OUR COMMONWEALTH IN THE HEAVENS
T. Noel
The word commonwealth, in this scripture, refers to our citizenship. I do not think anyone would know the meaning of this word more than Paul who wrote this epistle. It was one of the greatest privileges in Paul’s day to be a citizen of Rome, and he was free-born. That is true of us, we are free-born. We have been brought into the gain of the Father’s delight and pleasure in Christ. We are the most free and liberated people in the world; we may not realise it but freedom and liberty are what every Christian enjoys, having the Spirit of God. In this book you will notice the question of sin does not arise. They are poor people but the apostle desires that they come out and shine in a world of darkness and sin. There may be a generation that is peculiarly precious to God and peculiarly important in a world of sin. It is a marvellous thing to realise that our real home, our real citizenship, our real place is in heaven, not on earth. I speak very feelingly, but no Christian who is worldly can enter into the thoughts of God. The only way we can enter into God’s thoughts and purposes is to reject the world. You cannot be worldly and serve God. We may profess to do so, like thousands around us, but what pleasure does God get in that?
This is what this chapter brings out, that these poor Christians were to shine in the world; and the truth that we have known can only be embraced if we turn our backs on the world. It does not relieve us of our
responsibilities, we have to respect our obligations and to work honestly for a living, but it lays upon us the responsibility of serving God as children of God. Now, as children of God, we are not children of the world. This is very distinctive in Scripture; there are children who are related to the world, but there are those who are related to Christ. There are the two distinct peoples in the world and the apostle brings it out in this epistle. He says in this book, in tears “many walk ... that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ”, Philippians 3: 18. He did not say, enemies of Christ, but enemies of the cross of Christ. Now these people were Christians, but they did not understand the meaning of the work of the cross, for it was in the cross of Christ that God has removed the man of sin and everything that stood related to the world and sin. Anyone who makes room for the flesh and gives licence to the flesh is an enemy of the cross of Christ. This is what the scripture means.
So it is clear that if we are to enjoy and appreciate our commonwealth, our citizenship, our home, our relationship, our place with God, it is in the heavens where Christ is. If you want to see change in this world, do not look at the parliaments of men, look at the right hand, that is where the change is going to come from, for God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. He has put everything in the hand of Christ, even the keys of death and of hades. He has put the whole world to come under the hand of the Son of man, and Christians look for change there, at the right hand of God. It is a pity how men can live without the knowledge and light of these things in their souls. The apostle says to the Ephesians, “Wake up, thou that sleepest, and arise up from among the dead”, Ephesians 5: 14. There was to be an expression, a generation of people that display the light and the joy of heaven, and worship the Father in spirit and in truth. That is the only way it is being done. No one of us can worship the Father in spirit and truth unless we maintain a condition suitable and morally in keeping with the presence of the Holy Spirit. We can say plenty things,
we can do plenty things, but it is our relationship with God and with the Spirit, particularly with the Holy Spirit, who is here with us, that matters. Why did the Spirit come? He came to be with us. He came to direct us, He came to show us the way, He leads us up to Christ. It is like being under the influence of the sun, take away the sun from the earth and the earth perishes. The Spirit is the link between the Son and ourselves, He unites us to Christ, so our relationship with the Spirit is a most vital and important feature in every Christian’s life. I think it is what the apostle is trying to bring out in this chapter. So he says our commonwealth, or citizenship, has its life in heaven where Christ is.
Now, we know what it is to pass through difficulties and trials and sorrows and distress, change here and disappointment, all manner of troubles here, we know those things, we have all experienced them, but those things are only intended to break our links with the world, break our links with things here, and make us more dependent upon God. God is with us in the presence of the Spirit. So that our thoughts, our affections, our minds, our ambitions, our outlook is where our citizenship is. It is so important for us to realise that the Lord Himself will come and take us to Himself. It is a marvellous thing that the One, who is despised and rejected now, will come again in glorious strength and power and He will destroy everything that stood against Him. Do we love His appearing? Do we look forward to His appearing?
