Did my last word in the previous post leave you hanging? It was meant to. My point is that we sometimes don’t read to the end of the sentence… or put the verse in context with what came before it and what comes after. And AND is a big word as are the other conjunctives.
When you read the entire sentence in Matthew 6:33, AMP you see:
“But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.”
Too often we don’t read the entire sentence. Too often we assume what comes next, which may or may not be what happens. In this instance, “… and His righteousness…” is of great importance. Do we even understand what seeking after ‘His righteousness’ means or if it is even attainable? How do you understand the this phrase… and how do you combine it with the first half of the sentence. The question that jumps out at me is… if we also aren’t seeking His righteousness, will we never understand His kingdom? (And why isn’t kingdom spelled with a capital K?)
I’ve written on righteousness a number of times [primarily because I keep learning and understanding more about righteousness – and I’ll probably continue to do so]. How have you made the word personal, do you operationalize it in your life? Just as a hint; first – our righteousness is as dirty rags (Isaiah 64:6) – ouch. Now what? What can we possibility do because we can’t earn it or purchase it. However… the answer is found in scripture because it say, in 2 Corinthians 5:21
“He (God, the Father) made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].”
God ALWAYS makes a way for His creation, for us. You need this verse as one of your weapons against the devil who will always tell us that there’s no possible way we are saved or that why would we need this or any other lie. This is part of our proof as is Ephesians 1:13. AMP
“In Him (Jesus), you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God].”
The Message Bible, in verse 14 says:
“This down payment [the Holy Spirit] from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.”
Then again… it’s up to us. We need to ‘allow’ the Holy Spirit His work in our lives. It’s His ministry in this world now to help us become who we can be and touch lives with the saving knowledge of the Lord.
And all this begins with our seeing and understanding the ‘And’. We need and can be righteous because of our belief in Jesus. I believe that He came bringing gifts and one of those gifts is relationship. But the Lord can’t be in relationship with unrighteousness (parallel is 2 Corinthians 6:14 and unequally yoked) so He needed a way for us to find relationship which is 2 Corinthians 5:21 – one of the gifts of salvation. Look what happens when we read… And.
