In the letter that the Apostle Paul sent to the church in Philippi, he emphasizes their need to remember and reflect upon the status as citizens of the kingdom of God in a couple of different places. The idea of heavenly citizenship found in Philippians 1:27 is not apparent in all English translations, but the Christian Standard Bible translation (CSB) draws attention to this concept that is found in the Greek original: “As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.” This concept of heavenly citizenship also appears in Philippians 3:20, Paul says, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (CSB).
The use of this image of heavenly citizenship is not surprising when we understand the historical context of the Philippians. The town of Philippi was a Roman colony in which retired soldiers received land and the citizens of which received Roman citizenship due to their support of Octavian and Mark Antony as they battled against Brutus and Cassius after the death of Julius Caesar. Being a Roman citizen was a special privilege in the ancient world, as it seems that only around 5-10% of people in the Roman empire would have had such citizenship. There were many perks to being a Roman citizen, such as having some legal protections (they would not be beaten when arrested nor be crucified) and exemptions from various taxations. The people of Philippi took pride in their status as Roman citizens. Paul thus utilizes both a familiar and cherished image to help teach the Philippians about the value and delight that they should have as followers of Christ.
A question that could arise from Paul’s use of this image of citizenship for the Philippian Christians is whether it would imply and necessitate the renunciation of Roman citizenship and, if so, what that would mean for Christians today who have the status of citizens of a particular country. Is one either a citizen of an earthly empire or a citizen of heaven? I believe that Paul’s example, as one who was a Roman citizen himself, points against the idea that one must choose between one’s citizenship in a particular land and one’s citizenship in the kingdom of heaven; rather, it is a reminder that our heavenly citizenship not only relativizes the value that we place upon our citizenship in a particular land but invites us to use the privileges we might have as citizens of a particular place to proclaim the reality of the kingdom of God.
Paul’s Status as a Roman Citizen
In the book of Acts, we discover that Paul was a Roman citizen who did not renounce or give up such status when he became a Christian. There are two places in which he draws attention to his Roman citizenship.
The first time we see him doing so is actually when he is in the city of Philippi, where he had been arrested and beaten. When Paul and his ministry partner receive word that the magistrates will be quietly releasing them, they reference the violation of the rights that they possessed as Roman citizens: “But Paul said to them, ‘They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out’” (Acts 16:37). This discovery caused the magistrates to be afraid, knowing that serious punishments awaited those who violated the rights of Roman citizens. They then essentially came to Paul and Silas and apologized to them and escorted them out in a way that symbolically would have declared their innocence to the public.
The second time that Paul refers to his Roman citizenship is in Jerusalem in Acts 22. Paul had gone to the temple and a mob of people seized him, thinking that he had violated the Jewish law by bringing a Gentile into the temple. Seeing the commotion, some Roman soldiers rescued Paul and he then offered a defense of his actions before the crowd. What he said displeased the crowd and re-ignited their desire for violence, at which point the Roman soldiers took Paul away. As they were prepared to whip him as a way to get some answers from him – which was not an action one was permitted to take against Roman citizens – Paul asked, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” (Acts 22:25). Paul would go on to state that he had been a citizen all his life (Acts 22:28), which means he had not acquired his citizenship as a reward for noble actions nor had purchased it like others. This likely means that his father or grandfather had been a Roman citizen before him – perhaps as a reward for some of their actions – and had passed it along to him. When one remembers that Paul hailed from Tarsus and this was an important city (see Acts 21:39), it is not surprising to hear that his family had Roman citizenship.
Both of these incidents reveal that Paul did not renounce his Roman citizenship when he started following Christ. They also reveal that he had retained his Roman citizenship as a Pharisee who was deeply committed to keeping the Jewish law and following God. He did not see an inherent opposition between these two statuses at either point in his life. In fact, Paul seems to think of himself as a good citizen of Rome, arguing that he has not been doing things against Roman law (see Acts 25:8). In light of Paul’s commands to Christians in places like Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2, it can be assumed that he prayed for the leaders and obeyed and submitted to them; the account in Acts shows him speaking respectfully to these figures and willing to endure any punishment that his actions would rightly garner (Acts 25:11). Therefore, we too should not see an inherent contradiction between being citizens of heaven and having citizenship in a particular land.
Paul’s Use of His Roman Citizenship
Those passages not only point to Paul retaining his citizenship, but also the fact that he would utilize and draw upon the rights that he had as a citizen. What I find interesting, though, is that he does so at different points in similar situations. In Philippi, Paul only refers to his rights after they had been violated; he did not evoke them earlier when the hostility of the mob led to him being beaten and imprisoned (Acts 16:22-24). In contrast, Paul mentions his Roman citizenship when he is about to be beaten in Acts 22.
Later on, Paul uses his rights as a Roman citizen to have his case heard not in Jerusalem but rather before Caesar (Acts 25:9-12). From a human standpoint, such an appeal seems to backfire because after hearing Paul’s defense Herod Agrippa declares to Festus in Acts 26:32 that Paul “could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.” Rather than being released, Paul thus would be forced to travel to Rome for his hearing (and that trip was not smooth sailing but featured a shipwreck as recounted in Acts 27). However, Paul’s imprisonment would advance the gospel (see Philippians 1:12-14) and would allow him to minister and testify to the gospel in Rome (see Acts 28:17-28) as Paul had desired (Romans 1:11-12).
It would seem, though, that Paul’s use of his rights as a Roman citizen was less about simply protecting himself and more about seeking to have the gospel proclaimed and put in a good light. This might explain why he didn’t appeal to his rights as a Roman citizen before being beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, as Paul’s imprisonment led to people coming to faith (see Acts 16:25-34). It also demonstrated how Jesus’s followers were willing to suffer while the governing authorities were so opposed to the gospel message that they violated their own standards. Paul’s appeal to his rights as a Roman citizen in Jerusalem seems to come not just because he was in grave danger in Jerusalem but because he had a calling to bring the gospel in front of the Roman governing authorities and all the way to Rome (see Acts 9:15).
I believe Paul’s example invites us to consider how we might use the privileges and rights we might have as citizens to advance the gospel. At times, this might not be through immediately exercising our rights and protections, but at other times it might be utilizing them to create situations where the gospel can move forward. Part of the way we might actually advance the gospel forward is by living as good citizens, seeking to uphold laws and also seeking to do what is best for the earthly nation to which we belong.
Integrating and Applying Our Heavenly and Earthly Citizenships
Because our heavenly citizenship stands above our earthly citizenships, there might be places in which it seems to others that we are not behaving as good citizens, as Paul faced accusations that he was not behaving out of accord with the Roman law (see Acts 17:7) – just like Jesus before him. Paul would be executed (by beheading rather than crucifixion because he was a Roman citizen) in light of his commitment to his heavenly citizenship and the fact that this heavenly citizenship ultimately threatened kingdoms of this world that seek to assert absolute power and control. Our allegiance to the kingdom of heaven means that we can’t give absolute allegiance to the nation in which we have citizenship, but it should lead us to be good citizens who seek to do what is best for others as we love our neighbors as ourselves and point others to the gospel so that our fellow citizens on earth can also be our fellow citizens of heaven.
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