The Journal of Biblical Accuracy

Aliens and strangers in the world (PDF) PDF version

Aliens and strangers in the world

We find the phrase “aliens and strangers in the world” in 1 Peter 2:11. There we read:

1 Peter 2:11
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from fleshly desires, which war against your soul.”

 

The Word of God tells us that we are aliens and strangers in this world. This means that this world is NOT our home. We do not belong here. To understand this better let’s use an example: let’s say that you board a plane and land in a country foreign to you. You are alien and foreigner in that country. You don’t understand the language of the people. You cannot read their newspapers. You turn on the TV but you soon have to turn it off as you do not understand anything. It is all foreign to you. You are an alien and a stranger. If however, using the same example, you start speaking the language of the people, listen to their news, watch their TV programs, speak about what they speak and do what they do, you are no longer a stranger and an alien, but you are integrated to that country, you are part of it. It is the same for us as Christians. The Word of God tells us that we are strangers and aliens to this world. We are not supposed to be conformed to this world, to share the same interests with the world, behave as the world behaves, watch what the world watch and have the same vision and interests as the world has. We are strangers and aliens here and we are not supposed to be integrated or conformed to this world (Romans 12:2) i.e. be shaped together with the world (that’s what co-formed means). We are coming from another world, another home. Where is this home? Here are a couple of passages that answer this:

Philippians 3:20
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,..”

And Colossians 1:12-13
“He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”

 

We are citizens of heaven brothers and sisters. There, and not in this world, is our home. Indeed, once we were citizens of this world and its kingdom, the kingdom of darkness. But we are no more. We were delivered from that kingdom and we are now citizens of the Kingdom of the Son of God and therefore aliens and strangers in this world.

Anastasios Kioulachoglou

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