Lexical Summary politeia: Citizenship, commonwealth, state, way of life Original Word: πολιτεία Strong's Exhaustive Concordance citizenshipFrom polites ("polity"); citizenship; concretely, a community -- commonwealth, freedom. see GREEK polites NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom politeuomai Definition citizenship NASB Translation citizenship (1), commonwealth (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4174: πολιτείαπολιτεία, πολιτείας, ἡ (πολιτεύω); 1. the administration of civil affairs (Xenophon, mem. 3, 9, 15; Aristophanes, Aeschines, Demosthenes (others)). 2. a state, commonwealth (2 Macc. 4:11 2Macc. 8:17 2Macc. 13:14; Xenophon, Plato, Thucydides (others)): with a genitive of the possessor, τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, spoken of the theocratic or divine commonwealth, Ephesians 2:12. 3. citizenship, the rights of a citizen (some make this sense the primary one): Acts 22:28 (3Macc. 3:21, 23; Herodotus 9, 34; Xenophon, Hell. 1, 1, 26; 1, 2, 10; (4, 4, 6, etc.); Demosthenes, Polybius, Diodorus, Josephus, others). Topical Lexicon Historical Setting of Citizenship in the Greco-Roman World Citizenship in the first-century Mediterranean carried legal privileges, social status, and a sense of communal identity. Roman civitas granted appeal rights, exemption from degrading punishments, and political access. In Jewish thought, belonging to Israel’s covenant community brought spiritual privilege, temple access, and participation in the promises given to the patriarchs. Into this environment the New Testament writers used πολιτεία to speak both of tangible Roman rights and of Israel’s covenant life, preparing the way for the greater citizenship believers now enjoy in Christ. Acts 22:28 — Legal Shield and Missionary Advance Facing a Roman flogging, Paul appealed to his πολιτεία: “The commander answered, ‘I paid a high price for my citizenship.’ ‘But I was born a citizen,’ Paul replied.” (Acts 22:28) 1. Verification of Status: The tribune immediately halted the scourging, illustrating how Roman citizenship could override local authority. Ephesians 2:12 — The Covenant Commonwealth Paul reminds Gentile believers to recall that they were once “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel” (Ephesians 2:12). 1. Covenant Exclusion: Outside political Israel, Gentiles lacked temple access, Mosaic worship, and knowledge of the promises. Doctrinal Themes and Connections • Earthly versus Heavenly Citizenship – While Acts stresses temporal rights, Philippians 3:20 highlights an eternal polity: “our citizenship is in heaven.” The two are not contradictory; earthly responsibilities are avenues for heavenly allegiance. Old Testament Foundations • Exodus 19:6 presents Israel as a “kingdom of priests,” the prototype πολιτεία under divine kingship. These texts frame Ephesians 2:12 within a trajectory of expanding covenant community. Ministry and Discipleship Implications 1. Teaching Identity – Ground new believers in their secure citizenship to combat spiritual insecurity and cultural pressures. Missional Perspective The church acts as an embassy of the coming kingdom, calling outsiders to receive heavenly citizenship. Awareness of πολιτεία equips believers to articulate both the cost and privilege of following Christ: loss of ultimate allegiance to earthly powers but gain of an imperishable inheritance (1 Peter 1:4). Forms and Transliterations πολιτειαν πολιτείαν πολιτειας πολιτείας politeian politeían politeias politeíasLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Acts 22:28 N-AFSGRK: κεφαλαίου τὴν πολιτείαν ταύτην ἐκτησάμην NAS: this citizenship with a large KJV: I this freedom. And Paul INT: sum the citizenship this bought Ephesians 2:12 N-GFS Strong's Greek 4174 |