Living Our True Identity in Christ (preaching resource for 3/16/25, Lent #2)

This post exegetes Philippians 3:17-21, offering context for the RCL Epistle reading on the second Sunday in Lent (3/16/25). Insights are drawn from Warren Wiersbe ("Bible Expository Commentary") and Francis Foulkes ("New Bible Commentary").

Ruins of the city of Philippi (from Wikimedia Commons)

Introduction 

In Philippians 3:15-16 Paul calls upon believers at Philippi to live according to their identity in Christ. What does that look like? In 3:17 Paul refers to a certain “pattern” of living—one modeled by Paul and his faithful followers:

17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

This exhortation to Christian maturity is an urgent matter in Paul’s mind because the unity of the congregation is threatened. Note 3:18:

18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 

Christians living as “enemies of the cross of Christ”?  What’s going on?  Note 3:19:

19  Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.  20a  But our citizenship is in heaven…. 

It’s not clear who these “enemies” are. Paul likely has in mind the Judaizers mentioned in Phil 3:2. These false teachers had infiltrated the church at Philippi and were teaching a legalistic “pattern” of living that minimized the centrality of Christ and of his cross. Though the legalists offered a “higher spirituality,” Paul accuses them of focusing on “earthly things”—walking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. They were requiring adherence to Jewish dietary laws (effectively making a god of their stomachs) and circumcision (making this mark of Jewish identity a source of “shame”). Contrary to their claims, their pattern of living was leading not to blessing, but to “destruction” (spiritual ruin). 

Paul sees the issue as one of identity. To be a disciple of Jesus is not to embrace a set of external, legalistic rules. Rather it is to embrace our true identity in Christ—what Paul refers to as our “citizenship in heaven” (Phil 3:20).  The citizens of Philippi, which was a colony of Rome, highly valued and appreciated the benefits of Roman citizenship. Now some of these Philippian citizens who had become Christians were embracing another identity as adherents to a set of religious requirements based in the Law of Moses. “But wait just a minute!” protests Paul. “As Jesus followers, we have only one identity—one citizenship in heaven, with and in Jesus.”

Now a word of caution here. To have our citizenship in heaven does NOT mean, as Dwight Moody used to warn, to be “so heavenly minded as to be no earthly good.” To understand that our citizenship is in heaven, is to understand that our lives are united to the man Jesus, who is seated in heaven, but is actively ministering through the Spirit here on earth. Thus to share Jesus’ heavenly citizenship, is to share, through the Spirit, in his earthly ministry. It means that our identify and behavior are centered fully in Christ. It means we look at the things of earth from Jesus’ (i.e. heaven’s) point of view: “Give your heart to the heavenly things, not to the passing things of earth” is how Paul says it in Col 3:2 (Phillips translation). Ours is a dual citizenship—on earth and in heaven—and our citizenship in heaven ought to make us better people here on earth. 

What are the identifying characteristics of those who actively experience and express this heavenly citizenship? Paul mentions five: 

1. They embrace their heavenly citizenship

The citizens of Philippi were privileged to be Roman citizens away from Rome. When a baby was born in Philippi, their names were registered in the city records, making them official Roman citizens.  Paul wants the believers in the church at Philippi to know that their names have been written in heaven’s “book of life” (Phil 4:3b). They have full citizenship in and through Jesus. But the Judaizers were saying that Jesus is not enough and that we need Jesus plus the Law. But they were wrong—through his incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension, Jesus has included all humanity with him in his identity as God’s dear son, making us all God’s dearly loved children. That is who we are. That is all we need. And no religious ritual or system can “improve” on that. Our names are written with Jesus in heaven’s book of life. Our true home is in heaven with Jesus. Those who are mature in Christ deeply appreciate and embrace that heavenly citizenship. It is their core identity.  

2. They speak heaven’s language

The legalists, who “mind earthly things,” naturally talk about earthly things. What comes out of the mouth reveals what is in the heart (Mat 12:34–37). The unspiritual person does not understand the things of God’s Spirit (1Cor 2:14–16), so how can they talk about them intelligently? But those who embrace their heavenly citizenship come to deeply appreciate and understand spiritual things and enjoy discussing them with one another. They speak heaven’s language. Beware of those who do not: 

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1John 4:5–6) 

Of course, to speak heaven’s language does not mean going around all day quoting Bible verses. But it does mean to both experience and to share Jesus’ love and life—a sharing that glorifies God and edifies others: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone”(Col 4:6). “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph 4:29). 

