Track 3 on On This Rock
Colony of Heaven
Built on Galatians 3:28, Philippians 3:20, and 1 Corinthians 12:12–27
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The study behind the song
Built on Galatians 3:28, Philippians 3:20, 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, Ephesians 2:14–22, Ephesians 5:25–27, and 1 Corinthians 14:26.
"Colony of Heaven" walks through four pictures Paul uses for the ekklesia, the gathered church: the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, where Christ is the head and no member is inferior; the Temple of the Spirit in Ephesians 2, where God now dwells in a living community rather than behind a stone screen in Jerusalem; the Bride of Christ in Ephesians 5, marked by covenant faithfulness and sacrificial love; and the New Humanity of Ephesians 2, where the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile comes down.
The chorus rests on Galatians 3:28 and Philippians 3:20. In a Roman world ordered by rank, believers of every class sat at one table as equals, and Paul called them a politeuma, a colony whose true citizenship is in heaven. Each local church was an outpost of the King inside the empire.
The final verse turns to how that life works. Through the "one another" commands, 1 Corinthians 14:26, and Ephesians 4:11-12, leaders equip the saints so every member brings something and nobody stays a spectator.
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Lyrics
“There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28
Paul painted four pictures so the ekklesia could see
Who we really are when we walk in unity
First, the Body of Christ, First Corinthians twelve
Christ is the head, every member plays a role themselves
Diverse, interconnected, no part superior
Every organ essential, nobody inferior
Second, Temple of the Spirit, Ephesians two-nineteen
God don't dwell in Jerusalem behind a stone screen
The gathered community is the living dwelling place
Where the Spirit of the living God fills up the space
Third, the Bride of Christ, Ephesians five-twenty-five
Covenant faithfulness and sacrificial love alive
Fourth, a New Humanity tearing down the ancient wall
Uniting Jew and Gentile in one reconciled call.
We a colony of heaven on terrestrial ground
Politeuma in the Kingdom where true freedom is found
No Jew, no Greek, no slave, no free at the table
Mutual ministry making every member able
Shared life over hierarchy, Christ is the Head
Living out the Kingdom everywhere that we tread.
Now step inside the room and feel the social shockwave
Galatians three-twenty-eight, nobody left enslaved
Neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free
Neither male nor female in this new family
People from drastically different classes in the street
Sitting at the exact same dinner table to eat
As total equals in the eyes of the King
Flipping Roman social order on its highest wing
Then in Philippians three-twenty, Paul drops the name
Politeuma—true citizenship in heaven’s domain
Each local ekklesia was an outpost of the throne
Modeling the way of Jesus inside imperial Rome.
We a colony of heaven on terrestrial ground
Politeuma in the Kingdom where true freedom is found
No Jew, no Greek, no slave, no free at the table
Mutual ministry making every member able
Shared life over hierarchy, Christ is the Head
Living out the Kingdom everywhere that we tread.
And notice how the leadership flipped the pyramid
Shared life over top-down hierarchy in everything we did
Paul stressed mutual responsibility across the land
Through dozens of "one another" scripture commands
First Corinthians fourteen-twenty-six, every voice heard
When we gather together, everybody brings a word
A psalm, a teaching, a prayer, or revelation
Building up the body with Spirit inspiration
And Ephesians four-eleven shows the leaders' true role
Not performing on a stage while the people stay cold
They equip everyday believers for the ministry work
So the whole body functions and nobody gets to shirk.
Body, Temple, Bride, and a Brand New Humanity
Politeuma in heaven, living out eternity
No spectators in the pews, everybody plays a part
Equipped by the Word and empowered in the heart.
Ephesians two... Galatians three-twenty-eight...
Philippians three-twenty...
Colony of heaven.
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