Citizens of heaven
A city of heaven planted inside a city of Rome. Fourteen weeks through Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, beginning Sunday, November 15.
Welcome
Philippi was a little Rome in Greece, proud of its citizenship. Paul wrote to tell a small church there that they belonged to another commonwealth: “our citizenship is in heaven” (3:20).
So he calls them to live as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ (1:27). For fourteen weeks we will read the letter together and learn what that citizenship means where God has stationed us. We will also see why Paul’s joy held steady in hard circumstances.
The city
Philippi stood on the Via Egnatia, the road Rome built across Macedonia, and Roman law governed it hundreds of miles from Rome.
After the battle on its plain in 42 BC, Antony and Octavian settled discharged veterans here. After Actium in 31 BC, Octavian refounded the city as a Roman colony and gave its soil the legal standing of Italian ground. Its leading men listed their offices in the fixed order of the cursus honorum, the ladder of public honor. The church would hear Paul’s letter in a city that measured people by rank.
Paul wrote Philippians in chains, probably in Rome, around AD 60–62. The church had sent him money and one of their own, Epaphroditus, to care for him. This letter is his reply: thanks for a gift, news from custody, a warning, a plea for unity, and a great deal of joy.
- 42 BCBattle on the plain. Veterans settled.
- 31 BCRefounded as a Roman colony.
- c. AD 49Paul at the river. The church begins (Acts 16).
- c. AD 60–62Paul writes from custody.
Four threads
Watch for them each week.
Our citizenship is in heaven
Fourteen weeks
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01
Two AddressesIn Christ, at Philippi
Paul addresses the church in two places: in Christ and at Philippi. The rest of the letter teaches them to live in Philippi under the rule of Christ.
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02
Love Fit for the Day of Christ
Citizens who live far from their home city have to think in two directions at once. Paul prays that the love of heaven’s citizens will grow wiser.
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03
The Gospel in Caesar’s Guard
Asked how he is doing, Paul says little about his health, his quarters, or his court date. He reports on the gospel.
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04
To Live Is ChristStaying at the post
Paul wrote “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” as a Roman citizen awaiting a Roman verdict. His deeper citizenship decides how he faces it.
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05
Live as Citizens Worthy of the GospelAnchor passage
Paul opens with the word “only,” which marks his main concern: “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
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06
Citizens Without Rivalry
Christian unity starts with what believers already share. Paul asks a city built like a ladder to count others more significant than themselves.
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07
The King’s PathDown to the cross, up to the throne
This passage is the center of Philippians. Here Paul shows the church the character of its King, who descends the ladder of honor to a slave’s cross.
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08
Lights in a Crooked Generation
Everything here flows from the King who “became obedient.” Now Paul writes to his citizens: work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
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09
Portraits of Heaven’s Citizens
After describing Christ, Paul describes two men who follow him. Timothy and Epaphroditus show the mind of Christ in ordinary service.
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10
Trading Every Credential for Christ
Every city has its credentials, the things that prove you belong. This passage asks what proves we belong to heaven.
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11
The Upward Call
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect.” Paul says plainly that he has not arrived, and he presses on.
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12
Our Citizenship Is in HeavenAnchor passage
Growth happens by example. We need people to follow, and we need to become people others can follow.
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13
The Peace That Stands Guard
Paul names two women and calls both to one mind in the Lord. Then he shows how the peace of God stands guard over hearts and minds.
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14
The Secret of ContentmentSupplied from heaven’s riches
Philippians 4:13 is printed on gym walls and quoted before big games. Read in context, it means something deeper than achieving anything we set our minds to.
Field journal
The Citizens of Heaven field journal walks with you through each week of the series, at home and in your missional community.
How it works
- Field context: the world behind the passage, so you hear it as the first readers did.
- The text: a reflection on what the passage means and how it speaks now.
- Field notes: short notes on words, places, and details worth keeping.
- Discussion: questions for your group, from what the text says to what it asks.
- On the ground: questions to carry into the week ahead.
- Prayer: a prayer to pray together before you go.
Before your group meets, read the passage at least twice, in more than one translation if you can. Read the field context and the text, write answers to a few questions, and mark what puzzled or encouraged you.