Matthew 6:33:
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
(If you click on the underlined, you can read what “seeking first the kingdom of God” means).
Question: "What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God?"
Answer: Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:33). The verse’s meaning is as direct as it sounds. We are to seek the things of God as a priority over the things of the world. Primarily, it means we are to seek the salvation that is inherent in the kingdom of God because it is of greater value than all the world’s riches. Does this mean that we should neglect the reasonable and daily duties that help sustain our lives? Certainly not. But for the Christian, there should be a difference in attitude toward them. If we are taking care of God’s business as a priority—seeking His salvation, living in obedience to Him, and sharing the good news of the kingdom with others—then He will take care of our business as He promised—and if that’s the arrangement, where is worrying?
But how do we know if we’re truly seeking God’s kingdom first? There are questions we can ask ourselves. “Where do I primarily spend my energies? Is all my time and money spent on goods and activities that will certainly perish, or in the services of God—the results of which live on for eternity?” Believers who have learned to truly put God first may then rest in this holy dynamic: “…and all these things will be given to you as well.”
God has promised to provide for His own, supplying every need (Philippians 4:19), but His idea of what we need is often different from ours, and His timing will only occasionally meet our expectations
Answer: Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:33). The verse’s meaning is as direct as it sounds. We are to seek the things of God as a priority over the things of the world. Primarily, it means we are to seek the salvation that is inherent in the kingdom of God because it is of greater value than all the world’s riches. Does this mean that we should neglect the reasonable and daily duties that help sustain our lives? Certainly not. But for the Christian, there should be a difference in attitude toward them. If we are taking care of God’s business as a priority—seeking His salvation, living in obedience to Him, and sharing the good news of the kingdom with others—then He will take care of our business as He promised—and if that’s the arrangement, where is worrying?
But how do we know if we’re truly seeking God’s kingdom first? There are questions we can ask ourselves. “Where do I primarily spend my energies? Is all my time and money spent on goods and activities that will certainly perish, or in the services of God—the results of which live on for eternity?” Believers who have learned to truly put God first may then rest in this holy dynamic: “…and all these things will be given to you as well.”
God has promised to provide for His own, supplying every need (Philippians 4:19), but His idea of what we need is often different from ours, and His timing will only occasionally meet our expectations
But what is Jesus talking about when He tells disciples of His to seek first God’s righteousness?
Simply stated, I believe Jesus is addressing two different issues. They are:
1): 2 Corinthians 5:21: For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (For an elaboration on what God is getting at in this statement, click on this underlined portion).
2): “Righteousness” means: To be in right-relationship with God.
To be in right-relationship with God, one must strive to be obedient to God. The New Covenant (New Testament Bible) clearly instructs us in how to be in right-relationship with God. It tells us what is pleasing to God, and what is not pleasing.
What is not pleasing to God, He calls sin (ordisobedience).
Thus in striving daily to obey Matthew 6:33, God is telling us that the more we determine to let Him kill sin in our life, the more we are walking toward Godly righteousness. Our goal then, is to constantly be doing all we know to do to work with the Holy Spirit to stop sinning. That’s simple enough to understand, right?
"Yeah – simple to understand … hard to DO, right?!" That’s not the point of this writing though. The point is to understand that God wants us putting top priority in working in cooperation with Him in putting sin to death in our life.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors -- not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the (sinful) deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. -- (Romans 8:12-14)
God wants us first acknowledging that sin is in fact sin according to how the New Testament Bible reveals what sin is, then God wants us making it our TOP PRIORITY in working with Him to stop committing those sins.
