"Blessed are Those Who are Persecuted for Righteousness' Sake"

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:10)." This is the line from
The Beatitudes in The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus taught us that the
Kingdom of God belongs to those who suffer for doing good. And He is
also calling them "blessed", but why can the persecution be the blessing
for us? What is the relation between the persecution and the kingdom of
heaven? The answers for those questions can be found in this letter
Philippians by knowing the suffering for Christ's sake that the church
and Paul experienced.

- Philipi and Paul's Suffering for Christ's Sake

The church in Philippi was in the conflict for spreading the Word of
Christ, and as Paul said he was in the same battle(1:30). They were both
being persecuted for Christ's sake. He was imprisoned and　was in suffer
for need. But Paul and the Church were filled with joy and were
encouraged by each other. So they continued striving with one love, one
spirit and one mind.

- Who were the Opponents of the Gospel?

So who were their enemies in this battle? Who were suffering them? There
were physical enemies like the people who were called "the
evildoers(3:2)" or "the opponents of the Gospel(1:)." Or the things such
as imprisonment, illness, and poverty were also the causes of their
suffering. And they were things that Paul called "the enemies of the
cross of Christ(3:18)" in this letter.

- The Citizenship of Heaven and the Earthly Glory

As Paul said in 1:28, fighting against them with one spirit for the
faith of the gospel is "the clear sign of enemies' destruction(1:28)."So
even if it seems like the enemies are receiving glory(3:19) on the
earth. Their glory is the earthly thing and so it will fade away and it
will turn into shame of themselves(3:19) at the end after all. And this
is the destruction that is waiting for them. But in contrast to their
glory our hope is not the earthly things but Jesus Christ who is in
heaven. Because we know and believe that even if we suffer for Christ's
sake on this earth, we will receive "the prize of the upward." So our
earthly enemies will receive temporal glory, but we will resurrect as
the people who have the citizenship in heaven and will receive eternal
glory. And this is why we continue striving on this earth for Christ by
believing in His resurrection and hoping for the eternal life.

- Glory of God, Glory of His People

Than does this mean that we have no glory on this earth? No we do not.
But also, we can answer "yes" to this question confidently. Because if
we continue having hope for the prize of heaven and rejoice in the Lord
always that will be the perfect indication of the glory of God (1:11).
Glory of God is also the glory of His people. So the glory of God is the
prize that we will receive in heaven as Paul wrote in this letter that
God will make us into the likeness of own glorious self in heaven. And
that is the form of the citizens of heaven.

- Joy and Unity in the Days of Persecution

Even if we will be imprisoned or be in poverty and persecuted. If we
have love in Christ between us and rejoice in unity at any circumstance
with the heart filled with thankfulness to God, we will be the light of
the glory of God in the world. And not only on the earth, but it will
continue eternally in heaven. Because this is the victory in the battle
for the Gospel. the glory of God in the world. And not only on the
earth, but it will continue eternally in heaven because this is the
victory in the battle for the Gospel.