SEEKING GOD'S KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
Hello Steemians of the great steemchurch community , today I will be talking about seeking the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. May you be lesser in Jesus name
Seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness is seeking to live on what we have just read in this passage-- to live according to the Spirit, and the things of the Spirit. And all these things (our basic every day needs) will be given unto us.
(Matthew 6:33) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
What does it mean to “seek first” the Kingdom of God? How can this change your daily life?
Addressing these questions, Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (verse 33, King James Version). In essence, Jesus was cautioning us not to worry about these human concerns and to instead place our greatest priority on seeking God’s Kingdom.
Often times Christians have a wrong notion of this particular verse although they quote and even sing this verse frequently in church. So let’s study the whole context from verse 25 to verse 34.
25. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26. “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27. “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28. “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29. “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30. “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31. “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32. “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
First of all, these sayings of the Lord Jesus are exclusively for the children of God. Notice that He says: “Your heavenly Father” . You should understand that not everyone in this world is a child of God unless he or she is born again. Jesus said; “You (plural) must be born again”. (John 3:7)
From verse 25 to 32; it doesn’t mean to say that we can become sluggard or lazy since we need not to worry about anything.
How we can seek the Kingdom and God’s righteousness
Jesus’ teaching included instruction on how to seek God’s Kingdom: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repentance and belief are the two foundational stepping stones by which entrance into this glorious Kingdom will be permitted.
The reason we must repent is because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Romans 6:23 adds that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
To repent means we must change our normal way of thinking, which is against God. The Bible reveals that “the carnal [natural, human] mind is enmity [hostile] against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). We thus need a change in thinking that will then lead to turning away from sin and keeping God’s commandments. As Jesus said,
If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17).
GOD'S’s PLAN FOR US IN THE KINGDOM
God created man in His image with lesser powers and abilities to prepare man to rule with Him in a government that will last forever. God’s purpose for telling us “ seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness” is to help us develop, through our experiences in this life, His holy and righteous character and prepare us to rule under Christ as kings and priests on this earth (Revelation 5:10).
These are the beginning steps toward seeking the Kingdom of God, which will ultimately result in eternal life in the family of God.
Finally, does this passage indicate that if we seek the kingdom of God all the things we worry about will be fixed? No, it does not. The concept that seeking God's kingdom is a means by which to promote earthly comfort is an erroneous preaching present in certain evangelical circles, and is referred to as the prosperity gospel . Again, the context of Matthew 6:33 is important, for the next sentence Jesus speaks is,
