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I want to go back to a question about the Kingdom of God.  What does it mean when Jesus Says,

 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.†(Matthew 6:33)

 

In order to get a handle on that verse we need first to look at its context. 

 

1. Jesus contrasting true worship of God with the hypocritical religion of the Pharisees.

2. Jesus then speaks of earthly or heavenly treasures.

3. The eye is the lamp of the body,

4. Serving God or riches. 

5. Jesus’ admonition about being anxious about Food, drink, and clothing and then ends with the call to

6. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.â€

 

1.  Jesus, in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount admonishes His listeners not to do their righteousness before men to be seen by them in order to gain their praise.  The main issue here is one of the heart; whether one’s giving to the poor, praying, or fasting was done to seek the applause and approval of men or done in secret in order to glorify God.  Jesus said this of the Pharisees:

 

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.”

(Matthew 23:5-7 ESV)

 

The Pharisees were, “…like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness†(Matthew 23:27), they sought their own glory and praise from men; true worshipers do not seek their own glory, but seek to glorify God.  Also tied into these admonitions was talk of rewards; the hypocrites received their rewards in the form of adoration of the people, but true worshipers of Jehovah would receive their rewards from God. 

 

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

(Luke 12:32 ESV)

 

2.  Verses 19-21 discusses the temporal nature of worldly treasures and the durability of eternal blessings (treasures).  Worldly treasures are vulnerable to moth, rust, and thievery, while heavenly treasures are safe, secure, and eternal. The location of your storehouse betrays what your heart condition is.

 

“This direction about laying up our treasure, may very fitly be applied to the foregoing caution, of not doing what we do in religion to be seen of men. Our treasure is our alms, prayers, and fastings, and the reward of them; if we have done these only to gain the applause of men, we have laid up this treasure on earthâ€.  (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible)

 

We must be as Christ was during the Satanic temptations in the wilderness. When Satan offered Christ the world and its kingdoms if He would only bow down and worship him, Christ said, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” (Luke 4:8 ESV). 

 

3.  While reading through the sixth chapter of Matthew I thought it strange when I read,

 

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!â€

 

It just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the chapter, so I decided to look to some commentaries to get some clarification and found that these two verses speak to the intentions of the heart, and the single-mindedness or double-mindedness of our actions.  With this understanding in place, it fits perfectly with the preceding verses that speak of where treasures are being stored and the following verses which address the serving of two masters.  The “single†eye was also spoken of as a healthy eye, not having double vision or not being diseased or obstructed; looking straight ahead and not unfocused. In context this verse also relates to the liberality of the heart.

 

“An evil eye was a phrase in use, among the ancient Jews, to denote an envious, covetous man or disposition; a man who repined at his neighbor’s prosperity, loved his own money, and would do nothing in the way of charity for God’s sake.†- Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible

 

4.  One cannot seek earthly treasures or the praises of men or, and seek to glorify God which results in heavenly treasures; either he will love the praises of men and riches of this world or desire to glorify God alone resulting in eternal rewards. Covetousness has the power to overtake your soul; the constant regard for, and the constant striving to attain earthly riches will crowd out love for God.  Covetousness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5), it is the worship of material possessions; ultimately it betrays a hatred for God and His providence.  Its really hard to strive for material wealth, notoriety, and possessions and still love a God that may call you to sell all you own and give it to the poor. (Mark 10-17-22)  Why would you want your life to be a picture of earthly wealth and prosperity when Christ says’

 

“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:24-25 ESV)

 

This caution about serving God or riches highlights the fundamental flaw in the “Word of Faith†and the “Kingdom Now†movements within modern evangelicalism.  The flaw is that they are making the world and worldly pleasures and treasures their treasures and are not finding their treasure in Christ!  One doesn’t need to listen to them long to know whom they are serving.

