Citizens of Another Country: What Philippians 3:20–21 Teaches Us About Politics

Every election season, Christians fall into one of two bad habits. Some of us pour so much hope into the ballot box that we start to believe the next president or party will fix the country. Others get so worn out that we quit and say, "It's all corrupt, so why bother?" The first group turns politics into an idol, and the second turns it into a joke.

Paul wrote to a church that understood political pressure. In Philippians 3:20–21 he gives us a better way: "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

Here is the whole post in one sentence: because Christ reigns from heaven and will return, citizens of heaven serve earthly nations humbly without worshiping them. We'll look at three things: our Citizenship, our Savior's Coming, and Christ's Conquest.

A Colony Under Pressure

Philippi was a Roman colony, a settlement where Roman citizens lived by Roman law and enjoyed Roman privilege far from the capital. Paul knew this firsthand, because he appealed to his own Roman citizenship in that very city (Acts 16:37). He also writes this letter from prison (Phil. 1:13), so he knows what the state can do to a believer.

Verse 20 opens with "But," which means Paul is answering something. Verses 18–19 describe enemies of the cross whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose minds are set on earthly things. Paul sets the people of the cross against people whose whole world is here and now.

Our Citizenship Is Heavenly

The Greek word is politeuma, and it appears nowhere else in the New Testament. It can mean a commonwealth or the rights and standing of a citizen. Paul uses the related verb in 1:27, where he tells the Philippians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. The word carries both belonging and obligation.

So Paul is saying your true political identity is already settled. You are enrolled in the commonwealth of heaven, under its King, and governed by its law. Your mailing address may be Peoria, but your passport has another country on it.

That doesn't make us poor citizens here. Romans 13 teaches that governing authorities are instituted by God and that the ruler "does not bear the sword in vain." The state is a real gift of God's common grace, and we are called to honor it. We are never called to worship it. A person who knows where his true citizenship lies can be a better neighbor and taxpayer, because the earthly nation doesn't have to be everything to him.

This is why it matters to sort out which political questions are which. Naselli and Crowley distinguish straight-line issues from jagged-line issues. On a straight-line issue, a clear biblical command leads directly to a policy position, as the command against murder leads to defending unborn life. On a jagged-line issue, such as tax rates or the design of a healthcare system, Scripture sets principles but leaves the mechanism to prudence, and godly people will land in different places. If your citizenship is in heaven, you don't need to excommunicate your brother over a jagged-line question. Hold your convictions firmly, argue with charity, and keep the fellowship of the church above the party line.

Our Savior Is Coming

"From it we await a Savior." Waiting for him is the posture of the whole Christian life.

Notice that Paul calls Jesus both Savior and Lord. The one who saves us is also the one who rules us, and no earthly ruler is the final authority. Every president, governor, and judge will answer to him.

This is where Reformed realism earns its place. Sin infects every heart, so it infects every party, platform, and government. No candidate can heal the human heart, and no legislation can bring a perfect society. That is not cynicism, because the Christian has a better hope than any administration can offer. If we are waiting for a Savior to come from heaven, we should not be waiting for one to come out of Washington or Springfield.

This frees us to vote, to work, and to labor for justice, and it frees us from the despair that follows when the political order lets us down. When the news cycle makes you anxious or angry, preach the second coming to yourself. Ask what you are expecting from the next election that only Christ can deliver. Then pray for your leaders (1 Tim. 2:1–2) and do the next faithful thing. Be present for your family, show up for your church, and be honest at work. Waiting for the Savior doesn't make us passive. It makes us steady.

Christ's Conquest Is Certain

Now Paul tells us what the Savior will do when he comes. He "will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. "Our final salvation is not just the soul's escape. God will redeem the whole person, and the Christ who rose in a glorified body will make his people like himself. This happens "by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

Think about how wide that is. The same power that raises you will bring everything under Christ's authority. That fits the Old Testament hope of Psalm 8 and Psalm 110, and Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 15:24–28 that Christ reigns until every enemy is under his feet.

Here Kuyper's insight helps. Christ claims every area of life, whether family, church, school, marketplace, or state. But because he is Lord over every sphere, no human institution can be. The state must not swallow the family, and the church must not pick up the sword. Sphere sovereignty guards against tyranny from both directions.

It also explains why Christian convictions belong in the public square. No view of public life is neutral, since every policy rests on some worldview. A Christian who speaks from his faith is doing what everyone else does. The difference is that we trust the risen King, so we can speak without bitterness and lose without despair.

The gospel is what makes this hope ours. Christ doesn't merely rule sinners by force. He bore the penalty our rebellion deserved, and he purchased his people with his blood. The Savior who will transform "our" lowly body is the Savior who redeemed us, and that is why Paul can say "we" with such confidence.

This also shapes how the church acts. The church's weapons are the Word, prayer, and the sacraments, and they are enough. We don't have to borrow the sword to advance Christ's kingdom. Your article notes that in 1905 the Synod of Utrecht removed language from Article 36 of the Belgic Confession that called on magistrates to suppress false worship. As Baptists, we can say a hearty amen, because we believe conscience belongs to God alone. And if you're tired from a long fight over some public matter, remember that your final vindication doesn't depend on winning it.

Living as Citizens of Heaven

Put these three truths together, and you get engaged, hopeful humility. You are a citizen of heaven, so you don't worship the nation. Your Savior is coming, so you don't despair when it fails you. Christ will conquer all things, so you needn't fear to speak or to lose.

So here is a question for the next debate or election. Does my engagement look like that of someone waiting for a King? If it does, I'll speak truth, serve my neighbor, pay my taxes, pray for my leaders, and keep my eyes on the sky.