Why does Paul remind the Philippians that their citizenship is in heaven?

Explanation:

Paul says that the Philippians’ citizenship is in heaven. To understand why Paul says this, it is important to notice that Philippians 3:20 opens with the conjunction for. Specifically, Paul says, For our citizenship is in heaven. That Paul opens Philippians 3:20 with the conjunction for is important because it is a causal conjunction that indicates the reason to follow the imperative of Philippians 3:17. That is to say, in Philippians 3:17, Paul calls on the Philippians to imitate his life as a Christian. Next, Paul reminds them that some are enemies of the cross of Christ. Then, in Philippians 3:20 he gives the reason why the Philippians should imitate his life as a Christian: they should imitate Paul for they are citizens of heaven.⁴ Given that to imitate Paul is to behave a certain way, he is saying that because the Philippians are citizens of heaven, they should behave a certain way.

Counterargument:

While grammar is important, we ought to interpret Paul in light of the immediate context of Philippians 3:20. According to what precedes Philippians 3:20, Paul has in mind the contrast between those who live as enemies of the cross of Christ and those who live according to their heavenly citizenship. That is, in Philippians 3:19, Paul describes the enemies of the cross, saying that their minds are set on earthly things, and their end is destruction. But, Paul says, the Philippians’ citizenship is in heaven, so a transformed body (Philippians 3:21), not destruction, is their future hope.

Response to counterargument:

This interpretation is not grammatically accurate, and grammatical accuracy is not optional. It is not grammatically accurate because it leads to a mistranslation of the term γάρ (for). That is, this interpretation wants us to translate γάρ as a contrastive such as but, so that Philippians 3:20 is the contrast to Philippians 3:19: those whose minds are set on earthly things will be destroyed, but the Philippians are citizens of heaven and so will not be destroyed. Unfortunately, γάρ functions not as a contrastive but as causal.^5,6 Thus, to stay true to Paul’s grammar, we ought to read γάρ as giving us the reason for something. Based on the context, the only plausible reason for reminding the Philippians that they are heavenly citizens is to motivate their behaviour to imitate him (Philippians 3:19).

Explanation:

Paul says that the Philippians are citizens of heaven. To understand why Paul reminds the Philippians that they are citizens in heaven, it is important to understand the meaning of the term πολίτευμα (citizenship) and that terms connection with the related verb πολιτεύομαι (be a citizen) found in Philippians 1:27. The term πολίτευμα is a dynamic term that points to something like an active force that regulates its citizens.⁷ In other words, that the Philippians are citizens of heaven means that they are regulated by the active forces of the divine realm. So why does Paul remind the Philippians that they are citizens of the active forces of the divine realm? He does so because he wants to motivate Christian behaviour. And we can detect that Paul wants to motivate Christian behaviour because he uses the related verb πολιτεύομαι (be a citizen) in Philippians 1:27 where he encourages the Philippians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. In other words, the Philippians are citizens of heaven, and they ought to behave as such.

Counterargument:

While it might be that Paul uses the related verb πολιτεύομαι (be a citizen) in Philippians 1:27 to motivate Christian behaviour, this does not mean that he uses πολίτευμα (citizenship) in the same way in Philippians 3:20. Rather, we ought to consider the context to decide Paul’s meaning. Of course, when we look at the immediate context of Philippians 3:20, we notice that after reminding the Philippians that they are citizens of heaven, he reminds them that they await the Saviour Jesus Christ, who will transform their bodies. That Paul points out that the Philippians wait for Jesus, and that he will transform their bodies, suggests that he is setting the Philippians’ minds on their future hope. Thus, Paul is reminding the Philippians of their heavenly citizenship to motivate not behaviour but a sense of hope.⁸

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument overlooks three important factors. First, Paul opens Philippians 3:20 with the causal conjunction γάρ (for), which suggests he is giving a reason for something that precedes. That is, the Philippians’ heavenly citizenship is a reason for them to imitate Paul. Second, the terms πολίτευμα (citizenship) and πολιτεύομαι (be a citizen) are rare in the New Testament, so we ought to take note of the fact that these are both used in the same letter from Paul.⁹ That Paul uses the same unique Greek root twice in one letter implies that he uses the terms similarly. Finally, third, that the Philippians wait for Jesus Christ who will transform their bodies is not inconsistent with the notion that Paul has behaviour in mind in Philippians 3:20. That is, Paul could be motivating behaviour in light of the fact that they wait for a Saviour and future glory. What better motivation is there to imitate Paul than to remember that such imitation serves a significant end.