3. They conform to heaven’s expectations

The citizens of Philippi were governed by Roman law, even though they were located hundreds of miles away from Rome. In fact, it was this policy that put Paul into jail when he first visited Philippi (Acts 16:16–24). In Philippians 3:17, Paul warns the Philippian believers against imitating the wrong people and urges them instead to imitate his pattern of living. Paul’s life was governed by heaven’s expectations, and this is what made him different. He was concerned about others, not himself. He was interested in giving, not getting. His motive was love (2Cor 5:14), not hatred. By faith, Paul yielded his life to the pattern of Jesus’ loving and living, knowing that one day he would be rewarded.  

Sad to say, there are those today, like the Judaizers in Paul’s day, who profess to be citizens of heaven, but whose lives do not show it. They may be zealous in their religious activities and even austere in their disciplines, but there is no evidence of the Spirit’s control in their lives. All that they do is energized by the flesh, and they get all the glory. It is bad enough that they are going astray, but they also lead other people astray with them. No wonder Paul wept over this situation.

4. They are loyal to heaven’s cause

In what sense were the Judaizers “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil 3:18b)? For one thing, the religion defined by the Law of Moses ended at the cross. When the veil of the temple was torn in two, God was announcing that the way to God through Jesus was now open to all (Heb 10:19–25). When Jesus shouted, “It is finished!” he made one sacrifice for sins, and thus ended the whole sacrificial system (Heb 10:1–14). By his death and resurrection, Jesus accomplished a “spiritual circumcision” that made ritual circumcision unnecessary (Col 2:10–13). Everything that the Judaizers advocated had been eliminated by the death of Jesus on the cross! 

Furthermore, everything that they were now living for was condemned by the cross. Jesus had broken down the wall that stood between Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:14–16), and the Judaizers were rebuilding that wall. They were obeying “external [fleshly] regulations” (Heb 9:10) that appealed to the flesh and were not directed by the Spirit. But a mature follower of Jesus crucifies the flesh (Gal 5:24). Yet the Judaizers were minding “earthly things.” It is the cross that is central in the life of the believer. They do not glory in men, in religion, or in their own achievements; they glory in the cross of Christ (Gal 6:14). 

Paul weeps because he knows the future of these men and their followers: “their destiny is destruction” (Phil 3:19). The Greek word translated “destruction” carries with it the idea of waste and loss which is the result of embracing a false identity. In contrast, to live out of our true identity in Christ as God’s dearly loved children, is to live a life of purpose and great value, both now and forever. 

5. They are looking eagerly for heaven’s Lord

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Phil 3:20-21)

The Judaizers were living in the past tense, trying to get the Philippian believers to go back to Moses and the Law; but authentic followers of Jesus live in the future tense, anticipating the return of their Savior. As the accountant in Philippians 3:1–11, Paul discovered new values. As the athlete in Phil 3:12–16, he displayed new vigor. Now as the alien, he experiences a new vision: “We look for the Savior!” It is this anticipation of the coming of Christ that motivates a believer who is spiritually minded. 

There is tremendous energy in the present power of a future hope. Because Abraham looked for a city, he was content to live in a tent (Heb 11:13–16). Because Moses looked for the rewards of heaven, he was willing to forsake the treasures of earth (Heb 11:24–26). Because of the “joy that was set before him” (Heb 12:2), Jesus was willing to endure the cross. The fact that Jesus is returning bodily to earth in great power, is a powerful motive for dedicated living and devoted service today.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. (1John 3:2-3)

The citizen of heaven, living on earth, does not live for the things of this world; but anticipates the blessings of the world to come. Paul mentions particularly that the believer will receive a glorified body, like the body of Christ (Phil 3:21c). Today we live in a “body of humiliation” (which is the meaning of the word translated “lowly” in Phil 3:21); but when we see Christ, we will receive a body of glory. It will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye! (1Cor 15:42–53). At that moment, all the things of this world will be worthless to us—just as they ought to be, relatively, today.  If we are living in the future tense, then we will be exercising the spiritual mind and living for the things that really matter. 

When Jesus returns, he will “bring everything under his control” (Phil 3:21b). The idea in Greek is to “arrange in ranks.” Isn’t that our problem today? We do not arrange “things” in their proper order. Our values are twisted. Consequently, our vigor is wasted on useless activities, and our vision is clouded so that the return of Christ is not a real motivating power in our lives. Living in the future tense means letting Christ arrange the “things” in life according to the proper rank. It means living “with eternity’s values in view,” and daring to believe God’s promise that, “the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1John 2:17). True life, both now and forever, is participating in the life we have in Jesus, which comes to its fullness when he returns and we are glorified.

Conclusion

As Christians, we have all we need in Christ—he is our true and full identity—our true home. Let’s focus on him—and let’s participate actively, through the Spirit, in his “pattern” of loving and living in our world as we keep our eyes focused on the future.  And let’s stay away from those things that would divert our vision elsewhere.