Citizens Of Heaven ( Philippians 3:12-21)
Paul wanted
his Philippians readers to understand that they had a higher calling, a higher
allegiance – they were citizens of heaven.
To be a citizen of heaven means that while we are living on this earth,
obeying the laws of the state, paying our due taxes and act and live honourably
and decently, it is still heaven’s commands that prevail our lives and our mind
is to know the mind of Christ and His Will for us.
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not
so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of
life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through
the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the
tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be
anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his
servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on
their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or
sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and
ever.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and
death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain
anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you
will be with me in Paradise.”
But as it is, they desire a better country, that
is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he
has prepared for them a city.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is
the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon
to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their
glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no
night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
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No one has ascended into heaven except he who
descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone
who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the
Lamb's book of life.
But according to his promise we are waiting for new
heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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And these will go away into eternal punishment, but
the righteous into eternal life.”
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of
the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold,
transparent as glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the
Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to
shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By
its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their
glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no
night there.
“See that you do not despise one of these little
ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my
Father who is in heaven.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth.
For he was looking forward to the city that has
foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also
will appear with him in glory.
For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he
himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven
bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will
show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit
to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down
out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare
jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was
caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not
know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether
in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things
that cannot be told, which man may not utter.
“‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my
footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is
the place of my rest?
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