Principle #2
Man’s highest purpose is pursuing God into His Kingdom
Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33 NKJV
Jesus did us a big favor. He declared heaven’s highest priority in this single sentence. It’s a compelling idea, buried in His inaugural sermon. The mysterious language seems lofty and dreamy – one of those grand, lovable passages of Scripture where everyone nods and quietly says, “Amen!” On the surface, it seems to point us to earthly good works leading to a place of eternal rest in God’s distant Kingdom. But, is that what it really promises?
Nestled halfway into the oft-quoted “Sermon on the Mount,” this verse actually promotes a revolutionary political doctrine. It’s quite subversive, calling us to give allegiance to another government. Perhaps Homeland Security ought to be concerned! In one majestic sentence Jesus of Nazareth announces the strategy for re-colonizing the very world which the Father majestically created and Adam promptly corrupted. The verse offers us a legendary level of hope while simultaneously relieving us of the unrelenting pressures of everyday life. That feels good already. The passage encourages two actions leading to one result:
…For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.
Luke 10:24 NKJV
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Jeremiah 31:33 NIV
This leads us to Kingdom Principle #2: Man’s highest purpose is pursuing God into His Kingdom. After searching the scriptures and taking counsel from other believers, I fully subscribe to the radical assertion of Matthew 6:33. To begin exploring the full, revolutionary reach of this verse, let’s examine each of its three points in reverse order.
Point 3: “all these things shall be added” = An Inexhaustible Supply Chain
Just before issuing the command to “Seek first the Kingdom” in Matthew 6:33, Jesus implored His audience:
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light.
Matthew 6:22
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NKJV
He builds empathy with His listeners, acknowledging their everyday concerns for food, clothing and everyday human needs. He isn’t so spiritual that He denies the realities of daily life in ancient Palestine. He provides great reassurance to the audience that God, who He calls “the Father” (a radical claim in those days), is aware of those needs:
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?
Matthew 6:26 NKJV
Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Matthew 6:31-32 NKJV
Have you ever watched non-believers prosper and then wondered, “Hey, Lord, I’m one of your children! Where’s my stuff?” Let’s not be so holy that we can’t admit we could use a little prosperity from time to time. Who doesn’t have needs in this life?
I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.
Psalm 37:25 NKJV
So Jesus poses several rhetorical questions to His audience: “Why do you worry about what to wear? And don’t you have a purpose beyond what’s on the dinner table?” It seems He really understands what we go through.
Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.
Luke 17:33 NIV
He displays strong empathy for us when He refuses to compromise, saying: “Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.” I love that Jesus seems to understand our practical needs.
He gets it!
But then, He flips it around. He claims that putting this Kingdom in a place of primacy brings us tangible, practical benefits (“all these things will be added…”). Wait, let’s get this straight. Instead of feeling the pressure to fight my own battles and to relentlessly pursue this world’s transient rewards, Jesus is saying we ought to first focus on God’s Kingdom. This is so counter-intuitive; it almost seems un-American! He’s saying if we remain attentive to heaven’s priorities, God will then supply our earthly needs.
“But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal [this] to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church (ekklesia); and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…”
Matthew 18:15b -19a
That requires us to shift our attention away from a self-protective, earth-dweller attitude. Not sure about you, but normally I’m busy fighting my own battles, setting my own goals and proving that I’m right. Isn’t that what a responsible man does? Shouldn’t he take care of his business?
Jesus advocates the direct opposite. He says: invest yourself in the things of God and He will guide you to a place of provision. Many of these commands of God are really contrary to my natural inclinations. Jesus fascinates and challenges me. His ways of handling life seem far superior to mine. He claims that not a sparrow can fall to the ground without His Father’s knowledge. We can have a holy confidence, therefore, that all of our authentic, earthly needs (but not things requested from greed or loneliness or lust) will be delivered to us directly from the hand of God. What an encouraging thought!
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
Point 2: “and His righteousness” = Conformed to God’s Nature
Righteousness means having the same character or qualities as God, conforming to His nature and then acting accordingly. This requires knowing and acting, a combination of faith and works. Those listening to Jesus announce these new principles would have been fascinated and puzzled.
According to the Law of Moses, sin permanently separates us from God, so how can we possibly acquire His holy character, let alone act on it? Of course, the crowds didn’t realize that Jesus, the very person encouraging this level of holiness, would soon provide a way for them to achieve it. They had no clue they were listening to the very Son of God.
He appeared at the moment to be a young Rabbi with an astonishing new doctrine. When Jesus later shed His sinless blood for all mankind, He provided the gateway for each of us to be reconciled back to His Father. He absorbed the sins of the entire world at Calvary. But at this moment, sitting on this hillside, no one could conceive of such a process. To them, mankind seemed hopelessly separated from God.
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Matthew 23:13 NKJV
…For the code [of the Law] kills,
but the [Holy] Spirit makes alive.
2 Corinthians 3:6 AMP
Contrast this new Kingdom doctrine of Jesus with the cultural traditions in place at the time. The Pharisees of Palestine were a hyper-religious sect–stern, spiritual authorities who ruled from the Temple in Jerusalem. They diligently studied and taught the holy writings of Moses and the prophets. But they also invented hundreds of additional, terribly burdensome rules and rituals for the Jewish people to follow. The Pharisees actually believed they were incapable of sinning!
Jesus later called these religious leaders “vipers” because they maintained a poisonous choke-hold on the spiritual life of the Israelites. As we still see in certain places today, the rituals of religion had displaced the holiness of God, hollowing out the deeper matters of faith and mercy written in the Law.
Aware of the cultural respect the Jews of Palestine had for the Pharisees, Jesus advanced a remarkable new doctrine in the Sermon on the Mount, declaring:
“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:20 NKJV
For {the Pharisees} bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men.
