Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness!
Matthew 6:33 (AMP)
But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
I have read this verse umpteen times over the years since my spiritual rebirth in Christ Jesus and I have heard many sermons and teachings about the verse (The Kingdom of God part) as well. Some have been very good and some not so good! But I have always felt in my spirit that they haven’t quite hit the full mark, that there was more spiritual revelation that I needed. What exactly is ‘The Kingdom of God?’ How do I get a fuller revelation? Only through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my searching of the Bible!
This article is what I believe I have been prompted to write as I’ve searched the scriptures!
What did Jesus say about the Kingdom of God or Heaven?
Jesus began his ministry soon after his water baptism by John the Baptist, His baptism in the Holy Spirit and his affirmation by the Father, and also after his rebuke of Satan during His temptation in the wilderness.
Matthew 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
This is the time that our Lord began to preach and what is so important for us to grasp at this point is just what he began to preach! Let’s have a look at what scripture tell us in this regard.
Matthew 4:17 (AMP)
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life], for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
So, here we have it, Jesus at the very start of His ministry is preaching ‘repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Now, when we examine the Greek word for ‘kingdom’ in the above passage which is ‘basileia’ (pron. bas-il-i-ah) we see that it’s expanded meaning, besides kingdom, encompasses kingship, sovereignty and the authority rule of God in the world and in the hearts of men!
In this verse (Mt 14:17) Jesus, right at the start of His ministry, is telling the people to turn away from their sinful ways because the kingdom of heaven is near. In saying this He was of course referring to Himself. Jesus is the King of the kingdom of heaven. You can’t call a place a ‘kingdom’ if it doesn’t have a king!
Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords!
1 Timothy 6:15 (NLT)
For,
At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
Revelation 17:14 (NLT)
Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”
Zechariah 14:9 (NLT)
And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.
The Kingdom of God has only one entrance and that is through the King, through acknowledging that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour and following Him in all His ways in accordance with His word and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now, let’s return to the first scripture in this article, Matthew 6:33, and examine it more closely and in relationship to Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour of all mankind. I will repeat it here for the sake of expediency!
Matthew 6:33 (AMP)
But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.
When Jesus spoke these words, they formed part of the Sermon on the Mount. If we backtrack to chapter four of Matthew’s gospel, we will see that Jesus had returned victoriously from the temptation in the wilderness and was just starting His ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit! As previously stated, his initial message to the people was, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This was also the time when Jesus called his first disciples. They were four fishermen from Galilee, Peter and his brother Andrew and James and his brother John (Matt 4:18-22).
Along with His initial message of repentance, Jesus also healed the sick and proclaimed the good news of the kingdom.
Matthew 4:23 (NIV)
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
The actions and preaching of Jesus drew crowds of people to Galilee to hear him preach and to see Him heal the sick and to bring deliverance to those that they brought with them. Jesus was preaching to the ‘unsaved’, telling them that the kingdom of God, their Messiah, was in their midst!
So, what was the good news of the kingdom that Jesus was preaching?
It was of course Jesus himself, the Messiah, the Saviour of all mankind! The Kingdom of God is eternal life for those who are in Christ Jesus – those that have repented of their sinful ways from the heart and have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
The Gospel of Luke puts it this way:
Luke 17:20-21 (AMP)
20 Now having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He replied, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed or with a visible display; 21 nor will people say, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For the kingdom of God is among you [because of My presence].”
The kingdom of God is with us only because of the presence of Jesus in our lives. If you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have the kingdom of God which is eternal life in Christ Jesus. If you don’t have Jesus, then your only eternal resting place is in Hell where there will be eternal torment!
Those who are born-again of Spirit and water will inherit the kingdom of God! This can only come about by repentance of sin and the acceptance of Jesus as your Lord and Saviour – being born-again! The Apostle John puts it this way:
John 3:3 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
John 3:5 (NIV)
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
In verse 5 above, Jesus speaks of being born of water and of the Spirit – two different births. Let’s look at these two very different births.
A. The Physical Birth
When the Bible refers to man as being ‘born of water’ it is referring to man’s physical birth. When we pop out of our mothers’ wombs not long after her waters have broken. This in no way refers to the waters of Baptism. Water baptism is something completely different and a topic with which I have dealt with in the article on this blog site titled ‘What is the purpose of Water Baptism?’
So physical birth is the first birth but the most important birth to all mankind is the second birth which is a spiritual birth.
B. The Spiritual Birth
The spiritual birth is where a person becomes born again. Because it is a spiritual birth it is only, and can only be orchestrated by God, through Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is nothing that we can ever do for ourselves or that anybody else can do for us – not even our parents.
