4_Kingdom Citizen's Identity

This is the fourth in a series of short messages called Kingdom Thoughts. In this Thought, I will continue to build a foundation of what it means to be part of the kingdom of God. It is important to understand that behind the scenes there is a war going on between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness—and that we know what kingdom we belong to. In this Thought, we will focus on our identity as a kingdom citizen.

Citizenship

We live in an almost unprecedented time when there are a great number of people migrating to other countries for an opportunity to enrich their lives. Many countries have a mixture of citizens and immigrants who have not yet become citizens and do not have the same rights and privileges. Before they can become citizens, they need to understand both their rights and their responsibilities. Once they are able to become a citizen, they have that identity for the rest of their lives. They have all of the rights and responsibilities that come with that identity.

Kingdom Citizens

When we come to faith in Jesus and accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we become a citizen of the kingdom of God. We receive all of the benefits that belong to citizens of the kingdom. The Apostle Paul says that when we come to faith in Jesus, a transformation takes place in our lives. We are transformed from one kingdom to another … from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Jesus. Here is what he says in his letter to the Colossian church:

Colossians 1:13–14: For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

In his letter to the church of Ephesus, Paul explains a bit more about our status as kingdom citizens:

Ephesians 2:19–20: So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.

Kingdom of Jesus

Jesus made His kingdom the centerpiece of much of His teaching and preaching. He made it clear that not everyone would become a citizen of His kingdom. He taught that in order to become a citizen of His kingdom, we must be born again:

John 3:3: Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Being "born again” describes the process of surrendering our heart to Jesus and putting our faith and trust in Him. This was covered in some detail in our last Thought ... To What Kingdom Do I Belong?

This kingdom that we have been transferred into is not like any other kingdom. This is what Jesus says about it:

John 18:36: Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

It is a kingdom that is of another realm—but just as real as any kingdom that has ever existed. Jesus said that it is a kingdom not of this world. It is a kingdom positioned above all other kingdoms. That’s why Jesus is often referred to in the Bible as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is King over all of the nations, even though it might not appear that way right now.

Hard Questions

When I visit Ukraine, I am often asked questions similar to this one: “If Jesus is King over every nation, why has He allowed Russia to invade Ukraine?” It is a very good question that could be asked by many people in nations where cruel rulers act unjustly and inflict hardship on innocent people. Asked another way: “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” These are hard questions.

Jesus Himself experienced the agony of being humiliated, beaten, and crucified by evil and unjust men. He went through all of that for us. He had the power to stop it, but He endured it to establish a better kingdom.

Building His Kingdom

So, is this kingdom that Jesus is King over functioning now, or is it something that is still to come? Today, it is functioning both spiritually and physically. Jesus puts His kingdom into our hearts. We are united with Him spiritually. When we come to faith in Christ, our spirit is connected with His Spirit. Not only are we connected with Jesus at a heart level, but we also become one with Him. Jesus draws attention to our intimate relationship with Him one day when He was praying with His disciples:

John 17:22–23: “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

When we come to faith in Jesus, we are born again and immediately become a citizen of His kingdom on a very intimate level.

We also see the kingdom of Jesus in operation through His church. This is both physical and spiritual.

Spiritually, we sense a spirit of kinship, love, and unity with one another as we gather together with other followers of Jesus. His kingdom is visible as we see Him working in our lives both spiritually and physically.

There are different metaphors used to describe the kingdom of God … His church.

Church and Kingdom

We are called the family of God because we are all part of His family, and because of the nurturing aspect of our connection with each other. “Brother” and “sister” are terms that we use to refer to one another because we are just that—brothers and sisters with Jesus and with one another.

Ephesians 2:19: So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.

We are both citizens of the kingdom and members of God’s family.

The body of Christ is another metaphor that Paul frequently used to refer to the church.

1 Corinthians 12:27: All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

The kingdom of Jesus is presently functioning through His body, the church. The Apostle Paul explains that each of us has a part to play and a service to render to one another and to our neighbor. We will get into this more in a future Kingdom Thought.

The important thing to highlight here is that if we want to see the kingdom of Jesus functioning on the earth, we must see it being accomplished through His church. Jesus is physically present, building His kingdom on the earth through His church. Jesus is the Head of His body, the church, and we, together with Him, are building His kingdom. He wants us to relate to each other and work together in unity as we build His kingdom. Paul says that the church is to be a fragrant aroma … an enticing witness to our neighbors:

2 Corinthians 2:14–16: But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

I will say what you might be thinking—we don’t always see the church functioning in that way. Instead of unity, we find ourselves divided in some ways. Instead of loving our neighbor and being an enticing aroma to them, we drive them further away with our words and deeds—or lack of deeds that are helpful. Perhaps we have forgotten that the purpose of the church is to build the kingdom of Jesus, not our own kingdom.

