Uniting Heaven and Earth
Christ in Philippians and Colossians
Lesson 7 - Monday
Stand Fast in the Lord
Philippians 3:20–21
In a world where loyalties shift and earthly kingdoms rise and fall, the apostle Paul calls Christians to stand firm by remembering who they are and where they belong. Writing to believers living in a Roman colony that took great pride in its citizenship, Paul uses striking language to remind them that their highest allegiance is not to any earthly nation. “Our citizenship is in heaven,” he declares, “from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20).
Christian citizenship, as Paul describes it, is not merely a future destination but a present identity. To be a citizen of heaven means to live now under the rule of Christ, shaped by His values, His gospel, and His hope. Earthly citizens look to their rulers for protection and provision; heavenly citizens look expectantly for a returning King. We are not waiting for an abstract event, but for a Person—“the Lord Jesus Christ”—who will come with saving power and kingly authority.
Paul makes this citizenship vivid by pointing to its ultimate promise: transformation. Christ “will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:21). The weakness, decay, and limitations we experience now are not the final word. The same power by which Christ reigns over all creation will be personally applied to His people, renewing them completely.
Scripture consistently enlarges this hope of a glorified state. Job, in the midst of suffering, confessed, “I know that my Redeemer lives… and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25–27). Even in the Old Testament, the faithful clung to the promise of a bodily resurrection and a restored relationship with God. This hope is not an escape from the body, but its redemption.
After His resurrection, Jesus Himself demonstrated what glorified life looks like. He told His disciples, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). Christ’s risen body was real and tangible, yet no longer subject to death. His resurrection is the pattern and guarantee of what awaits those who belong to Him.
Paul explains this transformation further in 1 Corinthians 15. The body that is sown in weakness will be raised in power; what is perishable will be raised imperishable (1 Cor. 15:42–44). Though “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” believers will be changed—“in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”—as mortality is swallowed up by life (1 Cor. 15:50–54). Death, the great enemy, will finally be defeated.
Colossians adds yet another dimension to this hope: “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4). Our future is inseparably bound to Christ Himself. To stand fast in the Lord is to live with the settled conviction that our life is hidden with Him now and will be revealed in glory when He returns.
This heavenly citizenship gives believers stability in an unstable world. Trials, losses, and disappointments do not define us, because they are temporary. Our allegiance to Christ and our expectation of resurrection anchor us when earthly hopes fail. To stand fast in the Lord is to refuse to be shaped solely by what is seen, and instead to live in light of what is promised.
The promise of eternal life is crucial because it confirms that Christ’s victory over sin and death is real and complete, giving meaning and endurance to every aspect of Christian faith and obedience. Without the hope of resurrection, faith would be reduced to moral effort with no ultimate fulfillment (1 Cor. 15:17–19). By contrast, nothing this world offers—wealth, power, pleasure, or recognition—can last or satisfy the soul beyond the grave. To trade the eternal life Christ offers for temporary gain is to exchange glory for decay and a living hope for a fading shadow.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the hope You have given us in Christ. Help us to remember that our true citizenship is in heaven and that our Savior is coming again. Strengthen us to stand fast in the Lord, living faithfully as citizens of Your kingdom while we await the day when You transform us and share Your glory with us. Keep our hearts fixed on eternal things, and our lives shaped by the hope of resurrection. Through Jesus our Lord, Amen.
More on Lesson 7: A Heavenly Citizenship
This Quarter's Sabbath School Lessons Here: Christ in Philippians and Colossians
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