 

“…we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV)

 

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2 ESV”

 

5.  In the next few verses, Jesus tells His hearers not to be anxious for your basic material needs.  Jesus says that if God the Father will provide for the birds of the air, and clothe the lilies of the field and the grass which are here momentarily and then are cast into the oven and destroyed He will most certainly provide for their needs.  The following four quotations come from a “An Exposition on the Sermon on the Mount†by A.W. Pink:

 

“there is no other book or religion in the world which condemns inordinate solicitude over the temporal necessities of life. Proof of this assertion appears in the fact that the natural man is quite unaware that anxiety about food and clothing is a SIN.â€

 

“To be fearful about the supply of future needs, to be worried that we may yet be left to suffer the lack of temporal necessities, is to be guilty of wicked unbelief. It calls into question the goodness and care of our Creator. It manifests a lack of faith in His wise and gracious providence. And if we be Christians, it betrays doubt of our Father’s love”

 

“Distrustful and distracting care about supplies of temporal needs is a sure sign that the heart is fixed on earthly things”

 

“Let it be clearly understood then that when Christ gave commandment “Take no thought for your life” He was very far from forbidding us to look ahead and make provision against a future livelihood…That which our Lord here prohibits is not the making of careful preparation for what is likely to come, but the constant occupation of the mind and distraction of the heart over what will never come.â€

 

I also found this quote from Dr. John MacArthur helpful:

 

“Now let me sum it up, listen to this, since earthly treasures corrupt you anyway, since earthly treasures tend to blind your spiritual vision, and since earthly treasures tend to draw you away from serving God therefore don’t worry about those kinds of things, do you see? That should not be your preoccupation. Even the basics of life. You say, well can’t we at least worry about the basics if not the luxuries? No. Not at all. If you’re a child of God you have a single goal, treasure in heaven, you have a single vision, you see God’s purposes, you have a single Master, you serve God not money therefore you cannot become preoccupied with the mundane things of this world. Now specifically what is He referring to? Back to verse 25, what are the basics? “What ye shall eat,†that’s food, “what ye shall drink;†that’s water or fluids, “nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.†That’s clothing. Food, water, and clothing, don’t worry about that, don’t be anxious about that.†- Dr. John MacArthur in his sermon “Overcoming Financial Worry, Pt 1†http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/2248.htm

6.  So now we come to the final command of Christ.

 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

(Matthew 6:33 ESV)

 

What does it mean to seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness first?  I think that it means first in preeminence, and in one’s affection.  We should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)  Seeking God and His righteousness should be of first importance to a child of God.  As I said in a previous post, the kingdom of God is about the ruler of the kingdom and not the subjects; we should be seeking Christ’s rule and dominion over our lives and affairs. Dr. John Piper put it this way:

 

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” is the large, overarching command – be passionate about experiencing the saving, purifying, empowering, love-producing, reign of God in your life and over all the world.  – Dr. John Piper.  http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ScriptureIndex/14/127_Dont_Be_Anxious_Lay_Up_Treasure_in_Heaven_Part_1/

 

When I have read “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.†I wondered about what it means to say “all these things will be added to you.â€Â  I wondered specifically because I know that not every child of God has every need supplied to them. There are those who are having everything taken from them i.e. families, homes, livelihoods for the cause of Christ.  I thought that there must be another meaning that I just wasn’t seeing in all the other commentaries that I read, again John Piper shed some light on this passage.

 

“The argument is God will supply everything you need to do his will and his righteousness. Yes he promises that some of us will be imprisoned and that some of us will be beaten and some of us will be killed. Paul says in Romans 8 that famine and nakedness will come for some, but will not separate us from the love of Christ. In all these things we will be more than conquerors through him who loved us. We will have all the clothing and food and drink that we need to do the will of God, including his time when his will is for us to die. There is no guaranteed physical comfort in this world, no guaranteed life on earth. But no trial will befall you for which he will not give you all you need to endure to the end and be saved.â€Â  From his sermon “Don’t be anxious, Lay up treasures in heaven, Pt 2†http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ScriptureIndex/14/128_Dont_Be_Anxious_Lay_Up_Treasure_in_Heaven_Part_2/