Finally, in their status after being saved the believers are heavenly citizens. Paul says, “Our citizenship is in the heavens” (Phil. 3:20a). The Greek word rendered “citizenship” may also be rendered commonwealth or associations of life. Our national life is not in any earthly country; it is in the heavens. Our real citizenship, our true commonwealth, is in the heavens. Therefore, we are not earthly citizens or worldly citizens-we are heavenly citizens.
Because our citizenship is in the heavens, we should not be occupied with earthly things, with the physical things needed for our existence. We should not place such a high value on material things. This does not mean, of course, that we should not have proper food, clothing, housing, and transportation. We need these things. But if we love the earthly things needed for human life, this is an indication that we do not treasure our heavenly citizenship. We all need to remember that our citizenship is in the heavens and that we are a heavenly people sojourning on earth.
The heavenly citizens are partakers of the heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1a). This heavenly calling is in contrast to the earthly calling. In God’s economy, in His full salvation, we have been called by God from the heavens and have been called to everything that is heavenly. Hence, this calling is a heavenly calling. Everything in it has a heavenly nature. We, the believers in Christ, are partakers of such a heavenly calling.
The heavenly calling first calls us to the heavenly Christ (Heb. 1:3, 13; 4:14; 6:20; 7:26; 9:24; 10:12). Christ was on earth and He will return to earth, but He is now in the heavens. He is the heavenly Christ ministering the heavenly life supply to us that we may live a heavenly life on earth.
As partakers of the heavenly calling, we have had our names enrolled in the heavens (Heb. 12:23). Today we are not in the heavens, but our names are written there. We also taste the heavenly gift (Heb. 6:4), have the heavenly worship (Heb. 8:5; 9:23-24), and come to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22). We have even been called to the heavenly country (Heb. 11:16). Moreover, we are partakers of the Holy Spirit (Heb. 6:4) and of the heavenly discipline (Heb. 12:8).
The believers as heavenly citizens have been born from above. In John 3:3 the Lord Jesus says, “Unless a man is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Greek word rendered “anew” can also be rendered “from above.” We have not only had an earthly birth; we have also been born from above, from the heavens.
Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God has “seated us together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” The initial step of God’s salvation in life is to make us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:5). The second step is to raise us up from the position of death (Eph. 2:6a). Then, as the third step of His salvation in life, God seats us together in the heavenlies in Christ. He not only raised us up from the position of death but also seated us in the highest place in the universe.
The word “heavenlies” is rather peculiar. It refers not only to a place but also to an atmosphere with a certain nature and characteristic. God’s salvation by life has brought us into a heavenly place and into a heavenly atmosphere with a heavenly characteristic. Because we are in a heavenly atmosphere with a heavenly nature and characteristic, we are a heavenly people. God’s salvation has transferred us into such a realm and atmosphere.
According to Ephesians 2:6, it was in Christ that God seated us all together, once for all, in the heavenlies. This was accomplished when Christ ascended to the heavens, and it was applied to us by the Spirit of Christ when we believed in Him. Today we realize and experience this reality in our spirit through faith in the accomplished fact.
Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth.” The things above refer to the various aspects of Christ in His heavenly ministry: His being crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9), His being made Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), His being Head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:22-23), and His being the Forerunner (Heb. 6:19-20), the High Priest (Heb. 8:1; 4:14; 7:25), the heavenly Minister (Heb. 8:1-2), and the Lamb on the throne executing the divine administration (Rev. 5:6). We need to set our mind on these things. This means that we need to forget earthly things-culture, religion, philosophy, and natural human virtues-and instead lift up our eyes to the heavens and set our mind on the wonderful, excellent things, the things that are above. These things can cause us to be transformed, for they transmit a heavenly element into us. Therefore, we need to open our spirit and our whole being to the heavens that the divine transmission may flow into us unceasingly. Then the riches of Christ in His heavenly ministry will be transmitted into us, and we shall be transformed and constituted of Christ.
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