Ephesians 2:19

“So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God”

“So then”: “Paul begins his summing up---what is the result of Christ's achievement and announcement of peace?” (Stott p. 104). “No more”: Too often we complain about what we do not have, yet we forget about all the bad things that we do not have! “Strangers and sojourners”: “Aliens in. foreign land” (NEB). “Visitors without legal rights” (Stott p. 104). “Without rights of citizenship” (Vincent p. 379). “No longer outsiders” (Phi). “In every Greek city there were ‘foreigners' and their life was not easy. The foreigner was always regarded with suspicion and dislike. The ‘sojourner' was one step further on. He was. resident alien,. man who had taken up residence in. place but who had never become. naturalized citizen; he paid. tax for the privilege of existing in. land which was not his own. Both were always on the fringe. A.B. Davidson tells how he was in lodgings in. strange city. He was lonely. He used to walk the streets at evening time. Sometimes through an uncurtained window he would see. family sitting around the table or. fire in happy fellowship; then the curtain would be drawn and he would feel shut out, and lonely in the dark” (Barclay p. 118). What good news for the person who feels like they "never belong". “Ye are fellow-citizens with the saints”: “But fellow citizens with every other Christian” (Phi).

“The first Gentile believers who were admitted to. church comprising Jewish Christians could well felt ill at ease; it was desirable that they should be made to feel completely at home. Gentile Christians are not adherents or visitors or second-rate citizens in the believing community; they are full members” (Bruce p. 302). The word "fellow-citizen" implies. government that one submits to, that is the Kingdom of God, and very Christian is. citizen in this kingdom (Colossians 1:13). The Jehovah Witnesses are wrong, this kingdom was in existence and upon this earth long before 1914.. King who rules that being Jesus (Ephesians 1:20-23). Citizenship not only brings "rights", but it also brings responsibilities, such as the Christian is expected to walk in. manner worthy of. "citizen" of the kingdom of God (Ephesians 4:1). Being. citizen means that you are always willing to fight to defend this kingdom (Ephesians 6:11-18). All Christians are "full citizens", there are no second-class citizens in the church.

Stott had some good observations when he said, “he sees another kingdom, neither Jewish nor Roman but international and interracial, as something more splendid and more enduring than any earthly empire. And he rejoices in its citizenship more even than in his Roman citizenship. Citizens emphasize the contrast between the rootlessness of life outside of Christ and the stability of being. part of God's new society. ‘We no longer live on. passport (or visa), but we really have our birth certificates, we really do belong'” (p. 105).

“And of the household of God”: Which is the church (1 Timothy 3:15).

Notice how Paul combines illustrations. These "citizens" are members of God's household. Therefore the kingdom of God and the Church are the same relationship (Acts 20:28; Revelation 1:5). Not only is every Christian. "citizen", but every member is also. brother or sister. Becoming. Christian means that you assume some "family obligations" and one of those obligations is to treat other Christians like family (1 Peter 1:22). “And in Christ Jesus Jews and Gentiles find themselves more than fellow citizens under his rule; they are together children in His family” (Stott p. 105). “Brotherly love, should always be. special characteristic of God's new society” (Stott p. 106) (2 Peter 1:5).

God's household