Being Citizens: The Biblical Context

Ref: wikimedia | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/NASA_child_bubble_exploration.jpg

 

In John 15:18-27, Jesus told His disciples if the world hated them as Christ’s followers, to know that the world had hated the Lord even before they were hated. If they were of the world, the world would have loved them, but they had been chosen by Christ to be His own, therefore they were hated by the world.

To put it simply, if the world had persecuted Christ for who He was, they would persecute His disciples as well for belonging to Him. But if the disciples were obedient to Him, and if the world were obedient to His words, the world would also keep the disciples’ sayings. All these things the world would do, for they did not know Him.

 

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Ref: ldscdn.org

 

The crux of this passage is that the servant is not greater than the Lord. What the Lord went through, His disciples were expected to go through, not necessarily because of His imposition, but because of the way the world is. So there is a suggestion that the disciples were set apart for and by the Lord. This would apply the same for Christians today.

Yet, as citizens within our own nations, the practical reality is that it necessitates us to function in our earthly countries as well. After all, we need to work, in order to earn money, in order to buy food and provisions, so that we can have a shelter and feed our families and ourselves, so that we may survive. And for this, we need to have certain rights within our own nations, intrinsic in being citizens within our own nations.

This brings in the problem of tension or dichotomy. We’re foremost citizens of the Kingdom of God, with God as supreme ruler, yet we’re also citizens of our respective nations, with a certain requirement of loyalty to our earthly countries and rulers. How do we reconcile this? What is the Biblical way of looking at citizenship?

 

Definition of Citizenship  

Firstly, there is a difference between a citizen and a subject. While subjects of a kingdom or empire are persons under the dominion of a sovereign, citizens are members of a state with associated rights. Citizenship is often thought of in the context of civilians. Whether a person is in active duty such as a policeman, military, firefighter, doctors, and so on, they have a civil function beyond their active duty nonetheless.  

 

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Ref: liveactionnews.org

 

The word “civil” was a Middle English derived from the Latin word “civilis” which is equivalent to the “civ(is)”(Citizen + ilis). From the idea of civilians came the foundation for an idea of civilization founded on the people. Around the same time, another Middle English word “civilian” (derived from the Old French word “civilien”) was formed, meaning city-dweller or student of civil law.

As cities grew larger and as people started to travel the world, the word “cosmopolitan” was formed to describe the phenomenon (Cosmos + Polity: citizens of the world). So even on the secular plane, we see that there are many different levels of citizenship or resident-ship that have evolved over the years. From town to district, to state, to nation, and now, even to the world.

 

Secular Government-ship

In addition to the context of civilian-ship, there are many different kinds of governmental approaches throughout history. First, there is the monarchy (mono : power centered on one). Next, there is the oligarchy (oligarchs: power centered on a few). And then, we have democracy (demos + kratos: the power of the people).

 

Democracy
Ref: wired.co.uk

 

Democracy was not a new idea. It was founded in the Greek city-states, but their idea of democracy was not the same as ours. For the Greek, democracy or the people were terms reserved in context for an elite few, for a majority of the population in the city-states were slaves and were without rights.

Today, we understand democracy as the power of many. In a parliamentary democratic country, members of parliament are elected as representatives of the people, with a responsibility to the people. This is what many of us understand by what is meant by democracy.

Malaysia, as a former Commonwealth country, has a system of Constitutional Monarchy. The reign is vested in a monarch but government-ship conducted through a parliament. This presents an interesting and remarkable scenario.

 

Early Israelite Understanding of Nationhood

Unlike what some Christians may think (‘we’re citizens of Heaven and have no concern for this earthly world”), the Bible in fact has much to say about citizenship. In Judges 9:3, the people of Shechem were inclined to follow Abimelek for they recognized him as one of their own. Here we can see citizenship being defined as a group of people with a particular relationship (belonging one to another).

In Exodus 19, God had already marked out for the early Israelites their identity as a holy nation, consecrated unto God. They were to be the beacons to the world as Yahweh’s followers or worshippers; the People of God.   

 

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Ref: artbible.info

 

In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, God foresaw the Israelites’ future demand for a king and outlined the sort of king they were to appoint. The king was to be from their own people (a concept of kingdomhood). He was to act as a leader responsible to God and His people, and not to take multiple wives or silver or gold for himself (v 17). 

During and throughout his appointment to kingship, he was to make himself accountable to the Levite priests (spiritual leaders of the kingdom), fear God, carefully observe all His laws and commandments and not turn from them to the left or right. In this way, the king and his sons would continue to rule long in the kingdom.

