"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:33-34 ESV)
The central theme of Jesus' teaching revolved around the Kingdom of God and its various aspects. The phrase 'Kingdom of God' appears more than 80 times in the New Testament. It is also referred to as the 'Kingdom of Heaven' (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 13:41), 'Kingdom of Light' (Colossians 1:12), 'Kingdom of Christ' (Matthew 13:41; 20:21; Ephesians 5:5), 'Kingdom of David' (Mark 11:10), and the 'Kingdom' (Matthew 8:12; 13:19), which all denote the same thing in different aspects with various shades of meaning.
Let's unpack the verses:
"Seek" (Gk: zeteo); to seek (literally or figuratively in order to find); specially, (by Hebraism) to worship (God), or (in a bad sense) to plot (against life): Seeking covers the broader orientation of will: the seeking of God's kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:32-33)
"First" (Gk: proton) in order of importance
"Kingdom of God" (Gk: basileia theou) the kingdom over which God rules
"Righteousness" (Gk: dikaiosune) in the broad sense, the state of him who is such as he ought to be, righteousness; integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in thinking, feeling, and acting (see Matthew 3:15).
"All these things" (Gk: pas tauta) that which was spoken of before
"Will be added" (Gk: prostithemi) to put to; to add i.e., to join
Jesus is telling us we must pursue His honor, reign, and will (vv. 9-10). Seeking God's righteousness means pursuing righteousness in life in submission to His (Matthew 5:6,10,20; 6:1). It does not mean seeking to be justified
When we pursue "all these things" God will add the necessities of life that He provides providentially, so we have no reason to fret, worry, or be anxious or afraid about anything (v5:45; 6:11).
34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34 ESV)
"anxious" (Gk: merimnao) means to be troubled/disturbed and concerned with cares.
v "about tomorrow for tomorrow will be anxious for itself"
"tomorrow" = (Gk: aurion) means to breathe the fresh morning air of a new day.
v "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble"
"Sufficient" = (Gk: arketon) means to suffice, to be content.
"the day" = (Gk: hemera) means the time space between dawn and dark.
"its own trouble" = (Gk: kakia) means evil, depravity, trouble
Jesus is telling us that we are not to be troubled, disturbed or concerned about any possible minute of tomorrow because tomorrow will have its own troubles. The worry and anxiety about tomorrow may never come to pass. God provides only enough grace so we can deal with life one day at a time.
Worry is an indicator that someone isn't Born-Again. When you put God's will and His righteousness first in your life, He will take care of everything else.
Worry robs us of our effectiveness for the kingdom today, which means we will be even less effective tomorrow. Every new day brings its own cares, and to anticipate them is only to compound them. Worrying about tomorrow will rob you of today's blessings.
I once heard someone say that the average Christian is crucifying themselves between two thieves who are the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow.
I have always shared with others that they should plan their life as if Jesus isn't returning for 100 years and living life like He is coming back today because He just might for you!! (2 Corinthians 12:14; 1 Timothy 5:8).
WHAT IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
The Kingdom of God encompasses both earthly and all heavenly realms. It is the everlasting realm that Jesus sovereignly rules over forever.
"The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all" (Psalm 103:19 ESV).
"His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom…" (Daniel 4:3a ESV).
The Kingdom of God is the realm where Jesus reigns as King and His authority as God is supreme. God has established every authority on earth that exists and He rules over them (Romans 13:1). The Kingdom of God exists here and now in the lives and hearts of every Born-Again Christian.
John the Baptist began his ministry announcing that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand (Matthew 3:2). From that point forward, "Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 4:17 ESV).
Jesus said "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." (John 18:36-37 ESV)
The Kingdom of God has several aspects.
- The term 'kingdom of God' is a present reality as well as a future realm or territory that is used regarding the literal rule of Jesus on the earth during the millennium (Daniel 2:44, 7:13–14; Obadiah 1:21; Habakuk 2:14; Micah 4:2; Zechariah 14:9).
- The Lord is the Supreme Ruler of the universe, and so in that sense, His Kingdom is universal (1 Timothy 6:15).
- The Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that is not of this world but still part of our present spiritual life.
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."(Romans 14:17 ESV)
HOW TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Jesus preached that repentance is necessary to be a part of the Kingdom of God (John 18:36; Matthew 4:17).
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21 ESV).
A person enters into it the moment they are Born-Again:
"He [Jesus Christ] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son." (Colossians 1:13 ESV)
Jesus wants us to pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'" (Matthew 6:10 ESV)
God sees every Born-Again Christian as seated in the kingdom of heaven with heavenly citizenship (Ephesians 1:3, 2:6; Philippians 3:20).
Jesus often spoke of the kingdom as a future inheritance:
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.'" (Matthew 25:34 NLT)
Entrance into the Kingdom to be with Jesus of all of eternity is the future reward for every Born-Again Christian:
"For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:11 ESV)
WHERE IS THE KINGODM OF GOD?
"…There it is,' because the kingdom of God is WITHIN you." (Luke 17:21 NIV, also John 14:17,20, 15:4, 17:21-22; Colossians 1:27; 1 John 4:4 – emphasis mine)
"You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells IN you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who DWELLS IN you." (Romans 8:9-11 ESV – emphasis mine)
The kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to His authority by becoming Born-Again (John 3:5-7; also 1 Corinthians 6:9). Those who defy God's authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God.
CONCLUSION
The 'kingdom of God' is not about how human beings can make the world a utopia under the throne of a 'five-fold' cast system of a ruling hierarchy. The 'kingdom' is not the culmination of human potential and effort because it is the intervention of God's grace into a lost and broken world.
To be Born-Again into God's kingdom is to embrace His complete and total rule over every aspect of life. It means a new life, a new identity, and a new and very different kingdom from that made by human hands in the world.
It is absolutely vital and necessary that the Born-Again Christian submit every day to the Lordship of Jesus by praying the Gethsemane prayer, “…not my will, but yours be done” if they want to walk in a powerful anointing of God and be used to transform the lives of everyone they meet (Luke 22:42 ESV).
Finally, one day, every living creature in the universe will bow and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord over all (Philippians 2:10-11; Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11). That is the day of final victory, the day in which Jesus will be recognized as King of kings and Lord of lords.
