This paper engages with the conceptual backdrop to the term “citizenship” which appears within the Pauline corpus in passages such as such as Philippians 3:20 or Ephesians 2:19. While a lexical study of the NT πολίτης and its various forms are engaged within this work, significant space is also devoted to elucidating the Old Testament framework for how “citizenship” would have been contextually understood in the Prophets or the Pentateuch.
The project method invoked follows a number of steps: (1) The Greek background of the πολίτης is surveyed with a special eye towards the etymological development of citizenship over time. (2) Specific word usages are studied by their appearance in the LXX and compared to their Masoretic counterparts. (3) Greek backgrounds for the πολίτης are compared to ANE for clarity on later MT usage. (4) The OT text is surveyed for a conceptual congruency with the πολίτης through a negative-study of frequent words with opposite meanings (i.e. foreigners, strangers, and aliens). (5) The work at large situates itself within a larger covenantal structure of the Scriptures with a special eye towards fulfillment in the New Covenant. The broad theological framework for the present study is in keeping with authors such as Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum.
The argument of this paper is threefold. First, it is contended that Paul’s usage of the word “citizenship” does find resonance within the Old Testament. Second, it is argued that the Old Testament provides a vision for naturalization in order for outsiders to join the people of God. Finally, the paper explores how the Old and New Testaments harmonize in their vision for a final, eschatological moment wherein God’s citizens will become natural-born citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Beyond the argument set forward above, the benefit of the present study is that it not only offers a meaningful explanation of Paul’s terminology and conceptual background; the study of “citizenship” offers a viable way to frame Christian life and action within the Kingdom of God at large where God Himself is rightly understood as the Lord. In the present day where “citizenship” itself engenders a concept of naturalization, there is additional apologetic or practical ministry value which can be gleaned from the study. Overall, the present work offers explanatory power for how modern Christians can begin to incorporate a Kingdom perspective of biblical citizenship into their personal lives.