Philippians 3:20-21 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20

For our conversation is in heaven . The word "our" is emphatic; the apostle refers back to Philippians 3:17 : "Follow us, not those enemies of the cross; our conversation is in heaven; they mind earthly things." The A.V. has this same word "conversation" in Philippians 1:27 , where the Greek ( πολιτεύεσθε ) is the verb corresponding with the noun ( πολιτεῦ΄α ) which occurs here. The verb is used in the sense of a certain mode of life or conversation, as in Acts 23:1 , but... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20

Citizenship in heaven. I. THE FACT . Christians are citizens of heaven. 1 . They are under h eavenly government. Other men are ruled by earthly influences—laws of the state, social customs, worldly expediency, etc. The true followers of Christ obey higher laws and serve an unseen King. It is their recognized aim to do God's will on earth as the angels do it in heaven. They confess supreme allegiance to a heavenly Lord. 2 . They perform heavenly functions. To be a loyal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

The grounds for following St. Paul and other holy men. I. Our conservation is in heaven. The false brethren mirth earthly things; follow us. 1 . Our commonwealth is in heaven ; we are citizens of the heavenly country. Here we are citizens of this realm of England; we have our sovereign, our magistrates, our fellow-subjects, our duties, our privileges. It is a shadow of heavenly things. The heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God , is our true home, our continuing... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

The heavenly citizenship and its blessed expectations. The apostle seems to say that these souls, with their earthly instincts, can have no fellowship with us; for we are citizens of a heavenly state. "For our citizenship is even now in heaven." I. THE HEAVENLY CITIZENSHIP . 1 . Consider its source. It comes, not by birth or manumission, but by the ransom-price of Jesus Christ. It is in Christ we become "fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household of God" ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

The blessedness of the Christly. "For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the [a] Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, [who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory] according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue [subject] all things unto himself." The word πολίτευμα which occurs nowhere else in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

Our heavenly citizenship. The Christian is living in two spheres at the same time. Locally, he is a citizen of the world; spiritually, he is in heaven. Compare our Lord's description of the twofold condition of the apostles whom he was leaving—they were "in the world" and yet they were "in him" ( John 16:33 ). These spheres are not of necessity opposed the one to the other, but they become so when the lower attempts to usurp the place which belongs to the higher. I. THE DIFFICULTY... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:21

Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body ; rather, as R.V., who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation , that it may be conformed to the body of his glory. Compare the description of our Lord's person and work in Philippians 2:6-8 . There St. Paul tells us that he who was originally in the form of God took upon him the form of a servant, and was found in fashion as a man. Here he uses the derivatives of the same words "form" and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:21

The renewal of the body. I. OUR BODY IS A MARK OF OUR HUMILIATION . It is "the body of our humiliation," not "our vile body," as the Authorized Version has it. St. Paul did not share the Stoic contempt for the body; much less did he anticipate the Manichcan hatred of it which is the true parent of asceticism. But neither did he altogether admire the body in its present condition, as the disciples of our modern school of carnal aestheticism glory in doing. He regarded it... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Philippians 3:20

For our conversation is in heaven - That is, this is true of all who are sincere Christians. It is a characteristic of Christians, in contradistinction from those who are the “enemies of the cross,” that their conversation is in heaven. The word “conversation” we now apply almost entirely to oral discourse. It formerly, however, meant conduct in general, and it is usually employed in this sense in the Scriptures; see the notes at Philippians 1:27, where the verb occurs, from which the noun here... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Philippians 3:21

Who shall change our vile body - compare the notes at 1 Corinthians 15:0: The original words, which are rendered here as “vile body,” properly mean “the body of humiliation;” that is, our humble body. It refers to the body as it is in its present state, as subject to infirmities, disease, and death. It is different far from what it was when man was created, and from what it will be in the future world. Paul says that it is one of the objects of the Christian hope and expectation, that this... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:20-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 3:21

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Philippians 3:20

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Philippians 3:21

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