Matthew 23:2,4-5 NKJV
This was revolutionary! Jesus is shrewdly saying, “I am not trying to undermine the spiritual authorities of Israel. I am saying, despite the incredible level of righteousness you believe they have, yours has to be even higher if you are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” This seems outrageous! Jesus is lifting our eyes above the confines of our cultural experience. He encourages His listeners to seek an extraordinary, permanent righteousness in the eyes of God – one which is stronger than that of the Pharisees. Is this even possible? Yes and no.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Matthew 23:15
By themselves, the audience is helpless to achieve the level of holiness Jesus advocates. Their sins create an enormous gulf separating them from God. But, at the moment, the audience had no clue that three years later Jesus would personally provide a clear, redemptive path to reconciliation with God through His own, voluntary death and suffering at the hands of the Roman Empire. The elegance of the Kingdom theology is extraordinary and subtle. It is intellectually and spiritually intriguing.
Point 1: “Seek first the Kingdom of God” = Single-minded Focus
Let’s head back to English class and take a look at the first word of Matthew 6:33: “Seek.” Typically, when we “seek” the car keys, we stop looking when they are found. Seek is a simple, present-tense verb in that case. But a present perfect verb continues indefinitely; it starts and never stops. Such a verb implies a permanent assignment. In the Sermon on the Mount, the word “seek” is used in this present perfect tense.
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
John 3:5 NKJV
Furthermore, the Greek word for “seek” (zeteo) means “to covet earnestly, to strive for and to inquire after.” The full meaning encourages us to begin searching for the truths of God’s Kingdom with zeal and energy and never to stop! Keep looking! Jesus is saying: Pursue this Kingdom relentlessly, and God Himself will then look out for your everyday needs. This is just incredible!
Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.
Isaiah 9:7 NKJV
Coming from the Son of God, that’s a major assertion. He knows we only have 24 hours in a day. Clearly we have many other priorities in our busy lives. What is so vital about this Kingdom of God that we are to be continually on the lookout — focused on it above everything else? Doesn’t Jesus know we’re very busy people?
The Kingdom of God is a government, with a cultural, judicial and economic system over which Jesus Christ presides as King, or Lord. People in ancient Palestine struggled to accept this Kingdom of God as the structural means by which God connects to man because it is invisible and spiritual. Even today it can seem mystical and irrelevant, detached from everyday life. Some of us even fear structure, thinking it diminishes the purity of our relationship with Jesus.
However, the Lord Jesus preached the Kingdom message repeatedly throughout His ministry. The local religious leaders wanted a strong Jewish King to displace the Roman leadership and install a righteous, mighty government! Who has time to wait for some lofty, churchy, spiritual Kingdom to arise? We need solutions immediately! (Umm, does that sound a bit familiar, even today?)
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.
John 12:32 NKJV
Funny, but our present-day conversation is shockingly similar to the concerns expressed by Messianic Jews of ancient Palestine. Much like the Romans, secular progressives in modern America have a self-indulgent worldview that yields completely to the sinful cries of the flesh. They seek legislative protection for shocking practices known to produce devastating social consequences.
“Are you the King of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
Mark 15:2
Thankfully, Isaiah said the real government (The Kingdom of God) would be on the shoulder of the Messiah. He would be destined to initiate a heavenly-sanctioned solution to our deep civic problems. Many today believe that Isaiah must have meant that Jesus would empower righteous people to transform our current, civil government, right?
How could God possibly have a relevant answer through some unseen, mysterious, alternative Kingdom? Makes no sense! We can’t wait till the Book of Revelation launches. God needs us to take care of this unholy political business now! Right?
Well, no. Jesus told Pontius Pilate at His trial: “My Kingdom is not of this world.”
I understand that this is strange; again, it’s counter-intuitive. Preparing your heart to seek and receive the message of the Kingdom will usher in a deep relationship with God that transcends all human understanding. The Kingdom of God is an operational framework designed by the Creator of the universe.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
The Lord promises that you will obtain remarkable clarity about your life’s purpose by learning about and operating within this framework. You will be resourced; time will seem to multiply; fresh levels of insight will be granted to those who press deeply into understanding the Kingdom of God.
With holiness as the foundation, unconditional love as the motivation and Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, the Kingdom of God becomes the transcendent model for civil society. Through His Kingdom, God extends His goodness and righteousness from the timeless, spiritual realm into this one. He is intent on taking back the territory lost in the Garden and redeeming His children from their sins. It’s a remarkable strategic plan.
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:8 NIV
Let’s summarize the destiny-shaking Matthew 6:33 verse which provides the central theme of this manual. We are first charged to accept Christ’s invitation to righteousness by accepting, through faith, His sacrifice at the cross. We then develop spiritual maturity by studying and keeping His commands through the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, we investigate and act on the claims Christ made about the Kingdom.
When God sees our faithfulness in this manner, continually seeking His Kingdom, He promises to unfold the mysteries of His intentions. He will release grace to you and I — a kind of supernatural fuel which empowers us to accomplish great things for Him. At that point, focusing on Christ’s Kingdom finally means: “All these things will be added unto you.”
In this manual, we will investigate these powerful claims, offered by Jesus Christ Himself. If we take Him at His word, our lives will bear fruit in unimaginable ways.
AN ENCOUNTER WITH GOD
Lord God, in Matthew 6:33, Your Son makes powerful claims and inspiring promises. Today, I take my Savior at His word. I accept your offer of righteousness in the person of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from Him I can do nothing, and yet I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Even before understanding its full meaning, I do, by faith, commit to seeking your Kingdom. Please know that I am eager to participate in your plans and purposes here in the Earth. AMEN
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