Citizens Worthy of the Gospel of Christ
Dearly beloved of God, we formerly walked according to the course of this age, according to the ruler of the authority of the atmosphere, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Likewise, we all had our manner of life among them formerly in the cravings of our flesh, doing the wills of the flesh and of the mind, and by nature we were children of wrath, even as the rest.
However, God, Who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace we are saved), and He raised us up together and caused us to sit together in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages He might display the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
We are now citizens of heaven. We are no longer strangers, or visiting foreigners, or resident aliens, but we are fellow citizens with the holy ones, and members of the household of God.
Our standing as citizens of heaven is in Christ Jesus. God delivered us from the power of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. Christ is the head of the Church, which is his body.
We shine as stars in the world by holding forth the Word of life.
Citizens of heaven should live as citizens who are worthy of the gospel of Christ. We should no longer live in the same manner as citizens of this evil age, fashioned by worldly thinking, by carnal desires, and shaped by the evil of this age.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what is the good and well-pleasing and mature will of God.
It’s a choice; we can walk according to the course of this evil age, or we can walk worthily with regard to the calling to which we were called with all humility and meekness, with longsuffering, upholding one another in love, putting forth a diligent effort to guard the unity that is from the spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
Dearly beloved, we are citizens of heaven. Our citizenship is in a heavenly sphere of government, not a worldly one; walk as citizens who are worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Press on in pursuit toward the goal for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus. Walk as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Don’t be distracted, or side tracked by the past, or by today’s worldly concerns; press toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Think in the same manner as the Apostle Paul thought, and model your walk after the faithful in Christ Jesus. The examples of Jesus Christ, Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus, and other faithful saints are recorded for us in the Church Epistles. Follow their examples as models.
Consider one another more excellent than self, and focus on helping others with their interests. Think in this manner within yourselves, which was also the thinking that was in Christ Jesus. He that says he abides in Christ ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Be an imitator of God like beloved children, and walk in love even as Christ also loved us and delivered himself up for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling fragrance. He always did his Father’s Will.
Dearly beloved, our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also patiently wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our humiliated body that it may have the same form as his glorious body according to the energizing by which he is able to subordinate all things to himself. This is the hope of our calling!
Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The Lord is coming; maybe today.
When the Lord comes he will gather all of the citizens of heaven together in the clouds, to meet him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Until then, live in a manner that becomes saints.