I recently did a study on Philippians 3. I didn't realise how much effect the preparation was having on me, until I went back to reading 1 Peter. What you have to realise is I spend a lot of time just browsing around the bible and seeing if there is something good I should write down somewhere. For the record I am never disappointed, but I don't always have a pen. There are similarities between the people of Philippi, to whom Paul writes, and the recipients of Peter's first letter. It's not just that they believe in Jesus, there is something even more significant.
The Philippians were a colony of Roman citizens. They were mainly veterans of the Roman Empire, shipped off to somewhere else because they were retired soldiers and had a habit of causing trouble. With a colony built on the background of Roman veterans, the majority of the inhabitants of Philippi considered themselves better Romans than people in Rome. It was like Rome away from Rome. Paul wrote to the church there, and wanted to shift their thinking a bit. If you're writing to a church that is already an experience of dual citizenship, it's worth getting them more accurately thinking of their citizenship. Paul tells them in chapter 1 verse 27 that they should "live a citizens worthy of the Gospel." This would have perhaps caught them off-guard, but probably also helped them to realise they were living as Romans not in Rome, so should probably live as followers of Jesus, though not with Jesus at that time.
On the other side of the proverbial river, was Peter writing to a scattering of Christians, from all over the known world. He refers to them as "elect exiles" and pushes them to think, not of where they were from and where they are now, but actually what they had been born into (verse 4 chapter 1 of first Peter) and what they can look forward to. They have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, because of the power of Jesus' resurrection. That is, then, the premise of a life of rejoicing in all circumstances. The premise by which this whole section rests, however, is an exclamation of such power: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"
Paul in Philippians chapter 3 complains about these "mutilators of the flesh" who were in basic terms performing ritual racism. They were wandering around telling all the men that if they were really to belong to this new "people" (i.e. the Christian community) they should get circumcised. What that said to the congregation was what the Jews of the New Testament and Old had been guilty of all along; their nation was the chosen nation and superior to all others. They had to belong to this specific people group. It would be like telling a black man they had to have skin grafts so they would be white and fit into the church. However, Paul's whole point by the end of the chapter is obvious: "...our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it we await a saviour..." i.e. We belong in Heaven and as we are already seated in heavenly places we can await the coming again of Jesus, living in the perspective of our transformation, that great inheritance promised to us by the God-Man Himself, Christ Jesus out Lord.
These two distinct and precise ideas have been floating through my mind as I've wandered around, really noticing a difference that Jesus has made in my life, and others, and realising I belong to Him and to them, and not to anything I can set my eyes on on earth. There is a transition that can be seen as people trust fully in Jesus. It's incredible. The real challenge is living as a citizen worthy of the Gospel. But my reaction to living somewhere I don't really belong came out in a poem I wrote last night. I hope you like it; it made me laugh when I read it.
The Philippians were a colony of Roman citizens. They were mainly veterans of the Roman Empire, shipped off to somewhere else because they were retired soldiers and had a habit of causing trouble. With a colony built on the background of Roman veterans, the majority of the inhabitants of Philippi considered themselves better Romans than people in Rome. It was like Rome away from Rome. Paul wrote to the church there, and wanted to shift their thinking a bit. If you're writing to a church that is already an experience of dual citizenship, it's worth getting them more accurately thinking of their citizenship. Paul tells them in chapter 1 verse 27 that they should "live a citizens worthy of the Gospel." This would have perhaps caught them off-guard, but probably also helped them to realise they were living as Romans not in Rome, so should probably live as followers of Jesus, though not with Jesus at that time.
On the other side of the proverbial river, was Peter writing to a scattering of Christians, from all over the known world. He refers to them as "elect exiles" and pushes them to think, not of where they were from and where they are now, but actually what they had been born into (verse 4 chapter 1 of first Peter) and what they can look forward to. They have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, because of the power of Jesus' resurrection. That is, then, the premise of a life of rejoicing in all circumstances. The premise by which this whole section rests, however, is an exclamation of such power: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"
Paul in Philippians chapter 3 complains about these "mutilators of the flesh" who were in basic terms performing ritual racism. They were wandering around telling all the men that if they were really to belong to this new "people" (i.e. the Christian community) they should get circumcised. What that said to the congregation was what the Jews of the New Testament and Old had been guilty of all along; their nation was the chosen nation and superior to all others. They had to belong to this specific people group. It would be like telling a black man they had to have skin grafts so they would be white and fit into the church. However, Paul's whole point by the end of the chapter is obvious: "...our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it we await a saviour..." i.e. We belong in Heaven and as we are already seated in heavenly places we can await the coming again of Jesus, living in the perspective of our transformation, that great inheritance promised to us by the God-Man Himself, Christ Jesus out Lord.
These two distinct and precise ideas have been floating through my mind as I've wandered around, really noticing a difference that Jesus has made in my life, and others, and realising I belong to Him and to them, and not to anything I can set my eyes on on earth. There is a transition that can be seen as people trust fully in Jesus. It's incredible. The real challenge is living as a citizen worthy of the Gospel. But my reaction to living somewhere I don't really belong came out in a poem I wrote last night. I hope you like it; it made me laugh when I read it.
Exile
I don't belong here
I don't really fit
There's not a neat space
Why isn't the world like a kids toy?
The picture is called "I don't belong here" from explodingdog.com
I don't belong here
I don't really fit
There's not a neat space
Why isn't the world like a kids toy?
The picture is called "I don't belong here" from explodingdog.com
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