In essence we, as human beings, are first and foremost spiritual beings. After God uniquely created Adam and Eve (Genesis 2), and, in their creation and after He had breathed life into them, he enabled them to procreate by coming together in sexual union. And in this miraculous process, the Spirit of God is interwoven within each human being at the time of conception. Just as God breathed life into Adam so His breath (spirit) is miraculously instilled into each living foetus. It is the Spirit of God that gives us life.
So, when the Lord tells us to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness’, He is instructing us to repent of our sinful lives and to accept Him as our Lord and Saviour and pursue and strive after all His ways in obedience to His Word.
B. The Spiritual Birth
The spiritual birth is where a person becomes born again. Because it is a spiritual birth it is only, and can only be orchestrated by God, through Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is nothing that we can ever do for ourselves or that anybody else can do for us – not even our parents.
In essence we, as human beings, are first and foremost spiritual beings. After God uniquely created Adam and Eve (Genesis 2), and, in their creation and after He had breathed life into them, he enabled them to procreate by coming together in sexual union. And in this miraculous process, the Spirit of God is interwoven within each human being at the time of conception. Just as God breathed life into Adam so His breath (spirit) is miraculously instilled into each living foetus. It is the Spirit of God that gives us life.
John 6:63 (NIV)
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.
So, when the Lord tells us to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness’, He is instructing us to repent of our sinful lives and to accept Him as our Lord and Saviour and pursue and strive after all His ways in obedience to His Word.
Remember Jesus is the Word and thus our knowledge of the Word and our being doers of the Word is also of paramount importance to our entering the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus says in Matt 6:33 ‘and all these things will be given to you also’, what things was He referring to? They are the things He mentioned in verses 25 – 32, the things that He tells us not to worry about – His provision for our lives! His cure for our worry and anxiety in our daily lives!
In these verses God is telling us that if we repent of our sin, accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and live our lives in the Spirit and in accordance with His Word – the Bible, he has everything else covered for us so that we need not worry. He has a solution for all the mistakes we make and for all the trials and tribulations that we will face in our daily lives! When we do this as born again Christians, we are working out our salvation just as the Apostle Paul states in the book of Philippians:
Our righteousness is given to us through Jesus. He took our sins upon Himself and paid our debt. We are found to be righteous in the eyes of God only because of the blood of Jesus and our repentance of sin and acceptance of Him as Lord and Saviour of our lives!
In all we do as born-again followers of Christ we need to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness in order to remain truly on the path that God has planned for our lives. Everything we do and say should bring glory, honour and praise to Jesus.We should not be doing anything for self-gain and vain ambition.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father
I pray in the name of Jesus that by your Spirit you will help me daily to follow in the footsteps of Jesus my Lord and Saviour. Help me and teach me His ways that I may not sin against you. Help me to be a doer of the Word and not just a reader. Bless me, O Lord, that I might be a blessing to others and bring glory to your Name. Thank you, Father, for Jesus the light of my salvation. Amen.
When Jesus says in Matt 6:33 ‘and all these things will be given to you also’, what things was He referring to? They are the things He mentioned in verses 25 – 32, the things that He tells us not to worry about – His provision for our lives! His cure for our worry and anxiety in our daily lives!
Matthew 6:25-32 (AMP)
The Cure for Anxiety
25 “Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by worrying can add one [hour to [the length of] his life? 28 And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32 For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
In these verses God is telling us that if we repent of our sin, accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and live our lives in the Spirit and in accordance with His Word – the Bible, he has everything else covered for us so that we need not worry. He has a solution for all the mistakes we make and for all the trials and tribulations that we will face in our daily lives! When we do this as born again Christians, we are working out our salvation just as the Apostle Paul states in the book of Philippians:
Philippians 2:12-13 (AMP)
12 So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. 13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.
Psalm 34:19 (NIV)
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.
2 Timothy 4:18
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMP)
He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].
In all we do as born-again followers of Christ we need to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness in order to remain truly on the path that God has planned for our lives. Everything we do and say should bring glory, honour and praise to Jesus.We should not be doing anything for self-gain and vain ambition.
Philippians 2:3-4 (AMP)
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. 4 Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father
I pray in the name of Jesus that by your Spirit you will help me daily to follow in the footsteps of Jesus my Lord and Saviour. Help me and teach me His ways that I may not sin against you. Help me to be a doer of the Word and not just a reader. Bless me, O Lord, that I might be a blessing to others and bring glory to your Name. Thank you, Father, for Jesus the light of my salvation. Amen.
To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!
Jesus, the Name above all names!
Wow, Great work!!! We are so blessed by you devoted teaching's of the Holy Spirit!!! Keep it up!!! Love you, brother!!!
ReplyDelete