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In Diognetus, Christians are described as spending their time on earth while holding their citizenship in heaven, echoing the language of Philippians, where Paul tells believers in a Roman colony that their citizenship is in heaven.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Philippians 3:20
New Testament
17 Be imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example. 18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven—and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.
Epistle to Diognetus 5:9
Early Christian
5 They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign. 6 They marry like all other people and they have children; but they do not cast away their offspring. 7 They have their meals in common, but not their wives. 8 They find themselves in the flesh, and yet they do not live after the flesh. 9 Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. 10 They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives.
Date: 150-250 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Just as the Philippians enjoyed Roman citizenship without ever going to Rome, similarly, the Philippians enjoy a heavenly citizenship without first entering heaven and purely on account of their allegiance to the one who shall come from heaven to save them. [...] The point is not so much the hope of returning to the place of one’s citizenship in the future, but how heavenly citizenship shapes life in the present. Allegiance to the God of heaven and faith in the Son who shall come from heaven gives direction to their earthly enterprises and ethics. A view wonderfully expounded in the Epistle to Diognetus where the author says of Christians: [...] They happen to be in the flesh but do not live according to the flesh. They spend time upon the earth, but have their citizenship in heaven. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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