For the early Israelites, nationhood was founded on God with Him as the sovereign ruler, and even the king was accountable to Him. When the Israelites clamored for a king in 1 Samuel, God gave the Israelites the same reminder and a warning of the consequences (1 Samuel 8).

Psalm 72, a prayer from King David, is a complete picture of what a ruler under God is like. He judges the people in righteousness, defends the afflicted, saves the children of the needy, takes pity on the weak, and rescues them from oppression and violence for they are precious in his sight. Throughout the whole psalm, there is a recognition that justice comes from God (v1).

 

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Ref: wordpress

 

As God’s people, the Israelites were to look to God and not to kings. They recognized that it was through the will of God and not through their own strength that they will triumph over challenges. Two key themes run throughout the Old Testament: God’s justice and His shalom.

When the Israelites went away from God, such as during the time of the Minor Prophets like Amos and Hosea when they were mistreating the defenseless, judgment would come. When the people repented, God would restore them and bring His shalom upon them, even through a foreign but enlightened king like Cyrus.

Daniel’s friends recognized this in Babylon when they consecrated themselves in the fiery furnace. For them, the way out was the way in. They were shaped by the presence of God who was there with them even in the fiery furnace.     

 

Citizenship in the New Testament

By the time of the New Testament and the apostle Paul, the concept of nationhood on earth had already become full-fledged. Among some events that played an influence was the pan-Hellenistic empire of Alexander the Great. During the time of the Romans who followed after, an idea of law had been developed based on rational ideas.

In Acts 16:16-40 and Acts 22:22-29, we read of Paul’s arrest due to false accusation. The way Paul handled the situation has much to teach us. The thing to take note for the moment is that Paul recognized that he had certain powerful rights as a born citizen of Rome.

 

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Ref: fineartamerica.com

 

Paul had Roman citizenship but his citizenship was also unto God. Paul was working as a servant of God when he was falsely accused and arrested. He was innocent in the sight of God, and his citizenship was on a national as well as a global level. This is one meaning of Christian citizenship. We owe loyalty to our respective nations, but at the same time, we are also to live conscientiously as a member of God’s global commonwealth, with God as the supreme foundation for justice.    

What sort of citizenship then do Christians have and what sort of citizenship should we exercise? While we’re citizens of an earthly nation, the priority for our values and worldview must be founded on the word of God. The greatest commandment for citizens of God’s Kingdom is to love the Lord with all our being, and to love others as ourselves.

In another context, it means that we must know of ourselves in order to love others in the same way we love ourselves. It speaks of knowing our identities, both as children of God and as citizens of our respective nations.

 

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ref: wordpress

 

An example of this can be found through the way the early Christians lived. They shared their possessions among themselves so that none were left with need, and Jesus gave guidelines through the Beatitudes. 

In Mark 12:17, Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar that which belong to Caesar, and render to God that which belong to God”. That is to say, in the Roman Empire, Caesar had vested in himself the power of divine and earthly authority. There were certain governing rules and laws that the Christians had to obey as Roman citizens. Yet for the early Christians and for Christians today, God is the true and ultimate Lord and Savior, both Heavenly and earthly authority. 

This is where we return to Jesus’ words in John 15:18-27, as outlined above. Inevitably, the world, this time represented by the Roman Empire, would persecute the early Christians because of their devotion to Christ. Yet God’s command to the Church remained to do good despite the persecution they were facing (Titus and 1 Peter).

 

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Ref: tqn.com

 

It was very difficult in the human sense, and could only be done through the grace of God. This was what Citizenship meant to the early Christians. While submissive to the Roman Empire, their final loyalty belonged to God, and they were persecuted by the earthly powers for it.

Today, many Christians no longer face hardship and challenges on quite the same level as the early Church. Yet the injunction remains the same for us today, with certain implications and applications. What then are some of these practical implications?

 

NOTE: This is a documentation of what the concept of Citizenship meant to the people of the Bible. It was written based on the understanding the writer has gained from a sharing by Mr. Tan Kong Beng, during the Citizens’ Weekend organised by the Citizen’s Network for a Better Malaysia.

Mr Tan Kong Beng has lectured in MBS on Theology, Church History and Ethics on top of years of experience as a Christian leader in civil society. He has a degree in political science from USM and a Master of Christian Studies from Regent College, Vancouver. Mr Tan is one of Malaysia’s foremost Christian leaders and bridge builder.

The Citizen’s Network for a Better Malaysia was formed with a vision of citizen advocacy for a better Malaysia, and a mission to activate strong Biblical voices on national issues through awareness building, networking and strategic advocacy projects.

 

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Jason Law

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