges believers to stand in boldness and not be intimidated by this world’s people and things. Instead, the foundation of Christ must lead to a boldness that declares the truth of God’s wrath and God’s love. The message of destruction to those against the Lord and for redemption for those who respond to the Lord.
Fifth, the Christian lives a life of faithfulness. Faithfulness models obedience to the Lord. It allows the believer to show trust in the Lord throughout the complete journey of life. As a result, the Apostle Paul challenges Christians to live faithfully in the best of times and, in the worst of times, as an opportunity to honor Christ and declare His faithfulness. The life of faithfulness provides the example that solidifies the verbal declaration of the hope found in Christ. Thus, the believer must live in faithfulness.
The Apostle Paul’s message to the church in Philippi is still the believers’ message in the twenty-first century. As followers of Christ, one must live as a citizen and ambassador of God’s kingdom with the intent of sharing the gospel and living out the gospel before individuals. The hope for humanity rests in the church awakening and living out a genuine life of faithfulness as a citizen of God’s kingdom, to which the Apostle challenges the church.