Do we need a plan B? There is no plan B. We, the church, are the representatives of the kingdom.

Rights and Responsibilities

As a citizen of our respective country, we have all of the rights that come with our citizenship. There are many things that come to us as citizens of countries in the West. Rights are more restricted in most countries around the world.

We take a lot for granted in the Western Hemisphere. Things like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and all of the opportunities afforded to us to earn an honest living to provide for a family are not experienced by most of the world. In some countries, there may not even be a right to vote in a legitimate election of the ones ruling over them.

As citizens of our country, we have both rights and responsibilities. Which do we elevate … our rights or our responsibilities? Our rights, naturally! I think that it is safe to say that we are focused mainly on rights … what we believe we have coming to us as citizens of our country.

Rights are a really big deal in my country. The problem with an emphasis on rights is that if I get what I believe should be coming to me, you may not get what you believe should be coming to you.

Which does the Bible elevate as most important for citizens of the kingdom of God … rights or responsibilities? The Bible consistently elevates our responsibilities to one another within the church and to our neighbor. I am hard-pressed to find any rights that we should assert, except our right to come to God in prayer and in worship.

Jesus Came

Which did Jesus emphasize … rights or responsibilities? Jesus never elevated His rights. He was entitled to all of the rights of His kingship, but He surrendered them for us.

When Jesus came to walk among us, He sought out the poor and destitute. It could have been more politically advantageous for Him to seek to rub shoulders with the affluent and the rulers of society. Instead, He chose to connect with people who had virtually no rights—only responsibilities to their Roman and religious authorities. They lived a hard life with no prospect of raising themselves up in society.

Then came Jesus. They were hoping that He was the Messiah. They were ready to make Him king to lead them out from under the thumb of the Romans. They were ready for Him as He entered Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday. But He wasn’t riding on a great war horse. He was riding on a lowly donkey. One day He will come in a different way … on a white horse, leading an army and will rule the earth with a rod of iron. But not this day. What He came to usher in is a different kind of kingdom … a kingdom not of this realm … an eternal kingdom … a kingdom that grows in our hearts.

What Has Come to Us?

What has come to us as citizens of His kingdom?

What is the significance of knowing that we are citizens of the kingdom of God?

When we surrender our hearts to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, our whole identity changes. Who we are on the inside is radically changed. The Bible uses dramatic language to describe what we become. Here are some examples:

Made Into a New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Received a New Nature and Made Spiritually Alive

Colossians 2:13–14: You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Made Holy and Blameless

Colossians 1:21–22: This includes you who were once far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.

If you are a follower of Jesus, these things are true about you. This is your real identity. Do you feel it? Probably not. As I looked at myself in the mirror the day after I made the decision to surrender my heart to Jesus, I didn’t see anything different. These verses, and many others, draw attention to the radical transformation that happens to us when we make a decision to follow Jesus.

I made that choice myself when I surrendered my heart to Jesus at 19 years old. As we travel the road of life, we make lots of choices. Later in life, we might wonder, What if I had made this or that choice instead of the one that I did? It is clear to me that the choice to surrender my heart to Jesus changed the whole trajectory of my life. I was heading nowhere, and as a follower of Jesus, I have experienced a wonderful, fulfilling life.

Being a citizen of the kingdom of God is perhaps more than we had thought. As a citizen of the kingdom of Jesus, you are a totally new person in Christ. We will build on this identity theme in future Kingdom Thoughts.

Some Questions to Consider

1. To what extent do you think of yourself as a citizen of the Kingdom of God?

2. How much importance do you place on being a citizen of the Kingdom of God compared to being a citizen of the country in which you live?

3. What could be some examples of when your loyalty to your country has the potential of drawing you away from loyalty to the Kingdom of God?

4. Which do you find that you tend to elevate in your life … your rights or your responsibilities?

About This Message Series

This is a message series about God and His kingdom. We will look and work to understand some things important to what we know about God and how we connect with Him. There are, of course, many different perspectives and viewpoints about matters like this that could be offered. For my part, I will use the Bible as my primary source for information and truth.

The messages that will be shared will be intentionally brief. I have learned that it is hard to keep someone engaged with a lengthy post, no matter how interesting the subject might be to the author. I find that hard myself.

You are invited to subscribe to receive new Kingdom Thoughts. That will be one of the ways that will inform me concerning the relevance of what I am sharing. www.kingdom2build.org