The weakness of this view is that Paul never specifically connects Philippians 3:20 with Philippians 3:17. Rather, the connection is implied because Paul uses the causal conjunction γάρ (for). Still, that γάρ connects with Philippians 3:17 is not right away obvious, because Philippians 3:17 falls three verses outside of Philippians 3:20. And if Philippians 3:20 is not causally connected to Philippians 3:17, it is not as clear that Philippians 3:20 is about motivating behaviour.

Explanation:

Paul reminds the Philippians that their citizenship is in heaven. He then follows up this clause by saying that from there, that is, from heaven, we await eagerly a Saviour, Jesus Christ. That Paul points out that we await a Saviour, Jesus Christ, from heaven, indicates that Paul reminds the Philippians that they are citizens of heaven in order to offer them hope. We can deduce that he reminds them of their heavenly citizenship to offer them hope, because he seems to be telling them to hold tight, because Jesus Christ will soon come to rescue them. Philippi was a Roman colony, and if the Philippians were under attack, they would eagerly wait for Caesar to arrive with his troops to rescue them. In the same way, Paul is saying that the Philippians are not citizens of Rome but of heaven, and Christ will soon arrive to vindicate and rescue them.¹²

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that there is nothing in the immediate context to suggest that Paul needs to offer the Philippians an extra measure of hope. That is, if Paul were discussing how the Philippians are persecuted or suffer for the gospel, then it would make sense for him to offer them hope in the face of trials. Instead, we find Philippians 3:20 as a contrast to those whose gods are their bellies. That is, in Philippians 3:19 we read about those who are destined for destruction. These are enemies of the cross of Christ whose gods are their bellies, and whose minds are set on earthly things. In other words, they are governed by earthly matters and their behaviour reflects this. On the other hand, the Philippians have their citizenship in heaven, which means their behaviour is not governed by their bellies, but by a Saviour whom they await from there. Thus, that the Philippians await a Saviour, Jesus Christ, from heaven, implies that Paul reminds them of their heavenly citizenship not to offer hope but to motivate right Christian behaviour.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument asks us to understand Philippians 3:20 based on what precedes, not what follows. If we understand Philippians 3:20 based on what precedes, this still allows for the notion that Paul offers the Philippians hope, not in the face of suffering per se but in the face of the destruction of the enemies of Christ. For Paul opens Philippians 3:19 by saying that the end of those who are enemies of the cross of Christ is destruction. The thought that the enemies of the cross of Christ are doomed to destruction might be a disheartening thought, but Paul encourages the Philippians not to worry, because they are citizens of heaven. Thus, they await not destruction but a glorious body (Philippians 3:21).

Explanation:

Paul reminds the Philippians that they await a Saviour from heaven to offer hope in the face of trials. We can deduce that Paul offers the Philippians hope because of his choice of terms in Philippians 3:20. First, after saying that the Philippians citizenship is in heaven, Paul says that from there we await a Saviour, Jesus Christ. The verb to await is used repeatedly by Paul in Romans 8:19–25, where he describes how the whole creation, including those who believe in Christ, wait eagerly for their adoption as sons of God. In other words, Paul uses the verb to await in conjunction with believers longing and hope for redemption.¹³

Second, not only does Paul use the verb to await but he also uses the noun Saviour when he says that we await a Saviour, Jesus Christ. The noun Saviour is another important term that Paul reserves for contexts when he describes his future hope of salvation.¹⁴

Counterargument:

It’s true that Paul often uses the verb to await in conjunction with hopeful anticipation for future redemption. Still, if Paul reminds the Philippians of the heavenly citizenship to offer them hope in the face of trials, it is not clear why this phrase follows his warning against those whose end is destruction. That is, Paul is not saying that those who are destined for destruction are persecuting the Philippians, and therefore the Philippians need hope. Rather, he is saying that those who are destined for destruction are governed by their bellies, while the Philippians are citizens of heaven. That is, the Philippians ought to be governed, not by the kingdom of earth but the kingdom of heaven. And that the Philippians eagerly await a Saviour from heaven is all the more reason for them to act like citizens of heaven.

This interpretation overlooks the grammar. Specifically, it overlooks that Philippians 3:20 opens with the causal conjunction γάρ (for), which is used to offer a reason for what precedes. That Paul here offers the Philippians hope in the face of persecution implies that we should take the conjunction γάρ in a contrastive sense, but the conjunction γάρ is not normally used that way.