Lesson 9 - Citizens of Heaven
Read Ephesians 2:19-3:13 - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/eph.2.esv
We have a responsibility now, a responsibility for this righteousness we have been given. Look again at the last 4 verses of chapter 2. Three things from our list in the last lesson come from these verses – we have been given citizenship in Heaven, we are members of God’s household, and we are being built up into God’s dwelling place. We are a separate nation, we are a family, we have a purpose. Let’s look at those individually.
When you are born a member of a specific nation, or you choose to become a citizen of that nation, there are certain things that are expected of you. Loyalty is one of the primary expectations, service may be another, and being a good representative or ambassador is another.
Loyalty to your country is usually demanded at such a level that failure to be such – called treason – is punishable by either death or banishment. Most countries have chosen the later for most of history. God expects us as citizens of Heaven to also be loyal – though His promises tell us that He will never banish us from His presence and death no longer has a hold on us. He rewards loyalty in a different way, and withholds those rewards for someone who is not loyal. Rewards include crowns (Revelation 4:4, 10) which mean we have a greater ability to praise God when we come home to Heaven.
We are members of God’s family. This goes beyond mere citizenship in a country – this makes us members of the Royal Family. This also carries a much greater responsibility. This means we’re always on display before others. If you live in a country with a royal family, you know how every action any of them takes is scrutinized by those watching. We as members of God’s household have a responsibility to live our lives as if we are being watched – and God tells us that not only are people around us watching, but so are myriads of angels – see 1 Timothy 5:21 and 1 Peter 1:12.
But we are more than just citizens or royal family, God has left us here on earth as ambassadors – see 2 Corinthians 5:20 and Ephesians 6:20. An ambassador represents his/her home country in another. To that other country, the ambassador IS the country he/she represents. We are God’s kingdom-ambassadors on earth – who or what do we proclaim Heaven and God to be to those around us by how we live our lives? Does that other person watching us want to be part of the kingdom because of what they see us doing or being?
This is the purpose God has given us on earth. We, together, are being built into a dwelling place for God.
*We have been given citizenship in _____
*We are members of God’s _____
*God has left us here on earth as _____