Does the coming of Christ mean much to us? These things are so important because it shows our link with the Spirit and our link with God is intact. Sorrow and distress and pain and all we pass through in life will not at all interfere with these things. They will only cast us more on the faithfulness of the Father, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the intercessory service of Christ at the right hand.
Now, think of it, citizenship is important. We live as citizens in this country and we enjoy all the privileges
that the government can afford to give us. There are millions who come here and do all they can to become citizens, because of the many things they receive. What about Christians? Do we value our citizenship? Do we live in relation to it? The apostle says here, it is in heaven, and Christ Himself is going to come to take us to be with Himself in that place. These bodies of humiliation will be changed into conformity to His own glorious body. Think of what our death means. Death is the most universal thing in the whole world, death is passed upon all men. They can do as much as they like, they can boast as much as they like, death brings an end to it all. But for the Christian, death is only a means of leading them into the joy of their citizenship. What a delight to be with Christ eternally! Death should not be anything to a Christian but a means by which he moves from this sphere of physical sorrow into a sphere where there is no sorrow.
So, when we walk in the light of the assembly, it is a wonderful thing we enjoy. The assembly is the body of Christ, a vessel in which the Spirit dwells, a vessel in which all God’s wisdom and grace are seen. Something of the truth of the assembly can be found in a city like this, even with only a few believers. The assembly is a wonderful, divine system that God in His wisdom, and purpose, and glory has brought to light. The assembly in Christ Jesus is what it is according to divine purpose. It is to the end that God may tabernacle with men.
Even now He has a dwelling-place, “a habitation of God in the Spirit”, Ephesians 2: 22. It is wonderful to be in the assembly, to have the light of the assembly, not just, to be a Christian.
There is far, far more than that. It is a wonderful, glorious thing to come into the gain of what the assembly is. So, it is not a question of what we say or do, it is a question of what we are, of our relationship with God and our relationship with the brethren. We could deceive one another, we could do a lot of things to impress one another and to impress others; but do we honour the Spirit and do we honour the Lord Jesus? The
important thing for each one of us is to be affected by the presence of the Holy Spirit. So that the Philippians were a simple people and the apostle found pleasure and delight in them. He says, our commonwealth, or citizenship, is in heaven. Let us all rejoice for that, as we long to be true citizens of heaven. The things we say, we long to see that we work them out; not only say them, but to have them in our hearts. If we want to see the service of God improve, and God worshipped in spirit and truth, let every brother and every sister take account of the truth that has been delivered to us and hold it in integrity, and faith, and righteousness. You will see how much the service of God will be improved and enlarged.
Then it is due to the fact that we are living in relation to that sphere of glory and bliss. Present conditions do not affect us here, because the light of that glory makes us better husbands, better wives, better sons, better daughters, better servants, better than everything in the world as compared to what exists around us. So, as we live in the gain of what is revealed, the light of the glory of which Christ is the centre, we await Him, who will transform our body of humiliation into conformity to His body of glory. We suffer in these present bodies, many of us long to be out of these bodies, so as to be in the bodies that Christ will give us. We long to be free of all the aches and the troubles we have in these bodies. Yet men spend billions to build up their bodies and to make much of them, but in the end they go to the grave and become dust. The Christian is so different. So our commonwealth is the important thing. Let us make sure that we are living in the gain of our citizenship, and in the love of Christ who is our King. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. One who will come and put all things right. He is our Lord, our Saviour, our Redeemer, our Peace. He is everything to us. He sits at the right hand of God. What does He do there? He does not take account of the world’s system. What is going on there is the Father’s responsibility, but the Lord sits there in relation to His people; they are of His body, they are united to Him in the power of the Spirit. Christ is here in character, in this very world where He has been cast out, in the bodies and expression of the saints. That is a most wonderful thing that the greatest philosopher in the world could never solve. The truth is that we have been brought into the greatest heritage that any man could ever have been brought into; our heritage is in Christ and in the Spirit.
So, let us live in the light of our citizenship, no matter the smallness, the weakness, the sufferings and hardship we may have to pass through, and disappointments at times, it is only a temporary passing measure. There is that which is eternal and heavenly, that which shall not be taken away from us. May the Lord bless the word.
Word in meeting for ministry, Ormond Beach
11 June 2002